Georgia at Ole Miss
This one is likely to be an elimination game. No, not from championship contention for the schools, but from employment for the losing coach.
Georgia looked bad against Boise in their opener, and found a way to lose to USCe in their second game, one that they might easily have won. Still, they have emerged as a team with a lot of offensive firepower, and their defense played well at times against USCe.
Ole Miss has struggled on offense all season, and their defense, while not terrible, has become discouraged by all the three and outs. I remember a few years back watching a TV game with Auburn at Arkansas. What stuck with me about that game was that a lot of Arkansas fans had signs reading "Houston, we have a problem." Hog Fans, if you've still got those fans you should be able to make a few bucks selling them to Ole Miss fans.
Georgia 31 Ole Miss 10
LSU at West Virginia
LSU travels up to Hatfield and McCoy country. The Tigers made enough mistakes in the matchup with the Mountaineers last year to lose two or three ball games, but still got home with the win. This year they are much more stable on offense, and their defense reminds me of, well, ours. Even though the West Virginia fans can get loud and rowdy, the Tigers will prevail.
LSU 24 West Virginia 10.
Vanderbilt at USCe
This is a battle of the undefeateds. The Gamecocks struggled mightily against Navy last week but finally eked out a victory. It also took a special teams score and a defensive touchdown for them to beat Georgia. At this point in the season you would have to say they have underperformed. Vandy, on the other hand, had a nice victory over UConn and dominated last week against Ole Miss. Think about that. Can any of you ever remember a Vandy win over an SEC opponent being described as dominating? I know it was Ole Miss, but still the Commodore fans are all happy and optimistic.
USCe on the other hand has too many good players, and I expect that last after last week's near miss the team is paying close attention to the coaches. Vandy will play credibly, but in the end I see:
USCe 27 Vandy 17
Florida at Kentucky
The Gators have had some of the confusion you would expect with a new HC and new coordinators. One thing to remember, though, is that even though Urban is gone, he left behind a lot of talent. Florida' defensive front is as good as anyone's. Their secondary is talented, but inexperienced, as witness the seemingly never ending pass interference penalties last week end against Tennessee. Offensively they are still having growing pains from swith=ching from the spread to Charli Weiss's pro style offense, but in Demps and Rainey they have two players with explosive speed who can put points on the scoreboard in a hurry.
Kentcuky struggled in weeks one and two against inferior foes, and lost to back yard rival Louisville last week end.
Spurrier and Meyer each had teams that rolled up a lot of points against medicre Kentucky teams. This is another mediocre Kentucky team, but I don't think the Gators are in the same league with those teams offensively.
Florida 34 Kentucky 17
Arkansas at Alabama
Thanks to our very lively visitors there has been a lot of discussion about this game. Arkansas brings its high powered passing attack to tow to take on our suffocating pass defense. Our explosive but inconsistent offense take on their improved defense. Their dangerous kick returner, Joe Adams, goes against what has been excellent kick coverage this season. It is far and away the biggest test so far for either team.
I see it this way. Bama will do what it does offensively, and the Hogs defense will hang tough for a while. Bama's defense will go after Wilson. We will take away a lot of their offense, but corners on an island against very good receivers will get hit for a couple of big plays. By the fourth quarter our edge in size and depth will wear down the porkers defense, and we pull away in the fourth quarter.
Alabama 31 Arkansas 20
Louisianna Tech at Mississippi State
Two tough losses have brought reality back to Stark Vegas. They are a good, solid football team, but they do not have the talent of Albama or LSU, and they can find ways to lose to an inferior opponent. With the early season dreams now smoldering embers, it will test Mullens' mettle as a coach to see what he can salvage from this season. They should get back on track this week.
Mississippi State 35 Louisianna Tech 13
Florida Atlantic at Auburn
Auburn takes on a team that is among the worst in D-1. They need teh reprieve to work on a few things and gather themselves for their murderous October run. No problems for them this week, though it gets much tougher very soon.
