MSU v BYE

No, it's not Brigham Young Evangelical... it's a bye week! We can't POSSIBLY lose this week! Huzzah! We're Safe and Sound! (Bet you thought I forgot about the musical features, didn't you?)

Capital Cities - Safe and Sound

But seriously, The Bulldogs have an extra week to rest and game plan for their showdown with LSU next Saturday, so we will run down the rest of the SEC games this week and see what there is to see... shall we? Let's!

Just gonna get this one outta the way...
Don't act like you didn't see it coming.

South Carolina v UCF - Trap game #1! South Carolina needs to be focused when they go on the road to face UCF this weekend, because any little slip up could be their undoing. That said, I don't think Steve Spurrier is going to let his boys rest on their laurels. This one could be close until late, but ultimately I think the Gamecocks win by double digits.

South Carolina 42 - UCF 27

UAB v Vandy - Trap game #2! The Blazers have the potential to upset this underwhelming Vanderbilt team on Saturday. The Commodores should've had the game well in hand last week going in to the fourth quarter, when in reality they led only 10-7. UAB will likely try to test Vandy's passing defense as the most likely weak link. How the 'Dores respond will go a long way in determining who wins this one. My first inclination was to call it a UAB upset by a touchdown, but I did a little research on both teams and now my gut is telling me Vanderbilt is ready to shake off the past and get started with the rest of their season...

Vanderbilt 28 - UAB 21

USA v Tennessee - It's not a trap, but Tennessee could still get themselves twisted... South Alabama can play some good football, but the Vols aren't in a position to overlook ANYBODY right now. They will be focused and brutal on the lines, and eager to prove themselves every down.

Tennessee 35 - USA 13

LSU v UGA - LSU has won 9 of their last 10 on the road. Georgia has won 9 of their last 10 at home. Both

Richt: I must respectfully disagree with your
assessment, good sir!

Ref: I'm truly sorry you feel that way, old chap!

schools are gunning for the SEC Championship game, and Georgia is already sporting one loss in conference. This game is going to be INTENSE. It's true that the Tigers have struggled against SEC teams running the spread of late, but there is so much talent in the purple and gold that you can't write them off on this one fact. I think Georgia will win what could turn in to a barn-burner late in the game...

Georgia 38 - LSU 35

Ole Miss v Bama - There is a LOT of yammering about how Ole Miss is primed to knock off Alabama, and I will concede this to RebelShark Fans... Your team IS getting better. But you don't have to look back very far to see an MSU team that started out the season hot (#WeBelieved) and then faltered down the stretch, and I think that comparison warrants consideration. The RebelSharks are a talented bunch, but Bama is more talented at every position. They're also #1 in the country for a reason. There are a lot of freshmen taking the field for OM as well, and freshmen make mistakes. I expect both secondaries to get torched once or twice by the offenses, I expect both offenses to give up at least one INT, and I expect to see some balanced offenses on both sides of the field. But ultimately Bama will win...

Bama 45 - Ole Miss 30

Florida v UK - Poor Kentucky... The Gators will extend the win streak to 16 or 17 or whatever. Even with Florida's struggles of late they will be more than the 'Cats could hope to handle.

Florida 30 - UK 14

TAMU v Ark - Texas A&M takes on the Razorbacks this weekend, and although they have struggled with Arkansas in the past their offense is far more potent this time around, as evidenced by last year's shellacking of said Hogs. Also adding to the avalanche is Arkansas' meltdown against the Scarlet Knights last weekend. They had the game well in hand being up 24-7 late, but a punt return and two unanswered touchdowns later they were on the losing side of things. I expect that if the Razorbacks have a lead in this game it will be early, because once the Aggies offense gets rolling there's no stopping it...

TAMU 42 - Arkansas 27

ASU v Mizzou - The tertiary Tigers will work the Sun Devils over this weekend and improve to a perfect 4-0 record. Missouri is playing some solid football so far this season, and they stand a chance of making some noise in the SEC East. I'm looking forward to their games against South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. As for this game, I won't go so far as to say it'll be a landslide, but I'm definitely calling it a win.

Missouri 38 - ASU 13


And that's it for this week's preview! I gave the Professor the week off as he's dealing with some professorial issues that required his attention, but truth be told I almost had to force him to take the time off! That man has football on the brain and in his blood! Oh well, if his career as a rocket surgeon doesn't take off (see what I did there?) he can easily replace one of the Dave's from the former Jefferson Pilot crew (oh my god, two jokes in one sentence? YuuuPPP!) and make a living. So until next time, #HailState and #GoDawgs!

Professor D's Weekend Recap: Week 4

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin... into the future, and away from me. As a result, I'm letting the Professor take center stage for the recap this week, and possibly going forward depending on how he feels about that. At any rate, the Professor is about to drop a little knowledge, so you'd best listen up, kiddos!
[Editor's note: I will, however, be interspersing comments as I see fit... so there's that. All comments will be in parenthesis and in italics.]

(Professor D) Well guys this weekend lived up to its boring prediction. I was perfect in picks on the weekend, coming within 7 points of predicting 11 of the 18 teams scores. So really this week pretty much went as expected, with a couple of exceptions. Alabama didn’t look on form against Colorado State, Vanderbilt’s offense just wasn’t clicking, unlike Missouri and Mississippi State who blew out their non conference opponents. Other than that, well, it was pretty much business as usual. The Conference gets an overall grade of a D+ this week, as powerhouses Alabama and Georgia showed some struggles against easy opponents, while Arkansas flat out blew their game against Rutgers. Vanderbilt led UMass just 10 - 7 going into the 4th quarter. Florida and Tennessee were travesties, while Auburn and LSU looked exactly as advertised in their match-up. Missouri represented the conference well against Indiana, while Mississippi State did the same against Troy. Overall this is still looking like a very disappointing season for the SEC. Yeah I said that last week, but I’m going to keep saying it until someone steps up to the plate to shut me up. The best part of this weekend though? No SEC team allowed another team to score 40+ points for the first time all season. It’s about (damn) time.

Alabama 31 - Colorado State 6

Alabama’s defense looked pretty good this week against Colorado State. Of course, that was against Colorado (damn) State. The defense wasn’t really the issue for Alabama though, surprisingly. It was the offense that really struggled in this game, at home, against the (damn) Colorado State Rams. That’s (damn) scary. That’s the type of showing that screams future upset. The stat that should chill Bama fans to the bone is the Crimson Tide’s rushing yards. They had just 66 on 21 (damn) attempts. The other scary stat? 2 - 10 on (damn) third down conversions.That would be bad against any foe, but against the SEC, that’s an almost guaranteed loss, and this was not a (damn) good defense they were facing. The Tide led just 17 - 6 going into the 4th quarter, and 7 of those points came on a return of a blocked (damn) field goal. So really, the Tide offense led just 10 - 6 after the third. That’s unacceptable for this (damn) team, and officially puts them on upset watch this week against Ole Miss. I’ll never understand how (damn) Alabama held on to their number 1 ranking this week.

Georgia 45 - North Texas 21

My prediction for this game had Georgia scoring 48 and holding North Texas to 17. A final of 45 - 21 makes it look like everything went to plan, and as far as offense goes for Georgia, it did. They put up 641 yards of offense behind Aaron Murray’s 408 yard showing through the air. The run game contributed an additional 191 yards as the Bulldogs piled up the points late. Georgia’s defense also did pretty good, holding North Texas’ offense to just 7 points. So if the offense was clicking so well, and the defense found some rhythm, how the heck was this game tied 21 - 21 early in the third quarter? Well, see there’s more than just offense and defense in football. There’s also special teams, and Georgia’s looked terrible. The Mean Green were not only able to return a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, but they also blocked a punt and fell on it in their own end zone. That’s 14 points given up by Georgia’s special teams. Sure the rest of the team looked good, but that could cost them some otherwise close games. If the defense keeps improving, and the special teams can not suck, this team is starting to look like the powerhouse I hoped they’d be in the beginning of the year.

Texas A&M 42 - SMU 13

Whelp. That went about as expected. Manziel threw for 233 yards and ran for another 102. The rest of Texas A&M’s offense accounted for about 200 or so yards. More than enough to take on the Mustangs of SMU. The downside to this game for the Aggies is that the defense showed very little improvement after being thrashed by Alabama’s offense. They allowed 434 yards of offense in a bend-don’t-break style of defense. Sure they held SMU to just 13 yards, but how will that hold up against power offenses like LSU? Analysts will tell you that with A&M’s fast paced offense opponents are bound to put up big yardage numbers, but even so, 434 to the Mustangs is worrisome. But, that said, the Aggies came out with the big win they needed after last week.

Massachusetts 7 - Vanderbilt 24

Vanderbilt is in trouble. The Commodores were facing a UMass team with one of the worst defenses in the country, and only managed to score 24 points. When you consider that 14 of those points came in the 4th quarter, when the SEC level depth had worn the Minutemen down to the bone, and this game is even more troubling. The good news for Vanderbilt is the defense was able to hold UMass to just 7 points, of course UMass only averages 7 points per game, so that really isn’t too impressive. I’m just going to have to face it, Vanderbilt is not the team I hoped they’d be at the beginning of the year. Disappointing.

Indiana 28 - Missouri 45

So far we’ve had four SEC wins that revealed some serious weaknesses in the victors. This game was different. Missouri has emerged as the lone undefeated team in the SEC East. Yeah, that won’t last, but still, it’s impressive considering the year the Tigers had last year. Indiana came into this game with one of the best passing and overall offenses in the country, and while they put up over 400 yards against Missouri, the Tigers shut them down when it mattered. I know this sounds hypocritical after trashing Texas A&M for doing the exact same thing, but for Missouri and the offensive threat Indiana poses, this was a whole different situation. In response Mizzou sent in their own offense, which racked up over 600 yard of offense and 45 points. Statistically Missouri is now in the top 25 in every major offensive statistical category, and the top 10 in points scored. That’s pretty impressive. Sure the schedule is going to tighten up, but for now, enjoy it Tigers fans.

LSU 35 - Auburn 21

My prediction for this score was LSU 38 - Auburn 20, with LSU’s run game dominating. Well, that’s exactly what happened. With the torrential downpour all but eliminating the passing game early on, the LSU running backs ran all over the War Eagles behind an outstanding performance from their offensive line. Those guys were blowing holes in Auburn’s defensive front big enough to drive a truck through. Jeremy Hill put up 183 yards running, basically all in the first half. In their other games so far this year LSU has leaned heavily on Mettenberger and the passing game, but the weather forced them to come out with a different game plan, and the results were depressing to every team with the Tigers on their schedule. LSU looks like a complete team. The defense plays well, if not with the fire of years past, and the offense looks like one of the best, if not the best, in the SEC. I’ve been saying this was the team to watch in the SEC all year, but now I’m ready to call them outright favorites in the West. That could of course change if Alabama can get their act together, but LSU has come out firing in the opening rounds of the season.

