Anchor Drop, November 9, 2022: Can this season be over?

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

Clark Lea had his weekly press conference on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s game at Kentucky and, well, the injury report, it isn’t good.

So, obviously, the big news is that freshman quarterback A.J. Swann will miss Saturday’s game, but the worse news is that offensive linemen Bradley Ashmore and Delfin Xavier Castillo are out, too — and the former is now out for the season. Vanderbilt is still in search of its first SEC win since 2019, and there are three more chances (at Kentucky, followed by home games against Florida and Tennessee) ... but, well, this is starting to get ridiculous.

(The defensive line might be even worse: as Chris Lee pointed out on his podcast this week, true freshman walk-on Nick Rinaldi was playing significant snaps on Saturday. On that front, Daevion Davis is questionable this week. I don’t believe he’s played this season and should get a redshirt either way.)

(But at least the basketball team shat all over itself on Monday, amirite?)

Another note from the press conference: with Dan Jackson effectively suspended (I mean, that’s not the official terminology, but that’s what this is), graduate assistant Jimmy Thompson — who played at Notre Dame when Lea was the defensive coordinator there — will be elevated to the full-time staff, at least temporarily.

Bad Gambling Advice

Last night: 1-0 ATS, 0-1 totals; season to date: 5-8 ATS, 6-7 totals

Kansas City at LSU (7:00 PM CT, SEC Network+): LSU -21.5, Under 141.5

Sports on TV

All times Central.

• 6:00 PM: NCAAF: Northern Illinois at Western Michigan (ESPNU)
• 6:00 PM: NCAAF: Buffalo at Central Michigan (ESPN2)
• 6:00 PM: NCAAF: Kent State at Bowling Green (CBS Sports)
• 6:30 PM: NBA: Knicks at Nets (ESPN)
• 6:30 PM: NHL: Penguins at Capitals (TNT)
• 7:00 PM: NCAAB: Monmouth at Seton Hall (FS1)
• 8:00 PM: NCAAB: Bellarmine at Louisville (ACC Network)
• 9:00 PM: NBA: Lakers at Clippers (ESPN)
• 9:00 PM: NHL: Wild at Ducks (TNT)

Scoreboard

SEC Basketball: South Carolina 80, SC State 77.

SEC Women’s Basketball: Auburn 90, Sam Houston 76 ... Ohio State 87, Tennessee 75.

NHL: Coyotes 4, Sabres 1 ... Canadiens 3, Red Wings 2 ... Islanders 4, Rangers 3 ... Devils 3, Flames 2 ... Canucks 6, Senators 4 ... Flyers 5, Blues 1 ... Golden Knights 4, Maple Leafs 3 ... Oilers 3, Lightning 2 ... Jets 5, Stars 1 ... Kraken 5, Predators 1 ... Kings 1, Wild 0.