The Vanderbilt Commodores haven't enjoyed their opening games much over the past two seasons. Both beginning at home on a Thursday night before a season of expectations, Vandy lost another heartbreaker to Ole Miss as they did to South Carolina last year. After scoring a TD with 1:30 left, to take a 35-32 lead, the Commodores allowed RB Jeff Scott to scamper for a 75-yard score just a few seconds later. Ole Miss took a 39-35 lead and got out of dodge before Vandy knew what happened.
"We stole one tonight," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. "We didn't necessarily play that well, particularly defensively in the second half. But one of the staples of our program since I've been here is that you play for 60 minutes and you do not blink and you play until the whistle blows at the end of the game."
If you turned on your television shortly after 6 p.m. yesterday, you were already late to the most recent SEC out of conference win against the ACC. Within three plays, Connor Shaw found Shaq Roland for a 65-yard touchdown, and South Carolina pretty much cruised to a 27-10 win over North Carolina. It was so routine, Jadeveon Clowney was barely visible, either a naturally recurring effect of the extreme hype he's received, or he was simply resting up for the Georgia Bulldogs next week.
Hawaii gave USC a bit of a scare in the first half, but the Trojans pulled away in the second, winning 30-13. Still, it was enough time for a round of hatred directed toward Lane Kiffin.
Hawaii up 5-3 near halftime. Really. RT @abaumli: Does Lane Kiffin get fired tomorrow?
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID) August 30, 2013
Reminder: USC had to steal Lane Kiffin. Like, a lot of effort went into it. And money.
— sir broosk (@celebrityhottub) August 30, 2013
Haden went from 150% behind Kiffin last season to 100% this season. He might be down to 50% at the end of this one.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) August 30, 2013
Lane Kiffin could take a really great thing that's almost impossible to screw up and screw it up.
— Farmer Jones (@thefarmerjones) August 30, 2013
"No such thing as bad press!" said Lane Kiffin, soaking his car in lighter fluid.
— sir broosk (@celebrityhottub) August 30, 2013
He can fix this Syria thing, I swear. MT @Mengus22 Kiffin will parlay his failure at USC into an appointment to the US Supreme Court.
— Travis Haney (@TravHaneyESPN) August 30, 2013
TIME delves into the NFL settlement, calling the deal tremendously fair because, ultimately, in a court of law, it would be very difficult to prove concussion symptoms.
“[The NFL] is going to say, ‘did your brain damage come from your college hits?’” says Christopher Seeger, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs. ”From your pro hits? Do you have a documented history of concussion? Can you prove you were concussed? Can you prove concussions even caused your neurological problem?” In this settlement, players just have to show signs of impairment in order to receive a payout. “They don’t have to prove any of those things,” says Seeger.
Mike Shanahan won't confirm RG3 is playing in Week 1, but RG3 basically confirmed it on Twitter.
Operation Patience….Complete. Cleared. To God Be The Glory http://t.co/GxYMw8Cs57
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 30, 2013
Rafa Nadal kept it moving at the US Open. Venus and Serena shook off a scare in the women's doubles.
Mark Sanchez may not be ready for Week 1.
The Lakers will consider signing Lamar Odom.
Justin Upton was hit on the hand, but X-Rays were negative.
Pats President Johnathan Kraft disputes several aspects of the Rolling Stone column that painted Aaron Hernandez as a heavy drug user, a fact the Patriots may have been aware of.
FLASHING LIGHTS
Dave Chappelle was heckled and booed in Hartford, CT and walked off the stage. Thanks Hartford.
Drake landed on the cover of Billboard.
DID YOU REALIZE?
Members of the British Parliament voted against action in Syria, meaning America's greatest ally will have to sit this one out. Though support is low amongst the US population, the government is considering moving forward with strikes anyway. France came out in support of the US strikes.
The Supreme Court in Mississippi upheld a law that says citizens of MS don't need a permit to carry a gun unless it's concealed.
President Obama and VP Biden took a stand for gun control, closing background check loopholes and barring ex-military weapons from reeentering the US.
