SB Nation St. Louis: All Posts by Kevin Jeffers

Rams vs. Seahawks 2012: Game preview, kickoff time, TV schedule and more

2012-12-30T13:01:25Z

The St. Louis Rams aren't playing for a playoff spot Sunday in their season finale against the Seattle Seahawks, but there's still a good bit to play for. For one thing, the Rams have a shot at their first winning season since 2003.

The Rams (7-7-1) look to be the first road team to knock off the playoff-bound Seahawks at their home when they meet Sunday for a 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff at Qwest Field in Seattle. The Seahawks (10-5) are still playing for a chance at winning the NFC West. They'll need to beat the Rams and hope the Cardinals can upset the 49ers.

St. Louis, meanwhile, is looking to spoil their division foe's plans while looking for a rare (of late) winning season. The franchise has finished 8-8 just twice since making the playoffs with a 12-4 record in 2003, with every other year since then finishing under .500. They made the playoffs as a wild card in 2004 with an 8-8 record and haven't made the postseason since -- a dubious streak that, despite a surprisingly good first year under head coach Jeff Fisher, will continue one more year.

The Rams knocked off the Seahawks 19-13 when they met in Week 4. Sunday's Week 17 game between the NFC West opponents will be televised by FOX.

2012 college football bowl schedule: Loaded slate of games this weekend

2012-12-27T21:00:07Z

There's plenty of bowl action this weekend to keep college football fans satiated until the BCS starts next week, including three matchups on Thursday.

Bowling Green takes on San Jose State in the Military Bowl at 3 p.m. ET, Cincinnati and Duke square off in the Belk Bowl at 6:30 p.m., and UCLA and Baylor get set to meet in a potential shootout in the Holiday Bowl at 9:45 p.m. All games are on ESPN.

The weekend of gridiron action continues with three bowl games on Friday and five more on Saturday. Friday features the Independence Bowl (Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe), the Russell Athletic Bowl (Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech) and the Meineke Car Care Bowl (Minnesota vs. Texas Tech). Saturday's loaded slate includes the Armed Forces Bowl (Rice vs. Air Force), the Pinstripe Bowl (West Virginia vs. Syracuse), the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (Navy vs. Arizona State), the Alamo Bowl (Texas vs. Oregon State) and the the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (TCU vs. Michigan State).

Here's a look at the remaining bowl schedule.

Why so mad about NIU? || Alabama's overrated || Can Irish, Bama score?