Florida 31 - Tennessee 17

This game eventually got to be just hilarious to watch. It looked like neither of these guys wanted to win this one. Florida seemed to throw the ball right at the Volunteers every play they weren’t trying to run it up the middle, while Tennessee wasn’t throwing to anyone. The Volunteers made what I’ve seen called a “panic decision” benching their starting quarterback in favor of a freshman with little to no preparation. His start was short lived, but it saw 2 interceptions and put the former starter Justin Worley (who also threw 2 interceptions) in a no win situation. The Volunteers ended up with 6 turnovers in the game, while Florida had 3. That’s a total of 9 turnovers in a single game. I’m telling you, this one got funny. Florida starting quarterback Jeff Driskel left the game early with a broken Tibia, and will be out for the remainder of the season. Gator fans certainly feel sorry for the guy, but seeing what the offense did with backup Tyler Murphey, who averaged almost 10 yards per completion, helped. He also went the entire game without throwing an interception, which, with the defense the Gators are fielding, should be enough to win a bunch of games. Speaking of that defense, it truly is one of the best in the nation, holding Tennessee to just 220 yards of offense. Even behind that impressive offensive line the Volunteers only managed 66 yards on the ground. If the Gators can limit their turnovers, they just might come out ahead this season after all.

Rutgers 28 - Arkansas 24

This is another one of those games I got really close to predicting the exact score for. I came within three points of Rutgers (31) and got Arkansas right on the nose. The Razorbacks started out strong, even leading 24 - 7 halfway through the third quarter. I thought they could do it, I thought Arkansas would pull it out, and call into question all of my assumptions on where this team would end up at the end of the year. Nope. Didn’t happen. (So did I, and I paid for that one on my picks... we're not back to the dumpster fire just yet, but the Razorbacks should've won this one, period.) The Razorbacks gave up three touchdowns in the final quarter and a half to drop what is probably their last winnable game of the year. Arkansas managed just 283 yards of offense, with their vaunted rushing attack totalling just 101. They also committed 66 yards worth of penalties and converted just 3 of their 14 third down attempts. The lone bright spot for the game was not turning the ball over. The piggies are sitting at 3 - 1 with nothing but SEC foes left on the schedule, the weakest of which is Mississippi State. Good luck guys.

Mississippi State 62 - Troy 7

Who saw this one coming? (Well, I mean I said 45-14, so clearly I was CLOSER to seeing it coming... right? Right???) Seriously, I expected the Trojan offense to come out and give our young secondary fits, which to their credit, they did for the first three drives. Unfortunately for Troy two of those drives ended in turnovers which Mississippi State turned into 10 points. They did eventually score on their third to take a 10 - 7 deficit into the second quarter, but after that the Bulldog front 7 clamped down, hard. Troy, previously one of the most dangerous passing offenses in the nation, gained just 186 yards for the entire game. Against the most talented part of Mississippi State’s team the Trojans managed to rush for just 47 yards. That’s a good sign for the Bulldogs, who next face LSU and their potent running game (and passing game, but we’ll enjoy this win for now).

The signature play of the year so far for Mississippi State has got to be the Dak to Jameon, run fake, pass fake, back to Dak trick play that went for 36 yards and a touchdown. (Truly a thing of beauty... I just hope we have something else like that left that'll work on SEC defenses) It was beautifully designed and executed. It’s that last part that should really get State fans excited. We’ve run trick plays in the past, but even against non-conference opponents they haven’t been executed well. This one was. In fact, pretty much every play the Bulldogs ran with Dak under center (well, behind center) was executed well. This offense really rises to the challenge behind his energy and leadership. I hate it for Tyler Russell, but this is looking more and more like Dak’s team (although it looks like it’s going to take a hammering from LSU for the coaches to get on board with that).

Everybody’s been talking about the double hat trick pulled by Jameon Lewis and Dak Prescott, and while that overall athleticism will help us win games down the road, the real positive for me in this game was seeing Dak come in and dominate through the air. Against Auburn last week it was his legs, as he rushed for over 100 yards, but this week it was the passing game that gutted Troy. Sure his ability to run certainly opened up some opportunities (and some of those TD runs were absolute beauties) but Dak is finding open receivers, making reads, and completing passes. Some of his mechanics are off, like not stepping into throws (resulting in a few balls at the receivers feet), but that’s something I trust Mullen to work with him on. I said last week I was all aboard the Dak train, but now I’m really excited to see what this kid can do.

(Mr. Hooch) Thank you, Professor! And thank YOU for reading, friends! We will be back later this week with the Weekend Preview... until then #HailState and #GoDawgs!

MSU v Troy

Vanderbilt at UMass - Vanderbilt travels to New England to take on the MinuteMen of UMass, and if this isn't an absolute trouncing by the Commodores then James Franklin needs to reevaluate his life choices.

Vandy 55 - UMass 10


North Texas at Georgia - Georgia gets an easy win and the Mean Green make some mean green. Everything will go according to plan between the hedges and Georgia will be looking ahead to their showdown with LSU coming up next...

Georgia 49 - North Texas 13


Arkansas at Rutgers - The Razorbacks have redemption on their minds as they go on the road to face the Scarlet Knights. Last year Rutgers handed Arkansas a gut-wrenching loss and the Hogs have not forgotten. The matchup to watch here is how well Rutgers' defense can stop Arkansas' downhill running game. Arkansas won't get the kind of production they're used to through their last 2 games, but after four quarters it will be enough to overwhelm the Knights.

Arkansas 27 - Rutgers 17


Tennessee at Florida - The Vols travel to the Swamp to take on the Gators this weekend, but the likelihood of walking away with a win seems slim to say the least. Tennessee had a better shot at upending Florida last year than they will this Saturday. There are just too many questions for the Volunteers and not enough answers.

Florida 30 - Tennessee 13



SMU at TAMU - The Aggies are going to beat up on one of their favorite punching bags to blow off some steam after losing to Bama last week. The last time SMU beat Texas A&M was 1984, and aside from a 21-21 tie 10 years later it's been all Aggies. Expect more of the same...

Texas A&M 47 - SMU 9



Colorado St. at Alabama - No. Just... no. I'm not wasting my digital breath.

Alabama 100 - Colorado St. 0


Auburn at LSU - Probably the one SEC game worth watching unless you're a fan of some other SEC school. A few short years ago this would've been a highly touted match. Now it's going to be a rebuilding Auburn getting worked over by a reloaded LSU, complete with shiny new offense! Make all your requisite Tiger puns now...

LSU 42 - Auburn 21


Missouri at Indiana - This is a tough one for me to pick, as I'm not really familiar with either team to any great depths. Missouri was nailed hard by injuries last season, but now all those contributors are back. Indiana is typically a decent Big Ten team by all accounts. Both of the coaches are familiar with each other's style. Missouri had the luxury of a bye week going in to this game, which in my mind just sort of offsets the home field advantage for Indiana. All in all this is a tough call, but I'll go with Mizzou...

Missouri 37 - Indiana 27


Troy at MSU - "We just need to put our heads down and get through this without taking any injuries. Get some of the 2nd and 3rd stringers some playing time, etc." These are all surface thoughts, but remembering the fact that Troy very nearly knocked MSU off last season puts it in perspective. The Auburn loss was tough to watch because I could see it slipping away in those last 2 minutes (you can ask the Professor, we talked about it at length while it was transpiring).

So now we have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and look ahead. The Bulldogs will get a very convenient bye week next weekend, giving them two weeks to prepare for hosting LSU the following weekend. Conventional wisdom would dictate that the LSU game will be a loss. We won't learn a whole lot about our team by tuning up on Troy. It's all about what team takes the field two weeks from Saturday. If it's the team that took the field in the first half of the Auburn game then the Bulldogs could very well pull off their biggest upset of the Dan Mullen era. If it's the team that took the field in the final two minutes of the Auburn game it will be a long, cringe-filled day.

But all that postulation is for another day... As to this game, Troy will test our secondary, and that is somewhat scary, but I just see the Bulldog offense as too well balanced to be stopped by Troy's defense. I'm giving our secondary the benefit of the doubt since they were serviceable for 90% of that Auburn game, but if they don't get back to form, and do it quickly, you can kiss your dreams of another bowl appearance goodbye. I don't think it'll come to that just yet, though...

MSU 45 - Troy 14


So that's my take on things... now let's hear from the other half. Professor?

(Professor D)  Guys I’m going to be honest with you, week 4 of college football sucks. We might get some unexpectedly good games out of Florida v. Tennessee and Auburn v. LSU, but don’t count on it too much. I mean, Missouri plays Indiana, and that might be a fun game to look at the box score for when it’s all over, but I don’t expect much out of watching that game. If you’re a Mississippi State fan (who else reads this? Seriously, if you’re not a Mississippi State fan and you’ve found your way onto this blog, comment, we want to know, cause that’d be awesome) you’ve got to be apprehensive about Troy this weekend. No two ways about it folks, as bad as last weekend was, this Saturday has the potential to be worse, and boring to boot.

Alabama v. Colorado State

There isn’t much you can say about most of these games, but there especially isn’t much to say about this one other than “Let’s meet the Colorado State Rams!” like it actually matters. Speaking of things that really matter about this game, my middle school mascot was the Rams before they changed to be the Panthers my eighth grade year, or maybe the year after I left, I don’t really remember. Anyways, Colorado State is a team without any major strength. They’ve got a decent running game, but that’s more because they’ve got a slightly-below average passing game. Well, I think that’s enough meet the Rams, cause really, who cares. This one is going to get out of hand as Alabama’s fourth string would have to try really hard not to put up points in this one.

Alabama 57 - Colorado State 13

Georgia v. North Texas

Speaking of games you can’t really say much about, here’s another one! Georgia has the potential to be a powerhouse this year if they can figure out their defense. Of course Alabama and LSU don’t look like they’re too settled on that side of the ball either so hey, who said you needed defense to win in the SEC anymore? They certainly won’t need it to win this one. The Mean Green have one heck of a music college by the way, maybe they’ll give a concert at halftime. That would be more entertaining than this game is going to be (no seriously, they’ve got one of the best music programs in the world. Southern Miss can’t hold a candle to these guys… congratulations if you realize why that’s significant). Aaron Murray is about to go nuts y’all, and Gurly is going to enjoy not rushing against ranked defenses.

