Smokey takes bite out of Tide receiver

Smokey chomped on Alabama freshman receiver Mike McCoy in the pre-game warm-ups when McCoy backpedaled into the dog.

Smokey’s senior handler Dial Chuddar, told Tennessee spokesman Bud Ford that Smokey was at least six yards off the field taking pictures with the UT cheerleaders. Everyone had their backs to the field when McCoy stepped on the dog, which lunged at McCoy’s legs and drew blood, according to Alabama coach Mike Shoal.

Ford said that Smokey goes to the veterinarian regularly and has received all his shots.

This is Smokey’s first altercation with a visiting player, but it isn’t a first for the SEC. Back in the ’90s, Georgia’s live bulldog mascot UGA took a bite at Auburn receiver Karsten Bailey during a game.

It isn’t known whether Smokey will make the road trip this week for the Vols when they play at South Carolina, coached by longtime Tennessee nemesis Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier, a native of Johnson City, certainly enjoys beating his homestate team. When he was asked in his Sunday teleconference if last year’s 16-15 victory over the Vols was one of his most satisfying, he immediately started naming other previous past victories over Tennessee that he enjoyed just as much.

"It was a big win for South Carolina (last year) at the time, because South Carolina had never won in Knoxville," Spurrier said. "It was a game of miracles. We had a lot of miracle plays. When you watch that (Tennessee) game on tape, you wonder how in the world can that bunch of guys lose six games last year?

"But I’d say the Duke 25, Tennessee 24 game in 1982 (when Spurrier was a Duke assistant) was also a lot of fun. And Duke 31, Tennessee 26, in 1988 (when Spurrier was Duke’s head coach) was a lot of fun, too. When you go in the other guy’s ballpark as an underdog and win, it’s a more memorable ballgame."

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer was asked in his Sunday teleconference by a South Carolina beat writer if he gets more motivated with Spurrier on the sideline across from him.

Fulmer’s reply: "He’s not going to play any, you know?"

AROUND THE SEC

Speaking of Carolina, receiver Sidney Rice came off a career-worst performance a week ago and caught seven passes for 89 yards and a TD.

"A lot of people tell me just to be patient, and that’s one thing I was doing. I wasn’t stressed," said Rice, a first-team, All-SEC pick in 2005 after breaking school receiving records with 1,143 yards and 13 touchdowns. ...

Arkansas’s Darren McFadden can do it all.

In the Hogs’ 38-3 wipeout of Ole Miss, McFadden lined up at quarterback in the shotgun formation on four plays. He ran each time after taking the snap, including a 4-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

"It just depended what game we would pull it out," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said.

"It’s good because he’s an old quarterback in high school and can handle the ball. He did a nice job with the snap count, he can hand it off or run it, so there are a couple of things we can work off that. It keeps (opponents) off balance a little bit and they have to spend time on it in practice."...

LSU receiver Dwayne Bowe impressed himself with his zigging and zagging 58-yard TD catch and run in the Tigers’ 38-6 win over Fresno State.

"I ran a great route and just made some great moves," said Bowe, who ran for more than 30 yards after the catch.

"I didn’t know I had it in me." A senior from Miami, Bowe had a game-high 106 receiving yards on four receptions. He has caught 37 passes on the season for a team-high 620 yards. ...

Ole Miss’ 35-point loss at Arkansas was the most lopsided in Ed Orgeron’s two seasons as head coach. The Rebels dropped to 1-8 on the road under Oregron and have lost eight straight road games. They also fell to 5-14 overall and 2-11 in SEC games under Orgeron. Ole Miss has lost 10 of the 14 games under Orgeron by 10 points or more. ...

Georgia fans weren’t happy on Saturday, during or after the ’Dogs 27-24 victory over Mississippi State. After Mohamed Massaquoi dropped his fourth pass of the day, there were a lot of boos. When he was removed from the game seconds later, wild applause and cheers broke out as Massaquoi trotted to the sideline. ...

Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge’s three-interception first half in Saturday’s 16-13 victory over Alabama looked like a flashback to his horrid ’05 season. But the second half, he wasn’t intercepted and finished with 302 yards on 28-of-46 passing.

"Erik did not play nearly as well as he has been playing — mistakes and misreads and just not throwing the football as well as he had," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said.

"But it was great to see him have the courage and the toughness to come back and play as well as he did the last drive or two in the fourth quarter."