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Chewbaccer
Illustrious Potentate
Last week was pretty well what everyone expected, but we did learn a few things We learned that South Carolina's quarterback position is going to be shaky at best, and while their defense did much better than I anticipated, if North Carolina could have got an average game from Williams at QB, they could have easily blown SC out of the water.
For the most part, the cupcake games went as expected. UL-Lafayette played Kentucky a lot closer than I expected, and while Vandy's defense blew away my expectations, their offense looked down right horrible, only managing 4 field goals in a loss to Western Kentucky.
If Auburn's preseason hype is going to turn out to be warranted, I'm going to have to see a different Jeremy Johnson than I saw against Louisville. Opening week nerves? Maybe, but as of this moment, I'm not impressed with Auburn. Had Louisville had the same team as last season and not lost 10 players to the NFL draft, and weren't starting a true freshman QB, this game would have ended a lot differently. Ifs and buts, I know.
Alabama and Texas A&M were the most impressive teams of week 1, and I don't think there's really much debate about that. Alabama was able to move the ball on the ground at will against a supposed to be pretty good Wisconsin team, and that opened things up for Jake Coker, who I thought had a very good game and a promising sign for Bama this season. And Bama's front 7 was a force. A&M proved me wrong and took a top 15 team with a lot of hype to the woodshed. If their defense stays that good all season, A&M has potential to play in Atlanta for the SEC championship.
Overall last week, I went 11-2 in SEC games. South Carolina and Texas A&M were winners I didn't pick, and LSU's game was canceled. I got all 3 next best 3 games right.
On to this week's games
Uh, Last Week was Supposed to be Cupcake Weeks:
Jacksonville State @ Auburn- Maybe a tune up game against an in state FCS team is will get Jeremy Johnson headed in the right direction and in top form for the upcoming conference games. Louisville gave Auburn all they wanted last week. This week I think Auburn will get their nerves settled, and run all over this FCS opponent. Final Score- Auburn 58-7
Fresno State @ Ole Miss- Really we still don't know a heck of a lot about this Ole Miss team other than they have the ability to hang 76 on an FCS team, and they still have a lot of talented players There was a time not too long ago where this game wouldn't have been called a cupcake, but Fresno State has fallen on some hard times here lately, and if last week showed us anything, it's Ole Miss isn't going to let up on the weaker opponents. No chance for Bad Bo showing up big this week with him being gone, so Final Score- Ole Miss 55-6
Middle Tennessee @ Alabama- Middle Tennessee isn't a horrible team. Chances are they will go bowling this season, but they are still a Sun Belt team, and not one favored to win the conference and probably won't be playing on New Years day. We all saw what Derrick Henry and Kenyon Drake were able to do against a quality power 5 team in Wisconsin. We all saw Jake Coker do a good job when he was called upon, and we all saw how stout Bama's front 7 looked. This game won't be close. Final Score- Bama 49-0
Toledo @ Arkansas in Little Rock- This will be the season opener for Toledo, who is coming off of a 9 win season last year. They still fall in the cupcake department, but they are not a team to just completely ignore. They have the ability to put up some points. But at the end of the day, Arkansas is a pretty strong team with a damn good running game and I look for them to run all of the Rockets of Toledo. This will be an opportunity for Arkansas's defense to show us a little bit of what they have. Final Score- Arkansas- 42-10
Ball State @ Texas A&M- Honestly, I haven't watched a Ball State game since they were flirting with an undefeated season a few years ago, but I see the times these days aren't as kind to the Cardinals. They were given a run for their money by FCS VMI last week, and they weren't even a top 100 team last year. Texas A&M on the other hand hasn't had stock this high since they beat Bama in 2012 with Johnny Manziel. Hard to come up with words that mnakes this game sound interesting other than the fact that it is still a college football game. Final Score- Texas A&M 56-7
Missouri @ Arkansas State- First off I have to question why on earth Missouri is traveling to a Sun Belt team's stadium? Mizzou has a nice stadium up there in Columbia, and I haven't watched a game played there that wasn't sold out. I guess you don't have to pay the scrub as much money to beat them in their stadium. Missouri never could get its run game going against Southeastern Missouri State last week, and while a 4 touchdown win is hardly a close game, I was expecting more out of Mizzou's offense. I still have a lot of confidence in their defense, but if they want to play in the SEC hampionship game again, they will need to get their run game going, and playing the Red Wolves could be a good place to start. Final Score- Missouri 38-3
A Rematch of a Bowl Game From Last Season
