🏈 PJ's Picks, Week 9

[psychojoe]

What a weekend. After Saturday's events climate change has reversed itself, the earth has resumed its proper orbit and Alabama dread has once again infested the football world.

The playoff picture is muddled. There are three significant unbeaten left in the hunt, but a lot of one loss teams are out there who will have a strong case for inclusion if they run the table, including our favorite team.

Our picks for this week will include several of these teams.

Southern Cal at Utah

The Utes have quietly, almost entirely under the radar, worked their way into contention in the PAC 12. With no really dominant team in the league, they are as good as any. At home, there in the mountains, they are tough. At home, they should have enough.

PJ's Pick- Utah 27 Southern Cal 23

 

[psychojoe]

Texas at Kansas State

Texas will only be relevant this season as a spoiler, much to the chagrin of their delusional fan base. Kansas State, after falling to Auburn because of place kicking issues, found the other side of that as they beat Oklahoma because the Sooners missed two short field goals and an extra point. The Wildcats should get past they Longhorns this week, then on to crunch time in the Big 12 race.

PJ's Pick- Kansas State 31 Texas 20

 

[psychojoe]

California at Oregon

The Ducks are starting to get some of their offensive linemen back, so Mariotta will be able to actually run the offense instead of running for his life. Cal brings a potent offense in, but not potent enough to stay with the Ducks.

PJ's Pick: Oregon 45 Cal 27

 

[psychojoe]

UAB at Arkansas

After battling the heavyweights of the SEC, and losing on the scoreboard end, the Razorbacks get a down week to retool and gird themselves for a brutal stretch run that includes LSU and both Mississippi schools. while the Blazers are not the easy pickings they were for the last few years, they are not close to ready to beat an SEC school. The Hogs get their potent running game untracked and sail through.

PJ's Pick - Arkansas 48 UAB 21

 

[psychojoe]

Missouri at Vanderbilt

Six first down. 113 yards total offense. You would expect that these stats would be for a team on the wrong side of a beat down. But instead it was Florida who totally melted down on offense and special teams, giving Zou plenty of opportunities. The Tigers were smart enough to go minimalist on offense and allow Florida to self destruct. The Missouri defense once again should not be threatened as they visit Vanderbilt. Their offense may need to do a little more than last week, but this should be a fairly easy road win for Mizzou.

PJ's Pick: Missouri 34 Vanderbilt 10

 

[psychojoe]

South Carolina at Auburn

The Gamecocks had little trouble disposing of Furman, but this week they step into the Tiger's den, literally. Auburn, smarting from their loss in Stark Vegas, will be anxious to show the world that their real team is much better than that. The South Carolina defense has been uncharacteristically porous all season, and Auburn is not the team you want to be playing if you have defensive issues. Their offense, meanwhile, has blown hot and cold. As bad as it hurts me to say this, the Boogs are clearly the better team, and absent some serious magic from the Head Ball Coach, Auburn rolls South Carolina.

PJ's Pick: Auburn 42 South Carolina 24

 

[psychojoe]

Mississippi State at Kentucky

CBS may be having regrets about picking this particular SEC game for uts feature game, but their options were limited for this weekend, and up until LSU destroyed the Wildcats in Red Stick last Sarurday night. As the season has progressed, the Wildcats win over South Carolina and their near miss versus Florida do not look as impressive as they once did. State took last week off to catch their breath and reload for the stretch run, and Prescott and Company will overwhelm the mediocre Kentucky defense. Kentucky may get a score or two off its speedy players, but it will not be enough. The happy times will continue in Stark Vegas.

PJ's Pick: Mississippi Stae 47 Kentucky 20

 

[psychojoe]

Ole Miss at LSU

Over the years this has been one of the great rivalries in the SEC. I remember the famous Billy Cannon run in 1958 ( I was a small child) that beat Ole Miss and ultimately resulted in LSU's first national championship. There were clock shenanigans one year that allowed LSU to pull out a win, and led to a sign being posted on the Mississippi side of the state line that said "You are now entering Louisianna, please set your watch back seven seconds." It has always been a fun rivalry to follow as someone who has no allegiance to either team.

I have not looked, but I expect you would have to go back to the days of Johnny Vaught to find a season where Ole Miss heads into Baton Rouge with more on the line. The Rebs, led by Bo Wallace, who is playing the best football of his career now, and by a stellar defense, will be favored. LSU, coming out of their catastrophe against Auburn, looked to have severe problems on both sides of the ball. Then we all witnessed yet another Miles Miracle in Gainesville, and watched the suddenly rejuvenated Bayou Bengals destroy Kentucky this Saturday night. I get the feeling I have seen this script before. LSU struggles early in the season, but starts to get it together and by the end of the season they are a pretty fierce Tiger.

LSU has been weak against the inside running game this year, but Ole Miss, when they run, tests the perimeter. LSU's offensive line is the strength of their team. To have a chance LSU needs to take care of the football. I will not say you can toss out the r4ecord books on this one, but you can safely say that neither team needs extra motivation. It will be really loud in Cajun land Saturday night. The more I think about this game, the more I feel like there is an upset brewing.

PJ's Pick: LSU 27 Ole Miss 24

 

[psychojoe]

Alabama at Tennessee

The annual Third Saturday in October, only nowadays all you can figure on is that the game will be in October. In recent years UT has not done their part in keeping up the national interest in what many of us older Bama fans regard as our biggest game. Butch Jones has recruited well, and started to turn things around, and he does have a well above average defense. Still, he has had to deal with a weak and inexperienced offensive line and mediocre quarterback play all year.

