Alabama (26): The national champs added to their bounty by signing the No. 1 recruiting class, according to ESPN, and No. 2, according to Scout. Highly regarded defensive back Landon Collins, receiver Eddie Williams and running back T.J. Yeldon were expected to sign, but so did top defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson (Henry County) and Korren Kirven, who choose Alabama over Virginia Tech.

NEW ORLEANS  — Lawyers for an Alabama man accused of committing sexual battery on an unconscious LSU fan after the BCS championship football game say it's mind-boggling that police and prosecutors would give substantial energy and attention to the matter.

Arnett Moultrie can’t sneak up on opponents anymore. His success at Mississippi State means he can’t score his points on what he called garbage baskets, like he once did. Moultrie was a forgotten name after transferring from Texas-El Paso and sitting out last season, but SEC coaches now have to formulate strategies to stop the 6-foot-11 junior from Memphis, who had averaged 16.

An opinion piece in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, headlined “Tim Tebow’s Role Model,” invited readers to remember that the position of faith-based quarterback was not invented by the Denver Bronco who ate Sports Center. There was before Tebow another highly decorated former Florida Gators quarterback who won games and competed for souls.

For a team that played for a national championship a year ago, Auburn’s Chick-fil-A Bowl appearance Saturday night against Virginia might seem to leave a little to be desired for the Tigers. So why can’t freshman running back Tre Mason wipe the smile off his face? One man’s rebuilding year is another man’s opportunity.

Somehow X’s and O’s don’t cut it when it comes to describing what makes Virginia’s Mike London the coach he is. Traditional measures of success such as the Cavaliers’ turnaround from a 4-8 record in 2010, his first season, to 8-4 in 2011, along with an invitation to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, can’t really calibrate what makes him successful.

JONESBORO, Ark.  — Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will be the new football coach at Arkansas State. Sports information director Jerry Scott said that Malzahn will be introduced as the new coach during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. "It's pretty incredible, it should be a great ride," Scott said.

LSU and Alabama are the nation’s highest-ranked teams. It’s only appropriate they would have the two best players in the SEC. Alabama running back Trent Richardson was a unanimous choice for offensive player of the year, while LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu took the honor as top defensive player on The Associated Press All-SEC team released Monday.

The 44th Chick-fil-A Bowl will match Virginia against Auburn at 7:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve at the Georgia Dome. The invitations were accepted by Virginia and Auburn officials during a conference call Sunday afternoon. The schools have met twice (1998, 1997) with each school winning once.

There's good news for Georgia fans who want to watch the Bulldogs and LSU in the Georgia Dome Saturday night. Ticket prices for the SEC Championship Game are falling on the secondary ticket market -- unless you're looking for a luxury suite. "We've actually seen a fairly dramatic decline in ticket prices to the game .

Auburn, Ala. --Maybe Alabama's Trent Richardson can turn the Iron Bowl into a showcase for the Heisman Trophy and other national awards. Perhaps Auburn's Mike Dyer can simply shine on the national scene once again. The tailbacks are the Southeastern Conference's top two rushers going into Saturday's Iron Bowl, but they haven't exactly shared the spotlight this season.

You can still get tickets to Saturday night's Alabama-LSU game -- the latest "game of the century." But you might have to take out a second mortgage to buy them. SeatGeek.com -- a website that tracks ticket prices from a variety of sources -- says the average ticket price for the game -- matching No.

Tim Tebow returns to familiar ground Sunday as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos against the Miami Dolphins. Tebow, in his second NFL season, has played in what is now called Sun Life Stadium twice before, where he led teams to a state high school championship and a college football national title.

Stephen Garcia, the troubled South Carolina quarterback, has been kicked off the team, according to published reports. The State newspaper is reporting that head coach Steve Spurrier dismissed Garcia for failing to live up to the terms of his reinstatement from a previous suspension.

Auburn's eagle apparently wanted a pricier view. The eagle Spirit flew into the glass window of a luxury box during his pre-kickoff flyaround before Saturday's game between Auburn and No. 16 Mississippi State. Seemingly unharmed, the bird then flew over the stands behind an end zone as fans ducked.

South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore has nearly been lost in the offseason antics of quarterback Stephen Garcia and the hype surrounding receiver and Sports Illustrated cover boy Alshon Jeffery. While most of the attention has been focused on Garcia and Jeffery, much of the Gamecocks’ optimism revolves around Lattimore, who rushed for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman in 2010.

Coach Nick Saban is being mighty secretive about who will start at quarterback for Alabama this season. AJ McCarron and Phillip Sims are battling to replace Greg McElroy, but it has been tough to gauge who has the upper hand because Saban isn’t saying much.

The votes are in, and once again Oklahoma is the team to beat in college football. However, the SEC is again the power conference. The Sooners debuted Saturday at No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll for the 10th time, more than any other team in history.

Talk about police brutality. If you're a college football fan in Alabama, there could scarcely be happier news than hearing that you've won tickets to the Iron Bowl, the annual hate-fest between Auburn and Alabama that many consider the most heated rivalry in sports.

Auburn University students and fans worried that the tradition of “rolling” the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner after Tiger football victories had ended can rest easy – for now. The stately oaks were poisoned last fall, allegedly by a fan of rival University of Alabama, and the university announced Thursday morning that while it won’t be known until at least next spring whether the trees will survive, the tradition of covering the trees with toilet paper will continue this fall.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An incoming South Carolina freshman linebacker has been charged with underage drinking in Columbia. Police said 18-year-old Edward Muldrow was in the Five Points entertainment district last Thursday when an officer noticed him with a bottle of beer.

College football fans, rejoice. As of this week, you can officially pronounce the 2011 season underway. No, the actual games don’t kickoff for another six weeks. But the intriguing ritual of preseason propaganda and prognostication begins in earnest Wednesday in Hoover, Ala.

Randy Cross had a decorated professional football career, one complete with three Super Bowl rings and three Pro Bowl selections. But this weekend, he’ll be recognized for his collegiate career at UCLA when he is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

Former Alabama quarterback Vince Sutton is awaiting a kidney transplant. The 44-year-old Sutton was accepted onto a donor's list after former teammates took him to UAB Hospital two weeks ago with failing kidneys and pancreas. Sutton tells The Birmingham News that he is waiting by the phone daily but says he knows there are a number of people ahead of him on the list.

Alabama and Virginia Tech are coming back to Atlanta. The schools have agreed to play in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game to launch the 2013 college football season. The Kickoff game annually matches two top teams at the Georgia Dome to open the season. The 2013 game, on a yet-to-be determined date, will be a rematch of the 2009 Kickoff game when No.