Auburn 56 Florida Atlantic 14
This one is likely to be an elimination game. No, not from championship contention for the schools, but from employment for the losing coach.
Georgia looked bad against Boise in their opener, and found a way to lose to USCe in their second game, one that they might easily have won. Still, they have emerged as a team with a lot of offensive firepower, and their defense played well at times against USCe.
Ole Miss has struggled on offense all season, and their defense, while not terrible, has become discouraged by all the three and outs. I remember a few years back watching a TV game with Auburn at Arkansas. What stuck with me about that game was that a lot of Arkansas fans had signs reading "Houston, we have a problem." Hog Fans, if you've still got those fans you should be able to make a few bucks selling them to Ole Miss fans.
Georgia 31 Ole Miss 10
LSU at West Virginia
LSU travels up to Hatfield and McCoy country. The Tigers made enough mistakes in the matchup with the Mountaineers last year to lose two or three ball games, but still got home with the win. This year they are much more stable on offense, and their defense reminds me of, well, ours. Even though the West Virginia fans can get loud and rowdy, the Tigers will prevail.
LSU 24 West Virginia 10.
Vanderbilt at USCe
This is a battle of the undefeateds. The Gamecocks struggled mightily against Navy last week but finally eked out a victory. It also took a special teams score and a defensive touchdown for them to beat Georgia. At this point in the season you would have to say they have underperformed. Vandy, on the other hand, had a nice victory over UConn and dominated last week against Ole Miss. Think about that. Can any of you ever remember a Vandy win over an SEC opponent being described as dominating? I know it was Ole Miss, but still the Commodore fans are all happy and optimistic.
USCe on the other hand has too many good players, and I expect that last after last week's near miss the team is paying close attention to the coaches. Vandy will play credibly, but in the end I see:
USCe 27 Vandy 17
Florida at Kentucky
The Gators have had some of the confusion you would expect with a new HC and new coordinators. One thing to remember, though, is that even though Urban is gone, he left behind a lot of talent. Florida' defensive front is as good as anyone's. Their secondary is talented, but inexperienced, as witness the seemingly never ending pass interference penalties last week end against Tennessee. Offensively they are still having growing pains from swith=ching from the spread to Charli Weiss's pro style offense, but in Demps and Rainey they have two players with explosive speed who can put points on the scoreboard in a hurry.
Kentcuky struggled in weeks one and two against inferior foes, and lost to back yard rival Louisville last week end.
Spurrier and Meyer each had teams that rolled up a lot of points against medicre Kentucky teams. This is another mediocre Kentucky team, but I don't think the Gators are in the same league with those teams offensively.
Florida 34 Kentucky 17
Arkansas at Alabama
Thanks to our very lively visitors there has been a lot of discussion about this game. Arkansas brings its high powered passing attack to tow to take on our suffocating pass defense. Our explosive but inconsistent offense take on their improved defense. Their dangerous kick returner, Joe Adams, goes against what has been excellent kick coverage this season. It is far and away the biggest test so far for either team.
I see it this way. Bama will do what it does offensively, and the Hogs defense will hang tough for a while. Bama's defense will go after Wilson. We will take away a lot of their offense, but corners on an island against very good receivers will get hit for a couple of big plays. By the fourth quarter our edge in size and depth will wear down the porkers defense, and we pull away in the fourth quarter.
Alabama 31 Arkansas 20
Louisianna Tech at Mississippi State
Two tough losses have brought reality back to Stark Vegas. They are a good, solid football team, but they do not have the talent of Albama or LSU, and they can find ways to lose to an inferior opponent. With the early season dreams now smoldering embers, it will test Mullens' mettle as a coach to see what he can salvage from this season. They should get back on track this week.
Mississippi State 35 Louisianna Tech 13
Florida Atlantic at Auburn
Auburn takes on a team that is among the worst in D-1. They need teh reprieve to work on a few things and gather themselves for their murderous October run. No problems for them this week, though it gets much tougher very soon.
Auburn 56 Florida Atlantic 14