Georgia 48 - North Texas 17

Texas A&M v. SMU

Seriously could this week possibly be more boring! How is Arkansas v. Rutgers the game I’m looking forward to the most!?! Texas A&M and SMU used to play quite a bit, and I’m glad to see them sticking it out, but the Mustangs might regret this one when it’s all over. Sure, SMU has one mean passing attack, and well, we all saw Texas A&M’s defense last week, so maybe they’ll score some points, but, you know, Johnny Manziel. He will probably have more yards than SMU’s entire team by the time this is over, and Mike Evans will have more receiving yards than most teams will have total passing yards this weekend. Another one that’s going to get rough folks.

Texas A&M 56 - SMU 24

Massachusetts v. Vanderbilt

Just about the only interesting thing about this game is it isn’t being played at Vanderbilt. Yup, the Commodores are going on the road. While Vandy hasn’t quite lived up to expectations so far this year, that doesn’t mean they won’t wipe the floor with a UMass team that has failed to win a game against Wisconsin (can’t blame them there), Maine (okay you can blame them for that one), and Kansas State (ehhhh). Vanderbilt, like another SEC team, is looking to get back up to 0.500 for the season, and faces a steep climb in the future to get up to the 9 win goal they (the fans) have set for themselves. By the way, something to watch for, Massachusetts hasn’t scored more than 14 points in a game yet this year, and average just 7.

Massachusetts 10 - Vanderbilt 42

Indiana v. Missouri

This game earns its spot on the list mostly because I’m not sure Mizzou is back up to it’s pre-SEC days just yet. They are certainly looking better than last year, but Indiana has an offense that just won’t quit. The Hoosiers are averaging 50 points per game behind a really good passing attack. The Tigers’ secondary will definitely be tested this weekend, as will their offense as they try and keep up with Indiana. On paper with these two teams, and the homefield advantage going the way of Indiana I should probably pick the Hoosiers to win. It may be too early, but I’m giving Missouri the SEC bump and picking them in a shootout.

Indiana 38 - Missouri 42

LSU v. Auburn

Seven years ago, back in the Tuberville era at Auburn, this would have been the game to watch this weekend, along with Florida and Tennessee. Those days are long gone though, and while LSU remains a powerhouse, Auburn has fallen to the wayside. They’re going through a bit of a resurgence right now under Malzahn, gotta give them that, but they are in no way up to the Tigers level (btw, Auburn will be referred to as the War Eagle’s for this article). One thing I’m looking forward to in this game is seeing how LSU’s defense does against the War Eagle’s (see, told you so) running game. The Tigers are largely untested this year, and this game really gives them a chance to flex some muscles. The other big thing I can’t wait to see is how LSU’s offense does against an SEC foe. If the Tigers look on form, watch out, they could be making a run at the title this year.

LSU 38 - Auburn 20

Florida v. Tennessee

This game could be really good. Tennessee has a turnover happy defense that perfectly matches Florida’s throw-the-game offense. The big battle in this game though is the Gator defense against the Volunteer’s offense, and I don’t see that swinging Tennessee’s way. This one is either going to be a close victory for the Gators, or a blow out for them. I just don’t see a scenario where the Volunteer’s win this game. Points could be at a premium with Florida’s offense, but the defense will give them the win in the end. This is one of two games (outside of the State game I will be attending) I would like to watch this weekend.

Florida 24 - Tennessee 16

Rutgers v. Arkansas

Annnddd here’s the other one I want to see. Rutgers was on the cusp of real national prominence as a football team a few years ago, and while the program has lapsed a bit, they’re still pretty good. They’ve got one of the best rush defenses in the league, so while they’re not stellar on offense, they’re good enough to get some wins. The problem for the Scarlet Knights (I’ve always loved that name) is Arkansas comes in with one of the best run games in college football. There also isn’t a whole lot of good film on the Razorbacks yet, as they haven’t played anyone of interest. For Arkansas this game marks the beginning of the tough part of the schedule, meaning, the rest of it. A win here would send them to 4 - 0, and I still don’t think they’ll make a bowl game. Of course, if they blow out Rutgers, that could foreshadow a couple more wins down the road. A loss would basically end Arkansas’ season. If they can’t beat the Scarlet Knights, there really aren’t any winnable games left on the schedule for them. Getting to four wins if they end up 3 - 1, would require a big upset.

Rutgers 31 - Arkansas 24

Mississippi State v. Troy

Anybody with a memory should be terrified of this game. Troy almost, probably should have, got us last year. The Trojans (no imagination on that mascott) took the Bulldogs down to the wire at their house, where they’ve knocked off quite a few big football powerhouses before, but this year they come to Davis Wade. Unfortunately for State fans, they’re bringing one of the best passing offenses in the country. Against our secondary, that’s the stuff nightmares are made of. I don’t mean to bash our pass defense, they’re young and they’re fighting hard, but they are definitely the weakness of this otherwise-dominant defense. The front seven are going to have to get pressure on the quarterback to give our corners a chance. Not just pressure, but constant pressure. Troy’s quarterback can tear you apart even under fire, but anyone starts to break down when they’re on their back every other play going into the fourth quarter. We’re going to need that kind of game from our defensive line.

Troy’s only loss this year came to the Arkansas State Red Wolves, who despite their loss to Auburn are still one of the best teams not in a major conference this year. That should be good news for the Bulldogs though, as the Red Wolves strength is certainly the run game. Mississippi State ought to have one of the best rushing attacks around, but a mixture of play calling and poor offensive line play has really cut down their productivity. Not to mention Perkins not being 100%, which shouldn’t be the case this game. The offensive line does have the benefit of not facing an SEC defense this week, which should translate into better offensive production. Think halfway between Auburn and Alcorn State.

Now let’s get on to the big question. Quarterback. This offense looks so much better with Dak under center. After the Auburn game, there is no questioning that. But can you really justify benching the all-time leading passer in school history? I don’t think so, although the coaches seem to be grasping at excuses to do just that, not that I blame them. Tyler Russell suffered a concussion against Oklahoma State, and the Bulldogs have been incredibly cautious about returning him to active status. Some of that may be he simply hasn’t passed the concussion test, but I think the coaches are using it as an excuse to play Dak. Even if Russell passes the test this week, the “he hasn’t practiced with the team this week” line will probably come up and bench him anyway. Hopefully the Daktion swings our way and we can play him in the second half to get him more comfortable, because as much as State fans may hate it, if he’s healthy, Russell will be our quarterback.

This game could go a lot of ways, but I’m trusting our home crowd to pull this one out for us. It’s a white out, and rain is in the forecast, so guys, grab your sunglasses and come on out!

Mississippi State 38 - Troy 27


(Mr. Hooch) And that's a wrap! Great stuff from the Professor as always! Once again you'll have to excuse the lack of flare on the blog this week... I know that 37 pieces of flare is the standard here, but I just couldn't get around to it this week. And if you get that reference you probably understand WHY I don't have 37 pieces of flare. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading and be sure to spread the love! Facebook, Twitter, Google+, full page ad in the New York Times... we're not picky, just spread the love! Until next time #HailState and #GoDawgs!

Weekend recap: Week 3

Oh mah gad! We actually have a recap!!! I'm pushing this out early in the week, meaning no dressing it up, I'll just run down the list and say a few words about each game... I missed 2 picks from this past weekend, and I really hate that I was wrong about ours because I felt like that was our game to lose. So anyway here we go...

Louisville 27 - Kentucky 13

I credited the Cardinals with more offensive punch, but the results were pretty much what I expected outside of that. The Wildcats don't need to be too discouraged by this loss, they are still moving in the right direction as a program, but it takes time. (Just ask any MSU fan....)


Arkansas 24 - USM 3

The Razorbacks took care of business, and the defense locked down better than I expected. Kudos to all my friends in Arkansas, I know it's nice to win the games you're supposed to win handily...


Oregon 59 - Tennessee 14

Tennessee jumped up on the Ducks early, but I had a feeling it wouldn't last 60 minutes and sure enough Oregon got rolling and couldn't be stopped. The Vols are another team that shouldn't let this one loss linger too long in their minds. They should continue to improve as the season wears on...


Alabama 49 - TAMU 42

This game was even better than I expected, and it came right down to the wire. On a Nick Saban team the defense is traditionally going to be the major strength, which is why I expected Bama to limit the Aggies' offensive production more than they did, but perhaps that's a credit to A&M's players and coaches. The Tide Rolls on...


LSU 45 - Kent State 13

Not much to say about this one. The Tigahs did what they deaux... The next two games should show us what the Bayou Bengals are really made of, though.


South Carolina 35 - Vanderbilt 25

Vandy played a good game but the Gamecocks were the better team when it's all said and done. It's tough for Vandy, but if anybody knows what it's like playing extremely talented opponents week in and week out, it's another middle-tier SEC team... #AllTheFeels, bro...


Ole Miss 44 - Texas 23

Well, turns out my pick here most certainly WAS a mistake... Texas is far worse off than I imagined. Credit to OM, they have improved greatly to go on the road and win this game in the manner they did, but it turns out all the talking heads were right about how depleted Texas was. I'm still looking forward to that Egg Bowl on Turkey Day...

Auburn 24 - MSU 20

So first let me say this: I did NOT like the call of going for two on our opening touchdown. That speaks volumes to me about what Dan Mullen is playing for here, and I didn't like what I saw. Auburn caught us napping and went for two, kudos to Gus for pulling it off. But you HAD to know we would at least be considering it, so when we lined up to go for the two point conversion you better believe Auburn's players/coaches/fans/comatose followers could see that coming and were well prepared.

And what is the logic there??? Go for two and get it, great, you're tied, but go for two and miss it, wonderful, now you're down 2. Down by 1 or down by two doesn't matter, you say? Think, I say. If we had kicked the PAT we'd be down by one. Then when we scored again we kick the PAT again, suddenly we're up by 6. Then when we hold Auburn to that FG on their second score we're up by 3... I said all this during the game as it was playing out, so this isn't exactly hindsight talking, but ultimately on that last drive, if we had been up 4 instead of 3 as Auburn is driving the field that puts the pressure of "we HAVE to get a TD, can't settle for a FG" in their heads, which certainly wouldn't have hurt matters. Instead when our secondary goes MIA on that final drive and Auburn eats the clock up and scores WE are down by 4, and that anxiety is in our helmets. I just don't like that call, Dan... you fucked up, there.

