MSU v LSU

I owe you guys a song, sorry for the sparse post but shit keeps happening. Still hope you enjoy.



UL Lafayette at Florida

This should be a non-issue for Florida.  They have already finished the SEC portion of their schedule with a solid 7-1 record, and the only out of conference foe that has a chance to trip them up is FSU in a couple weeks.  Florida will take the next two games to fine tune the defense and try to put together a solid offense before the square off against the Seminoles to finish the season.

UL Lafayette 7 - Florida 24


Arkansas at South Carolina

South Carolina is looking to keep their BCS Bowl hopes alive, the Razorbacks are just gunning for bowl eligibility.  The Gamecocks will be without their premiere running back Marcus Lattimore who suffered a gruesome, season-ending knee injury two weeks ago that made more than a few grown men cringe and squeal like little girls (Mr. Hooch included).  In his stead will be Kenny Miles, who almost left the program after Lattimore's arrival, running the ball for South Carolina.  Meanwhile Tyler Wilson hops to dissect the SC secondary with the help of WR Cobi Hamilton.  Arkansas has put the dumpster fire phase of the season behind them, but it's still a tall task to walk into the enemy's house and come away with a win.

Arkansas 17 - South Carolina 27



Missouri at Tennessee

Two 4-5 teams are both eager to notch another win en route to bowl eligibility, but if you'd asked me at the beginning of the season which of these teams would have an SEC win and which likely wouldn't, I would have told you Tennessee all day over Missouri.  But it's the Vols who are looking for that first SEC win this weekend, and their powerful passing game faces the 15th ranked pass defense in the nation this weekend, which should make for an interesting game.  Missouri's offense has been nothing to write home about, but then again neither has Tennessee's defense.  This could become a barn-burner...

Missouri 27 - Tennessee 24



Texas A&M at Alabama

The number one team in the nation hosts the Aggies, and you have to think the results for TAMU will be similar to their matches with LSU and Florida.  Bama's defense is going to grind the prolific Aggie offense to a halt and punch Johnny Football in the face with old school, smash-mouth football.  With this win the Crimson Tide will secure their spot as the SEC West representative in the SEC title game this year, a fact that you can bet is not lost on Nick Saban and his boys.  The real question here is when does Bama take their foot off the gas?

Texas A&M 14 - Alabama 24


Georgia at Auburn

Just like Alabama, Georgia can wrap up their division with a win against Auburn this weekend.  The 2-7 Tigers have nothing to play for but pride, and they are very likely to go O-fer in the SEC this season as their final conference foe is football behemoth Alabama in the annual Iron Bowl.  Hospitals and first response teams are on high alert as the Auburn fan base, the ENTIRE fan base, is on suicide watch the next two weekends...

Georgia 33 - Auburn 6



Vanderbilt at Ole Miss

After an abysmal start to the season Ole Miss appears to be clicking just in time to keep their bowl dreams alive.  Whoever wins this one hits the magic 6-win mark, although Vandy has one more conference win than the Rebels going in to this game.  Should the Rebels win they will become bowl eligible for the first time since 2009, and will have TRIPLED their win total over last season's results.  Race riots be damned, that's progress.  But the Commodores also want that bowl game, as it would mean back to back bowl games for the first time in school history.  Vandy has been playing better football than the Rebels of late, but this should still be a good, competitive game.

Vanderbilt 24 - Ole Miss 21


MSU at LSU

The Bulldogs are reeling after back to back losses to Alabama and Texas A&M, and now travel to Baton Rouge to face ANOTHER top 15 team in LSU.  LSU meanwhile is also reeling from a heartbreaking loss to Alabama last weekend, even though QB Zach Mettenberger had a career game against the Tide.  The last time MSU defeated the Bayou Bengals was waaaay back in 1999, when the Bulldogs upended the Tigers 17-16 in Starkville.  The Dawgs haven't won in Tiger Stadium since 1991, and smart money says that is a trend that is likely to continue.

As a fan I want to reiterate that I still believe in these Bulldogs.  The Alabama game was disappointing if not unexpected, but the lackluster effort shown during the TAMU game was inexcusable.  That was a winnable game but the Dawgs were still hungover from the loss to the Tide.  If they want to have ANY chance at winning this one they will need to snap out of it.  Most reasonable fans predicted anywhere from 7-5 to 9-3 records this season, and the Bulldogs can still accomplish that.

It will take the kind of performance I outlined in the MSU/Bama preview for the Bulldogs to come away with the win this weekend, though.  And you can bet LSU won't be doing them any favors.  Tyler Russell and the offense need to get back to what they were doing so well to start the season... namely, completing plays.  LaDarius Perkins seemed to disappear the last two games, throwing the balanced Bulldog offense off kilter. Russell will have to find his receivers and hit his marks to open that up for Perk... and it doesn't have to be 15-20 yards down the field.  This offense has had more success with short crossing routes and passes to the TE's (another group whose absence has stifled this offense) than taking big stabs down the field.  Yards after catch and yards after contact are what this team needs, and that comes from fight, desire and drive.  The Bulldogs will have to sack up and take the game to the Tigers if they hope to have any chance here...

