MSU v Troy

Turn the Page

Here I am, 
On the road again.
There I am, 
Up on the stage. 
Here I go, 
Playin' star again... 
There I go, 
Turn the page. 

Welcome back, faithful followers, to the House of Hooch!  Mr. Hooch's beloved Bulldogs are on the road for the first time this season on Saturday when they travel to Troy, AL, thus we give the nod to Mr. Bob Seger and his timeless classic, Turn the Page.

Hopefully you all got a chance to check out the Recap of Week 2 in the SEC complete with new co-host and soon-to-be internet meta-celebrity, Professor D.  If not, you're missing out, but just click that link and it's all gravy, baby!

Now that we're breaking things up a bit we can get straight into this week's predictions and a preview of MSU v Troy, so let's stop beating around the bush and get to it... 

(Professor D = italics, Mr. Hooch = bold)

LSU v. Idaho

This is another week where I will not be watching LSU beat the crap out of some poor

bloke from out of town.

LSU wins 49 – 10

I wasn't sure Idaho would score a TD... LSU is that athletic across the board.  But then I saw the news out of Baton Rouge about the Tigahs losing 4 players due to academic ineligibility.  This is basically just a shot to their depth, though, so I'll stick with my original prediction...

 LSU 42 - Idaho 9 (3 FG's, and I feel like that's being generous)

South Carolina v. UAB

Still playing the cupcakes.

South Carolina wins 45 – 10

Come on, mom, five more minutes! Just lemme hit the snooze button one more time...

SC 34 - UAB 14

I told them Jaw-juh boys it was Owl season!

Georgia v. Florida Atlantic

Another sleeper. Georgia’s defense won’t give Florida Atlantic a chance as the bulldogs out east will run away with it.

Georgia wins 42 – 7.

I completely agree with my distinguished colleague, Professor D on this, your honor!  I say, I say, I say there is NO WAY Jaw-juh could lose this one!

GA 42 - FAU 7

Arkansas v. Alabama

Good luck Arky. Alabama’s defense is going to have a field day against Arkansas’

running game, and the offense should have their way with Arkansas defense, even if they show

up. Look for this one to get ugly quick.

Alabama wins 42 – 3.

Now available in Razorback Red!

The working motto in Arkansas is now "The beatings will continue until morale improves..."  If Saban decides to ease up late in the third the score might not be TOO outrageous, but... oh wait, this is Nick Saban we're talking about.  Even if he giftwraps the ball for Ark the entire second half his defense could put up 21 points...

Bama 45 - Ark 10

SMU v. Texas A&M

Texas A&M proved itself to be a team to reckon with this year. SMU will find

themselves out paced and out matched. The Aggies will finally get to play a non-SEC team and

really flex some muscle.

Texas A&M wins 38 – 10.

Time to start reppin the SEC, Aggies!  You and SMU were buddies back in your pre-school playground days, but this is big-boy league now, and we play for keeps.

TAMU 42 - SMU 14

Auburn v. ULM

I have no idea. Seriously I don’t even want to try predicting this game because I’m only

going to look stupid when it’s over. Auburn has yet to have a good game, and ULM is coming

off of a huge upset over Arkansas. I think Auburn will throw something together and come out

with a victory at home. If they don’t, it is going to be a long season for the Tigers.

Auburn wins 17 – 14.

There is a truckload of emotion on both sides of the ball here... Auburn is hungry for a win and some vindication, even if it is a directional Louisiana school, because at least then they could claim a victory over a team that beat a fellow SEC West foe.  ULM is riding high, but make no mistake, this is no trap game for them... they're hungry to prove last week wasn't a fluke and they will come out guns blazing and try to expose the porous Auburn defense.  I'm still not sold on the Auburn QB situation, but they've had a lot of 'learning experiences' the last two weeks and I expect things to be a little different this time around.  Still not the cleanest of games, and the natives are definitely getting restless down on the plains, but they will right the ship this week...

Auburn 24 - ULM 17

Ole Miss v. Texas

Sigh. I wish I could pick Ole Miss; I really do. It would look great for such a weak SEC team to beat a top 25 opponent. It would help recover some face lost by Arkansas last week. But Texas is going to run away with this one against an Ole Miss team that has been rebuilding for 3 straight years.

Texas wins 38 – 10 (and that one touchdown won’t be by Ole Miss’ offense)

Texas is too talented all over the field to get tripped up by Ole Miss... that being said, OM has been known to play spoiler before when they were clearly outmatched, so you never really know.  Ultimately I have to go with my gut, though...

Texas 42 - OM 13

Presbyterian's only play... the Hail Mary.

Vanderbilt v. Presbyterian

Come on Vanderbilt. I’m looking for the Commodores to rebound at home and beat an overmatched Presbyterian.

