SEC and the Next Best 3 week 1

[Chewbaccer]

I don't know how well this will carry over on here with so many prediction threads already out there, but this is something I used to do every week on Fannation thanks to @Norka! for coming up with the concept that was once done for all P5 conferences.

I took last year off doing these because I was working a lot more hours than I am now, and I was still new to the site, so forgive me if I'm a little rusty. I haven't written anything of length in two years, and I am a professional writer by no means.

The SEC and the Next Best 3 is basically just a run down of all SEC games during the week with predictions, and a brief rundown and predictions for what I deem to be the three best games not featuring an SEC team.

I had full intentions of doing a season preview last week, but I had a pretty bad ear infection, one where I even had to tap out early at work on Thursday and go to the doctor for the first time in 6 years. I just wasn't up for the task. Please forgive me, Guide Bear.

Now that the introduction stuff is out of the way, we can get started.


This has been a long offseason hasn't it? The Braves have been terrible, and I doubt many of you follow NASCAR as closely as I do. The weather is starting to break, we haven't reached 90 in nearly a week, Fall is so close I can damn near taste it, and working outside in rock quarries where there's no shade to be found, I can't be more ready.

The wait is almost over. So what if most week 1 games are cupcakes, it's still college football by golly.

Since I didn't get to do a season preview and since most of these games are cupcakes, this week will mostly be a season preview for the teams.

Let's get started with the actual games


The Which Team is the Cupcake?

Western Kentucky @ Vanderbilt- I'm gonna be honest, I don't really follow Vanderbilt too closely. Really all that I know is they were arguably the worst power 5 team last season, and they haven't done much to drastically improve. Western Kentucky has a lot of firepower on offense. Brandon Doughty who threw 49 touchdowns last season is returning for his senior season, and Leon Allen who rushed for over 1500 yards is returning for his senior season. WKU's defense leaves a lot to be desired, but the same can be said and then some about Vanderbilt's offense. Final score: WKU 38-14


The Cupcakes

Louisiana-Monroe @ Georgia- Georgia is coming off a 10 win season where they return Nick Chubb, who had a sensational season as a true freshman, and a couple of 5 star backups in Sony Michel and Keith Marshall. Georgia's running game will be their bread and butter this season, because much like last season, there's still a lot of question marks at quarterback. Brice Ramsey has a good arm, but his accuracy and decision making are still questionable. UGA's defense should be one of the better groups in the SEC. They return a lot of starters from last season, and their front 7 should be pretty solid against the run. UL-Monroe will get a nice paycheck for playing this game, but that's about all they'll be getting. They were a poor team last season, and I expect the same this season. Final score: UGA 42-7

Tennessee-Martin @ Ole Miss- Ole Miss started the season strong last season. They took some lumps when Bad Bo started showing up later in the season, and their star receiver, Laquon Treadwell going down in brutal fashion with a broken leg against Auburn really didn't help their cause either. For this season, they have been piling up some solid recruiting classes the last few years, and I expect their defense to be a solid group, but I have some questions about their offense. Their running game will need to be a bigger factor if they want to get over the top this season, and I'll have to hold off judgement on Ryan Buchanan until I see him play, but I doubt he will be as bad as Bo Wallace when bad Bo decided to make an appearance. I don't really keep up with the goings on of FCS teams, but I do expect this game to be merely a tune up for the Rebels. Final score: Ole Miss 35-0

UTEP @ Arkansas- I honestly don't know if there's ever been as much hype surrounding a team that finished the regular season 6-6 the season before. I have confidence in Bret Bielema's coaching ability, and it's hard not to respect their ability to run the ball, but I'm gonna need to see some improvements in the running game and defense before I crown them as a top 15 team. I do think they will be an improved team this season, but I'm not buying them contending for the SEC West title just yet, but I have been proved wrong many times before and will be many times again in the future, Lord willing. UTEP wasn't a terrible team last season, but much like last season, I don't see them beating any power 5 teams that aren't in shambles. Final score: Arkansas 52-17

Southeast Missouri State @ Missouri- Missouri sure is a funny team ain't they? Who else wrote them off last season after losing to Indiana at home? Who else wrote them off again when UGA shut them out at home? You have to hand it to them, when everyone else said they were done, they didn't lose another game until they faced Bama in the SEC championship. I have a lot of respect for Gary Pinkel as a coach, and I have no doubt that they will be a competitive team again this season. They return a 100 yard rusher in Russell Hansbrough, and they're always solid on defense. Their biggest question is the play of Matty Mauk. At times he has looked great, many other times he has been terrible. If he can iron out some kinks and become just a solid QB, Missouri has the potential to be a dangerous team. I didn't even know there was a college called South East Missouri State, much less one that fielded a football team. Final score: Missouri 35-0

