There's no crying in the SEC

First-year Florida coach Urban Meyer broke the unwritten rule of SEC coaches when he shed some crocodile tears after Saturday's 21-17 loss at LSU.

Meyer said he became so emotional because he saw, for the first time, his players showing passion. Gators' athletic director Jeremy Foley defended Mr. Wet Eyes, saying he was in the locker room after the game and saw how hard the players were taking the loss.

"Urban has lost games before," Foley said. "It had nothing to do with losing a game. It has to do with the relationship he has with his players."

Honesty Best Policy

There may not be a more honest coach than Georgia's Mark Richt. In his team's win Saturday at Vanderbilt, Georgia wide receiver Bryan McClendon scored a touchdown on a sliding catch of an 18-yard pass from D.J. Shockley in the fourth quarter. The play was reviewed by the SEC instant replay official and the TD stood, despite ESPN2 replays that showed the viewing audience the ball on the ground. And after looking at his team's videotape on Sunday, Richt thinks the SEC might have gotten it wrong. "I'd say it's questionable whether it was a catch or not," Richt said.

Go ahead. Fire me.

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks, 7-21 at UK and 1-4 this season, used his Monday press conference to let everyone know he isn't going to resign. Brooks is in the third year of a five-year contract that pays him $750,000 annually. If he quits, he gets noting. If he is fired, he gets paid the remaining $1.5 million that he's owed. "I'm not going to walk out on the players that I recruited and this program that I'm trying to turn around," Brooks said. "I'm planning on being here. I haven't seen anybody affirm that I am." UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart is non-committal. ... Vanderbilt has lost three straight after a 4-0 start, but the four-game win streak is helping recruiting. Last season, just 20 prospects took visits to any single Vanderbilt home game. That has more than doubled every home games this year. The Commodores already have eight commitments. "If we get guys on campus, we're going to have a good shot at them," Vandy coach Bobby Johnson said.

Triple threat

How 'about this for a play-by-play call? "Quarterback Syvelle Newton takes the snap, tosses a pitchout to tailback Sylvelle Newton, he throws an option pass to ... receiver Sylvelle Newton for a South Carolina touchdown!" Newton is expected to play all three positions on Saturday against Vanderbilt, but unfortunately for Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, not all three positions at once. Newton will start at tailback. ... You know it's getting bad for Tennessee's offense when Vols' coach Phillip Fulmer can't even go through the lunch line where his players eat. "I've got the lady in the cafeteria trying to tell me some things," Fulmer said. Fulmer couldn't be more specific, but there might be a new play in the playbook called "Biscuits Go Long."