Vanderbilt wins 21 – 10.

Vandy, you're on notice... the Professor has called you out, and there's only one thing to do.  Kick the habit! (see what I did there?)

Vandy 24 - Presbyterian 14

Kentucky v. Western Kentucky

Kentucky is no Alabama, but the result should be the same for WKU, a loss to the SEC.

This could turn into an upset for Kentucky if they start as slow as they did last week, but the

home crowd just won’t let them fall to this non-conference foe.

Kentucky wins 24 – 17

I agree with the Professor, this could easily blow up in the 'Cats faces if they don't start strong and clean.  Mistake-free football is the key to this one, but WKU will not go quietly into that good night...

Kentucky 21 - WKU 17

Missouri v. Arizona State

This is going to be an important game down the road, as one of the few links between the

SEC and the PAC-12. Missouri will need to provide an SEC level atmosphere to help out there

team, which can’t afford the slow start they got out to against Georgia. This game is definitely

one to watch, but I’m going to go with the SEC (however new the member) over the PAC-12 in

a pick that may come back to bite me.

Missouri wins 30 – 24.

All eyes on you, Mizzou... the new kids on the block in the SEC are definitely under the microscope this season.  The question is can they handle the pressure and take care of the things they need to take care of?  I think the Sun Devils will give Mizzou more of a game than they expect, but the end result should be a 'W'.

Mizzou 35 - AZ State 28

Tennessee v. Florida

This is going to be a good game. Florida won’t have the luxury of just pounding out yards in the second half like they did last week, and Tennessee is team on the rise this year. Look for the home field advantage to swing this one in Tennessee’s favor as an over-rated Florida team finally falls.

Tennessee wins 31 – 17.

This one is hard to call, but the Vols have impressed Mr. Hooch more so than the Gators in their first two outings this season.  I do think it will be a bit closer than the Professor, however...

Tenn 24 - FL 21

Troy v. Mississippi State

Good coaches know how to make a cup cake team look threatening in order to get the team ready for them. If they didn’t, well, remember Maine. Troy has made Dan Mullen’s job a lot easier in that regard. Perusing the schedule for Mississippi State’s future W’s and L’s, Troy seems like an obvious W, but after two games their offense has shown they are not to be taken lightly. In their last game as a team Troy was 50 of 75 passing for 528 yards. The game before that they ran 45 times for 262 yards. That is one impressive offensive machine. Mississippi State will rely on their defensive line heavily to force Trojan quarterback Corey Robinson to make some bad decisions and allow a ball hawking secondary to do its thing and create turnovers. Troy was one dimensional in each of their first two games, zeroing in on the run in the first, and the pass in the second. They will need to be balanced to try and keep Mississippi State’s defense honest. If State can make Troy one dimensional, it could turn into a pretty good day for the bulldogs.

Mississippi State’s offense should perform well against a defense that has been weak all around. If Tyler Russell can be as consistent as he was against Auburn, look for State’s offense to put up good numbers, especially if the O-line continues to improve as a unit. Even if Russell has an off day, the stable of running backs behind a solid middle three linemen for state will be too much for Troy’s defense to handle.

Mississippi State’s defense should get a good test from the Trojan offense, and if they’re properly prepared they should pass. If they’re looking for an easy win, this one could turn into an ugly shoot out. The offense just has to go in and take care of business. This should be a confidence builder for the linemen and the receivers. You’ll notice I’ve ignored special teams for Mississippi State. I’ll wait until we make a field goal to start including them.

Mississippi State finally gets a field goal and wins 45 – 27.

Not much to say that the Professor hasn't already said... It's not exactly David vs. Goliath, but it would take a meltdown of Arkansan proportions for MSU to blow this one.  Dan Mullen won't let that happen... I have to say, though, for Professor D to heap so much praise on the Bulldog defense and then say Troy will put up 27 is a bit odd.  MSU special teams will have a good day at Troy, though, and hopefully work out the kinks in the kicking game... Troy's second TD will come late in the game, when Mullen has taken his foot off the gas and subbed in second and third stringers across the board.

MSU 35 - Troy 14

I’ve picked the SEC to rebound from last week’s losses and suffer only one loss by Ole Miss to a ranked Texas team, understandable in my opinion. I’m counting on Missouri and Vanderbilt to step up and do the SEC proud in their non-conference games, trusting the rest of the teams to just go out and take care of business.

While we don't agree on the spread, we have picked the same winners for every matchup this week. Outside of Ole Miss, I'm looking at Missouri or Kentucky to be the teams that throw off my picks, but we shall see...

And that's a wrap for this week's blog!  If you like it then share the link and tell your friends.  If you don't, well, why the hell are you still reading?  Get lost!  Seriously... go. Go home. The blog is over.  

Dankeschön und auf wiedersehen...