[Mr. Hooch] Tell me that doesn't get you amped for some football...
Welcome back to a "normal" edition of the Weekend Preview here at the House of Hooch! I won't bore you with the details, but various things kept interfering with Mr. Hooch's ability to put forth the product you've come to know and love the last few weeks (and no, it wasn't the losing streak, smartass), but we're back on track now, baby! Enough with the small talk, though... let's do this!!!
W. Carolina at Alabama
The Crimson Tide will take out their frustrations on a 1-9 W. Carolina team this weekend, and it won't be pretty. Alabama saw their dreams of an appearance in the National Championship game all but evaporate at the hands of unlikely spoilers Texas A&M last weekend, and you know they're not happy about it. The defense will be playing to prove something after the Aggies gouged them last week, as will the offense after being stuffed on their last possession inside the 10 yard line... This won't be pretty...
W. Carolina 0 - Alabama 47
Alabama v. Western Carolina
[Professor D] Alabama is reeling after a stunning loss to Texas A&M. A weekend date with Western Carolina may be just what the doctor ordered for the Crimson Tide. Alabama doesn’t really have a challenge left on the schedule until the SEC Championship game in which the Tide will most assuredly be playing. After trashing Western Carolina this weekend Alabama has only lowly Auburn left on their schedule between them and an SEC West title. This game is going to get ugly quick as Alabama puts itself back together.
Alabama 41 – Western Carolina 3
Jacksonville St. at Florida
Florida has a 50 game win streak going against non-BCS conference teams. Jacksonville St. actually beat a BCS team last year. That team, incidentally, was fellow SEC member Ole Miss. The long and short of it, however, is that Florida will not let another ULL gaff happen this week. They will be tuning up for their annual showdown with FSU next week, and the Gators will roll...
Jacksonville St. 10 - Florida 30
Florida v. Jacksonville State
Florida hasn’t looked great for their last two games but Jacksonville State shouldn’t present the Gators with much of a challenge, then again Missouri shouldn’t have either. Florida escaped the last two games and I don’t imagine Will Muschamp will allow this skid to become a trend. This game comes at the perfect time for Florida. The Gators, even with their injuries, should come out firing, especially in the second half.
Florida 24 – Jacksonville State 13
Wofford at South Carolina
The Wofford Terriers (I'm not kidding) bring their triple option offense to South Carolina this weekend, and this could be a tougher game than it looks on the surface. Many MSU fans will remember the Georgia Tech triple option which stifled the Bulldogs a few years ago... The Gamecock linebackers will have to play solid, disciplined defense to contain the Terriers' backfield. If SC can hold on (and I think they will) they will have won 10 in a row at home and have their first undefeated season in their stadium since 1987. That's big.
Wofford 21 - South Carolina 30
South Carolina v. Wofford
South Carolina has the grave misfortune of being a good team while Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and LSU are all busy being great teams. The Gamecocks are fighting desperately for a decent bowl game and hoping that somehow Georgia or Alabama end up in the National Championship game. A loss to Wofford would take South Carolina out of contention for a decent post season game. That shouldn’t happen though as the Gamecocks will be more than a match for Wofford.
South Carolina 38 – Wofford 10
Georgia Southern at Georgia
Georgia already knows they're headed to Atlanta for the SEC title game... but if they keep winning, with a little luck they could work their way into the National Championship conversation. That's motivation enough to stay focused this week as they play host to Georgia Southern. That's not going to be as easy as it sounds though, as GA Southern also boasts a triple option offense, as well as an 8-2 record. Be that as it may, Georgia holds a 4-0 record in this series, and they will have been focusing on the triple option in practice as their next game with Georgia Tech will also pose the same offensive strategy...
Georgia Southern 21 - Georgia 33
Georgia v. Georgia Southern
Georgia has locked up the SEC East and is hoping for a few slip ups from Notre Dame and Kansas State for a shot at the National Championship. The bulldogs have been on fire since that close game against Kentucky and should more than handle Georgia Southern. The key to the games leading up to the SEC Championship will be staying healthy. If Georgia could stay healthy they have a pretty good chance against Alabama… well better than most teams would have.
Georgia 41 – Georgia Southern 14
Alabama A&M at Auburn
Auburn is playing for two things in their last two games of the season: pride, and Gene Chizik's job. I'm not really sure the players are too concerned about the latter, though. That being said this is a SWAC team and Auburn has a lot of frustration to vent. Chances are they blow the doors off the place in this one, but there still won't be anybody in the stands by the second half...
