I'm not responsible for the man's depression,
How can I find compassion in the midst of a recession?
How come all these questions keep fuckin' with my head
And I still can't remember why I need a spool of thread.
Welcome back, faithful viewers! It's time once again for another SEC Weekend Preview here at the House of Hooch! I wanted to give you the original video to this song because it illustrates the story of this song so beautifully, but it's strangely absent from youtube, so you'll just have to use your imagination. I do highly recommend you actively listen to this song because it's funky and smooth and tells a great story, and one that I am hoping the Mississippi State defense takes to heart so they can shore up their lackluster performances through the rest of the season.
On to other matters... it's a smaller serving this week as MSU, Florida, Vandy and Auburn are all on a bye week, and baring any catastrophic meltdowns the winners should be readily apparent to anyone who can spell their own name without a cheat sheet. The exception to that would be the Missouri game, so we'll just dig right in and tell you why...
The SEC Football gods have granted us some guaranteed great matchups this year
with Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia all having to play each other, the typical
juggernaut matchup between Alabama and LSU, Mississippi State versus Texas
A&M, and of course Auburn against Auburn. None of those games are happening
this week.
Alabama v Ole Miss
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| Fozzy: Kermit I think we just hit something... I see a lot of red and blue in the rear view mirror. Kermit: No worries, Fozzy, just keep your eye on that National Championship. |
Alabama 41 - Ole Miss 10
Just as Ole Miss seems to get on the right track they run into Alabama, those
poor cubs. Bama’s defense will be more than a match for Ole Miss’s surprisingly
potent offense and the rebel black bears just don’t have a defensive answer for the
Alabama offense. I agree with Mr. Hooch; this one is going to get ugly.
Alabama 45 – Ole Miss 7
South Carolina v Kentucky
Is it basketball season yet? That's the mantra in Kentucky most years, and although their football program has improved substantially by leaps and bounds in recent years, they're still not on the level with the likes of Florida and South Carolina... which is a statement that would've seemed odd 4-5 years ago, but that's what hiring a guy like Steve Spurrier can do for a program. Unfortunately for the Wildcats and Joker Phillips they're just outclassed in this match-up.
South Carolina 41 - Kentucky 14
You said it sir; the wildcats are improving, but not to the level that South Carolina
is playing at. The Gamecocks out classed Missouri last week, look for a similar
performance this week against the wildcats, who are hoping against hope to bounce
back from last week’s ouch against Florida. I’m thinking Carolina’s QB’s will slip
up a couple of times and keep this one closer than it should be though.
South Carolina 35 – Kentucky 17
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| Is my tie on straight? |
Well, LSU finally played 'somebody' last weekend and came out looking not-so-fresh. Auburn took the Bayou Bengals down to the wire in their 12-10 game Saturday, and left much of the nation scratching their head as to the real nature of this LSU team. There's no doubt they're talented and physically gifted... there will ALWAYS be questions about the relative sanity of their coach. But were they just uninspired and looking past Auburn... to... Towson? Whatever the reason, LSU is not likely to slip up that badly, and especially against a lesser opponent.
LSU 45 - Towson 6
I see we’re back to this. Whelp LSU didn’t play their best game last week, and for the sake of Towson’s players let’s hope they wait a little bit to decide they want to come out and “prove” themselves. I think LSU will continue to slip in terms of execution, but they win this one easily on shear physicality.
LSU 38 – Towson 3
TAMU v Arkansas
The wheels have officially fallen off the Arkansas program after Rutgers waltzed into their house and handed them yet another loss last Saturday. Meanwhile Texas A&M has been tuning up to give the Razorbacks yet another unmerciful beating by rolling off 70 points on South Carolina State... This has gone from a potential bowl year to a rebuilding year to a please-god-let-this-season-end-so-we-can-clean-house year for Arkansas. Even if John L. Smith DIDN'T lose 25 million dollars in real estate I doubt he could buy a win this weekend.
TAMU 45 - Arkansas 17
I would love to see Arkansas put a winning performance together in this game. I
still want to see the newbies struggle in SEC play (yes I’m going to have this stance
all year). Unfortunately, TAMU is just too good for that to happen. A&M will run
away with this one and go 1-0 in the SEC West.
TAMU 52 – Arkansas 14
Mizzou v UCF
Watch out, Tigers... that was a tough, if not unforeseen, loss to South Carolina last week, but you're walking into a trap with UCF. The Knights are a scrappy 2-1 team whose one loss came at the hands of undefeated Ohio State. UCF will be hosting their first ever SEC opponent and the Knights will be chomping at the bit to have a go at the new kids on the SEC block. Missouri should watch the MSU/Troy game to know what to expect... you can bemoan your 'tough schedule' later, but unless you get your game faces on you could be in for yet another disappointment. I'll probably regret this, but I'll still take Missouri to win.
Mizzou 35 - UCF 24
Well something has to make this week interesting. Since Rutgers gave me a point of
Mr. Hooch last week, I’m going to go ahead and spend it on a probably misguided
bet on UCF. Missouri got dominated last week by South Carolina and as a team
they’re pretty beat up. I’m looking for them to look at this as a recovery week and
fall victim to, as Mr. Hooch described, this scrappy UCF team. I hate picking
against the SEC, but Missouri and Arkansas (and Auburn and Ole Miss) are just
making it a little too easy right now.
Missouri 14 - UCF 17
Georgia v Tennessee
Probably one of the most anticipated SEC games this weekend is Georgia and Tennessee... Tennessee has the capability to play above their 'level' and if they catch the Dawgs napping they might be able to snatch the win out from under Georgia. That said, Georgia is just dominant on both sides of the ball, and I think it's going to end up being far more than the Vols can handle for four quarters. This game will help define the pecking order in the SEC East, and you can bet the Bulldawgs are likely to be towards the top of that list.
Georgia 35 - Tennessee 24
You could argue that Georgia is the best team in the SEC East this year, and it wouldn’t be
Tennessee making a case against you. Georgia is just too good for the Volunteers on every
side of the ball (except maybe offense, but the bulldog’s defense is more than capable of
handling the Vols). This one may not get ugly, as I think Tennessee will rebound from last
week’s Akron performance, but it won’t really be close either.
Georgia 31 – Tennessee 17
...and that's it! Not much else to see around the conference, so I'll leave you to it. Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading and be sure to like us on Facebook and spread the word on Twitter! By the way, it's National Drink Beer Day here in America, so show your patriotism by having a frosty beverage! To really celebrate the day, here's a lovely lass from Oktoberfest 2012. Cheers!
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| Why do I get the feeling you're not looking at our beers? |
Well...since State isn't playing this week, all I have to say is. I want to go to Oktoberfest. Even MOAR now.
ReplyDeleteI just want to add this little thought:
ReplyDeleteMississippi State enters the bye week and October undefeated. No matter what happens during our run through the gauntlet to finish the season we can look back at the start and say "Shit that was fun". Thank you Dan Mullen.
"There is something quietly brewing down in Starkville" CBS sports after Mississippi State's win over South Alabama.