I said that winning the turnover battle would win the game for us, and I was more or less right, I just didn't count on some ridiculous luck... like a State defender batting a pass out of the sky... and right into the hands of the QB who just threw it, who then scampers for 37 yards. The ball did not bounce our way a few critical times, and that definitely hurts, but it's something you can't control.

The positive takeaway from this game is practically EVERYTHING ELSE, though... this was our game to lose, and I feel like our team played their best game with the exception of the final 2 (and most crucial) minutes. Defense looked good, offense moved the ball well with Dak in... and speaking of Dak, I tried to give Russell the benefit of the doubt and not just spew the typical "put in the backup QB" crap, but Dak fits in this offense so much better than Russell. Russell sits in the pocket too long, always has. That probably isn't going to change. Dak at least tucks the ball and runs when the pocket collapses, and although he ran more than we'd really like him to this game he produced solid yardage and moved the chains. If Dak Prescott can make Les Koenning look like the man actually deserves his paycheck then play his ass. Period. I still want Les gone, though...


And now for Professor D's take on this weekend's action... Take it away, Professor!

(Professor D)  The SEC just cannot get its act together right now. Alabama is giving up 42 points, Tennessee suffered their worst loss in over a century, and Kentucky… well Kentucky was Kentucky. The one good win for the conference came when Ole Miss took down Texas, but considering the Longhorns game against BYU last week that might not be as impressive as it sounds. Overall the conference is getting a D+ this week. Arkansas went into the locker room against Southern Miss, who is now on a 15 game losing streak, up 10 - 3. It could have been a lot worse this week if not for LSU’s handling of Kent State, and Ole Miss trouncing Texas in the second half. Also I might, just a bit, be projecting my frustration over the last portion of the Mississippi State game onto…. you know what, I just remembered Miami and Clemson. The SEC deserves that grade this week, it’s cumulative. This is going to be some painful recaps, I don’t think I was pleased with the outcome of a single game this weekend. At least the Saints won again.

LSU 45 - Kent State 13

Alright I lied. I was pleased with this game. Zach Mettenberger looks good in the Tigers new offense. Like I said in the preseason, LSU’s defense isn’t what it has been the past two years, but man this offense. Mettenberger threw for 264 yards on just 13 completions…. of 18 attempts. That’s impressive. The even better news for the Tigers? They put up 307 yards rushing, led by Jeremy Hill’s 117 yard performance and Terrence Magee’s 108, and supported by Alfred Blue’s workhorse-type 56 (low right? still averaged over 5 yards per run). That’s just… stupid. Two 100 yard rushers, and all anyone can talk about is how good this passing game is. Unfair? Not really. Mettenberger is that good right now, making reads, taking care of the football, and letting his team work for him. Additionally, these LSU receivers are quietly starting to build up a pretty good reputation. It feels like the rest of the SEC is still sleeping on these guys, but I think Alabama better get ready. Yeah Texas A&M has a great offense, but so does LSU, and you won’t be scoring 49 against the Tigers. It’s going to be a crazy finish, here’s to hoping the Tigers can return some respect to the SEC down the stretch.

Arkansas 24 - Southern Miss 3

It took some time but Arkansas finally got on board late in the first quarter with a touchdown against a Southern Miss team that they should have been running all over. Literally, with those young, talented, running backs. Arkansas eventually got it going on the ground rushing for , which was good, because they totaled 69 passing yards for the game. They didn’t really need it though, not with the SEC’s leading rusher, and the SEC’s third place rusher. Seriously guys, the run game in the SEC is pretty impressive. LSU, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi State all have a stable of running backs. It’s become the new thing the SEC can hang their hats on, cause it certainly isn’t defense this year. Although, the Razorbacks did hold the Golden Eagles to just 3 points, thanks to a pair of interceptions and some stiff 3rd down defense. Overall, I was pretty disappointed in Arkansas performance in this game, I hoped to see something more out of the passing game, even if the starting quarterback went out in the first quarter, you’ve got to be better than 69 passing yards. That isn’t going to cut it for the rest of Arkansas schedule.


Kentucky 13 - Louisville 27

This Kentucky defense is for real. They basically lived in (probably former now) Heisman hopeful Teddy Bridgewater’s face for most of this game. The problem is the Wildcats just don’t look comfortable in their offense yet. There were drives where that Air Raid looked good, and then there were times where it just looked embarrassing. I think Kentucky is on its way out of the bottom of the SEC East with this new coach and this new approach. If the defense can keep playing to this level Kentucky may see a few games go their way this year (careful Mississippi State).

Oregon 52 - Tennessee 14

So I realize Oregon is really good at scoring points and has had probably the best offense ever seen in college football the past few years, but come on Tennessee. You’re SEC, we’re supposed to have defenses in this league, although they all seem to have left us this year. I didn’t really expect the Volunteers to win this game, but I did expect them to score more than 2 touchdowns. This offense had been looking so good, as had the defense to be honest. I’m not sure the Ducks are the best measuring stick for this team, but much like Arkansas, I expected better. Not only did Oregon pass for 471 yards, they rushed for 216. That’s insane against an SEC team. This has to stop guys. Georgia allows 40+ twice in a row, Alabama gives up 40+. Florida and South Carolina don’t look strange being among the SEC’s best defenses, but Mississippi State and Kentucky? Come on (Yeah I left out LSU, they’ve got to play a high powered offense before we really get a look at this defense, and Alabama, you don’t get to say anything about how good your defense is after giving up 40 points).

Texas 23 - Ole Miss 44

I was pretty close predicting this game. I had Texas 24 and Ole Miss 38. Heh, I’ll call that a win, as it’s the best part of this game. I know I wanted Ole Miss to win, but it still hurts. Considering how bad the Longhorn’s run defense is right now Ole Miss looks like a pretty balanced offense. The defense doesn’t look half bad either. Overall TSUN is looking sort of like Vanderbilt from last year. Too bad they play in the SEC West, where wins are a little harder to come by. As good as they’re doing, they aren’t in the same class as Alabama, Texas A&M, and LSU. To be honest I’m not sure they’ll run the table against Auburn, Arkansas, and Mississippi State either. Yeah, I’m not talking much about the actual game Ole Miss played, but that’s because Texas is in free fall, which don’t get me wrong, I enjoy, I just wish it was anybody else taking advantage of it. TSUN rushed for over 200 yards in this game, and didn’t look bad on defense against the run or the pass. Still not sure they deserve their ranking, but they’ll have a chance to prove it next week against Alabama.

South Carolina 35 - Vanderbilt 25

Woo another game I got pretty close to calling! South Carolina 34 - Vanderbilt 21 was my prediction, and hey, that’s not bad. I was really hoping the Commodores would come out and do something special, but the Gamecocks were just too dominant. The score says this was a 10 point game, but it was never really in question as South Carolina led 35 - 10 going into the fourth. There are some teams you can score 25+ points in a quarter against, Clowney, I mean South Carolina, isn’t one of them. That said the Gamecocks still have some issues to work out, as they had three turnovers. Offensively they looked good, especially considering how much better Vanderbilt’s secondary is then normal, but defensively it’s still all Clowney. It shows in the fourth quarter when he starts getting tired. Vanderbilt on the other hand, has to go back to the locker room and figure something out. They’re a complete team, with one of the best receiving corps around. They’ve got to figure out how to get things going earlier in the game. This team is disciplined though, they committed zero penalties in the loss.

Texas A&M 42 - Alabama 49

Yeah, Game of the Century, right. Texas A&M started off great but the offense sputtered at times. Normally I’d say this is because Alabama has a great defense, but allowing 628 yards just doesn’t scream good defense. I hated everything about this game in the end. Texas A&M couldn’t stop the Tide after the first quarter. Their defense looked atrocious. The only thing keeping them in the game: Mike Evans. Not Johnny Manziel? No, while Johnny Football was impressive his two interceptions really negate everything else he did. Case and point was that unbelievable escape-from-defenders-scramble-for-twenty-seconds-heave-it-forty-yards-for-a-ten-yard-gain pass that got negated by an interception in the endzone on a stupid throw later in the drive. Manziel just couldn’t get out of his own way. Mike Evans, on the other hand, made his case for best receiver in the league. He’s pretty much the Calvin Johnson of college football. That kid can run, catch, jump, he’s just really fun to watch. Everyone knows he’s getting the football, and defenses plan accordingly, but it doesn’t matter. When Manziel does crazy antics for seven seconds and needs a receiver to get open, Evans finds a way. Johnny Football wouldn’t look half as good as he does without this smart, talented receiver backing him up. Alabama’s offense, meanwhile, looked polished. They put up 568 yards of offense and were balanced most of the game. This offense is impressive. Much like LSU this year, this is not the Alabama we’ve come to expect. The Crimson Tide controlled the clock to perfection this weekend, owning a 10 minute advantage in time of possession, so why was this defense unable to hold the Aggies to under 40 points? Well the secondary just isn’t up to standard this year, neither are the linebackers, or the defensive line to be honest. This defense looks underwhelming against top-tier opponents, and with Georgia and LSU on the schedule, that could spell trouble. Wait, no, I forgot, Alabama doesn’t play any of the top four teams out East. Come on Tigers.

Auburn 24 - Mississippi State 20

Except not these Tigers. I said in my predictions Mississippi State had to be ready when the Tigers came roaring in the 4th quarter. Well, we weren’t. I had high hopes for this game. Dak Prescott looked impressive. I know I was on the other side of this argument last week, but I’m jumping ship. Play Dak. The play calling is so much better when he is in the game. This offense clicks. He proved these past two weeks he can make the throws and protect the football. He also proved he might just be a better runner than we anticipated. He looks like an every-down back as a quarterback, which was great because Perkins didn’t look 100% in this game. Mississippi State put up a respectable 415 yards of offense, perfectly balanced 213 - 202 between the passing and rushing attacks, respectively. That balance allowed the Bulldogs to control the clock and throttle Auburns impressive running backs. So what happened? Well Auburn put up 339 yards of passing, the Bulldogs committed 5 penalties to Auburns 1, and our play calling really sucked late in the game. We knew this secondary was young, and they were going to give up plays at times. 339 yards against them is excusable. What isn’t excusable was the change in play calling late in the game on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball. With a young secondary that impressive Mississippi State front 7 has got to keep pressure on the opposing quarterback. What happened to our blitz packages halfway through the 3rd quarter?