East Carolina @ Florida- ECU started out hot last season after they beat a Virginia Tech team who was fresh off of a win against eventual national champions, Ohio State. They ultimately sputtered down the stretch, finishing the season 8-5 including a loss to these Gators in whatever they called the scrub bowl they played in, and they barely beat FCS Towson last week, so I don't see the early season rise in rankings for the Pirates this season. We still don't know much about Florida this season. They still have a new coach, they still don't have a QB that I'm confident can move the ball down field, but I do think they have a solid run game and they have the potential to be a good defense. A blowout of one of the worst teams in the country in New Mexico State last week didn't prove much, but I do think Florida starts the season 2-0. Final Score- Florida 28-13
For The Premise of the Thread, I Won't Call Conference Games Cupcakes
Georgia @ Vanderbilt- Georgia is coming off an expected blowout of lowly Louisiana-Monroe in a weather shortened game last week. Vanderbilt on the other hand is coming off of a 14-12 loss to Western Kentucky. I feel very confident when I make the homer statement that Georgia has one of the better run games in the country. Nick Chubb is a Heisman candidate, and it appears that 5 star, Nick Marshall is back to 100% and capable of returning to the success he had in his freshman season. Third stringer, Sony Michel is also a 5 star recruit by the way. But at the same time, Georgia still doesn't have a quarterback that is capable of taking over a game. It's a formula that shouldn't cause too much trouble against the weak and middle of the pack teams, but if they are going to beat the likes of Bama and Auburn, they are going to have to throw the ball. Their run defense is one of the best in the conference, I'll hold judgement of their secondary when they play a team with a good passing attack. For the game, Vanderbilt just doesn't have enough on offense to keep this game competitive. Western Kentucky isn't a defensive juggernaut by any means, yet the lowly Commodores offense only managed 4 field goals in a losing effort to them. Vanderbilt will be playing in their home field in front of mostly Georgia fans. Final Score- Georgia 45-0
Last Season's Matchup was a Pretty Good Game
Kentucky @ South Carolina- As I said last week, I think Patrick Towles is an underrated quarterback with the potential to be the best quarterback in the SEC East. He and the entire Wildcats offense had a very good week against a decent Louisiana-Lafayette team. But, this will be the first test for his offensive line, who had a lot of problems with protecting Towles last season, and if he doesn't have time to throw, it doesn't bode well for the run game either. And while the offense had a strong showing last week, we still saw the same old terrible Kentucky defense. Winning by only a touchdown and allowing 33 points to UL-Lafayette is a major cause for concern for Kentucky's chances of success(making a bowl game) this season. Last season the Wildcats saw their fans storm the field after pulling off the upset of South Carolina. We'll get to see if they can do it on the road this season. South Carolina showed us last week that they still don't have much of a quarterback. Connor Mitch struggled against what is supposed to be a weak North Carolina defense, and aside from the long touchdown run to take the lead, SC's run game couldn't really get much going either. But with the aid of poor QB play and running game from North Carolina, SC had a good defensive showing last week, and was getting in the backfield routinely, which was a big problem for the Gamecocks last season. I expect this to be a close game, as I don't expect either team to be great this season, but I think the Gamecocks have a better defense, and I think they will be able to get through Kentucky's o-line and put some pressure on Towles and stop their run game. SC still needs to be able to score, but I think they'll get the run game going a bit this week and get the win at home. Final Score- South Carolina 24-17
For the most part, the cupcake games went as expected. UL-Lafayette played Kentucky a lot closer than I expected, and while Vandy's defense blew away my expectations, their offense looked down right horrible, only managing 4 field goals in a loss to Western Kentucky.
If Auburn's preseason hype is going to turn out to be warranted, I'm going to have to see a different Jeremy Johnson than I saw against Louisville. Opening week nerves? Maybe, but as of this moment, I'm not impressed with Auburn. Had Louisville had the same team as last season and not lost 10 players to the NFL draft, and weren't starting a true freshman QB, this game would have ended a lot differently. Ifs and buts, I know.
Alabama and Texas A&M were the most impressive teams of week 1, and I don't think there's really much debate about that. Alabama was able to move the ball on the ground at will against a supposed to be pretty good Wisconsin team, and that opened things up for Jake Coker, who I thought had a very good game and a promising sign for Bama this season. And Bama's front 7 was a force. A&M proved me wrong and took a top 15 team with a lot of hype to the woodshed. If their defense stays that good all season, A&M has potential to play in Atlanta for the SEC championship.
Overall last week, I went 11-2 in SEC games. South Carolina and Texas A&M were winners I didn't pick, and LSU's game was canceled. I got all 3 next best 3 games right.
