UT Head Coach Lane Kiffin angered a certain faction of Vols fans twice this season by altering school traditions.  First, UT wore black uniform jerseys for their Halloween game against South Carolina.  The second time, which did not happen, Kiffin was willing to allow Junior Safety Eric Berry to run through the Senior's Power T during Senior Day activities.

To many fans in the SEC, traditions are everything.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; or in Southern Slang:  People Eat Tasty Animals) has urged the administration at the University of Georgia in Athens to no longer user live animals as a mascot.

Will the possibility of a rookie salary cap cause SEC football players such as Ryan Mallet or Eric Berry turn pro early?

As we approach the close of the 2009 college football season, there is still no definitive word whether or not the NFL will institute a rookie salary cap for the 2011 NFL draft.  Personally, I am on the side of the veteran players:  there needs to be a rookie salary cap in the NFL.

Welcome to the last week of the regular season ... have we really almost completed twelve weeks of college football games already?  Taking a look around the SEC (and beyond) this week, the schedule is filled with in-state and border rivalry games.

THIS is what SEC football is truly all about.

Also, to give you a taste of what next season will bring, we also analyze several key match-ups.  The Picks Panel that we ran this season has been a blast, but in actuality, a test.  Next season we will launch a larger panel bringing you the most knowledgable college sports analysts on the internet ... call it our 324 day warning to our competitors ... 'cause we all know y'all will be clamoring to copy us once again.

UT football player Janzen Jackson is a free man.  The Knoxville Police Department has dropped all charges against him this morning according to WATE.com.

This was not an unexpected move by the KPD as Jackson was the only person released without bail.  Back channel noise from various sources are indicating that behind the scenes wrangling occurred to make the dropped charges happen.  According to multiple sources, the arresting officer believed he had enough evidence to charge Jackson with a minimum of being an accessory to the well known crime on Knoxville's Cumberland Strip.

According to police officials, they will move forward with prosecution of the other two former Vols (Mike Edwards and Nu'Keese Richardson) and a female who drove the trio.

The looming question now is simple to see:  does Jackson learn from this close call with the police or does he end up being the Vols' next Demetrice Morely?

Nike has produced new Pro Combat Uniforms for the Florida Gators.  These new uniforms are state-of-the-art in design ... other than aesthetically.

According to Nike, the uniforms are approximately 37% lighter and offer superior protection over previous uniforms.  Nike did not include the ugliness ratio on the new uniforms.

Apparently Nike wants the Gators to beat the FSU Seminoles in a uniform that would be best suited inside of a P.T. Barnun & Bailey Circus act.

Personally, I do not care for the helmets nor the jerseys (especially the stripes on the shoulders).  The pants (from the front) look o.k., but what is the deal with the white mesh on the back?

What do you think about the Gators' new uni's?

View the entire photo gallery on GatorCountry.com

As we do each week, SECRivals is one of the first websites on the internet to get you the information on this week's television schedules.  Several solid games are on tap for this next weekend.

Welcome to rivalry week in SEC football!  Every game on tap for this weekend involves either an in-state war or border war.

There is a Friday night game this week while the remainder of the SEC football schedule will be played on Saturday.  All times are EST, check your local listings for exact channel.

There are literally tons of items to look at from Saturday's action in the SEC and around the nation.  What stuck out most in your mind?  Was it LSU's lack of clock management, Charlie Weiss' Notre Dame squad falling to UConn?  Bring it on it and let's get the Sunday Night College Football Huddle going.

Ole Miss 25
LSU 23

LSU attempted a screen pass late in their contest against Ole Miss ... when the ball carrier was tackled for a loss, there were 25 seconds remaining.  The entire LSU staff waited until nine seconds remained before calling their final time-out.

The Tennessee Volunteers have many traditions.  While some traditions are old enough for my Father to remember seeing them begin (I am 60), even I can remember seeing traditions being born in Knoxville.  One particular tradition that began in 1965 is allowing Senior football players to run through the band's formation of the Power T solo prior to their last home game. Allowing the Seniors to run solo gives the UT fans the chance to recognize the players for spending four or five years of their life with Tennessee.

Eric Berry, UT's stellar safety, followed in his Father's footsteps by playing football at the University of Tennessee.  Berry is most likely foregoing his Senior season at Tennessee to play professionally.  Two factors seem to be swaying Berry away from UT:  a family situation and the fact that the NFL could potentially institute a rookie salary cap in 2011.

Whatever the reason, the traditionalists among the Vol nation are up in arms over a statement that Lane Kiffin made in his press conference this past week.  When specifically asked if Eric Berry will be allowed to run through the 'T' with the Seniors, Kiffin said yes, if that is what Berry wanted to do.

I realize that this does not seem like a big deal to many SEC fans outside of the Knoxville area and that is o.k.  To the traditionalists of the Unviersity of Tennessee, allowing Berry to participate with  the departing Seniors is being taken as if someone just rode into Knoxville and removed Smokey from the sidelines or changed the fight song from "Rocky Top".

I am not going to delve deeply into this subject because there is an article that gives you the run down much better than I can.  Our friends at HardKnoxSports.com has taken a look at this subject and in my opinion, smacked a home run.  To check our HardKnox's article, simply follow the link.

What do you say on the matter?  Throw your two cents worth into the comments section over at HardKnoxSports.com.

Last Week:  5-2
Season:  68-14

As we have attempted to jinx ourselves each week ... why get your SEC football picks anywhere else?