THE SCOOP
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said he didn’t tell linebacker Anthony Swain to fake an injury against Arkansas.
During Saturday’s game Swain walked a few feet after a play with two seconds left in the third quarter, then looked toward the sideline and crumpled to the ground clutching his right knee.
TV announcers said it appeared Swain faked an injury at the request of someone on Auburn’s sideline. Arkansas scored on the next play, but lost 35-17. Malzahn said he has “never told any player to fake an injury.”
He didn’t say whether Swain was injured, but promised “going forward there will be no more questionable issues.”
OH, BROTHER
Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen has completed 81 of 180 passes (45 percent) this season and thrown nine touchdowns and seven interceptions — while often scrambling under pressure behind an inexperienced offensive line and working with receivers who have dropped many passes.
He’s still No. 1 … for now.
“We see what he goes through,” coach Bret Bielema said. “We know what he’s dealing with. In my opinion, he has probably shown me as much to assure me that he is for sure the best player for the job right now. Any criticism he gets is just people that don’t have knowledge.”
Bielema’s “right now” comment was an indication that Allen will face competition for the starting spot, likely from younger brother Austin Allen — a freshman who has yet to play this season.
NOTABLE
- Kendarius Webster, an AJC Super 11 cornerback from Stockbridge High School, committed to Ole Miss over Florida State, among others, he told the AJC's Michael Carvell in a text message.
- Belk has a new six-year agreement through 2019 in place to sponsor the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. It will feature an SEC vs. ACC matchup at Bank of America Stadium.
- Florida coach Will Muschamp confirmed that director of player personnel Jon Haskins has resigned. He said there is no timetable for hiring his replacement. "I'm busy coaching the team and don't have a whole lot of time," Muschamp said.
- Some Missouri students are criticizing hometown fans for booing a reference to President Obama during a halftime ceremony honoring new members of the Missouri National Guard. Booing broke out at halftime Saturday when the new Guard members were instructed as part of their sworn oath to "obey the orders of the president of the United States." State Rep. Clem Smith said that booing fans "disrespected the proud men and women of our nation's great military."
HE SAID IT
“There’s no doubt about that — just the fact that they were able to beat a South Carolina team and had a chance to beat Georgia, both at home. Of course, that’s what I’m looking at. They’re a different team at home, and we know that we are going to get their best.” — Malzahn on Tennessee.
BY THE NUMBERS
22 Consecutive losses by Vanderbilt against Florida
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