Bowl	Teams	Spread	Date, Time (ET)	Panel Pick	Adv. Pick	Watchability

Military (D.C.)	Bowling Green-SJSU	San Jose State -7.5	Dec. 27, 3, ESPN	SJSU	SJSU	5.14
Belk (Charlotte)	Cincinnati-Duke	Cincinnati -10	Dec. 27, 6:30, ESPN	Cincy	Cincy	5.29
Holiday (San Diego)	UCLA-Baylor	Even	Dec. 27, 9:45, ESPN	Baylor	UCLA	8.29
Independence (Shreve.)	Ohio-ULM	ULM -6.5	Dec. 28, 2, ESPN	ULM	ULM	6.14
Russell Athletic (Orlando)	Rutgers-Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech -1.5	Dec. 28, 5:30, ESPN	VT	Rutgers	4
Meineke (Houston)	Texas Tech-Minnesota	Texas Tech -13	Dec. 28, 9, ESPN	Texas Tech	Texas Tech	2.86
Buffalo Wild Wings (PHX)	TCU-Michigan State	Even	Dec. 29, 10:15, ESPN	TCU	MSU	5.14
Armed Forces (Ft. Worth)	Air Force-Rice	Air Force -1.5	Dec. 29, 11:45 a.m., ESPN	Air Force	Rice	3.43
Pinstripe (New York)	Syracuse-West Virginia	West Virginia -3.5	Dec. 29, 3:15, ESPN	WVU	Cuse	7
Kraft (San Francisco)	Arizona State-Navy	N/A	Dec. 29, 4, ESPN2	Arizona State	Arizona State	4.86
Alamo (San Antonio)	Oregon State-Texas	Oregon State -1	Dec. 29, 6:45, ESPN	Oregon State	Oregon State	7
Sun (El Paso)	USC-Georgia Tech	N/A	Dec. 31, 2, CBS	USC	USC	5
Liberty (Memphis)	Tulsa-Iowa State	Tulsa -2.5	Dec. 31, 3:30, ESPN	Split	ISU	4.86
Chick-fil-A (Atlanta)	LSU-Clemson	LSU -3.5	Dec. 31, 7:30, ESPN	LSU	LSU	8.43
Music City (Nashville)	N.C. State-Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt -5.5	Dec. 31, noon, ESPN	Vandy	Vandy	4.71
Capital One (Orlando)	Georgia-Nebraska	Georgia -9.5	Jan. 1, 1, ABC	UGA	UGA	5.71
Outback (Tampa)	South Carolina-Michigan	South Carolina -5	Jan. 1, 1, ESPN	SC	SC	6.86
Rose (Pasadena)	Stanford-Wisconsin	Stanford -6.5	Jan. 1, 5, ESPN	SU	SU	6.71
Orange (Miami)	Florida State-NIU	Florida State -13.5	Jan. 1, 8:30, ESPN	FSU	FSU	7.29
Gator (Jacksonville)	Northwestern-Mississippi State	Mississippi State -2	Jan. 1, noon, ESPN2	MSU	UN	5.71
Heart of Dallas	Oklahoma State-Purdue	Oklahoma State -18	Jan. 1, noon, ESPNU	OSU	OSU	4.86
Sugar (New Orleans)	Florida-Louisville	Florida -14.5	Jan. 2, 8:30, ESPN	Florida	Florida	5.57
Fiesta (Glendale, AZ)	Kansas State-Oregon	Oregon -8	Jan. 3, 8:30, ESPN	Oregon	K-State	9.43
Cotton (Arlington)	Texas A&M-Oklahoma	N/A	Jan. 4, 8, Fox	A&M	OU	9.43
BBVA Compass (B'ham)	Ole Miss-Pitt	N/A	Jan. 5, 1, ESPN	Ole Miss	Pitt	5.14
GoDaddy (Mobile, AL)	Kent State-Arkansas State	Even	Jan. 6, 9, ESPN	ASU	KSU	6.86
BCS National Championship (Miami)	Notre Dame-Alabama	Alabama -9.5	Jan. 7, 8:30, ESPN	Bama	Bama	9.43
Bowl	Teams		Date, Time (ET)	Panel Pick	Adv. Pick	Watchability

Jarvis Jones closing in on UGA sack record

2012-12-27T20:48:35Z

Former Georgia defensive lineman David Pollack will be in the booth as a broadcaster, watching his alma mater New Year's Day in the Capital One Bowl. Pollack might also get to watch one of his Bulldogs records go down firsthand, as Jarvis Jones could break his single-season sacks record.

Jones has 12.5 sacks on the season, just 1.5 away from Pollack's single-season record of 14, which he set in 2002. Pollack told the Athens Banner-Herald it'd be a pleasure to watch Jones break his record:

"There are a lot of worse guys in the world that I would not want to break my record, but Jarvis is a quality human being and if he breaks it, it would not bother me in the slightest," Pollack said.

Jones had a shot at breaking the record last year, as well. He entered the Outback Bowl with 13.5 sacks on the year, but he was shut out in the sack department. He has 26 in two seasons at Georgia, but likely won't reach Pollack's career mark of 36. Jones is expected to leave school early and be a high NFL Draft pick.

He said it'd be an honor to pass Pollack for the single-season mark:

"Just to be even within reaching that sack record here at the University of Georgia, so many great players have come and did so much for this school, it's a great accomplishment for me," Jones said. "If I get it, I'm going to tell David thanks. It would be wonderful, man."

Mark Richt won't replace Rodney Garner until after bowl game

2012-12-27T20:25:27Z

Georgia Bulldogs coach Mark Richt has a big opening to fill on his staff, after assistant head coach Rodney Garner left for SEC rival Auburn. But the coach isn't going to worry about who will be his new defensive line coach, as The Telegraph out of Macon, Ga., writes.

Richt said after the team's New Year's Day date with Nebraska in the Capital One bowl, finding a replacement for Garner will be priority No. 1:

"We'll be excited about who's next," Richt said. "I'm getting bombarded by a lot of people who are very interested in the opportunity. So we won't have any trouble hiring a very quality person where Rodney was."

Todd Grantham has been coaching the defensive line in Garner's stead, and will continue to do so through bowl practice. Richt said with Grantham's experience, he isn't worried about Garner's departure affecting the team's bowl preparation.