Alabama A&M 10 - Auburn 27
Auburn v. Alabama A&M
The 2 – 8 Auburn Tigers take on the 7 – 3 Alabama A&M Bulldogs on Saturday. This will be Auburns third game against a team called the Bulldogs. They lost the first two in embarrassing fashion and the third could go the same way. Alabama A&M has played decent ball this year, not great, but pretty good for a team from the SWAC. Auburn meanwhile has been playing bad football for a team from any conference. This game could end up an embarrassing one on the Plains, something Auburn fans should be used to.
Auburn 17 – Alabama A&M 20
Sam Houston St. at Texas A&M
The prodigal son returns home to Kyle Field this Saturday as Johnny Football and the Aggies return to be greeted by a TAMU crowd which could likely be the most insanely amped 10th man that anyone has ever seen. After knocking off the hands down favorite to make an appearance in the National Title game, TAMU will face an 8-2 Sam Houston team that is riding a 7 game win streak. Unfortunately for the Bearkats, the Aggies are going to light them up brighter than the Jennings Osborne Christmas lights at Disney World...
Sam Houston St. 14 - Texas A&M 47
Texas A&M v. Sam Houston
Texas A&M is riding high after upsetting Alabama, and Johnny Manziel could probably beat Sam Houston with just an offensive line. This game will get ugly and stay ugly as Texas A&M finally gets a break from their SEC schedule, and they should celebrate in true SEC fashion by smashing an out of conference foe.
Texas A&M 49 – Sam Houston 10
Syracuse at Missouri
Two 5-5 teams will battle for a bowl bid when these two take the field Saturday. Missouri is coming off a 4 OT thriller against Tennessee, and Syracuse is coming off an upset win of previously undefeated Louisville. The Tigers' D-line will need to handle the Orange backfield if they want to win, but there's a lot of variables here. How will Syracuse respond after the emotional win? How will Missouri respond after the exhausting 4 OT game? Can the Tigers manage with the slew of injuries they've had? Can QB Nassib and RB Smith take control of the game for Syracuse? If both teams come to play, and they should, this will be a fun one to watch...
Missouri 34 - Syracuse 21
Missouri v. Syracuse
Missouri desperately needs a win over Syracuse to become bowl eligible. They are sitting at 5 – 5 and will close out the year against Texas A&M, who will in all probability crush them. Syracuse is coming off a big win over previously undefeated Louisville and Missouri is coming off of an upset over Missouri. Syracuse should come out ahead over the Tigers, but stranger things have happened.
Missouri 21 – Syracuse 33
Samford at Kentucky
Excuse me while I pontificate on something for a minute... I thought Joker Phillips was a 'good guy' since Kentucky hired him. He strikes me as the kind of guy who puts in good, honest, hard work in every facet of his game/coaching career. I'm disappointed that Kentucky is firing him. On the surface you see a 1-9 team in a coach's third year and you say "yeah, well, he had his time to make something happen..." but there are some extenuating circumstances here. For one thing it's KENTUCKY, and it's NOT basketball. You're a lower-tier SEC East team. And to add to that, you're a lower-tier SEC team with THE NATION'S TOUGHEST SCHEDULE! /end rantAnyway, this will be the last home game Phillips coaches and his seniors will want to send him off with a win, so you can expect to see a fired up Wildcat team take the field Saturday. Samford has the talent to hang with Kentucky, but I'm giving them the nod anyway...
Samford 21 - Kentucky 27
Kentucky v. Samford
Kentucky is 1 – 9 and their only rout to improving that is through Samford as they close their season against Tennessee. Samford is 7 – 3 and this game feels a lot like the Auburn game described previously. Kentucky needs this win bad to save some face, but Samford may just be the better team. This may be a painful week for the SEC with Auburn and Kentucky facing potential losses against non-conference opponents.
Kentucky 17 – Samford 13
Ole Miss at LSU
They always say you can put the records aside when it comes to rivalry games... and Ole Miss would like to do just that. The problem is this isn't a REAL rivalry just because you invented a trophy to give yourself on the odd occasion that you pull off an upset. Like Tom Landry said, "When you get to the end zone, act like you've been there before." Don't create a trophy because you won a game you were trying to win. Regardless of that, Ole Miss is a long shot at even covering the spread in this one. LSU is just too talented all over the field, and especially against the pass which is the Rebel's bread and butter on offense. The Rebel's will leave Tiger Stadium still in search of that elusive 6th win, looking ahead to a REAL rivalry game with Mississippi State next weekend...
Ole Miss 17 - LSU 30
LSU v. Ole Miss
LSU is on fire since Mettenberger’s sudden ability to pass the ball. Ole Miss meanwhile is enjoying their return to mediocrity. Ole Miss could be in this game at the half but LSU will be way more than the Rebel whatevers can handle. I don’t see this one ending close as LSU fights for a bowl berth.
