It’s Wednesday and what better time to evaluate last week's performance and look forward to another Huge SEC weekend.  Welcome to SEC Coaches Stock Market, Week Three.  We look at coaches like a Wall Street analyst watches stocks.  We’re looking at multiple factors to gauge their performance.  We want you to know, who is up and who is down. 

This week, SEC winners outpaced losers 8-4.  Our two highest performing stocks, LSU and Florida, continued to beat expectations.  Two teams on the bubble, Alabama and Kentucky, also exceeded expectations.  And this week two underperforming stocks, Vandy and Miss State, had tremendous boosts within the SEC conference which moved their stock prices higher.

Just so everybody understands the rules of the game; our analysis is a big picture evaluation which includes a lot of factors.  We are not evaluating how well a coach calls a game.  It the team loses, the coaches stock goes down, period.  The confidence factor is our confidence in the program going forward;  Five***** being the highest rating.  If you want to play this at home, send us your rankings.  Until then, enjoy.  It is a volatile market.

1)      Our SEC Coach of the Week is Rich Brooks of Kentucky.  Anytime an SEC team knocks off an out of conference heavy weight, they move to the top.  Kentucky beat #9 Louisville 40-34 in Commonwealth Stadium.  We like Quarterback Andre Woodson who is now the all time leader in consecutive passes (257) without an interception.  Woodson passed for 275 yards against a tough Louisville defense.  Up next:  Kentucky travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a 5 pm CT kick-off on ESPN2.  This game should be another high scoring game.  We like Kentucky and will keep them at 4****confidence rating.

2)      We had a huge surprise Saturday when we found out Sylvester Croom was beating Auburn.  This had to be the SEC Upset of the Week.  Miss State continues to lean on their defense who did score a touchdown in this game.  We still have concerns about the quarterback situation at MSU but we believe they have enough to beat their next opponent, Gardner-Webb.  Next game is in Scott Field at MSU at 6 pm CT.  Pay per view.  We are raising our rating because we believe MSU could pull another upset this season.  Confidence rating  3.5*** 

3)      We are not overlooking Florida’s dominance over Tennessee.  Urban Meyer continues to be a blue chip stock for us and his team proves that SPEED KILLS.  Bottom line:  The Gators are just faster than anybody they have played this season.  Florida completely dominated a talented Tennessee team.  We’re high on quarterback Tim Tebow who passed for 299 yards.  We are a little concerned that his roommate kissed him on the sideline which was shown multiple times by the CBS camera crew.  Next up:  traveling to play Ole Miss at 11:30 CT carried by Lincoln Financial.  We continue with the highest confidence rating in 5*****.

4)      We are getting more bullish on Nick Saban every week.  The Crimson Tide scored 21 points in the first quarter against Arkansas.  We like quarterback John Parker Wilson who passed for 327 yards and four touchdowns.  We like DJ Hall who caught six passes for 172 yards.  Hall averaged 28.6 yards per catch.  Up next:  Georgia Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa at 6:45 pm CT covered by ESPN.

We will keep Saban at a 4.5 **** confidence rating and we like his chances of beating the Bulldogs on his home field.

5)      Bobby Johnson has moved back up to the middle of the pack.  Johnson is a great coach and he continues to exceed expectations.  Vandy had a great win at home against Ole Miss 31-17.  Vandy controlled the ball offensively and the defense had seven sacks.  It is a tough conference so we will keep Vandy at a 3*** confidence rating. 

6)      It is hard for us to put Les Miles and his boys from Louisiana in the middle especially when they completely dominated a team.  However, we have to spread out the love too.  LSU played without quarterback Matt Flynn and wide receiver Early Doucet and still managed 505 offensive yards.  This is a deep, talented team who basically shut down a good Mid Tenn offense.  Mid Tenn had 555 yards on #9 Louisville last week so it says a lot about LSU defense.  This LSU team is exceptionally good.  LSU hosts undefeated Steve Spurrier on Saturday at 2:30 pm CT on CBS.  We will keep our confidence rating at the highest point at 5*****. 

7)      We still like Steve Spurrier and believe if his offense can execute they will continue to win games.  The Gamecocks dominated SC State 38-3.  South Carolina has a strong defense and it will be put to the test against LSU Saturday.  Spurrier travels to Baton Rouge for a CBS 2:30 CT game.  Spurrier plays well on the road and we believe this will be a tough challenge for the Gamecocks.  We’re keeping our confidence rating at 4.5**** and will watch this game closely for future ratings.

8)      We believe Mark Richt is going against the wind a little right now.  Richt doesn’t do well with an early SEC loss.  Richt is all about confidence and Spurrier stole some Georgia thunder.  We’re encouraged that the Bulldogs are playing Joe Cox some at quarterback.  Georgia tends to play well on the road and they will need to play well to beat an undefeated Crimson Tide team.  The game is covered by ESPN at 6:45 pm CT.  We’re keeping our confidence rating at 4**** but we would downgrade with a loss in Tuscaloosa. 

9)      As we move into the bottom quarter, we look at the Coaches who lost last week.  Ed Orgeron and Ole Miss are struggling.  With a 31-17 loss to Vandy, Ole Miss knows it will be a tough season. Ed Orgeron welcomes the Florida Gators for an 11:30 pm CT game carried by Lincoln Financial.  We are down grading this team to a 1.5 * confidence rating.

10)  Houston Nutt is living through a difficult time.  Nutt hasn’t gotten his feet on the ground since the crazy off-season.  The Razorbacks gave up 21 points in the first quarter to Alabama which is unacceptable for this talented team.  Quarterback Casey Dick is still a question mark on our books.  Darren McFadden is still one of the best players in the conference.  Arkansas welcomes a hot Kentucky team for a 5 pm CT game.  We will keep Arkansas at a 4**** confidence rating but a loss gets a down grade.

11)  Phillip Fulmer said his team is disappointed but not dead.  Phillip Fulmer has taken two big hits already in the season and probably welcomes a home game against Arkansas State.  Tennessee has a lot of talent but they are not executing very well.  We are down grading this team to a 3.5*** in the confidence ratings.  Pay per view. 7pm. 

12)  Tommy Tuberville is having the toughest week of all.  Auburn was upset by Miss State 19-14 and just isn’t looking very good.  The quarterback situation is a huge question mark which always raises doubts with us.  Two straight home losses are tough for the alumni to stomach.  This week Auburn welcomes New Mexico State for a 6 pm CT pay per view game.  We are downgrading this team to a 2.5 ** in the confidence ratings because they seem to be in a state of confusion. 

Jay Holgate is an analyst with SECSportsReport.com   Just SEC Sports!

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