Garner's departure means more to Richt than just replacing a coach. Garner has been with Richt through his entire tenure at Georgia. He said he understood Garner's decision to leave the university he had been a part of for 15 years:

"He was the first guy I hired when I got here to Georgia, and he's done great things for us. I really appreciate everything he's done for us," Richt said.

Buccaneers vs Falcons: Michael Turner healthy, fresh as season winds down

2012-12-27T20:16:00Z

One of Mike Smith's goals this season was to reduce running back Michael Turner's load somewhat in the Atlanta Falcons' offense. The idea was twofold: to feature Atlanta's talented passing game more, and to keep Turner fresh in case the Falcons made the postseason.

The idea is looking pretty smart now. With the Falcons entrenched as the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, Turner's legs might be fresher than they have for previous postseason appearances. And the Falcons will need him ready to go if they hope to finally advance in the Matt Ryan-Smith era.

Turner is on pace for only 230 carries with one game remaining. As Daniel Cox of atlantafalcons.com writes, that could be beneficial. Turner agrees:

"I'm fresher now than I've ever been before at this point in the season," Turner said. "I feel good."

Turner hasn't been the explosive back that was the featured component in Atlanta's offense the four previous seasons. But he's been great in goalline situations and has nine touchdowns.

The back will likely be one of several Falcons to rest this weekend when Atlanta closes out the regular season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Buccaneers vs Falcons: Greg Schiano says Matt Ryan is elite

2012-12-27T19:50:42Z

Whatever "elite status" means among NFL quarterbacks, Atlanta Falcons signal-caller Matt Ryan has at least one vote for the exclusive club. As Daniel Cox of atlantafalcons.com writes, that vote comes from Ryan's opposing coach this weekend, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano.

Schiano saw firsthand how good Ryan is earlier this season, when Atlanta escaped Tampa with a 24-23 win. Ryan in that game threw for 353 yards and a touchdown. Schiano and Ryan were once in the Big East at the same time, when Ryan was a backup at Boston College and Schiano in charge of Rutgers. But it wasn't until he was coaching against Ryan in the same NFL division that he saw just how good Ryan is.

Schiano is especially complimentary of how Ryan handles himself on the field:

"I think he's in the elite status," Schiano said. "I think he's at that level. The kind of field command he has and the way he directs the operation. A lot of guys have big arms and there are a lot of guys that are mobile and all that, but it's the way they lead, the commandership they have over their offense makes them elite."

Ryan and the Falcons host the Bucs Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET and can be seen on Fox.

John Atkins, Leonard Floyd to enroll at UGA in May

2012-12-27T19:21:51Z

Two Georgia Bulldogs football recruits who were believed to be enrolling in the school in January will now have to wait until May. As reported by Michael Carvell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, defensive tackle John Atkins and linebacker Leonard Floyd both have more academic work to finish before enrolling in college.

Both players from Virginia's Hargrave military prep school were expected to be among 17 Georgia early enrollees and begin classes on Jan. 7. That number is now down to 15. Up to 10 early enrollees can count toward last season's signing numbers, thereby allowing Georgia to go around the SEC's 25-man limit for signing classes.

As Carvell writes, both Atkins and Floyd signed with Georgia last year, but transferred to the prep school to raise their academic standing to meet the standards at Georgia. They were close to doing just that, but each has to stay just a little while longer.

2012 Sun Bowl: Louis Young ready to erase bad season

2012-12-27T18:46:21Z

Georgia Tech is getting a second-straight chance to win the Sun Bowl, but cornerback Louis Young is getting his first. Young was suspended for the Yellow Jackets' Sun Bowl loss to Utah last year, but he's with the team as they prepare for USC this year.

As Ken Sugira of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Young is looking to start fresh after a disappointing year all around that also saw injury and poor play on top of the NCAA suspension. He hopes to help the Yellow Jackets (6-7) finish a disappointing year on a high note:

"I guess it's just fate," Young said. "I guess it's bittersweet thinking about last year, but the good thing about it is I feel like, just me being here this year, I can contribute in a major way and help us get that win."

Young's suspension came from selling his Georgia tickets in 2011 to a friend. He was also held out of the season opener against Virginia Tech. He's battled both a thumb and a shoulder injury while trying to stay on the field. Secondary coach Charles Kelly attributes his poor play on the field to struggles that began off of it:

"You get in structure, it seems like things fall in line," Kelly said. "When something happens like this, it kind of gets you out of your schedule."

Georgia Tech and USC meet in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.