MSU 17 - LSU 27


[now begins the Professor's section]


A lot of teams are going to face some tough realities this weekend. Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Missouri all are in must win situations to go to a bowl game. Not everyone can win and someone will certainly go home disappointed. Arkansas certainly has the toughest road to a bowl game, but Ole Miss isn’t exactly a shoe in either. There could be some fun football on Saturday.
Florida v. Louisiana Lafayette
​Florida is going through some tough times right now following a tough loss to Georgia and a tough win against Missouri. The Gators are really in need of a reprieve and the Ragin Cajuns are certainly looking to capitalize on that. La Lafayette is having a decent year and will certainly end up with a winning season. Florida, however, is the only ranked team on their schedule. The Ragin Cajuns do boast wins over Troy and ULM, both of which have played well against their SEC foes this year. Florida is just too good to lose this one at home though. Even LSU couldn’t top the Gators in the Swamp and La Lafayette just isn’t up to the challenge of scoring against this defense.
Florida 24 v. La Lafayette 10
Auburn v. Georgia
​All of a sudden Auburn is the only thing standing in Georgia’s way of a trip to Atlanta and the SEC Eastern Division Title. Auburn will probably register only as a speed bump against this Georgia team, even if this game is being played on the Plains. The bulldogs are riding high after beating Florida and escaped a letdown after stomping Ole Miss. Auburn meanwhile is coming off of their second win of the season and, although it was a blowout victory, the Tigers just don’t have enough to play for to take down Georgia. Even if Auburn wins out they will not qualify for a bowl game this year. Georgia meanwhile has a few rings on their mind and will playing lights out ball on the Plains. The home crowd will keep Auburn in this game for a little while, but the bulldogs will put it away.
Auburn 17 – Georgia 38
South Carolina v. Arkansas
​This is a must win game for Arkansas if they want to go to a bowl game this year. They need two wins and their remaining three games are South Carolina, Mississippi State, and LSU. Getting two wins out of those games will be tough, not getting one against South Carolina makes it almost impossible. South Carolina meanwhile is facing the reality that they don’t have much of a shot at the Eastern Title. They do, however, have a shot at a pretty nice bowl game. That plus the home field should allow for the Gamecocks to make short work of Arkansas.
South Carolina 35 – Arkansas 21
Tennessee v. Missouri
​This is a huge game for both of these teams. Tennessee is looking to salvage something from their season and a bowl game could go a long way. The remaining schedule is favorable as they face the bottom teams out of the East, but Vanderbilt is going to be tough. That leaves Missouri and Kentucky as the easiest road to six wins. The Volunteers absolutely have to win this game at home, or Coach Dooley may have a long offseason. Missouri meanwhile is also in the hunt for a bowl game. The difference is they play Syracuse and Texas A&M in addition to Tennessee. I don’t have much faith in the Tigers ability to pull two wins out of that schedule but if they’re going to do it they better have them before facing TAMU.
Tennessee 45 – Missouri 35
Ole Miss v. Vanderbilt
​Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are both enjoying decent seasons this year and both are trying to get that last win to become bowl eligible. Vanderbilt by far has the best opportunity for that as they close the year against Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Wake Forest. The whatever-you-call-‘ems have a much harder road to postseason play that takes them into games against LSU and Mississippi State after facing Vanderbilt at home. As a State fan I hate to admit it but Ole Miss has a shot at getting that win against Mississippi State, but it would be far easier just to take care of business and beat Vanderbilt. The Commodores have other shots at a bowl game. As an SEC fan I would love to as many teams in the post season as possible, and as a State fan, I can’t root for Ole Miss against LSU or State. So I’m going with TSUN at home in this match up.
Ole Miss 21 – Vanderbilt 17
Alabama v. Texas A&M
​This has the potential to be a huge match up this Saturday. The most exciting offense in the SEC against Alabama’s suffocating defense. The Tide narrowly escaped Death Valley last weekend and should be happy to be back home in Tuscaloosa. TAMU meanwhile goes on the road again (could be a good song for this week Mr. Hooch). The Aggies haven’t looked great against the better defenses in the SEC with loses to Florida and LSU, but then again their only losses are Florida and LSU. A&M has a lot to be proud of this season but the Tide are just too much for Johnny Manziel to handle. The big time potential of this game will be dimmed shortly after Alabama’s defense takes the field. I don’t think this one will get out of hand, but it won’t be that close either.
Alabama 31 – TAMU 17
LSU v. Mississippi State
​There are a lot of things stacked against Mississippi State this weekend. Death Valley at night, LSU hasn’t lost two straight games in what feels like a century, State hasn’t been able to stop the run, LSU can run against anyone, State has an amazing secondary, LSU never passes. The cards are certainly stacked against the Bulldogs, but that’s life in the SEC. Mississippi State can’t afford to come out playing like they did against Texas A&M. Win or lose the Bulldogs have to play decent football. The important thing about this game is to send a message to Arkansas and Ole Miss: You aren’t getting your postseason qualifiers against us. LSU meanwhile has just had their hopes of a National Championship and an SEC title slammed in their face. If they are still hung up on last week’s loss State could come out firing. If the Tigers are angry, this one could get ugly quick. I would love to see Mississippi State’s seniors step up and put the team on their back in this game, but win or lose, we’ve got stay healthy for our last two games.

MSU 17 - LSU 28