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!
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