Yesterday afternoon news officially broke that ESPN had signed Paul Finebaum to a five year contract. The deal calls for 100 TV appearances a year and a simulcast of Finebaum's radio show on the upcoming SEC Network, set to debut in August of 2014.

It's a smart decision that fills up several hours of programming year-around on the upcoming SEC Network. Putting radio shows on television works pretty well already and is a cost-effective duality. ESPN pioneered the strategy in sports with multiple shows now airing daily and NBC and CBS have followed up on the decision, placing Dan Patrick and Tim Brando front and center on the NBC Sports Network and the CBS Sports Network. It would be a pretty big shocker if Fox didn't also have a radio show on television when FoxSports1 and FoxSports2 debut this August.   

But the biggest aspect of this deal is the message that the SEC is sending to the college sports universe. 

Tuscaloosa will be the site of the biggest SEC football game in years. Just be careful where you head post-game. In fact, you might want to knock the Tuscaloosa Waffle House off the itinerary. At least if this video offers any indication of what it might be like.

The most confusing thing about this fight is trying to figure out which side is which. Also, Good Lord, can you imagine if you were a wasted Alabama student and you just went to Waffle House to grab some waffles? Look out. These dudes just got scattered, smothered, and diced.

Come November 5th, how about this name for the contest: The T-Town Waffle House Brawl?

Roll Tide?

With Missouri to the SEC all but done, the male soap opera of conference realignment turns back to the Big 12 and the Big East. Namely, what the hell are these conferences going to do? Missouri's departure will leave the Big 12 with nine members. It also means that the Big 12 will face a tremendous scheduling quandary in 2012 that's almost as complicated as the SEC's trouble with 13 teams would have been. That's because the Big 12 currently plays a round-robin slate that sees each Big 12 member playing every other member for a total of nine conference games. (In basketball each Big 12 member plays every other team home-and-home for a total of 18 games).

Meanwhile, it's feeding season on the Big East again. Just as the Big East had hoped it would be able to solidify through the addition of new schools like Navy, Air Force, Central Florida and Boise State, Missouri departs and puts the Big East back in danger once again.

What does all this mean? Let's try and play some conference dominoes and consider what's likely to happen from here:

Yesterday LSU and Alabama both won to set up the SEC's first ever #1 vs. #2 showdown. Today CBS announced that it was taking the extraordinary step of moving a 2:30 central telecast to primetime at seven in the evening. The South is already treating the game -- which comes with a convenient bye week to increase the hype -- as a Super Bowl. By the time gameday arrives in Tuscaloosa, it will be like Mardi Gras in November. This game has the potential to be talked about for generations.

That's why it was surprising that the ticket market isn't that hot yet.

Particularly when you consider the fervency of the LSU and Alabama fan bases. Given that Tuscaloosa is an easy five hour drive from Baton Rouge and only four hours from New Orleans, the get-in price for the game isn't bad at all.

Last night during the UCLA-Arizona football game a brawl broke out. The cause of the brawl? A fake ref streaker. Seriously. Entering from the sideline a student dressed as a fake ref provoked confusion. In a move reminiscent of Jimmy Hart, the fake ref distracted the real refs and a brawl ensued. As streaking goes, this is a pretty impressive achievement. First, the play is blown dead. Second, the "ref" escapes For a moment anyway. Third, the Arizona student section is pretty stoked. Fourth, how do you think Mike Stoops reacted when he saw this? Fifth, how many times do you think this cop will replay his tackle? Go back and watch this a few times, he waits until the student isn't facing him to make his move.

ESPN cameras cut away from the incident, but now you can watch a student identified as Jacen Lankow, rush on the field, and be tackled -- flattened really -- by security. Why can you watch? Because his friends taped it from the the student section.

Don't worry, there's no nudity.

Basically what we're trying to say here at OKTC is, get the hell out of the office, it's the weekend.

Sorry it's been so long since I've written anything....seems like Clay is hogging all the time on here!  That, and I haven't really had anything worth saying that hadn't already been said (much better) by someone else. However, with the SEC quarterbacks dropping like flies, I believe it's time to create a new Hotness Ranking - but this time, for the head coaches. I figure these are the guys with a little more longevity. Except for maybe Joker Phillips.

Sorry, man.  

The Head Honchos of college football have a lot going for them - fame, fortune, and in most cases, talent. But what about looks? Just like the boys they coach, these men have varying levels of hotness. Some look like they belong on the cover of GQ, while at least one looks like he would fit in better as a zombie dancer in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video.  

When I rated the SEC quarterbacks, the guys were graded based on their official team picture to keep things relatively fair. This time, I've gone through Google Images to pick out the photos of the coaches that either made me swoon, cringe, or laugh out loud. There's no fairness and a lot of partiality, but it's my article so I don't care. :)  

Ladies and gentlemen, in no particular order, I give you the Coaches of the SEC.

As we near Missouri's invite to become the SEC's 14th -- a likelihood first reported by this site back in early September -- one of the most consistent tropes in the anti-Missouri and anti-Texas A&M to the SEC argument is that Texas A&M and Missouri can't compete in football. I think that argument is completely wrong. Now, if you're arguing that Missouri and Texas A&M won't win many SEC titles, that may well be true. After all, in an SEC championship game era that now spans nearly twenty years three schools have never been to the SEC title game: Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Ole Miss and three more schools have never won a title: Arkansas, Mississippi State, and South Carolina. (Arkansas has been three times while the other two schools have each been once).  