Offensively the playcalling was electric in the first half. Dak was slinging it across the field,  when we ran the ball no one knew who was going to get it or where they were going. It was the spread-option in full force, it was what we expected when Dan Mullen first came to town, and it worked. It threw Auburns talented defense into panic mode and led to some pretty impressive, game controlling drives. Honestly, Mississippi State looked like the dominant team right up until the last drive of the game. So why did we revert back to running the ball with just one back in the backfield, abandon the play-action pass, and just give up on everything that was great about the first half? Because as soon as we got the lead we changed to a mindset of “Don’t Lose” as opposed to “Win,” and it cost us big time. I really like the defense Mississippi State is fielding right now, but I’m going to call for that Offensive Coordinators head again this week. The Bulldogs have to find a way to score in the last 3rd of the game. It is ridiculous we lost this game, and it could keep us from playing in a bowl game. That said, and I know we’re all tired of hearing this, this team showed some real potential in this game with a lot of young players. I want a new offensive coordinator bad, but let’s not make any other changes before next year, cause if we can figure out this offensive line thing it might be a lot of fun. That said, looking at the schedule, there are still 5 more wins out there for us to get a bowl game, but we’re starting to get thin. The Bulldogs can’t afford to throw another game or we’re going to have to pull something out of our ears against South Carolina, who is probably our best chance of an upset outside of Ole Miss. Come on Baseball season, practice starts October 4 and is open to the public.

(Mr. Hooch) And there you have it, friends! An actual weekend recap! So blah blah blah, share the love, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, carrier pigeon... just do it! Until later this week, #HailState and #GoDawgs!

MSU v Auburn

Well the hectic pace at which my life is proceeding seems to be unrelenting, so as a result I am not able to devote as much time to the blog as I'd like, but I have to sleep some time. As a result there won't be all the usual cheeky pictures and what not, and I'm sorry for that but I am having to prioritize other things in my life right now. Sorry to those of you who were looking for a weekend recap, I attended the MSU game and saw bits of the Florida and Georgia games, but that's it. Luckily Professor D was able to throw something together so we'll check in with him first...

(Professor D) I’m not really sure if the SEC did better this week or not. The conference went 10 - 1 in
non-conference games this week. The embarrassing part? For the second week in a row an
ACC school knocked off a top tier SEC team. That is unacceptable. Georgia bit it last week
against Clemson, which sure I don’t like but whatever. Florida’s performance this week against
Miami though, wow. That was some of the worst football I’ve seen played (by both teams, but
especially the Gators). I’ll get more in depth to it later, but the conference as a whole took a big
blow starting out this season. For now, the phrase SEC dominance has to be put to rest. Sure
you can look to the past and point out how good we’ve been, but seeing how Alabama and LSU
are the only two teams to go against top tier opponents and come out on top, right now the SEC
has to step back and lick its wounds. Unfortunately, one of the ways to get back on track is to
have Ole Miss beat Texas. Looking doable after seeing the Longhorns defense, but I still can’t
bring myself to hope TSUN wins a game. Overall so far I give the SEC a C- for its performance
in weeks one and two. Kentucky’s loss to Western Kentucky, Georgia’s loss to Clemson, and
now Florida’s loss to Miami have really hurt the reputation of this conference.

As far as picks go I did a bit better than last week, going 10 - 2. I’m going to take a
moment to brag though, as some of my scores were pretty close. I predicted 15 of 24 teams
scores within 7 points, 5 within 3 points, and exactly predicted 2 teams scores. I thought that
was pretty cool. Hey, gotta make two missed upset picks in a row look better somehow right?

LSU 56 - UAB 17

Mr predicted score for this game was LSU 56 - UAB 10. So really not much of a surprise to me
score-wise for this game. I did get to watch some of it, as I desperately wanted to, and was not
at all disappointed. LSU manhandled the Blazers every time they came in contact with each
other. The offensive line was blowing holes in UAB’s defense left and right (and center) as
LSU put up 445 yards of offense. The surprising part of this game to me was how the Tigers
got those yards. LSU rushed for a grand total of 152 yards. If you had held LSU to 150 rushing
yards in a game the past two years you probably would’ve won the game, not been blown
out by 39 points. This is what I’ve been saying about the Tigers all year. This is a completely
different team than we’ve seen in recent years. Mettenberger threw for 5 TD’s and 293 yards
in this game. The 293 yards aren’t that impressive, but the 5 TD’s certainly are. This offense
is dangerous. Unfortunately, I’m starting to get suspicious of the Tiger’s run defense. UAB put
up 162 yards against their defensive front. I realize they pulled their starters late in the game,
but still. That could be troublesome going into games against Alabama and Georgia who can
dominate on the ground. I’ve been high on LSU all year, but UAB may have revealed a critical
weakness (and ruined my score prediction by rushing for an extra TD).

Ole Miss 31 - Southeastern Missouri State 13

Well well well, Ole Miss earned themselves a top 25 ranking with this epic
beatdown of SE Missouri State. Wait, they won by 18? Well what happened last week, maybe
they beat somebody pretty good handily to earn their ranking? Oh, nevermind, I remember what
happened last week: Vanderbilt gave them the game twice. So what exactly did Ole Miss do to
deserve their top 25 ranking? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They rank outside the top 30 in every
major statistical category and should have lost against the one decent team they’ve played this
year. Here’s what I think happened. The guys who decide these rankings looked at how Texas
did against BYU and said, hmmm, you know, I think Ole Miss could pull off a win next week.
And being that it’s Texas it doesn’t matter how bad they’re doing it will still be counted as a
major win and we can bump them up a few spots. Why would they want to do that? Because
after Texas, Ole Miss gets Alabama. No matter how the Crimson Tide’s match up against Texas
A&M goes the week before, these guys are basically guaranteeing themselves a top 25 match
up with either an Alabama team looking for revenge, or an Alabama team who might be going
into a “trap” game. Either way, it makes that game a lot bigger than it should be (yes, painful as
it is to admit, like the Mississippi State - Alabama game last year). So anyway, to recap the
game, Ole Miss did well offensively, putting up 532 yards of offense and remaining balanced
between the pass and the run. Wait… 532 yards of offense to just 31 points? LSU put up under
500 and scored 56 what happened?! The same thing that almost cost them the Vanderbilt
game, and that will, eventually, doom the Rebel Black Things all year. Turnovers (I’m coming
after you eventually Florida). Ole Miss turned the ball over three times against a team they
should have been immaculate against. This offense looks high powered, but reckless with the
football. Ole Miss also completed less than 50% of their passes against their cupcake opponent.
Good thing Texas will let just anybody run the football against them. Alabama will be a different
story. I wish they could both lose that game, but if they can’t, I hope at least one gets
embarrassed.

Texas A&M 65 - Sam Houston State 28

Well I’m impressed Johnny. Not with your football play, that’s about what I expected out
of you, but you managed to stay out of the headlines. Sure I saw the refs overlook a few things
that could have, should have, been called for penalties against you but hey, they weren’t. The
Aggies have a huge, I mean enormous, game against Alabama next week, so let’s look into
what went well and what may be an issue against the Tide next week.
What went well: You can’t ask for much more than 714 yards of offense. That’s just
insane, against any opponent (unless you happen to be Oregon). Interestingly though the
Aggies aren’t beating guys on the ground. In fact they rank just 38th in rushing yards. Where
they’ve been lethal is through the air. Texas A&M is averaging 380 passing yards per game,
and put up 477 in the only game with Manziel as the fulltime quarterback and averaged, that’s
averaged mind you, over 10 yards per attempt. Even though the ground game hasn’t been
dominate (it hasn’t really had to be), A&M still managed to average almost 6 yards per carry.
Unreal. That’s one hell of an offense they’ve got over there in College Station.
What went wrong: Defense. The Aggies allowed Sam Houston State to score 28 points
against them. Yeah, the Bearkats scored 74 in their opener, but still. The Aggies should have
been able to hold these guys down a little better, especially since two of Sam Houston State’s
drives ended in interceptions. Alabama won’t throw many of those, and their offense is a lot
better than the Bearkats.

Arkansas 31 - Samford 21

I said last week that this game wouldn’t bring any surprises. Well, I was wrong,
and that does not bode well for the Razorbacks. Arkansas entered the fourth quarter down by 4
against Samford. That is just unacceptable against that level of competition. There is no reason
the Hogs should have needed to score in the fourth in this game. Sure they came through, but
that is troubling. Lucky for them they’ve got Southern Mississippi on the schedule next. The
Eagles are on a 14 game losing streak, and don’t look likely to end it against the piggies. Like I
said, Arkansas could start the season 4-0 and end up 4 - 8 (although starting the season 2 - 0
should have at least earned them a few votes for the top 25 if Ole Miss is any example, wait, it
did? Arkansas earned 16 votes for the top 25 this week?!?! I’ve lost all faith). I’ll take a break
from pointing out how bad this could bode for Arkansas and mention a couple of things they can
hang their hat on. One is putting up 458 yards of offense. Not bad. Sure it isn’t stellar but hey,
it’s not bad. The other thing they can hang their hat on is their run offense. Against Samford the
Razorbacks put up 333 yards rushing the ball behind a duo of running backs Alex Collins and
Jonathan Williams. These two are the real deal, sitting Arkansas at 11th in the nation in rushing.
Collins is a freshman while Williams is just a sophomore. If the piggies can ever get a pass
offense going (where they rank 92nd and average just 111 yards per game) they might, I said
might, be a legitimate threat in the West here soon. The most glaring weakness for this team is
the defense. Sure they only gave up 238 yards of offense to Samford, but those 21 points look
nasty, and all of them came against the Razorbacks defense. One of the hidden worries of this
team is the offense on third down. Being a run-first offense led Arkansas to just a 50%
completion percentage (still better than Mississippi State’s.. Yikes). That may cost them a few
close games they would otherwise have won.

Vanderbilt 38 - Austin Peay 3

Well I said I wanted to see how Vanderbilt would respond to last weeks loss, and they
showed me. Sure Austin Peay doesn’t have much of an offense, scoring a grand total of 3
points in their first two games, but holding any team to under 7 points is an accomplishment
defenses can feel proud of. Meanwhile, Austyn Carta-Samuels is starting to look like a premier
quarterback in the SEC with a 60% completion rate and a quarterback rating over 140. Of
course he does have the benefit of throwing to the best receiving corps in the SEC. It’s
interesting, not long ago the SEC West was (and I guess still is) dominating this conference, yet
the top offensive line is at Tennessee, the top receiving corps is at Vanderbilt, the top running
back is at Georgia, the top quarterback is at Georgia, and the top defensive lineman is at South
Carolina. How weird is that? Anyway, back to this game. Vanderbilt’s offense was showing
some holdover from the Ole Miss game in the first quarter, settling for just a field goal, but really
got it going as they reeled of 35 points in the second quarter. After that the Commodores took
their foot off the gas, cruising to victory without revealing much of the offense in the second half.
Defensively, and keep in mind Austin Peay is by no means a measuring stick of a team’s
defense, Vandy was able to hold the Governors to just 6 first downs, 54 passing yards (oh yeah,
Vanderbilt does have a pretty sick secondary this year), and 85 rushing yards. That’s pretty
impressive. I really like where Vanderbilt is headed this year. Sure week one was a hell of a
setback, but hopefully the ‘Dores can get an upset down the stretch and get that one back.

