HOOVER, Ala. -- The SEC East is relying heavily on three former Nick Saban assistants to restore balance to the league.The division that once reigned with the likes of Steve Spurrier, Phillip Fulmer, Mark Richt and Urban Meyer hasnt won a Southeastern Conference title in eight years. Saban and Alabama still lead a formidable parade of Western Division teams but theres an abundance of new blood in that sometimes overlooked East.Georgia hired Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, South Carolina turned to ex-Saban defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and Missouri promoted defensive coordinator Barry Odom.Not that the East is getting defensive about that one-sided recent history. Florida, after all, had already turned a year earlier to former `Bama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain.I think balance and parity is a key for any conference, said Smart, a former Georgia player in his first head coaching turn. I think if you ask the commissioner, he would like to have that balance. Thats why they divided the conference the way they did.It certainly hasnt been that way. Its our job on the East to do something about that. Weve got to do a great job on our side to compete, recruit, get the right facilities, put the right programs in place to be successful.Missouri won back-to-back East titles before falling to 5-7 in Gary Pinkels final season. The Tigers allowed 101 points in a pair of title-game defeats.An indication of how cyclical these things can be, the East won six of the first seven SEC championship games. And Meyers Florida teams contributed a couple of championships during the SECs current run of eight national titles in 10 years.Tim Tebow and the Gators topped Alabama in the 2008 league title game, but the East hasnt won since. Six of the last seven games havent even been decided by double-digit margins, including scores like 42-13 (Alabama-Missouri), 42-10 (LSU-Georgia) and 56-17 (Auburn-South Carolina).McElwain is entering his second season at Florida, where he debuted with an SEC East title and a 29-15 loss to the Tide in Atlanta. McElwain was part of Alabamas national championships in 2009 and 2011.Its not something you can really just go and talk about, McElwain said. Its something that you have to live every single day in the development of getting a little bit better. And for us, having an opportunity to play in that game was huge because I think it was a class of guys in the University of Florida history that might have been the first one to miss Atlanta since ... they started playing that SEC championship game.Georgia hammered home the urgency of catching up with the likes of Alabama and LSU by firing Richt, who won 74 percent of his games but only one SEC title -- way back in 2005.The Bulldogs turned to longtime Saban assistant Smart, who helped the Tide win four national titles over the past seven seasons. Georgia filled up Sanford Stadium for the spring game, much as Alabama did at Bryant-Denny Stadium after Sabans hiring.This year I think fans do expect a lot, you could see that from our spring game, 93,000 and probably more, Bulldogs tight end Jeb Blazevich said. I am sure a lot more people could fit into those stands, so that is a unique environment.I think the fans are ready, were ready, so I think they should expect a lot and that is the culture we want around here. A culture of high expectations because we surely set it for ourselves so we want our fans to expect the same.Muschamp, who worked under Saban at LSU, takes over a South Carolina team coming off a 3-9 season that marked the first losing season since Spurrier took over in 2005. The Gamecocks had three straight 11-2 seasons from 2011-13 before falling off.Coach Spurrier and his staff have bought this program to relevance nationally, and thats what we plan to build on, Muschamp said. NFL Jerseys China Supply . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. 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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Coming off the worst back-to-back defeats in school history, Maryland is in full bounce-back mode as it prepares to face No. 19 Nebraska, which is unbeaten at home and still in contention for the Big Ten title.After starting 4-0, the Terrapins (5-5, 2-5) have five of six -- including 59-3 to Michigan and 62-3 at home against Ohio State.Weve hit a low spot, obviously, defensive tackle Roman Braglio said Tuesday.Theres no guarantee the situation will improve Saturday at Nebraska (8-2, 5-2). Maryland has quarterback issues and might again be without three suspended players, including running back Lorenzo Harrison, whos rushed for 664 yards and five touchdowns.Receiver DJ Turner and linebacker Antoine Brooks also received indefinite suspensions last Saturday for violating the schools student-athlete code of conduct. Coach DJ Durkin would not comment Tuesday on the players status for this week.That, however, is the least of Marylands problems. Quarterback Perry Hills injured his left shoulder in the first quarter against Ohio State, and his availability for Saturday will be determined later in the week.The drop off in talent from Hills to backups Caleb Rowe and true freshman Tyrrell Pigrome is noticeably significant. Hills has three interceptions over 147 attempts; his backups have been picked off five times over a collective 56 throws.With and without Hills, the Terrapins have played far worse over the last two weeks than at any other point this season. The combined 121-6 score of the losses to Michigan and Ohio State finally got the 1892 Maryland team off the hook for largest margin of defeat over a two-game span. That 1892 ssquad -- the first in school history -- lost to St.dddddddddddd Johns of Annapolis 50-0 and Johns Hopkins 62-0.The lopsided blowouts sustained by this Maryland team would seem to indicate the vast chasm in talent between the rebuilding Terrapins and best of the Big Ten.Not taking anything from either team -- both had really good defenses -- but at the end of the day we got away from what we usually do, running back Kenneth Goins said. We didnt execute as well as we did against other teams we played. I just feel like we werent as focused as we should have been.Its difficult to keep a positive attitude in the wake of two straight blowout defeats, and Durkin acknowledged the mood of the locker room is anything but upbeat.When you play the way we did and lose games like that, its not a good mood, Durkin said. If and when we learn to play consistently, a lot of stuff will be different for us. Thats the message. You move on, good or bad. Our guys are resilient. They bounce back.Despite their tailspin, the Terrapins still have a chance to become bowl eligible. Thats just might be the only thing keeping the spirit alive.What were conveying to our guys is this season still has a chance to be a tremendous success for us, Durkin said. We need to go finish strong and play the way were capable and not worry about circumstances or injuries. Its all part of it. We have young guys playing. OK, lets go play and play well. Weve done it at times.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '