TENNESSEE VS. AUSTIN PEAY
6 p.m.
Line: No line
Vols’ Neal has chip on shoulder
Senior Rajion Neal is coping with a bruised ego a year after an injured ankle ended his quest to become the SEC’s leading rusher. He was at 708 yards and five touchdowns when he was injured.
Neal, of Sandy Creek High, attributes his attitude to new running backs coach Robert Gillespie, who is toughening Tennessee’s most experienced offensive playmaker by pointing out all of his shortcomings.
“He puts a chip on your shoulder,” Neal said. “He kind of keeps it real, uncut and raw, no sugarcoating, no rubbing me the right way and making me feel good. It’s truly what everybody potentially may really feel or think about me.”
Neal and running back Marlin Lane are two of the only proven skill-position players on the Tennessee offense.
“My job is to coach, critique and correct,” Gillespie said. “My job is to find one thing for you to get better at, and once you get better at it, I’ll find the next thing that you’ve got to get better at.”
“He tells me I’m stiff, I can’t block,” Neal said. “He says I’m not fast. He pretty much told me I’m not a good tailback.”
Neal’s early-season performance last year suggested otherwise.
Five weeks into the season, Neal ranked second in the SEC with 460 total yards rushing and fourth in the league with 92 yards rushing per game. But he injured an ankle Oct. 13 in a 41-31 loss at Mississippi State and wasn’t as effective upon his return.
Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker told staff writer Michael Carvell that he expects the best for his former player. “He came by once or twice this summer. … He looked like he was in top physical condition. He had been working hard. … He’s always had a really good work ethic when it came to the weight room, and all those different things. We don’t expect anything but the best from him.”
--
WESTERN KENTUCKY AT KENTUCKY
7 p.m., LP Field, Nashville, Tenn., ESPN News
Line: Kentucky by 4 1/2
Petrino back in the game
Bobby Petrino hasn’t had a week like this in almost 20 months.
He last prepared to coach a game in January 2012 at Arkansas, and the Razorbacks defeated Kansas State 29-16 in the Cotton Bowl. Four months later, the school dismissed Petrino for misleading officials about a motorcycle accident involving his mistress.
Petrino has found a reprieve at Western Kentucky and is back game-planning with a team coming off its first bowl game. In first games back he’ll square off against two former SEC foes, Kentucky and Tennessee.
After Saturday’s game in Nashville, they head to Knoxville the following week to face the Volunteers.
Petrino says he lives for such challenges and is just thankful to be back in the game. “I love going through the process and how we introduce what our schemes are, how we go out and practice it, how we have our players understand what our plan is and what we expect from our opponent.”
This next chapter in Petrino’s coaching career begins against Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, in his first head coaching position. Petrino comes in with a 4-1 record against the Wildcats as a coach at Louisville and Arkansas. He is 8-0 in season openers.
----
RICE AT NO. 7 TEXAS A&M
1 p.m., ESPN
Line: Texas A&M by 27
The eyes of Texas are on …
At stake: Texas A&M has its eyes on a national title in Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel's second season. But the Aggies will have to wait until the second half against Rice to see their star quarterback after he was suspended for a half on Wednesday for what the school called an "inadvertent" violation of NCAA rules by signing autographs.
In the spotlight: Texas A&M's offensive line vs. the Rice defensive line. Texas A&M's offensive line is expected to be strength of the team despite the loss of left tackle Luke Joeckel, the No. 2 overall NFL draft pick. Jake Matthews has moved to left tackle and will be joined on the line by little brother Mike Matthews at center. They are sons of NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews.
Be in the know: This is the first meeting between the teams since the Southwest Conference disbanded after the 1995 season. … They met every year from 1914-95. … Texas A&M has won 15 in a row against Rice with the Owls last victory coming in 1980. … Texas A&M has gained 400 or more yards in a school-record 12 consecutive games.
---
MISSISSIPPI STATE VS. No. 13 OKLAHOMA STATE
3:30 p.m., Reliant Stadium, Houston, ABC
Line: Oklahoma State by 13.
An early test for Mullen, Bulldogs
At stake: The favored Cowboys are the preseason favorite to win the Big 12. The Bulldogs have been to three consecutive bowl games and have won four consecutive openers.
In the spotlight: Oklahoma State's passing game against Mississippi State's secondary. The Cowboys likely will use two quarterbacks — senior Clint Chelf and sophomore J.W. Walsh — and both had success last season. The Bulldogs have three new starters in the secondary, including both cornerbacks.
Be in the know: Oklahoma State is averaging 46.2 points per game over the past three seasons and ranked in the top three nationally each season. … The Cowboys will have two new coordinators for the first time since 2005. Mike Yurcich will lead the offense and Glenn Spencer, the former West Georgia head coach and Georgia Tech player, is in charge of the defense. … Oklahoma State's defense has forced 130 turnovers since 2009, which ranks second nationally. … Mississippi State has won its four season openers under coach Dan Mullen by an average of 43.8 points.
---
TOLEDO AT NO. 10 FLORIDA
12:21 p.m., WPCH
Line: Florida by 24
Words with … Ronald Powell
Florida Gators junior linebacker, who led the team in sacks as a sophomore with six, will play his first game since the 2011 season when Toledo visits the Swamp:
Q: How have you handled the time away after two operations on a torn ACL in your left knee in five months?
A: Going through something like this and something you never thought you'd go through, it doesn't matter how humble you are, you get humbler. It's a different experience. You learn to find value in things you may not have valued before. … The most difficult thing is to not be able to play, to not know how I'm ever going to be playing again or if I ever will play again. Just that thought of losing something that you love you so much, which is the game we play, which is a lifestyle, it's scary. … I had to realize that life without football, it may come a time where it's life without football, so that was the hardest thing.
Q: What will your reaction be when you run onto Florida Field?
A: It's close. It's here. It's like my dream is about to come true again. To run out there again. So I'm just kind of excited and ready for what God's got in store for me.