On to this week's games
Uh, Last Week was Supposed to be Cupcake Weeks:
Jacksonville State @ Auburn- Maybe a tune up game against an in state FCS team is will get Jeremy Johnson headed in the right direction and in top form for the upcoming conference games. Louisville gave Auburn all they wanted last week. This week I think Auburn will get their nerves settled, and run all over this FCS opponent. Final Score- Auburn 58-7
Fresno State @ Ole Miss- Really we still don't know a heck of a lot about this Ole Miss team other than they have the ability to hang 76 on an FCS team, and they still have a lot of talented players There was a time not too long ago where this game wouldn't have been called a cupcake, but Fresno State has fallen on some hard times here lately, and if last week showed us anything, it's Ole Miss isn't going to let up on the weaker opponents. No chance for Bad Bo showing up big this week with him being gone, so Final Score- Ole Miss 55-6
Middle Tennessee @ Alabama- Middle Tennessee isn't a horrible team. Chances are they will go bowling this season, but they are still a Sun Belt team, and not one favored to win the conference and probably won't be playing on New Years day. We all saw what Derrick Henry and Kenyon Drake were able to do against a quality power 5 team in Wisconsin. We all saw Jake Coker do a good job when he was called upon, and we all saw how stout Bama's front 7 looked. This game won't be close. Final Score- Bama 49-0
Toledo @ Arkansas in Little Rock- This will be the season opener for Toledo, who is coming off of a 9 win season last year. They still fall in the cupcake department, but they are not a team to just completely ignore. They have the ability to put up some points. But at the end of the day, Arkansas is a pretty strong team with a damn good running game and I look for them to run all of the Rockets of Toledo. This will be an opportunity for Arkansas's defense to show us a little bit of what they have. Final Score- Arkansas- 42-10
Ball State @ Texas A&M- Honestly, I haven't watched a Ball State game since they were flirting with an undefeated season a few years ago, but I see the times these days aren't as kind to the Cardinals. They were given a run for their money by FCS VMI last week, and they weren't even a top 100 team last year. Texas A&M on the other hand hasn't had stock this high since they beat Bama in 2012 with Johnny Manziel. Hard to come up with words that mnakes this game sound interesting other than the fact that it is still a college football game. Final Score- Texas A&M 56-7
Missouri @ Arkansas State- First off I have to question why on earth Missouri is traveling to a Sun Belt team's stadium? Mizzou has a nice stadium up there in Columbia, and I haven't watched a game played there that wasn't sold out. I guess you don't have to pay the scrub as much money to beat them in their stadium. Missouri never could get its run game going against Southeastern Missouri State last week, and while a 4 touchdown win is hardly a close game, I was expecting more out of Mizzou's offense. I still have a lot of confidence in their defense, but if they want to play in the SEC hampionship game again, they will need to get their run game going, and playing the Red Wolves could be a good place to start. Final Score- Missouri 38-3
A Rematch of a Bowl Game From Last Season
East Carolina @ Florida- ECU started out hot last season after they beat a Virginia Tech team who was fresh off of a win against eventual national champions, Ohio State. They ultimately sputtered down the stretch, finishing the season 8-5 including a loss to these Gators in whatever they called the scrub bowl they played in, and they barely beat FCS Towson last week, so I don't see the early season rise in rankings for the Pirates this season. We still don't know much about Florida this season. They still have a new coach, they still don't have a QB that I'm confident can move the ball down field, but I do think they have a solid run game and they have the potential to be a good defense. A blowout of one of the worst teams in the country in New Mexico State last week didn't prove much, but I do think Florida starts the season 2-0. Final Score- Florida 28-13
For The Premise of the Thread, I Won't Call Conference Games Cupcakes
Georgia @ Vanderbilt- Georgia is coming off an expected blowout of lowly Louisiana-Monroe in a weather shortened game last week. Vanderbilt on the other hand is coming off of a 14-12 loss to Western Kentucky. I feel very confident when I make the homer statement that Georgia has one of the better run games in the country. Nick Chubb is a Heisman candidate, and it appears that 5 star, Nick Marshall is back to 100% and capable of returning to the success he had in his freshman season. Third stringer, Sony Michel is also a 5 star recruit by the way. But at the same time, Georgia still doesn't have a quarterback that is capable of taking over a game. It's a formula that shouldn't cause too much trouble against the weak and middle of the pack teams, but if they are going to beat the likes of Bama and Auburn, they are going to have to throw the ball. Their run defense is one of the best in the conference, I'll hold judgement of their secondary when they play a team with a good passing attack. For the game, Vanderbilt just doesn't have enough on offense to keep this game competitive. Western Kentucky isn't a defensive juggernaut by any means, yet the lowly Commodores offense only managed 4 field goals in a losing effort to them. Vanderbilt will be playing in their home field in front of mostly Georgia fans. Final Score- Georgia 45-0
Last Season's Matchup was a Pretty Good Game
Kentucky @ South Carolina- As I said last week, I think Patrick Towles is an underrated quarterback with the potential to be the best quarterback in the SEC East. He and the entire Wildcats offense had a very good week against a decent Louisiana-Lafayette team. But, this will be the first test for his offensive line, who had a lot of problems with protecting Towles last season, and if he doesn't have time to throw, it doesn't bode well for the run game either. And while the offense had a strong showing last week, we still saw the same old terrible Kentucky defense. Winning by only a touchdown and allowing 33 points to UL-Lafayette is a major cause for concern for Kentucky's chances of success(making a bowl game) this season. Last season the Wildcats saw their fans storm the field after pulling off the upset of South Carolina. We'll get to see if they can do it on the road this season. South Carolina showed us last week that they still don't have much of a quarterback. Connor Mitch struggled against what is supposed to be a weak North Carolina defense, and aside from the long touchdown run to take the lead, SC's run game couldn't really get much going either. But with the aid of poor QB play and running game from North Carolina, SC had a good defensive showing last week, and was getting in the backfield routinely, which was a big problem for the Gamecocks last season. I expect this to be a close game, as I don't expect either team to be great this season, but I think the Gamecocks have a better defense, and I think they will be able to get through Kentucky's o-line and put some pressure on Towles and stop their run game. SC still needs to be able to score, but I think they'll get the run game going a bit this week and get the win at home. Final Score- South Carolina 24-17