Kentucky 41 - Miami (OH) 7

Whoa. Where did this Wildcat team come from? The phrase of the year so far has been
“teams show the most improvement between weeks one and two,” and Kentucky proved it this
week. The Wildcats never could get their air raid offense going against Western Kentucky last
week, but this week it was on full display as they racked up 24 points in the first quarter. After
that Kentucky did something they haven’t been able to do in years: they rode their defensive
line to victory. What? The hell is this, Kentucky has a defensive line? Yup, and sure this may
be Miami (OH), but still, these guys could end up a major pain in the rear for somebody down
the road (please not us, please not us, oh dang with our o-line it will probably be us….). The
Wildcats defense was able to hold Miami (OH) to just one third down conversion, 23 passing
yards, and 99 rushing yards. That’s pretty cool, but it’s not enough to erase how bad they
looked against Western Kentucky. What it does do, however, is give fans confidence that this
new Air Raid offense can be effective, especially if the defense continues to improve. I am in no
way willing to call it, sense it would involve beating Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, and
Vanderbilt, but there does exist a possibility that Kentucky could go bowling. Of course all that
talk probably ends next week when Louisville comes to town. Yeah, that’s going to be funny.

Tennessee 52 - Western Kentucky 20

I predicted Western Kentucky would score 20 points in this game. What I didn’t predict
was that Tennessee would score 52. Don’t look now but the Volunteers are rolling, and
according to the Ole Miss philosophy, should probably earn them a couple Top 25 votes right?
hahaha no way anyone would actually think that right? RIGHT!?!!? Oh my sweet…. Tennessee
actually received votes to be in the USA Today and AP Top 25 polls. What the heck is wrong
with you guys!?! You do realize Tennessee was actually outgained on offense in this game?
Their offense produced just 382 yards of total offense compared to WKU’s 393. 14 of their
points came on interception returns (which, btw, would have put Tennessee at 38, which was
my predicted score for them in this game) during a stretch of 5 turnovers on 6 Western
Kentucky plays. Whatever, I guess you’ve got to give Tennessee credit, their defense has
certainly turned the corner from last year, and that offensive line is something to be feared. That
line paved the way for 242 yards of rushing, and if they had a decent quarterback or some
decent receivers would probably mean a good pass offense too, but they don’t. The Tennessee
philosophy this year will be to run the ball, and the clock, to exhaustion. They’re going to need
that run game when they travel to Oregon this week to take…… wait. Tennessee is playing
Oregon this weekend!?! Ahhh crap the SEC is about to take another big hit. Alright folks,
everybody break out your orange, because if Tennessee can pull off a win against the Ducks
the SEC can really save some face. I mean they could…. who am I kidding. Oregon has one of
the best offenses in the country (repeat for the last 6 years) and this year has one heck of a
defense to go with it. I’ll stop and save this for next week, but still. Damn.

Missouri 38 - Toledo 23

This game went exactly as expected. Toledo showed they’re a force to be reckoned with
in their division, but still not up to SEC standards. Missouri meanwhile continued to show
improvement from last year’s squad without revealing anything about where this team could
actually end up. A few worrisome cracks did come up for the Tigers in this game though. Toledo
actually outgained Missouri on offense, and really hung in their on the scoreboard until the 4th
quarter. If the Rockets could have limited their interceptions (they threw 3) they could have
come away with a victory in this game. Missouri needs to step up their offensive game if they
want to break into the middle of the pack in the SEC East this year, as Kentucky and
Tennessee are all of a sudden not the easy wins most people were looking for (okay, well
Kentucky could still be, and both of them should be embarrassed against Top 10 teams while
Mizzou could end up 3 - 0 after facing Indiana). The good news for the Tigers is its starting to
look like a certainty that Missouri will be bowling at the end of the year, barring some
catastrophic collapse or nasty losses to Kentucky or Arkansas State (darn you).

Auburn 38 - Arkansas State 9

Oh, speaking of, here’s that Arkansas State team I picked to upset Auburn this week. I
was pretty high on these guys too, and then they came in and laid an absolute egg. The Tigers
(didn’t I just talk about the Tigers?) really clamped down on defense in the red zone against
Malzahn’s former team. Auburn gave up over 400 yards to the Red Wolves, but wouldn’t let
them in the endzone. That bend, don’t break style of defense will certainly win them some
games this year. The talent is all there for the Tigers, and on the surface it looks like things are
starting to come together. The real question is, can they keep it up against the SEC? Mississippi
State comes to town next week, and we should find out (crap). The strength of this Auburn team
is undeniably in its running backs, as they rushed for over 300 yards against Arkansas State.
That’s pretty impressive, and will allow Auburn to control the clock and keep that defense
rested. Which is a big deal, since a bend-don’t-break can quickly turn into a limp noodle if left
out on the field too long. The other big thing Auburn did this week was limit turnovers,
particularly interceptions. They did have one fumble, but that happens sometimes, what killed
this team last year was interceptions. Through two games, the Tigers have none. That’s good
news for this team. I’m still not sure Auburn is the real deal this year, but we should find out next
week. They are undefeated, like everyone but Mississippi State in the West is, and you’ve got to
give them credit for that. At worst, they are shaping up to have a perfectly respectable year.

Miami (FL) 21 -  Florida 16

Atrocious. Down right horrid. I cannot believe Florida lost this game. The Gators have
one of the top defenses in the country paired with one of the most comically inept offenses I’ve
seen since Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas last year. Okay… well the SEC has
provided some hilariously bad offenses recently, but still. Five turnovers for a Top 25 team is
just ridiculous. And it wasn’t just five turnovers, a lot of them were red-zone, score killing, gut
wrenching, game losing turnovers. It’s amazing the Gators’ defense was able to keep the score
as close as they did. Miami had no right winning this game. They were outclassed in every facet
of this game, except ball control. I don’t know if Florida and the New York Giants (f^$% the
Cowboys) drank the same Kool Aid last week or what, but it has to stop. That was
embarrassing. The good news is Florida gets the week off to sit in time out and think about how
they’re going to salvage this season, which could still end up a great one as they have no SEC
East losses (poor South Carolina). After that bye week though they get Tennessee. Sure the
Volunteers are in no way the same caliber as Florida, and they’ll be coming off a game against
Oregon, but still, they’ve been causing and capitalizing on turnovers all year. Florida’s offense
needs to go home and have a come-to-Shiva meeting, then come out and be perfectly
adequate. That’s all they have to do: not suck. Their defense will win them games. Take away
those turnovers and Miami doesn’t score half the points they did. Florida outgained Miami 413
to 212 on offense, and lost. That’s letting your defense down. They owe them a cake, hallmark
apology card, and a stiff drink after this. I mean, seriously, Miami rushed for over 300 yards in
their opener, and the Gators defense held them to 50. Miami held the ball for a grand total of 21
minutes in this game, and committed 58 yards worth of penalties. Florida, as they’ve been
known to do, commited 70 yards worth of penalties. This is unacceptable. All the offense has to
do is not screw up, and you could win the SEC East, maybe even play for a national title. Get
your act together Florida. I’m glad I don’t have to watch you play this week.

Georgia 41 - South Carolina 30

Well Georgia really came through for me this week! They did exactly what I thought
they’d do: expose South Carolina as a talented, but incomplete team. With Clowney hurt for
most of the game Georgia’s offense was able to move the ball and score at will against the
Gamecocks. The score says 11 points, but that doesn’t really show just how dominant Georgia
was against South Carolina. The only semi-major statistical category in which the Gamecocks
beat the Bulldogs was third down efficiency, converting 45% of their third down attempts as
opposed to Georgia’s 43%. But even that gets negated by the Bulldogs going 2 - 3 on 4th down.
Georgia had more passing yards (309 - 228), rushing yards (229 - 226), total yards (well
obviously, 538 - 454), higher completion percentage, almost ten minutes more time of
possession, one less turnover (and South Carolina only had one), 22 yards less in penalties,
and of course, 11 more points. This was a great game with a very clear cut winner. The big
thing I take away from this game is that both of these teams clearly have issues on defense.
South Carolina cannot defend the pass, and with Clowney not in the quarterback’s face every
play that could be an issue, meanwhile Georgia is having trouble stopping the run against a
South Carolina team that shouldn’t be running the ball that well. The Bulldogs lost in a shootout
last week against Clemson, and while the defense certainly looked improved, they’ve got a long
way to go if they want to knock off LSU in the regular season, or Texas A&M/Alabama in the
Conference Championship. South Carolina, meanwhile, has to get Clowney healthy. Without
him on defense teams will run, pass, and score on a whim against this team. With him, the pass
defense gets a break and the run defense improved dramatically. It cannot be overstated what
Clowney means to this team. He has to get healthy if the Gamecocks want a shot at the SEC
East title.

