It's no secret that Johnny Manziel is Outkick the Coverage's favorite SEC football player of all time. 

But even we continue to be amazed by his feats of athletic excellence.

Last night he homered during San Diego Padres batting practice while wearing jeans and boat shoes. Then he executed one of the most amazing first pitches in history.

How so?

He reenacted his fumbled touchdown pass against Alabama.

Really, he did.

Watch.  

Knoxville, TN

Knoxville was rocking, Neyland Stadium was shaking, and the Vols had just foiled a fake Gator punt and taken over at the UF 47. With a seven point lead and two wide receivers that the Gators had been unable to cover all night, things were finally looking up for Derek Dooley's star crossed Volunteers. After eight long years, the Doolaid had never tasted sweeter. 

And then...

The Voltanic struck an iceberg. 

Tyler Bray was called for intentional grounding, effectively ending the drive before it started. 

The Vols punted into the end zone, Muschamp dodged any consequences from the fake punt, and Trey Burton lined up under center.

A run play was coming, right? 

Handicapping college football isn’t easy. There’s no shortcut to picking winners consistently, let’s not delude ourselves here. Factoring in travel, rivalries, situations, and biases frequently can leave everyone scratching their head the exact same way you would after a blackout experience: Umm, how did I get here and when did things go so wrong? 

Last night we had the tent set up in the backyard because my four-year old wanted to camp outside.

So we went into the tent around eight at night. We had everything we'd need: Scooby Doo snacks, a pair of flashlights, and water bottles. Things went well for about an hour and then we were on our fourth story and my son said he wanted "a really spooky story this time." So I made up a story about a ghost who lost his leg in a whale attack -- I figure why not start a little literary history early? -- and walked around all night long looking for his lost leg. About four minutes into the story my son just flipped out, he climbed out of the covers, made straight for the exit of the tent, sprinted up the back porch stairs, ran up the stairs into the house without stopping to talk to his mom, and curled up in his bed.

When I caught up with him and asked why he was so scared, he said, "Daddy, he might think his leg is in our tent!"

So our beaver pelt trader of the week is Fox, my four year old, because I feel bad about scaring him. But he has a real leg up on "Moby Dick." 

Now on to the mailbag.

Last week Vinnie Verno went 2-1.

Buoyed by massive success, he's back talking trash this week diving into several big games -- not least of which is Florida vs. Tennessee. But Vinnie Verno also dives in with Alabama at Arkansas and Texas at Ole Miss. Who wins and, more importantly, who makes the money?

Dive in below to find out.

When part one of Dixieland Delight: Missouri ended, we were standing on the sidewalk at one in the morning, no cabs in sight with the bars emptying hordes of Georgia and Mizzou fans into the street, and I'd taken to Twitter to send this message:

"Okay, new strategy. 10th and Cherry. First Mizzou person in car, $50 to get us to Days Inn. 4 miles away. Yes, Days Inn. Pimp style."

We needed a ride, badly.

But, first, let me include a bit from Shiloh that I neglected last time.

16. On my first trip to the Shiloh bathroom at around 9:15 a Mizzou fan is throwing up in the toilet.

Another Mizzou fan is completely disgusted. "F---," he says, "a Mizzou fan has already thrown up. Now Georgia fans are going to be saying we can't hang in the SEC." 

This. Was. Awesome. 

Now flash forward, to the three of us standing outside on a street corner in Columbia.  

My Facebook news feed is good for two things:

1)   Arguments about politics.

2)   Arguments about college football.

Written By: Steve Layman   Jim Delany made the move that started the college football realignment carousel. It was a move he didn't make that will bring the carousel essentially to a stop with Notre Dame as a non-football playing member of the ACC and not a member of the Big Ten.

This morning ESPN's Brett McMurphy broke the news that Notre Dame would join the ACC for all major sports except football. The Irish would play five football games against the ACC, which isn't that big of a stretch considering that Notre Dame has played four ACC schools -- counting Pitt -- this season and last. More significant than the addition of Notre Dame is the new $50 million buyout, which, if written effectively -- unlike the Big 12's disastrous bylaws -- would ensure that no ACC teams will be leaving over the next decade or so.

Indeed, Notre Dame's decision is likely to represent the final substantial move in the past couple of years worth of conference realignment.

Believe it or not, I think we're headed for a decade of stability in terms of conference realignment.

Why is that the case?

Dive in below and we'll explain.

Vegas Tailgate: Why football, drinking, and gambling go hand in hand