News Flash: Kiffin meets Tide, tweaks Gators

Many are anticipating Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin’s first matchup with Alabama.

But Kiffin has taken a low-key approach, opting not to antagonize Alabama the way he did Florida earlier this year. He did, however, take a small swipe at the Gators this week.

“Well, I think one poll got it right,” Kiffin said to VolQuest.com when asked if Alabama is the top team in the nation. The Tide is No. 1 in the AP poll while Florida is No. 1 in the BCS. “If you watch football and pay attention, I don’t think there is any doubt who the No. 1 team is. I think it was very evident with the two teams playing Arkansas. Alabama is a great team. They are very well coached. Extremely talented, great on special teams, great on offense and great on defense.

“I love the style they play with. They play very physical. They are in your face. They come downhill at you. That is what we are going to do someday. I really like what they do.”

Kiffin could have made a fuss about the fact Alabama rebuffed his request to let the Vols wear orange jerseys in the game.

“Talking with some people in the offseason about the history here, I thought it was something that would be really neat for our fans and their fans, too,” Kiffin told the media after a recent practice. “We were approved by the SEC and Alabama denied us that.”

According to NCAA rules, the home team has the right to prevent the visitor from wearing something other than its white road uniforms. If Tennessee opted to ignore the rule and still wear orange, it would be assessed a 15-yard penalty at the start of the game.

Michigan AD search

With Michigan athletic director Bill Martin announcing that he will retire in 2010, the search is on for a replacement.

According to TheWolverine.com, here are some likely candidates to fill the post:

• Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long.

• Miami athletic director Brad Bates.

• Oregon State athletic director Bob DeCarolis.

• Buffalo athletic director Warde Manuel.

• Former regent David Brandon.

• Michigan senior associate athletic director Joe Parker.

FSU on the run

Florida State offensive line coach Rick Trickett is doing all he can to get the Seminole running game on track.

After the 28-21 loss at Boston College on Oct. 3, Trickett began to meet with the running backs, a unit he has been critical of and says there’s a need for someone to step up.

“We’ve been meeting a lot together, the running backs and line,” Trickett told Warchant.com. “I think the more they know what we are doing up front it makes it easier for them to understand.”

The Seminole running backs showed improvement in a 49-44 loss to Georgia Tech. FSU ran for 180 yards and Jermaine Thomas had his best game of the season with 98 yards rushing. Florida State, which ranks sixth in the ACC in rushing (128.5 ypg), searches for its first ACC win (0-3) Thursday at North Carolina.

“It’s very tense when we are in that meeting room,” Thomas said. “All eyes are up on the board and he tells us some good stuff. Some of the stuff is things [running backs] coach [Dexter] Carter might have already gone over with us and some things are new or are hints that we need. He stresses it a lot and you can tell he is a passionate man about the game.”

KU gets defensive

For the second year in a row, Kansas is doing all it can to shore up a leaky defense that might cost it a shot at winning the Big 12 North.

The Jayhawks recently moved offensive tackle John Williams to defensive tackle, where he now starts. The staff also took the redshirt off of cornerback D.J. Beshears. To shore up the safety slot, KU has receiver Bradley McDougald seeing spot action and has moved Justin Thornton ahead of Lubbock Smith.

“I felt like last year we had to make those changes because guys truly weren’t getting the job done and we needed to make the moves,” Kansas defensive coordinator Clint Bowen told JayhawkSlant.com. “This year, it seems like we are making the moves in more of a positive way. Some of the guys really showed up.”

Kansas has the No. 7 defense in the Big 12 (346.2 ypg). The unit has especially struggled to stop the pass, ranking No. 9 in the league (245.7 ypg). The Jayhawks (5-1) play host to Oklahoma on Saturday.