Mississippi State 51 - Alcorn State 7

There are two sides to this game: what it means to the team, and what it means to the
fans/program. The team should feel great about this game, and the fans should feel great about
next year, understanding that this year is still going to get rough. I’ll run with the good things for
both sides first before delivering my warnings of caution.
There were plenty of positives to take away from this game, but the three that
stand out the most to me where: the defensive front seven, Ashton Shumpert, and most of all,
Dak Prescott. There have been whispers of Dak’s talent for a couple of years now, and finally
we got to see it on display. Everyone knew he could run, he’s got both the speed and power to
do that, but what amazed me the most was his confidence in the pocket. He looked good. He
stood in there, took hits, and delivered strikes to his receivers, looking poised and confident the
entire time. Dak knew the offense, he knew his receivers, and he played his game. It was a
beauty to watch. The defensive front for Mississippi State allowed a grand total of 28 rushing
yards. I don’t care who you’re facing, that’s deadly, it’s dominant, it’s downright lethal. Combine
that with what we saw out of these guys (without Quay Evans) against Oklahoma State, and I’m
ready to give them a name. I’m calling them the Dawg Patrol (yes in reference to the old Dome
Patrol from the Saints). Right now it refers to both the lineman and the linebackers, but could be
adjusted to just the linebackers, provided we get another name for this line. This is easily the
best defensive line Mississippi State has fielded since Pernell McPhee left us. Fletcher Cox was
good, but he didn’t have the support these guys have. Quay Evans, Denico Autry, Chris Jones,
P. J. Jones, Kaleb Eulls, and Curtis Virges. These guys are talented, deep, and experienced.
This also may be the best linebacking corps we’ve had since Chris White and K. J. Wright left
for the NFL. Bernadrick McKinney is just a beast, and has really stepped up as a leader this
year. He also has help from Ferlando Bohanna (when healthy), Matthew Wells, and Deontae
Skinner. This defense is good, and the secondary is talented, if inexperienced, and the pressure
being put on opposing quarterbacks has certainly helped. Finally, there’s Ashton Shumpert. I’m
going to be honest, I’m furious he played in this game. We’ve got LaDarius Perkins, Nick
Griffen, Derrick Milton, and Josh Robinson all at running back. And just for fun, we’ve got
change of pace backs in freshman wide receiver Brandon Holloway and Jameon Lewis. There
was no reason to activate this uber talented freshman for this year. But, we did, he’s here, and
he’s good. Perkins said all spring this kid was on his heels every day, and that’s exactly what
we saw against Alcorn State. He was Anthony Dixon all over again, punishing, faster than
expected, and more shifty than he was given credit for. Sure he looked a little green, but the kid
is a freshman. This guy is one of the key pieces of Mississippi State’s team going forward, now
if we could just get an effective Offensive Line we’d be golden.
Some other positives to take away from this game were the receivers. Twelve different
players caught passes for Mississippi State on Saturday. That’s a New Orleans Saints kind of
number. The freshman receivers looked more talented than any group I’ve seen come through
this program, and the tight ends are beastly. Well, Malcolm Johnson is a beast. The amazing
part of this game, to me, was seeing Dak Prescott come out in the second half. True freshman
Damian Williams stepped in, and the offense didn’t skip a beat. He sliced the secondary to
ribbons with well placed passes and great decisions to tuck and run when necessary. In fact,
he did so well that by the fourth quarter we had a quarterback in who wasn’t even listed on
the depth chart. That’s exactly what this team needed. Oh yeah, cool stats from this game.
Alcorn State was held to less than 100 yards of total offense until the last 10 minutes of the
game, Mississippi State had just one interception, and it wasn’t thrown by Tyler Russell or Dak
Prescott, and really was just the result of bad luck (tipped by the receiver). Mississippi State
put up 556 yards of offense, 279 in the air, 277 on the ground. That’s the type of balance we’ve
seen the past two years from these guys. Now if we could just get it without everyone in the
stadium knowing what play was coming, that’d be excellent. The only downside to this game
was 3rd down. Mississippi State has been abysmal on third down in their first two games. Which
is indicative of, you guessed it, a poor offensive line.

Now the caution. There is not a quarterback battle at Mississippi State. Period.
Tyler Russell is our guy. Don’t think for a second that he couldn’t have carved up Alcorn State
the same way Dak did. Russell is a great quarterback who suffers from an underachieving
offensive line. Put him behind Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Alabama, alright just about
anybody’s offensive line and people would be talking a whole lot more about him. Not to say
Dak isn’t our guy next year, and hopefully the year after, and maybe even this weekend against
Auburn, but I don’t want to hear any of this “put in the backup” crap State fans are known for. It
was Alcorn State guys, do not forget that. A true freshman came in and dominated against
them, do you want him in for Russell? Saying yes would be delusional. Additionally, while these
receivers played well against Alcorn’s secondary, it is going to be a completely different story
against Auburn this weekend. These guys are talented, yes, but they’re also young. And that is
going to cost us some big plays and some big downs. Fans should be optimistic about the
future, but with this offensive line even our now five-headed (sometimes seven!!!) monster of a
running game is having trouble getting going. That’s going to cost us this season. This win was
great, enjoy it, let it make you buy tickets to the rest of the games this year, but don’t let it color
your expectations of this team. That wouldn’t be fair, and these guys are going to go out and
play their hearts out, the least you could do is applaud what they do. Go to the game to watch
how good this defense will be (a lot of these guys come back next year) and see the flashes of
what this offense can be, but don’t burden these guys with expectations of beating LSU,
Alabama, or Texas A&M. This isn’t the year for it. Dan Mullen will get us there, I’m confident of it
(especially if he fires this damn OC), but it isn’t this year. Sit back and enjoy the show.



(Mr. Hooch) Wow. That was some excellent recapping, Professor! And now we delve into this week's matchups. Again, I just haven't had the time to flesh these out, so I'm going with one or two sentences and a prediction, because it's all I've got time for lately... At any rate here are my picks, followed by Professor D.


LOUISVILLE v KENTUCKY - The Cardinals are going to give the 'Cats more than they can handle.

Louisville 42 - Kentucky 14


USM v ARKANSAS - USM is on a roll... a very, very bad roll. They've lost a nation-worst 14 games in a row, and the Razorbacks are very likely to add to that tally.

Arkansas 35 - Southern Miss 17


TENNESSEE v OREGON - The Ducks are going to notch a win over an SEC team to bolster their bragging rights, I just hope the Vols keep it respectable... unfortunately I don't think they will.

Oregon 45 - Tennessee 17

ALABAMA v TEXAS A&M - Arguably the biggest game of the weekend and the year to date, this is one to watch folks. Alabama is foaming at the mouth to give the Aggies some payback for last season, and you can bet Johnny Manziel and his boys are ready for action. I'm looking forward to this one... and I hope I'm wrong about the final score.

Alabama 42 - TAMU 24


KENT ST. v LSU - Tigers roll, blah blah blah... LSU will play someone worth mentioning eventually... not sure if it'll be next week, though.

LSU 52 - Kent 10


VANDERBILT v SOUTH CAROLINA - The Ol' Ball Coach will notch his first SEC win of the season Saturday, at the expense of the 'Dores.

South Carolina 35 - Vanderbilt 24


OLE MISS v TEXAS - Ok, I realize Texas is reeling from the loss to BYU and injuries, and Ole Miss has improved greatly from where they were 2 years ago, but I don't see this as being as lopsided as a lot of the talking heads out there apparently do. Home field will definitely help Texas emotionally and psychologically, but will that be enough? I truly hope so, because I do not want to hear the RebelBear fans bragging about beating an entirely different team than the one that came into their house and whipped them 66-31 last year. This may be a mistake, but I'll still go with the Longhorns in a close one.

Texas 37 - Ole Miss 34


MSU v AUBURN - Auburn's defense looks beatable. State's offense looks serviceable. State's defense looks solid. Auburn's defense looks productive. It's going to be an interesting game. First I'll say this, if Tyler Russell had a concussion two weeks ago, I don't think he should be playing, period. Concussions are tricky stuff. I'm comfortable with Dak running the offense anyway. However, if Tyler is well and truly ready to play, I'd like to see him out there. Tyler has a wealth of experience compared to Dak, and that's something we will need because the key to this game is going to be protecting the ball and winning the turnover battle. Can Guz Malzhan return the Tigers to their former glory? Will Dan Mullen have the offense running plays that my grandmother could see coming, AGAIN? I certainly hope the answer to both these questions is a resounding NO. But I think this will be a close, hard-fought game. Going on the road is never easy in the SEC, but this is an incredibly important game which could make or break the season for both programs. Who wants it more? I will once again put on my maroon colored glasses and give us the benefit of the doubt, but this will be the game where we finally learn what this team is made of. Fail here and it's going to be a long season in Starkville...

MSU 27 - Auburn 21


And now we throw it back over to Professor D for his picks for the weekend...
(Professor D) This is about that time of football season where us bloggers start to relax a little bit, as
we only have 7 games to cover this week as opposed to the opening two weekends 13 and 11.
Man that was rough. Luckily for us, and college football fans in general, the SEC schedule is
starting up for some teams, and man is it a doozy. Every SEC matchup this week means the
world to the teams playing in them. Alabama and Texas A&M is obvious, but Vanderbilt - South
Carolina and Mississippi State - Auburn are vital to each of those teams as well. This will be the
week that catapults seasons, and sends teams back to the drawing board. Auburn is arguably
the team with the least to lose, and they want their first SEC win bad. Beyond the SEC
matchups Kentucky is playing Top 10 Louisville, Tennessee goes on the road out west to face
number 2 Oregon, and Ole Miss travels to Texas to try and get a little payback. The only game
that doesn’t matter this week is Arkansas - Southern Miss, where one team is trying to go 3 - 0
after having one of the worst seasons in two decades, and the other is trying to snap a 14 game
losing streak that started after a 12 win season. So that one is really interesting for those fan
bases, if not the SEC as a whole. Mississippi State goes on the road this week, so I’m going to
sit at home and watch some darn good football (hopefully).

Arkansas v. Southern Miss

Like I said, this is the least interesting game on the schedule this weekend, as far as the
SEC is concerned. For these two programs though, a win would be huge. Arkansas is coming
off of a 4 win season last year, and will be looking for their third of the 2013 campaign this
weekend. If the Razorbacks can get this one it could mean they tie last year’s record in the first
four games of this season. That’s something to cheer about for these guys. Meanwhile
Southern Miss had just about the most successful season in program history back in 2011,
winning 12 games. They followed it with a winless 2012, and have lost the first two games of
this season for a losing streak of 14 games. That’s one heck of a step backward. That’s not
even a step, that is a sprint in the opposite direction.

Now, on to the game. Arkansas has exploded into 2013 with the nations 11th ranked
rushing attack, led by a freshman and sophomore running back tandem. That bodes well for the
future of this team, and it bodes well for this weekend. Southern Miss, on the other hand, ranks
123rd in rushing yards per game. They’re also 111th in scoring defense. Ouch, not even an
average of almost 300 passing yards per game can save a team from those numbers. Arkansas
is going to run all over this team, and Southern Miss is going to have a rough time finding a
rhythm against a suddenly successful Arkansas defense. The Razorbacks will get win number
3, while the Golden Eagles will run their losing streak up to 15. Poor guys. And they have Boise
State the week after. To the Top?

