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!