LSU 38 – Ole Miss 21
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
Vandy is already bowl-eligible but would very much like to improve the value of their stock. Tennessee needs to win out to have a shot at bowling. Derek Dooley would also very much like to keep his job, so there's some added motivation for the Vols. But if the Commodores can beat Tennessee and Wake Forest next week they will hit the 8 win mark for the first time since 1982. That'll be more than enough reason to celebrate in Nashville. Tyler Bray and Cordarelle Patterson can light you up in a hurry, but Vandy has the 3rd best passing D in the SEC, so that should be a good match up to watch.
Tennessee 20 - Vanderbilt 27
Vanderbilt v. Tennessee
Tennessee may have the best offense in the nation without a conference win. The Volunteers desperately need to beat in state rival Vanderbilt. Meanwhile Vanderbilt is hoping to make it back back to back years heading to a bowl game. The Commodores have been getting it done this year with good defense and a decent offense. They are playing good SEC football but Tennessee’s offense will be looking to outscore Vanderbilt, and I doubt the ‘dores ability to keep up with the scoring.
Vanderbilt 32 – Tennessee 45
Arkansas at MSU
The Bulldogs enter this game riding a 3 game losing streak, after opening the season with seven straight wins. Arkansas stumbled out of the gate this season and spent most of the season trying to correct their costly mistakes. The Razorbacks still have an outside shot at a bowl game, but they must win their last two games against MSU and LSU to do so. MSU wants very badly to end the losing streak, add another SEC win to the tally and improve their bowl stock.
The key match ups in this game will be the MSU passing offense vs Arkansas pass defense, and Arkansas' rushing attack vs MSU's rush defense. Tyler Wilson and Tyler Russell are essentially the same player on different teams. Tyler Russell has a 60.5% completion ratio and 17 TDs. Tyler Wilson has a 60.9% completion ratio and 18 TDs. The difference will be the supporting cast. For the Bulldogs Darius Slay and Johnthan Banks will keep an eye on Cobi Hamilton, as he is Wilson's favorite target. MSU MUST stack the box and stop the run, and play man coverage on the wideouts to force turnovers from a turnover-prone Arkansas offense. I am looking at you, Chris Wilson. So help me god if I see 3 man fronts and zone coverage for more than 2-3 plays this game it better be players wearing Razorback Red.
The Mississippi State offense needs to come out passing in order to open up some opportunities on the ground. Arkansas is much more susceptible to passing attacks that the ground game. If Russell can continue to accurately hit his receivers in tight spots the Bulldogs will win this one walking away. If the passing game struggles the Bulldogs may find themselves in trouble. Luckily MSU is ranked 10th nationally in turnover margin... the Razorbacks? They're 6th... from the bottom. Sporting the 118th rank nationally in turnovers is what has cost the Razorbacks more than one game this season, so if the Dawgs can win the turnover battle it should put the game well in hand.
This will be just what the doctor ordered for the boys in Maroon and White. While it won't mean anything to the players, it will be sweet justice for fans like me to see us end Arkansas' hopes at going bowling since we haven't beaten the Razorbacks since 2008, and they've done us the same favor on more than one occasion. The Dawgs will wrap this one in Maroon and White and move on to dash Ole Miss' dreams of bowling next weekend in Oxford, and THAT will be a glorious day.
Arkansas 17 - MSU 28
Mississippi State v. Arkansas
Mississippi State is coming off of a three game slide while Arkansas is fighting for pride. The Razorbacks chances of a bowl game disappear with a loss, while the Bulldogs are fighting for a 10 win season for the first time in I don’t even remember how long. State seemed to get on the right track last week against LSU but just couldn’t pull out the win. The Bulldogs should see a different story unfold against the Razorbacks this Saturday. Arkansas won’t roll over for State though and it should end up a tough game.
Mississippi State 30 – Arkansas 24
As always, thanks so much for reading, we hope you enjoyed it! Spread the word on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and tell all your friends!
As a bonus (or to make up for the lack of pictures, since I ran out of time), if you're in the Tupelo area tonight (Friday) you should head over to the BancorpSouth Arena at 7:30 and watch the MSU Ice Dawgs take on Tennessee tonight! Here's a little motivation... see I'm going to a hockey game, so I picked a song with 'cold' in the title... because, you know... it's funny, or ironic, or whatever it is.
Man my jokes are lame...
Breaking Benjamin - So Cold
Y'all have a great weekend! #HailState and #GoDawgs!
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