Staying healthy key to success in SEC

Welcome to the last half of SEC football, 2008.

Not only do the strong survive, but the healthier teams in particular.

Three key players, including the SEC's leading rusher, probably won't play this weekend.

Out of action for sure is Alabama defensive nose guard Terrence "Mount" Cody and Kentucky running back Derrick Locke. Both players have sprained medial collateral knee ligaments.

On the bubble is Arkansas running back Michael Smith, who suffered a concussion late in Saturday's loss at Kentucky.

'Bama's defense might be good enough to survive without Cody for a couple of weeks. Sophomore nose guard Josh Chapman will replace him on Saturday at Tennessee.

"I guess my job is just to try to bring the same thing that he brought to the table," Chapman said of Cody.

"He brings a lot of energy out there. He's a funny guy. I guess I can throw a couple jokes out there to try to help the team. I can't jump on a pile like he did. He was like a little frog out there, or a big frog."

The Razorbacks desperately need Smith, the SEC's leading rusher, who had his second straight game of 30 or more carries. He ran for 192 yards on 35 carries and one touchdown and also caught a TD pass against Kentucky.

With Smith sidelined in the last 10 minutes, the Arkansas offense gained only 11 yards over its final three drives.

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino is hopeful Smith will be ready to go Saturday against Ole Miss.

"He's (Smith) doing better," Petrino said Monday afternoon. "He improved Saturday night, (Sunday) and (Monday) morning. It will still be a situation where it's day to day, whether he'll practice ... or not. It's still always a wait and see. He has a couple of things he has to make sure of; he has to pass the tests that they give him."

Alabama coach Nick Saban has some other worries besides losing Cody.

He has to fight the distraction of his team being No. 2 in the first BCS rankings, and he believes his team has the maturity to handle that. But 'Bama's Achilles heel lately has been its weak second-half efforts.

In its last three victories, over Ole Miss, Kentucky and Georgia, Alabama has led, 69-3, in the first half and gotten outscored, 61-13, in the second half. For the season, Alabama leads, 171-13, before halftime and trails, 82-51, after halftime.

"When a guy goes for a pit-stop in a NASCAR race, the guy has to re-focus, re-center, gets his car all straightened out, maybe get some new strategy, then he has to go back to race," Saban said. "That's what we have to do when we have a timeout or a halftime. The focus needs to be on dominating the person in front of you and not looking at the scoreboard and letting it affect how you play."

Elsewhere in the SEC

Rumors have apparently circulated enough on the Internet to prompt Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville to address them in the opening comments of Monday's news conference. Tuberville said he had received calls and e-mails during Auburn's open week inquiring about his health, but said he has not had the rumored stroke and had a full physical three months ago. "I appreciate the sympathy cards for my illnesses and all that, but please don't send any flowers," Tuberville said. Tuberville said he and Auburn officials did not negotiate a contract settlement during the open date and he isn't quitting. "I get call after call with people asking, 'Are you going to quit?' I'm not a quitter," he said. ... As much as anything, Arkansas got done in during Saturday's 21-20 loss at Kentucky by 13 penalties for 102 yards. Many of the infractions were for illegal formations, illegal shifts and false starts. One of the penalties wiped out Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick's 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Petrino thought some of the calls were questionable. "I'd like to see those (illegal shift penalties on tape)," Petrino said. "They were saying that the receiver wasn't getting set out there. All called from one side of the field."... It's pretty darned good when you can run a trick play and it works for a touchdown, even when the other team knows it's coming. Ole Miss fullback Jason Cook scored on a fake field goal in Saturday's 24-20 loss at Alabama. "We all knew on the sidelines that they were going to fake it," Saban said. "I mean how many times do you see the holder walk up and tell the offensive line that it's a play?" Alabama linebacker Cory Reamer felt left out of the loop. "Well, I didn't know it was coming," he said. "Obviously the coaches and everybody else did."... South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson wasn't happy that LSU's constant substitutions on offense and subsequent quick snaps often prevented South Carolina from bringing in its subs. That seemed to grate on Johnson, especially since LSU won, 24-17. "I don't mean to sound like sour grapes," Johnson said, "but I think the game right now is about to get too gimmicky. It's more about what coaches can do to trick each other than it is about players performing. A lot of the things tonight did not have anything to do with football. It had to do with trickery. But certainly there were times when they lined up and controlled that line of scrimmage and whipped us."... LSU had nine sacks on the season prior to Saturday's win at South Carolina in which the Tigers had six. What happened? Co-defensive coordinators Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto came up with a defensive line that consisted of LSU's four best pass rushers, and all are defensive ends -- Kirston Pittman and Rahim Alem on the outside and Tyson Jackson and Tremaine Johnson on the inside. "That's something that the defensive staff came up with and looked for the opportunity to get our best rushers on the field," said LSU coach Les Miles. "And boy, it paid some dividends." South Carolina gained all of 42 yards in the second half, including minus-7 yards in the fourth quarter. ... The list of Georgia players arrested since January expanded to 10 over the weekend. Georgia defensive tackle Brandon Wood will not play against LSU this week after being arrested early Sunday on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. "Brandon made that mistake, and he'll pay the price," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. The coach was non-committal on whether Wood would be allowed to play against Florida on Nov. 1.

Around the nation

In his weekly blog on Yahoo.com, former Auburn coach Terry Bowden, despite his misgivings about criticizing a family member, agreed that it was time for his brother Tommy to be fired. "So, did Tommy Bowden deserve what happened to him? Unfortunately, yes," Terry Bowden wrote. "He deserved it because he, of all people, knew what to expect when he got into this business. We grew up in it. He knew what to expect when he went to Clemson. He knew that no matter where you go, there is an expectation of success that must be met. After nine years at Clemson, he knew exactly what those expectations were, and he knew they had not been met."

Some information from wire services.