Arkansas 45 - Southern Miss 14

Kentucky v. Louisville

Kentucky certainly looks better going into this game after facing off against Miami (OH),
but Louisville is good. Like, really good. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is on several Heisman
shortlists and has already thrown for over 700 yards. In fact, Louisville is averaging over 400
yards passing per game. That’s insane. Sure it’s been against Eastern Kentucky and Ohio, but
still. Kentucky will have to rely on their pass rush to stop that aerial attack, because the
secondary is not going to be up to task, and Bridgewater will carve them up like Jack The
Ripper carved up prostitutes. That said, the biggest problem facing the Wildcats isn’t the
Cardinal’s offense, it’s the defense. Everyone knows Louisville is going to pass, but the defense
has held opponents to under 10 points in both games so far this year. Combine that with the
offense, and that pretty much spells doomed for the overmatched Kentucky Wildcats. This one
is going to get ugly. Unless, by some miracle, Kentucky can save some face for the SEC and
stop that passing attack, and generate some offense. I think Kentucky can break into the double
digits, but I don’t see them stopping the Cardinals from far surpassing that. Good luck fellas,
you’re gonna need it.

Kentucky 17 - Louisville 42

Oregon v. Tennessee

This is another one of those game where I’m hoping I get surprised. It would do wonders
for this conference for Tennessee or Kentucky to get wins this weekend. I’ve talked about how
much of a chance Kentucky has, and honestly Tennessee isn’t looking much better. Sure,
Tennessee is a better team than the Wildcats, and really has been better than I thought they
would this year, but Oregon is.. well, Oregon. The Ducks, always the bridesmaid never the
bride, have become a staple in the number 2 spot in college football these past few years. They
rank 2nd in the nation in rushing yards with a whopping 452 yards per game, 3rd in points for,
where they average just over 62 (and believe me, it could be much more if they didn’t take
mercy on teams), and 7th in scoring defense, where they’ve held opponents to an average of
just 6.5 points per game. That’s pretty much as good as it gets for a team. Tennessee,
meanwhile, has a great offensive line to drive a pretty good rushing attack and a fledgling
passing offense. On the other hand the defense has been better than expected, generating
timely turnovers, especially through interceptions. The problem with that is, Oregon just doesn’t
throw the ball that often. Mostly because they average over 450 yards on the ground. I know I
already said that, but holy crap it deserves repeating. I hope Tennessee miraculously gets some
fumble recoveries and stops this Oregon offense, but honestly, they’re just hopelessly
outclassed in this game. Once again the Ducks will be able to take their foot off the gas in the
fourth quarter. Although, to be honest, just once I wish they wouldn’t. I bet they could score 100.

Oregon 45 - Tennessee 21

Texas v. Ole Miss

With Tennessee and Kentucky facing Top 10 opponents in non-conference play, the
SEC really needs a win out of Ole Miss against Texas. Last I saw the line was Texas by 3, and I
think that’s bull. The Longhorns are in free fall, and Mack Brown has done nothing to stop it.
Strangely enough, the new defensive coordinator for Texas is the same guy Manny Diaz out
classed in the Gator Bowl when Mississippi State beat Michigan 52 - 14. Yeah, the defensive
coordinator who gave up 52 points to Mississippi State’s rush first, Chris Relf led, offense just
replaced Manny Diaz. What a strange world we live in. I’m not saying Diaz didn’t deserve to be
fired, he’s been atrocious at Texas for some reason, but they could have made a better hiring
choice. I think Ole Miss is going to run all over this Texas defense, and the Rebel Things should
have the front seven to stop the Longhorns from returning the favor. The only thing I hate more
than picking TSUN to win is hoping I’m right. This one hurts.

Texas 24 - Ole Miss 38

South Carolina v. Vanderbilt

This game was almost a coming out party for Vanderbilt last year. They came so close
to beating South Carolina, and the loss still propelled them to a very respectable 9 win run
through the SEC East. This year Vanderbilt is looking to get back on track after being set back
in the SEC by Ole Miss in week one, while South Carolina is struggling to regain its position in
the National Title race. Yeah, I hate that it’s week 3 and we’re discussing national
championships, but that’s the age of football we live in, where only LSU, Alabama, or Florida
can come back from a loss to go to the championship game. I’m not sure what’s been up with
Clowney, whether it’s just been a story of sickness and injury or poor conditioning, but the
Gamecocks really need him back and 100%. With Clowney on the field, South Carolina takes
this one, hands down, but the way he’s played recently, I just don’t know. Both these teams
have been perfectly average this year, without any major strength. Both teams are 0 - 1 in the
SEC, and both have the senior leadership to shake it off. My pick for this game comes down to
the fact that I just don’t see South Carolina going 0 - 2 in SEC play. Although, I did say at the
beginning of the year I thought Vanderbilt could steal their spot in the Big 3 in the East.

Although with that loss to Ole Miss, really all they would do is make it the Big 2. Unless Florida’s
offense keeps giving away games, then it could just be the Big 1. Unless Georgia’s defense….
you know what, I’m just going to stop. The East is in trouble right now.

South Carolina 34 - Vanderbilt 21

Texas A&M v. Alabama

Oh boy have we been waiting for this one. You can bet Kyle Field will be rocking this
weekend when Alabama rolls into town. Arkansas is a traditional rival of Texas A&M, but
Alabama pretty much supplanted everyone after the Aggies rolled into Tuscaloosa and put a
beat down on the Tide in the first quarter. This could start to get classic, making the West one
hell of a three horse race between Alabama, Texas A&M, and LSU. Just what we needed,
another powerhouse in the SEC West, which don’t be fooled, Texas A&M is evolving into.
Johnny Child may be the most electric player in college football, but A&M has quietly been
developing weapons across the board for years. The final piece finally fell into place when head
coach Kevin Sumlin came to town. A&M has one heck of an offense, with a slew of receivers, a
good offensive line, and some talented running backs. The problem for this team (apart from the
Manziel distraction) is the defense. It certainly has its fair share of holes, and that is probably
going to spell doom for the Aggies against Alabama, whose offense looks impressive. The Tide,
meanwhile, have showed only one weakness this year: offensive line. Texas A&M will look to
exploit that, but with McCarron leading the offense and Yeldon running for them it won’t be
enough. The best chance the Aggies have of making it two in a row against the two time
defending national champs is that Alabama’s defense shows its youth, and make no mistake,
youth is a dangerous things against Manziel. Sure the Alabama coaches have seen him before,
but will the players believe it? Will they buy in to their role in time to prevent another fast start,
this time in front of a home crowd that you better believe will do everything they can to stop the
Tide from coming back? Strange as it is, I think Alabama may just find themselves in a shootout
this weekend, and that isn’t something they’re comfortable with. You know, I started this portion
of the predictions thinking I would pick Alabama to win this one. After all that defense is
impressive, and the offense polished, but I think a combination of youth on defense and a
somehow-suspect offensive line, combined with the home field advantage of Texas A&M, may
swing this in the Aggies favor. I thought about going back and changing some of my wording, to
pick A&M from the beginning so to speak, but I decided to leave it. I’ll probably seesaw a few
more times before game day anyway, but right now, I’m going with Texas A&M.
One last thing I will say though, is this is in no way the new Game of the Century. Not in
the slightest. Both of these teams have some pretty big weaknesses. That 2011 matchup
between LSU and Alabama will probably always take the cake for me. Those were two offenses
that knew how to get things done on the ground. They were punishing, game-controlling, run-tillthey-drop, offenses. Defensively, I don’t think there has ever been two better squads play the
game at the college level. It was unbelievable. There are those that don’t like defensive oriented
games who will say this one was more exciting when it’s all over, but that’s just not what I like to
see in football. 2011 saw classic, SEC, big-boy, old-man, slug-it-out, football. The kind where
you scratch your head when you remember the SEC is known for its speed, not power. Two
near-perfect teams going head-to-head, slugging it out for all the marbles, the lead in the SEC
West, and control of the run to the National Championship. This year, even if either of these
teams win, it’s too early in the season to name either a favorite to run the table in the SEC
West, and that really just takes away from the impact of this game.

Texas A&M 31 - Alabama 27

Auburn v. Mississippi State

There is not a game on this schedule that means more to either of these teams than this
one. Sure, beating Ole Miss would be huge for State, and beating Alabama would be… well
that’s just not going to happen so nevermind, but it all starts here. The opening game of the
SEC for two teams desperately looking for a signature win for the season. Mississippi State is
fighting to stay relevant in the SEC West, while Auburn is desperately trying to prove their back
in the middle of the pack. It’s too bad this game is being played at Auburn, because that
probably gives the Tigers a significant edge. Jordan-Hare Stadium has a definite impact on the
performance of the Auburn Tigers. It certainly means the game isn’t over until the last second
ticks off, because Auburn has pulled plenty of fourth quarter comebacks at home in recent
Talent-wise I really think Auburn has the edge, but Mississippi State’s players have been
a little more stable in recent years. If the Bulldogs want to win, Tyler Russell needs to be
immaculate. I don’t care how poor the offensive line plays, he needs to get the ball out faster,
and more accurately, than he ever has before. The Tigers defense is going to generate
pressure, and Russell will take hits. Those hits will mean incompletions, but if the Bulldogs can
get some rhythm going early on it could carry over into that punishing defense. Speaking of
defense, Mississippi State is going to have its hands full against Auburn’s run game. Luckily the
front seven for Mississippi State is pretty darn good. Like, really good. With the Dawg Patrol (I’m
trying to make this a thing, okay?) roaming the field I like our chances of stopping Tre Mason
and company. The real tell will be how our secondary does against a suddenly-revived Auburn
passing game. Last year Mississippi State road 5 turnovers to victory over the Tigers at Davis
Wade. Don’t expect that kind of charity this year, and without the fans behind them I’m not sure
I trust this team not to fold when the Tigers come roaring in the fourth. But, against my better
judgement, I’m going to pick Mississippi State in this game. I know, everyone else is selling their
stock in this program across the SEC, but the pieces are there. If the ground game can control
the clock, and these young, talented, receivers take another step forward and let the passing
game score some touchdowns, the Bulldogs have a shot. The thing is, we need touchdowns.
Devon Bell has proven we cannot rely on a field goal to win it, or keep us in the game. We won’t
get those points. Russell has to step up. I’d be comfortable playing Dak if he doesn’t have it, but
we really need Tyler to have a career day. This team also cannot fall behind. We just don’t
come back, for whatever reason. We need a lead early. We need the ability to lean on our
defense to win this game. Come on Dawgs, don’t make me regret picking against Auburn twice
in a row.

Auburn 24 - Mississippi State 28


And that does it! Hope you guys enjoyed the stripped down version of the blog this week, and if the Fates are kind we will return to something of our former selves going forward. As always thanks for reading, and be sure to spread the love on Facebook, Twitter and/or Google+! Until next time, #HailState and #GoDawgs!