Now that Arkansas has clinched a second straight losing season, Hogs' coach Houston Nutt believes the '06 season starts now. "This is the first day of starting over, starting for next year," Nutt said. "Not that I'm throwing the seniors away, but I have nothing to give them after these three games (Ole Miss, Mississippi State and LSU). This is the first day of the new year, and every single snap is so important. That's the way we got approach it." Nutt has already tapped deep into his freshman class. When quarterback Casey Dick started in Saturday's loss to South Carolina, Dick became the 17th true freshman to play for Arkansas this season, including scholarship and walk-ons. ... With LSU already hosting a couple of NFL games for the transplanted New Orleans Saints, homeless because of Hurricane Katrina, the natural grass field at Tiger Stadium is taking a beating. LSU and the Saints have played in the stadium on back-to-back days the last two weeks. But since LSU has but one home game left on Nov. 25 vs. Arkansas, the field won't be re-sodded until after the Saints play their final two scheduled dates in Baton Rouge on Dec. 4 and Dec. 18.

Flatt liningEthan Flatt will finally make his first start of the season at quarterback Saturday when Ole Miss hosts Arkansas. Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone is optimistic that Flatt can spark an offense that ranks 113th in the nation in scoring (13.8 ppg) and 104th in total offense (301.1 ypg). "I always thought Ethan was a mentally sharp kid," Mazzone said. "He has made snap decisions in practice and has moved the team." ...Then, there's Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom, who with each passing loss, realizes his offense has one playmaker in the house. "We don't have the explosiveness," Croom said. "We don't have a guy, except for (running back) Jerious Norwood, to catch a 5-yard pass, make a guy miss and go 80 yards."

We'll show youAlabama is fired up after Miami jumped 'Bama in most of the polls. "If they feel Miami is better than us, that's their opinion," Alabama tackle Kyle Tatum said. "A lot of people are putting us down, saying we're probably the worst undefeated team in college football. But I really don't pay attention to that. It's just good for our school to finally be back in the top five. It gives you confidence and makes you feel good. We've had to do something right to be 9-0." ... Where does Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville keep finding an endless supply of running backs? Is there an aisle for that sort of thing at Wal-Mart? In Saturday's win at Kentucky, Tuberville used defensive back Tristan Davis on offense, and Davis ran for 162 yards (all in the second half, including a 75-yard touchdown, on just eight carries. Davis is staying at running back. "I'd say he looked pretty good," Tuberville said.

AudibleArkansas offensive tackle Robert Felton on his 2-5 team playing out the season:

"We can't act like a whipped dog. We still can go 5-6. We can still whip somebody else's tail and spoil someone else's season."