FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said at SEC media days he may not be sitting down to dinner with Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn any time soon, but that the two won't get in a food fight, either.
The coaches' relationship was a topic of questions because of their disagreements about the uptempo no-huddle offenses that many teams, including Auburn, are now using.
Bielema has argued the fast pace can increase player injuries. Malzahn has responded that such thinking is laughable.
"I get what you guys have to do. It's a natural story. I get it," Bielema said when asked about Malzahn. "We don't necessarily see eye-to-eye on certain things."
Bielema said he respects Malzahn and that they have spoken on the phone a few times, although not about the up-tempo offense debate. Bielema and Malzahn said they discuss things at SEC meetings in a professional manner.
"I can't say we're breaking bread together and going to dinner when we can," Bielema said. "But I'm not throwing bread at him and rocks and everything else."
Arkansas opens the season Aug. 30 at defending SEC champion Auburn.
"I've got a lot of respect for Bret as a coach," Malzahn said. "I know he's going to get that program where he wants it to be."
Arkansas finished 0-8 in the SEC last season, the same record Auburn had in 2012 before rebounding to go 7-1 last year in Malzahn's first season as coach.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and his staff, what they did," Bielema said. "I think it's a tool to motivate my crew right now."
Bo ticked off
Ole Miss senior Bo Wallace wasn't happy about being the preseason third-team quarterback on the All-SEC teams voted on by the media.
Wallace, who last season passed for 3,346 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 355 yards and 6 touchdowns, finished behind Auburn senior Nick Marshall and Mississippi State junior Dak Prescott in the voting.
"I didn't think I'd be first," Wallace said. "I figured Nick Marshall would be first with the way he led them to a national championship [game]. You can't argue against that.
"But I didn't think I was going to be third."
Prescott, who passed for 1,940 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 829 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, helped the Bulldogs beat the Rebels 17-10 in overtime.
Prescott, battling a shoulder injury, came off the bench and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 3-yard run and Wallace fumbled in overtime when he appeared set to score. He also threw three interceptions in regulation.
"If we win that game at Mississippi State, the voting is going to be a lot different," Wallace said. "They hype is going to be a lot different. That's why that's happening."
Wallace said he'll use finishing behind Prescott in the media voting as motivation.
"I learned about it on the way over here and I wasn't happy about it," Wallace said. "It just adds another chip to my shoulder that I play with anyway.
"I'm ready for the year, and I'm ready for that game."
Big Eight blues
Bill Hancock, executive director for the College Football Playoff, made two references to "the Big Eight" before quickly correcting himself to say Big 12 when discussing the upcoming playoff and how the selection committee, chaired by Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, would work to set the top bowl games.
After one reference to the old Big Eight, Hancock said "don't tweet that" to the media, which failed to oblige.
Football Writers Association of America President Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman, making a presentation on the day after Hancock's talk, concluded his remarks by saying he and Hancock would be flying back to Dallas that day "to find the Big Eight," which drew laughter from the press.
Hancock, an Oklahoma graduate, worked at the Big Eight office for 11 years as media relations director and assistant commissioner before becoming director of the Final Four in 1989.
College Hall
The College Football Hall of Fame, opening next month in downtown Atlanta, got a plug in at SEC media days last week.
John Stephenson, the hall's president and CEO, said the location of the 94,000-square-foot facility across from Centennial Olympic Park was prime.
"I would have to say that if there were a place to put a college football attraction that is anchored by the Hall of Fame, it would be on this exact 2.7 acres," Stephenson said.
The new facility is scheduled to open Aug. 23, the Saturday before the start of the college football season. Tickets, which range from $16.99 to $19.99, go on sale Aug. 1.
Stephenson said key attractions in the facility will be a helmet wall, with helmets from every football-playing college in the country, and a theater that features a 4K ultra-high-definition experience.
The National Football Foundation decided in 2009 to move the hall to Atlanta from South Bend, Ind., where it was struggling to draw fans.
Been there
Missouri was hit by injuries in its SEC debut during the 2012 season when the Tigers finished 5-7 and missed going to a bowl game for the first time in eight years.
So last season when Florida suffered numerous injuries while going 4-8 -- the Gators' first losing season since 1979 -- Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel called Florida Coach Will Muschamp to offer support.
"I've had people reach out to me before, and that's been important to me," said Pinkel, who led Missouri to the SEC East title last season. "When I get an opportunity to do those kind of things, that's what I try to do."
Sports on 07/20/2014