Bowling Green @ Tennessee- Much like Arkansas, Tennessee is getting a lot of hype for a team that's coming off a 7-6 performance last season, they're even ranked in the AP preseason top 25 for the first time in a long time. I do think we'll see an improved Tennessee team, and playing in the weaker of the two divisions, I think we'll see a bigger improvement than Arkansas in the win/loss column. They have a talented group of receivers, a solid running game, a promising QB and a lot of upperclassmen starting on defense. They'll get some tests to prove their improvement later on, but this game isn't one of them. Final Score Tennessee 43-14

Louisiana Lafayette @ Kentucky- I'm not saying Kentucky is going to be a player in the East, or that they'll even make a bowl game, but I am saying that this isn't a team that the other teams in the East should take lightly or look past. Even last season they took Florida to triple OT, hung 40 on Louisville in a 4 point loss and gave South Carolina and Mississippi State all they wanted. Patrick Towles impressed me several times last season. He's probably not gonna sneak up and win the Heisman, but Jim Bunning's grandson should improve a bit, but he will need a lot better protection, because as highly as I think of the kid, he doesn't have the ability to win the game on his own, and they still have that famous, Kentucky Porous Defense. UL-L is the better of the two UL schools, but I'm just not gonna favor them to beat too many power 5 teams on the road. Final Score- Kentucky 46-24

McNeese State @ LSU- I've got to believe that LSU will be an improved team over the last couple of seasons. They haven't been terrible, but they haven't been the LSU quality teams we're using to seeing, and I'm thinking Les Miles will be looking to make a statement this season. LSU will always have a solid running game, but they have eventually got to get a big play making QB. I haven't had the chance to see Brandon Harris play yet, but he's got to be better than the last several guys that's been ran through doesn't he? At any rate, LSU's defense has been their staple over the last decade, and after a few bumps early in the season, they started coming around towards the end of the year, and that was a very young defense that improved over the season and I look for them to take another step forward this season. A lot of people claim they have the easiest path to win the SEC West, which might be true, but I wouldn't call them favorites just yet. Looking forward to seeing what this team has this season. I don't think they'll be like Nebraska and need a hail mary run to beat McNeese State. Final score LSU 35-14

New Mexico State @ Florida- Florida has been a bit of a mess the last few years. The Will Muschamp era ultimately ended in disaster, and they'll be breaking in a new coach this season on a team with a lot more questions than answers. Florida hasn't had a QB since Tebow, and they have a very young offensive line. Treon Harris has the ability to run, but his passing game could use some work, but their defense should be good enough to win them some games and get them in a bowl. New Mexico State was one of the worst FBS teams in the country last season. Hopefully for Florida, this game doesn't get stormed out. Final Score- Florida 42-0

Mississippi State @ Southern Miss- Mississippi State was a team that turned a lot of head last season. They started the year out like a house on fire and spent several weeks ranked number 1. But they stumbled when it mattered the most and lost 3 of their last 4 including the bowl loss to Georgia Tech. They are returning last year's Heisman candidate in Dak Prescott, and I think they have enough power on offense to be competitive, every one of their starters is an upperclassman, same goes for their defense. My biggest problem with them is that the good teams started figuring out their option attack late in the season last year, and I think the same will hold true this season. They will beat or have a shootout with teams with weaker defense, but will ultimately lose to teams with a disciplined defense. That's probably why a 10 win team from last year with every starter on both sides of the ball being either a junior or senior starts this season unranked. Southern Miss was pretty piss poor last season and I expect much of the same this season. Final Score Mississippi State 56-0

 

[Chewbaccer]

The Decent Matchup

South Carolina vs North Carolina in Charlotte- I'm not sure if there's another team in the country with as many question marks as South Carolina. I honestly don't know what to expect from this team, and I don't think Steve Spurrier knows either. I don't know how their new QB will be, I don't know if their defense will be improved. You ask me about South Carolina, and I'm gonna say I don't have a damned clue. As for the game, North Carolina won't exactly be world beaters either, but I think they have a lot more answers at least on the offensive side of the ball as South Carolina. Honestly, as bad as last season's 7-6 was, I'm thinking this could be an even longer year for Gamecock fans. I look for North Carolina to score a lot of points. Their defense is bad enough to keep the game close, but I just don't see South Carolina as having enough offensive firepower to keep up. Final Score- North Carolina 45-38


