SEC BUZZ

THE SCOOP

First it was former Georgia All-American David Pollack, now an ESPN analyst, who said outright that a woman — former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — shouldn’t be on the new college football playoff selection committee. He later clarified it to say he meant to say that someone who lives and breathes football should be on the committee.

Rice’s name was mentioned last weekend as a likely candidate.

Then former Auburn coach Pat Dye joined the criticism, saying Rice wasn’t qualified because she had never drawn a play in the dirt.

One West Coast media wag said that’s like saying legendary author Shelby Foote wasn’t qualified to write about the Civil War because he didn’t fight at Gettysburg.

Just for the record: Rice grew up in Alabama as the only daughter of a high school football coach and athletic director. After her dad joined the University of Denver faculty, members of the Denver Broncos who visited the Rice home were amazed at her acumen for X’s and O’s. Her dream job? NFL commissioner.

CAUTION AHEAD

Western Carolina coach Mark Speir talked about playing Auburn and what he expects: “Out of the first two games — Middle Tennessee and Virginia Tech — we took some real positive things out of those games. You know, they can get ugly. Even in the Virginia Tech game, it’s 21-0 at halftime. We had actually outrushed Virginia Tech at halftime, and our offense had thrown a pick-six, so our defense had only given up 14 points. We moved the ball pretty well against Middle Tennessee State and did some good things in the kicking game that created some momentum for us. So even with a loss, you can always take some positives.

OFF THE FIELD

• An effort is underway to prevent littering on St. Simons Island beach the Friday before the annual Georgia-Florida football game. Volunteers also are being sought to clear the beach of litter at the community beach sweep, which will be held at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 2 on St. Simons Island. The past several years, thousands of pounds of waste have been left on the beach after football fans and visitors tailgate and celebrate before the football game.
•   Tennessee's marching band has issued a statement saying it's in a "bitter battle" with the athletic department regarding a reduction in travel and a reduced role at home football games, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports. The Pride of the Southland Band said its travel budget was "slashed." The band also said it has been "reduced to playing the team's fight song after touchdowns and a few seconds of music in between plays" at home games while commercials and prerecorded music play at other times. The athletic department released its own statement, saying the band is "a much valued and integral part of the university" and that the band's operating budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year was reduced by only 0.8 percent.

BY THE NUMBERS