The Tide clearly hit on all cylinders last Saturday against aTm in front of a very appreciative home crowd. The crowd will not be very friendly this week, as they are hoping to end a drought against Alabama. They have to go back to Mike Shula's last year to find a win versus Bama. The last tie it was close Lane Kiffin as on the sidelines. Kiffin will be on the sidelines this weekend as well, though not on their behalf. How the crowd in Neyland Stadium reacts to his presence will be one of the interesting side lights for this game.

As I said in a thread this morning, the Viles will have a really hard time moving the ball, and barring Arkansas type weather and Bama self defeating on offense, the Tide will be rolling big time, as the UT defense wears down from being on the field a lot. Later today, I will go shopping for a really good cigar.

PJ's Pick: Alabama 41 Tennessee 10

 

[252BAMA]

Ole Miss at LSU

Over the years this has been one of the great rivalries in the SEC. I remember the famous Billy Cannon run in 1958 ( I was a small child) that beat Ole Miss and ultimately resulted in LSU's first national championship. There were clock shenanigans one year that allowed LSU to pull out a win, and led to a sign being posted on the Mississippi side of the state line that said "You are now entering Louisianna, please set your watch back seven seconds." It has always been a fun rivalry to follow as someone who has no allegiance to either team.

I have not looked, but I expect you would have to go back to the days of Johnny Vaught to find a season where Ole Miss heads into Baton Rouge with more on the line. The Rebs, led by Bo Wallace, who is playing the best football of his career now, and by a stellar defense, will be favored. LSU, coming out of their catastrophe against Auburn, looked to have severe problems on both sides of the ball. Then we all witnessed yet another Miles Miracle in Gainesville, and watched the suddenly rejuvenated Bayou Bengals destroy Kentucky this Saturday night. I get the feeling I have seen this script before. LSU struggles early in the season, but starts to get it together and by the end of the season they are a pretty fierce Tiger.

LSU has been weak against the inside running game this year, but Ole Miss, when they run, tests the perimeter. LSU's offensive line is the strength of their team. To have a chance LSU needs to take care of the football. I will not say you can toss out the r4ecord books on this one, but you can safely say that neither team needs extra motivation. It will be really loud in Cajun land Saturday night. The more I think about this game, the more I feel like there is an upset brewing.

PJ's Pick: LSU 27 Ole Miss 24

Why not? Then we could have 5 West teams in the mix. With this kind of finish:

LSU finishes 10 - 2 loses to Aub and Miss St

Ala finishes 10- 2 loses to Ole Miss and LSU

Ole Miss finishes 10 - 2 loses to LSU and Aub

Aub finishes 10- 2 loses to Miss St and Ala

Miss St finishes 10 - 2 loses to Ala and Ole Miss

 

[psychojoe]

Why not? Then we could have 5 West teams in the mix. With this kind of finish:

LSU finishes 10 - 2 loses to Aub and Miss St

Ala finishes 10- 2 loses to Ole Miss and LSU

Ole Miss finishes 10 - 2 loses to LSU and Aub

Aub finishes 10- 2 loses to Miss St and Ala

Miss St finishes 10 - 2 loses to Ala and Ole Miss

I would get a headache thinking about all of those tie breakers.

 

[Bamabww]

Ole Miss at LSU
There were clock shenanigans one year that allowed LSU to pull out a win, and led to a sign being posted on the Mississippi side of the state line that said "You are now entering Louisianna, please set your watch back seven seconds."

I remember that sign and game. Another enjoyable thread, thanks.

 

[TerryP]

@Bamabww @psychojoe

That was "...watch back four seconds," wasn't it?

Didn't see the game. Don't recall the game. Read about the game and it seems like it was four...

Not as if it's a big deal...football conversation, ya know?

 

[Bamabww]

@TerryP, I thought it was 3 seconds actually but hell, that's been a long time ago. But you are right; here's a game recap from LSU 247 Sports:

In 1972, No. 6 LSU welcomed in unranked Ole Miss for a game that is still talked about by older Rebels fans, often referenced as the night Tiger Stadium gave LSU a few free seconds of football. The Tigers trailed Ole Miss 16-10 with just four seconds to play. With the ball on the 10-yard line, and after a short incompletion, the game clock still read one second to play. Bert Jones then delivered a one-yard pass as time expired to running back Brad Davis, who dove across the goal line as he was being pushed out of bounds for the winning score. With LSU pulling off the 17-16 win in dramatic fashion, a billboard was later posted on the state line that read "You are now entering Louisiana. Set your watch back four seconds."

http://lsu.247sports.com/Bolt/LSU-vs-Ole-Miss-5-Memorable-Tiger-Wins-32226388

 

[252BAMA]

I would get a headache thinking about all of those tie breakers.

Actually it would be quite simple. With all of the losses attributed to other West division teams, it would go to the last tie-breaker before the coin flip. The barn would win that by virtue of playing UGA and SC. None of the other combined SEC records of the Cross-Divisional opponents would even be close.

 

[TerryP]

@Bamabww @psychojoe

I ran across this thread earlier this morning...

http://www.tigerfan.com/threads/turn-back-the-clock-in-baton-rouge-article.110390/#post-1419529

 

[psychojoe]

@Bamabww @psychojoe

I ran across this thread earlier this morning...

http://www.tigerfan.com/threads/turn-back-the-clock-in-baton-rouge-article.110390/#post-1419529

I was twelve years old when that happened. I remember listening to that game on the radio with my dad. In the fifties, and indeed on into the sixties, There was also finding the scratchy sounding radio station far away and listening as attentively as you could as the signal came and went. I remember hearing some broadcast legends such as Ward, Ferguson, Munson. Our own legend, John Forney, was the sidekick for play by play guy Maury Farrell back then.

 

[TerryP]

Nice job, @psychojoe