SEC Preview: Week 6

Gotye - The Only Way

All the things you thought you came here for,

Everything you thought you knew for sure.

No meandering, no more wondering

Everything is true.

Welcome back to the House of Hooch for the SEC Weekend Preview!  This week's song lyrics are pulled from an amazing track by Gotye, and they are meant as guidance to the Bulldogs.  You've made your own way here, and this is the only way to get what you want.  No meandering, no more wondering, everything is true.  Now it's time to take it and make it your own... The road to Atlanta takes you through Lexington this weekend, so handle your business.  Now I'll turn you over to the Professor and let him sizzle your synapses with his powerful prognostications!

Alright folks here we go with week 6, and as bad as last week’s matchups were is as good as they are this week. The Georgia – South Carolina game is going to garner a lot of attention this week, as it should, but we’ve also got Florida – LSU, Missouri – Vanderbilt, and Auburn – Arkansas. The tops are taking on the tops; the bottoms are taking on the bottoms. Oh yeah, and those middle teams Mississippi State and Texas A&M are taking on a couple of teams that could provide some shockers… maybe… probably not. Let’s get down to it, as I’m sure the games for this fine Saturday of football are going to be intense and unpredictable.

Johnny Football has his eye on Colonel Reb this weekend.

Ole Miss v. TAMU

This is one of only two games this weekend I honestly feel confident predicting, yet even so, things could get interesting in Oxford. Texas A&M boasts one hell of an offense this year with Johnny Football (I do love that nickname) leading the attack. Defensively, Ole Miss is struggling this year. But despite their lack of talent you have to give them credit for not throwing in the towel (I’m looking at you Arkansas). Similarly the Aggie defense fights tooth and nail throughout the game to give their offense the best chance to come out with a win, not that the offense needs it. I’m looking for this one to get ugly late in the game, but the home field should keep Ole Miss in it for at least a half.

Ole Miss 21 – TAMU 42

I have to agree with Professor D, it's hard to call this anything but a win for TAMU.  The Aggies have been steamrolling their opponents this season with an average margin of victory of about 37 points through their first four games.  I'm not sure the Ole Miss defense can make a dent in that number, but if their offense comes to play it could happen.  I wouldn't hold my breath, though...

Ole Miss 17 - TAMU 47

I CAN HAZ SEC WIN??? YAY!!!

Missouri v. Vanderbilt

This game won’t matter much to most of the SEC teams, but to Mizzou and Vandy it

could very well define their season. Both teams are in desperate need of an SEC win or even just a good game. The Commodores came into this season looking to build some momentum and earn some respect in the SEC East. They appeared to be on track after a close game against South Carolina to start the year but since then they’ve been nothing but disappointing. A win against Missouri could go a long way to making this a bearable season. Missouri on the other hand came in with what they thought would be one of the most impressive offenses in the league. It didn’t take long for that notion to disintegrate. Getting an SEC win at home could really revitalize this fan base going into a game against… oh yeah, Alabama. Well they at least would get a few days to enjoy the win. Predicting this game is tough. On paper Missouri looks like the favorite, but Vanderbilt has shown some ability to rebound in the past. If Missouri is looking ahead to Alabama then this game could be very interesting. Will the home field advantage be enough motivation for the Tigers? Or will Vanderbilt finally step up and get a win in the SEC. Tough to say, but I’m going with the home team.

Missouri 17 – Vanderbilt 13

As tempting as it is to go after this one as an 'upset' (and I put that in quotes for a reason) I have to think Missouri will be picking up their first SEC win at the expense of the Commodores this weekend.  Neither team is going to dazzle anyone, but Missouri is a more consistent and complete team than Vandy at this point.  I expect Missouri's special teams to be the difference maker in this one, as Marcus Murphy boasts three punt returns for touchdowns this season already.  It's going to be a hard fought game, but unless the Commodores get a few lucky bounces the day will belong to the Tigers, and Vandy will remain winless in the SEC.  At least they won't be alone...

Missouri 21 - Vanderbilt 17

Auburn v. Arkansas

Oh the difference one month can make. At the beginning of the season this looked to be one of the great games in the SEC west this year: a dynamic Arkansas offense going against a revamped Auburn. Instead what we get are two teams struggling to stay relevant to the SEC. It feels like beating a dead horse to say it but Auburn’s defense showed some life against LSU, who despite struggles of their own isn’t nearly as bad as Arkansas’ offense. Arkansas on the other hand hasn’t shown any life this year. The difference between these two teams is going to be that Auburn wants to play football this year and Arkansas doesn’t… that and the fact that the game is being played on the Plains.

Auburn 14 – Arkansas 10

Do you think the Arkansas dumpster fire
smells like bacon?

...and here's why Vandy won't be alone.  Auburn and Arkansas are also winless in the SEC, which makes for another game that is going to define a season for at least one team.  The dumpster fire that is Arkansas football right now desperately needs a win, but the Hogs have all but checked out already, and we're only on game 5 of the season.  This game pits Auburn's last place offense of the SEC against Arkansas' last place defense of the SEC.  How's that for underwhelming?  As the Professor pointed out, for two teams that were projected to do great things this season, this is a slap in the face.  Still, pride matters, and Auburn has shown more pride in their game by playing a suspect LSU team down to the wire than the Razorbacks have in their 4 game skid.  While I won't diverge from the Professor in terms of picking a winner, I will say I expect a higher score.

