SEC West notebook

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - Quarterback Brodie Croyle gave Alabama fans and coaches a scare when he was slow getting up after taking a hit from his blind side against Utah State and then walked gingerly to the sideline.

``It was just one of those things where you just kind of lose your breath for a second,'' said Croyle, who has battled injury problems. ``I came off and (trainer Rodney Brown) was like, 'Is it your shoulder, your head, your knee?' I was like, 'Man, I can't breathe, I can't talk.'''

Protecting Croyle is vital for the Crimson Tide offense this season. He was sacked three times in the opener behind a line featuring two starters in new slots.

Offensive line coach Bob Connelly has set a high standard for his linemen not to let Croyle get hit a single time.

``As a coach, I can't settle for any less, and as an individual, we better not settle for less,'' Connelly told The Birmingham News. ``I want them to hurt inside if they give up a quarterback sack, whether it's mentally or physically. When that becomes acceptable, then we're all in trouble.''

AUBURN: Devin Aromashodu has apparently reclaimed his spot in Auburn's receiving corps.

He caught two passes for 53 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown, against Louisiana-Monroe. Not a bad start after managing just three catches for 22 yards last season.

Coach Tommy Tuberville said the resurgence is partly confidence, partly technique and partly due to a new offense.

``He should be our go-to guy when we throw the ball deep because of his height and with his wing span,'' Tuberville said. ``He's got a great wing span. He'll be used a lot more in this type of offense.''

Aromashodu, who also returns kicks, had a 16.9-yard average on 18 catches as a freshman but disappeared from the offense in 2003.

``I was coming off a bad year,'' Aromashodu said of last season. ``I wanted to prove I could play at the college level again.''

Fellow receiver Courtney Taylor said he and Aromashodu spent two or three hours several times a week catching balls over the summer.

``I feel like that really helped him,'' Taylor said. ``I think this first game really helped him. We've got our old Devin back.''

LSU: LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said the Tigers need to learn lessons from their 22-21 win against Oregon State, especially about digging a 9-0 halftime deficit with offensive sluggishness.

``I take a lot of blame for that also, because I don't think I did as good a job of putting those guys in position to make some plays and using their abilities as much as I probably should have,'' Fisher said.

Youth played a role, too, Fisher said. New wide receivers found their first taste of big-time college football was an eye-opening experience.

``It takes these guys time, and you've got to remember that and we do too as coaches,'' Fisher said. ``Sometimes maybe that was my fault, trying to get too much out of them at times, not understanding who they are and asking them to do too much. I take some blame for that also.''

MISSISSIPPI: Rebels coach David Cutcliffe said during the preseason that quarterback Micheal Spurlock would be a threat to rush the football.

It didn't happen last weekend.

Spurlock had just 6 rushing yards in his debut as the Rebels' starter, a 20-13 loss to Memphis.

An experienced Ole Miss offensive line which returns four starters and outweighed Memphis' defensive line by an average of 33 pounds per man had trouble consistently opening holes for Spurlock and the Rebels' running backs, Cutcliffe said. Ole Miss had just 58 rushing yards and averaged less than 2 yards per carry.

``We weren't as physical as I know we are capable of being,'' Cutcliffe said.

Spurlock, a dual pass-run threat, attempted nearly three times as many passes (31) as rushes (11). He completed 11 of those attempts for 182 yards, but didn't lead a touchdown drive until midway through the fourth quarter, and the Rebels never led Memphis.

``You have to have consistency in order to be very productive on offense,'' Spurlock said. ``We didn't do a good job of that.''

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Upon further review, Sylvester Croom admitted he was wrong in his first outburst with an official as a head coach.

Tulane quarterback Lester Ricard had the ball knocked loose as he attempted a third-down pass in the first half, and the ball squirted free. Mississippi State's Rico Bennett scooped it up and appeared to return it 70 yards for a touchdown, but an official blew the play dead.

Instead of ruling the pass incomplete which would have made it fourth down and brought about a punting situation officials wiped out the play and ordered a do-over.

``They made a good call on it,'' Croom said. ``It wasn't so much about the call. I wanted the ball. Either it was an incomplete pass and it was our ball (or it was a fumble and a touchdown). Was he in a throwing motion? I didn't see that. My point was, give us the ball, one way or the other.''

Ultimately, it didn't matter. Five plays later, linebacker Clarence McDougal intercepted Ricard in the end zone, and the Bulldogs won 28-7 in Croom's coaching debut.

Croom called the Bulldogs' defensive stand a testament to their character, and called upon the defense to maintain it against No. 18 Auburn on Saturday.

``At every point we could have held our heads and felt sorry for ourselves (but) we stood tall and responded to the challenge from the opposition,'' Croom said. ``What we want to do is make sure we don't take a step backwards.''