Oct 242011
 

LSU and Alabama are on a collision course as the SEC rivals own the top two spots in this week’s BCS standings, two weeks before they meet in a Nov. 5 showdown.

The Tigers and Crimson Tide both remained No. 1 and No. 2 in the second installment of this year’s BCS standings and are similarly configured in the latest AP poll.

The undefeated national title contenders both are off this coming week before the prime-time affair in Tuscaloosa.

Unbeatens Oklahoma State, Boise State and Clemson rounded out the top five with Stanford coming in at No. 6.

At No. 7, Oregon is the highest rated one-loss team in the BCS.

The Sooners, who stood at No. 3 in last week’s BCS standings tumbled to No. 9 after losing at home to previously unranked Texas Tech.

A last-second loss at Michigan State cost the Badgers nine spots as they fell from No. 6 to No. 15.

Oklahoma has a chance to regain some ground in the BCS standings as they next play unbeaten Kansas State which moved up to No. 8 this week.

Arkansas, No. 9 last week, fell back a spot to round out the top 10.

Rarely better than No. 2 in its own state, Oklahoma State is now the Big 12′s best bet to play for a national championship.

The Cowboys moved up to third Sunday in the BCS standings, replacing rival Oklahoma as the team behind LSU and Alabama best positioned to reach the national title game. It’s Oklahoma State’s best showing in the BCS standings.

The winner of the LSU-Alabama showdown will have the inside track to reach the BCS Championship Game in New Orleans.

The Southeastern Conference has had at least one team first or second in 26 of the last 27 standings, dating to Dec. 2, 2007.

The BCS standings use the coaches’ poll, the Harris poll and a compilation of six computer ratings to determine which teams play in the five marquee bowls, including the championship game.

Oklahoma State was ranked first in the computer rankings, third in the Harris poll and fourth in the coaches’ poll for a BCS average of .9240.

Boise State was at .8302, Clemson was .8240 and Stanford .8124.

For now, they are chasing the Cowboys, hoping for them to slip up.

Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmo

via BCS Standings — LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide are top two teams ahead of SEC showdown – ESPN.

 Posted by at 2:14 pm
Oct 242011
 

Two key members of the Atlanta Falcons accused Detroit Lions defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril of taunting quarterback Matt Ryan after what initially appeared to be a serious leg injury during Sunday’s 23-16 Atlanta win.

According to Falcons center Todd McClure and receiver Roddy White, both Suh and Avril prodded and mocked Ryan after Falcons offensive lineman Will Svitek stepped on Ryan’s ankle.

Ryan went down and immediately grabbed his leg, and according to the Falcons players, Avril kicked the feet of the Atlanta quarterback and mockingly called for trainers to cart Ryan off the field.

“I lost a whole lot of respect for 90 [Suh] today, and also 92 [Cliff Avril], the [expletive] they were doing when Matt got hurt,” White told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That was unacceptable. … Like 92 was kicking [Ryan's] feet, saying, ‘Get him off the field.’ We don’t do stuff like that. … When you compete, you never want to see a guy get hurt.”

Ryan eventually walked off under his own power and headed down the tunnel, but returned during the team’s next offensive possession. He will have an MRI on his foot Monday.

McClure singled out Suh, who has begun to develop a reputation as a dirty player, for his actions when Ryan appeared hurt.

“I had respect for Suh before the game,” McClure told The Journal-Constitution. “But when Matt was on the ground, the things [Suh] was saying and the trash he was talking was definitely uncalled for. There are certain things you don’t do. [He said], ‘Get the cart’ and several other things that I can’t repeat.”

Suh had not responded to the Falcons’ accusations as of early Monday morning, but Avril defended himself on Twitter.

NFC South blog

ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas writes about all things NFC South in his division blog.

o Blog network: NFL Nation”Come on I’m not in the business of hurting not one guy on the field… I would never taunt anyone on an injury…,” Avril wrote Sunday night.

The fourth-year player followed that with a tweet seemingly accusing the Falcons of dirty play.

Avril continued, “But if we want to talk about dirty players look at the film and see who prides themselves on being durty…”

Suh was fined $20,000 this preseason after roughing up Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. And he was fined twice last year for hits on Chicago’s Jay Cutler during the regular season and Cleveland’s Jake Delhomme in a pres

via Atlanta Falcons accuse Detroit Lions’ Ndamukong Suh, Cliff Avril of taunting hurt Matt Ryan – ESPN.

 Posted by at 2:10 pm
Oct 242011
 

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton didn’t offer a specific injury update on tailback Mark Ingram, who suffered a bruised heel in Sunday night’s 62-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Payton did say, however, that Ingram’s status could affect whether or not the team decides to activate tailback Chris Ivory from the physically-unable-to-perform list.

“It would be predicated on where we feel we’re at with Mark,” said Payton, who said he wants to see how Ingram feels 24-48 hours after the game.

The Saints can wait up to two more weeks before they return Ivory to practice. Then once he practices for the first time, they can wait up to 21 days before they have to add him to the active roster. Or, if needed, they can activate him immediately.

If Ingram is expected to be back within a week or less, the Saints probably won’t rush things with Ivory, who has not practiced once this year after undergoing foot and sports hernia surgeries. But if Ingram is expected to be out for an extended period of time, they could speed up Ivory’s timetable. By all accounts, he is fully healthy.

via New Orleans Saints tailback Mark Ingram’s injury could affect Chris Ivory’s status – New Orleans Saints Football NFL News – NOLA.com.

 Posted by at 2:06 pm