Auburn 27 - Arkansas 17

Florida v. LSU

Oh my what a football game this could be. Florida has been surprisingly good this year, especially in the second half. LSU meanwhile has just been finding a way to win. LSU has the edge in talent but Florida has been executing on a much higher level all year. The home field could again prove to be the advantage as the Swamp is by far the toughest crowd LSU has played in front of all year. Florida’s defense should have a field day against a one dimensional LSU, but then again it wouldn’t be the first time a team came in and ran the ball down the Gators throats and came out with a win (I know it was a very different Florida but man did it feel good to do Maroon and White in the Swamp). LSU’s defense meanwhile seems more than up to the challenge of taking on a surprisingly dynamic Gator offense. Both teams will be up and ready for this game, as it could be the defining moment for a struggling LSU or a rising Florida. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think Florida’s execution will trump LSU’s talent.

Florida 13 – LSU 10

...and from the wars of the winless we come to the battle of the undefeated.  Both Florida and LSU are perfect on the season.  Two teams enter, one team leaves.  This is going to be a good game to watch regardless of the outcome, but that being said I am going to go out on a limb and pick LSU here.  I have been calling them out as being 'not as advertised' for much of the season, and especially after the Auburn game, but they are still stacked with talent across the board.  So to that end I will call for LSU to win this one, and the Professor and I will have something to talk about on Saturday.

Florida 14 - LSU 17

You gotta love it when girls
cheer for Cocks...

South Carolina v. Georgia

How many great football games can we fit in one  Saturday? Number 5 v. Number 6 in the nation, the SEC East title on the line, national championship implications (maybe?), this game has it all. Georgia has a great offense, but will this defense be all it was hyped as? Tennessee played them well and South Carolina is a much better team than the Volunteers. South Carolina meanwhile showed some weakness to Kentucky’s offense last week; can they get that sorted out before Georgia’s running backs blow the game open? I cannot wait to find out. I’m flipping a coin and making up numbers for the pick.

South Carolina 29.7 v. Georgia 35 – 6i

Yet another battle of the unbeatens will unfold as South Carolina hosts the Bulldogs this weekend.  Georgia's offense has been solid, but so has the Gamecock's defense.  This one could go about a million different ways and the batteries in my crystal ball are dead, so I have no idea what's going to happen.  I have to guess it will ultimately come down to who has the stronger ground game, and I have to give the nod to the Bulldogs for that.  Marcus Lattimore is very good at what he does, but Georgia knows that South Carolina's offense is one dimensional, so look for them to stack the box in an effort to shore up Lattimore's opportunities on the day.  I have enough trouble with real numbers, so I'm not going to throw out imaginary numbers like the Professor and muddle things even further.

South Carolina 24 - Georgia 31

Kentucky v. Mississippi State

The gauntlet is upon us State fans; it’s time to see what this team is made of. Sure the bulldogs are coming in as double digit favorites and Kentucky’s lineup is riddled with injuries, but that doesn’t change the fact that this game is huge. The bulldogs have had two long weeks to think about what it means to be 4 – 0 and if they’re still looking ahead to being 7 – 0 going into Alabama this game could be a real shocker. With Tennessee and a surprising Middle Tennessee State still to come Dan Mullen cannot afford to lose focus now.

I know I don't look like it, but I really am
chomping at the bit...

Mississippi State’s offense is chomping at the bit to get a hold of this Kentucky defense. They’ve allowed almost two hundred yards per game on the ground and the bulldogs are balanced enough to make them pay if they sell out against the run. But Kentucky has a pretty good offense as well. They played hard at home against South Carolina and will come out firing in front of that home crowd again this week, no matter who is playing quarterback. This time though they’re going up against what State fans are calling (or so I’ve heard) Precinct 913.

Mississippi State’s secondary is loaded with talent and experience and they’re putting up some impressive numbers. Numbers that could still be misleading as the starters have sat the fourth quarter almost every game this year. If the defense has the type of game they’re capable of this one might not be in question for long, but if they struggle like they did on the road at Troy we might end up in a shoot out. Lucky for us our kicker seems to have gotten over a bad case of the freshman jitters.

I hesitate to say too much more about this game; Mississippi State has been iffy off the bye week in the past, but Dan seems to have gotten these guys focused after two lackluster performances in a row. If State can finally put together that complete game fans have been looking for we’ll be riding high coming back home to face Tennessee. If not, well, a once promising season would quickly turn into a very unforgiving fall.

Kentucky 14 – Mississippi State 24

Like the Professor said, it's time to hunker down and take care of business.  This Kentucky team is entirely beatable, but they shouldn't be overlooked or taken for granted.  The Bulldogs have a lot going in their favor, as they'll be facing a rotation of 2 true freshman QB's who will be forced to air it out given the Wildcats' anemic ground game.  You better believe Jonathan Banks and Darius Slay are licking their chops in anticipation of picking off a few errant passes on Saturday, and if the Kentucky QB committee is foolish enough to throw in their directions that's exactly what will happen.  

Then there's LaDarius Perkins.  Perk is quietly making his way up the offense charts, and you can expect MSU's leading rusher to have a field day at Kentucky's expense.  The stability of the Bulldog's ground game just opens up the passing lanes for Tyler Russell and the stable of receivers.  The balanced offense is going to be more than Kentucky can handle, and I expect this one to get out of hand early, leading to lots of substitutions on the Maroon and White side of the field.  If that happens it means MSU will be getting valuable playing experience to the second and third bodies on the rotation, which will pay dividends when Tennessee comes to town next week.  

Kentucky 14 - Mississippi State 31

And that's a wrap on another SEC Weekend Preview from the House of Hooch.  Thanks for reading and be sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and spread the lovin wherever you go!  Have a great weekend!