Six schools have won titles, the so-called traditional powers of SEC football: Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee, have won all 19 of the SEC titles and comprise 33 of the 38 total appearances.

If you look at this grouping you'd say that Missouri football has more in common with Arkansas, Mississippi State, and South Carolina than it does the traditional powers. I'd argue that with the benefit of being in the SEC, A&M will have more in common with the six traditional powers, but that remains to be seen. Regardless, lazy analysts and media critical of Missouri and Texas A&M's move to the SEC are saying that neither school will be able to compete in football. (To be fair you hear this more about Missouri than Texas A&M, but you definitely hear it a ton about both).  

Like Vinnie Verno, I think the opening line in the Arkansas-Ole Miss line -- 15.5 -- is a gift from the Gods. I have no idea who is looking at Ole Miss's roster and continuing to believe the Rebels have a chance to keep this game close. Can Vinnie Verno get to 5-0 for a change? I'm not sure, but you know who is really rolling up an unbelievable record this fall? My guys at the Prediction Machine. Try over 70% right so far this season. Plus, they project fantasy stats, survivor leagues, you name it and they absolutely kill everyone else in the market.

You can go to his site here for free picks, fantasy news and whatnot. He's hitting right at 70% against the spread right now.

And now, the one, the only Vinnie Verno.

The Tennessee Titans will take on the Houston Texans this weekend in the biggest Titans game in two years. Win and the Titans are sitting pretty, a full two game lead in the division with ten to play. Lose and the Titans fall to second place, a full game back with the tiebreaker out the window. So this is a massive game. One the Titans absolutely, positively, have to win.

Our guy Paul comes on 3 Hour Lunch every week and breaks down tons of games for us. Every week he also gives OKTC a full box score preview of the upcoming game for the Titans. Here is this week's game.

He also offers picks, as you can see based on 50,000 computer simulations, against the spread. Something he's damn good at. In fact, right now he's over 70% against the spread in NFL games.

You can go to his site here for free picks, fantasy news and whatnot. He's hitting right at 70% against the spread right now.

 Here's his breakdown on Titans-Texans.

Again, he does this for every NFL game and most college games. It's amazing how detailed it is.

Today the SEC announced that Georgia defensive back Shawn Williams and defensive lineman Kwame Geathers along with Vanderbilt center Logan Stewart have all been suspended for the first half of their next games. The Geathers and Stewart suspension was for a cut block by Stewart and the resulting personal foul after Geathers punched Stewart. Williams was suspended for "a flagrant personal foul which occurred at the 2:08 mark in the third quarter. Williams' act violated Rule 9-1-4 of the NCAA Football Rule Book, which reads, “No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, elbow or shoulder.'" 

OKTC has learned it was Williams' dirty hit on defenseless Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews that led to the confrontation after the game. OKTC has also obtained video of the play and you'll need to really watch closely, but the illegal hit, for which no flag was thrown, is incredibly violent. Indeed, it may have led to an ejection -- and certainly would have led to a fine or suspension -- if it had happened in the NFL. Not surprisingly, SEC officials missed the call completely. (Watch the video, there is literally a ref standing three feet away from the hit staring right at it. How do you miss this call?)

The video is posted here. Instead of watching the ball, you'll need to watch near the first down line as Vandy's sophomore receiver Jordan Matthews crosses the field and is leveled well after the ball sails past for a 23 yard completion down the right sideline. Indeed, Matthews had already stopped his route and turned to watch the football thrown to another receiver. As you watch the play, you'll be able to see that Williams hit a defenseless receiver, who wasn't the intended target of the pass, while leaving his feet and leading with his helmet. As if that wasn't enough Williams also struck the receiver in the head. Subsequent to this play OKTC has learned that Williams also grabbed his groin on multiple occasions in the direction of the Vandy coaching staff and taunted players for the remainder of the game, including after the final play of Georgia's 33-28 victory. Perhaps this is why Georgia coach Mark Richt called him a "dumbass" and his behavior "horseshit" in a post-game conversation with Vanderbilt coach James Franklin.    

Two Conference Games to Watch   Alabama at Tennessee (7:15 ET/ESPN2) –

"The Third Saturday in October" once again takes place a week late on the calendar as the Tide and Vols square off in one of the South's oldest rivalries. In a series defined over the past 40 years by its streaks, Alabama looks to improve its current run to five straight and six of the past seven. From 1971-81, Bear Bryant's Tide owned the Vols by claiming 11 straight wins. Tennessee took the next five during the mid-80s, and Alabama took back control with a nine-game unbeaten streak (with a tie in 1993 thrown in.) Phil Fulmer put his mark on the Tennessee program by dominating Alabama from 1995-2004, losing only once in that span, and claiming a national title at the peak of the run in 1998.

Alabama enters the game a prohibitive favorite - some outlets are giving Tennessee as many as 30 points, and the lines keep inching higher after opening at 27.5 - but two of the past three games in this series played in Tuscaloosa featured a highly-favored Alabama hanging on for a win as the result of last-minute field goal attempts. In 2005, the Tide was as good as dead until Corey Anderson fumbled a near-touchdown through the back of the endzone. A Jamie Christensen field goal a minute later sent Alabama home with a thrilling 6-3 win. In Alabama's championship run of 2009, the Tide had to block two Daniel Lincoln field goals - one bouncing off monstrous defensive tackle Terrance Cody's paw on the game's final play - to preserve a 12-10 'Bama win and thwart what would have been the greatest upset in series history. The takeaway here? At face value, this game looks like a blowout, but crazier things have (almost) happened in similar situations.