The First Tests

Louisville vs Auburn in the Georgia Dome- Auburn was a bit of a disappointing team last season coming off of a year where they had a real shot at taking home the National Title, then ending last season with 5 losses. Auburn is a sexy pick to represent the SEC in the playoffs this season, and they have the talent for sure. They have good depth, returned a lot of key players and had a good recruiting class. I don't know if I buy the playoff hype, but I do think they will be a much better team this season with a dangerous running game and stronger defense. Louisville was a surprisingly good team last season, finishing with 9 wins and giving Clemson and Florida State tough battles, but they lost 10 players to the draft, 4 in the first 3 rounds, as big of a jerk as he is, Bobby Petrino is a damn good coach, but I think they have a lot of holes to fill, and I'm not confident they'll be filled by the first game of the season against a very tough Auburn team in SEC country. Final Score- Auburn 27-14

Arizona State @ Texas A&M- Texas A&M is a team that has received a lot of preseason hype, which is why I'm surprised they are currently unranked while teams that did worse than them last season in Arkansas and Tennessee are both ranked. Last year was a bit of a disappointment to say the least. It started out strong until we realized just how far South Carolina had fallen, and the obvious low point was the 59-0 loss to Bama. But I see a lot of promise in this season's team. Kyle Allen should be a rock solid QB with a lot of weapons. Their defense is a young unit, but they won't have to do much to improve from last year's numbers. A strong recruiting class, a good QB with a lot of weapons will give the Aggies an offense not to be taken lightly. As for the game, this might be the only time I've ever seen an unranked team favored to beat a top 15 team. I know Kyle Field is a hostile environment, but this makes the preseason polls look even more meaningless. Arizona State was a very good team last season, and I don't see any reason why this year should be any different. Mike Bercovici is a very good QB, and like Kyle Allen, he has a lot of weapons to work with. This team returns a lot of key players, and while I think home field advantage will keep this game close, I just see Arizona State as the better team and coming out on top. Final Score Arizona State 33-30

Game of the Week

Alabama vs Wisconsin at Cowboy Stadium- Alabama is coming off a disappointing loss to eventual National Champions, Ohio State in the first round of last season's playoffs. Love em or hate, but as long as Nick Saban is Bama's coach, they are gonna be in the discussion for the playoffs, and this season is no different. The team should be hungry after coming off back to back seasons where they lost a highly publicized bowl game, and alike any other coach, Nick Saban hates to lose, and my money is on him having his team ready to come out with all guns blazing. Bama's running game and o-line has always been a force, and I expect much of the same this season. Alex Henry was a beast last season, and he'll be backed up by Kenyon Drake. But there's two things that have perplexed me about Bama. As well as Nick Saban recruits, how is it that Bama never has a kicker or an elite QB? This season Jake Coker will finally get his shot at starting after failing to beat out Blake Sims last season. Time will only tell how he does, he doesn't have a safety blanket in Amari Cooper this season. I do think Bama's defense will be one of the tops in the country this season. an's recruiting seems to field a never ending line a stud defenders. Like always, Bama will be one of the best teams in the country, and like always, they're starting the season with a question mark at quarterback.

Wisconsin was a pretty tough team last season. They were likely a Melvin Gordon in the second half away from beating LSU, and while they were blown out by Ohio State in the B1G championship game last season, we all soon found out just how good that Ohio State team was, and they rebounded to beat Auburn in their bowl matchup. I wasn't really impressed with Stave at QB last season though, and Melvin Gordon is in the NFL this season. They'll have a beast of an offensive line like always, but it's going to be hard to replace the production of Melvin Gordon, especially with a QB that can't carry the team, and they have a pretty young defense as well. Wisconsin will be the solid team this season like they always are, but Bama is the more talented team and they don't have to travel as far as Wisconsin does. Final score- Bama 34-21

The Next Best Three

TCU @ Minnesota- TCU starts the season ranked number 2 after a very impressive season last year and the return of Heisman hopeful Trevone Boykin at quarterback and a lot of other weapons on offense. The Horned Frogs have playoffs dreams and a high powered offense, but still have the standard Big 12 defense. If there's a good time to play outdoors in Minneapolis, it's opening weekend. Minnesota was a pretty solid team last year, and they look to be a solid team again this season, but I just don't think they have enough to stop the Horned Frogs from TCU- Final Score TCU 48-31

Washington @ Boise State- Boise State has dreams of playing in a New Years day bowl, and beating a Pac 12 team would be a great first step. Washington was an 8 win team last season, but they do have a young defense and not a lot of depth on offense. I won't pretend to be an expert on the Huskies, honestly, I think the Oregon game was the only time I found them on my tv last year, but I don't see them winning on the blue field. Final score Boise State 24-17

Texas @ Notre Dame- Both of these teams are coming off very disappointing campaigns last season, and both look to rebound this season. This is Charlie Strong's second year at Texas, and while I have no doubt he will get this program turned around and improve on last season, I think it's too soon to expect conference championship contention. They had a pretty solid defense last season, but their offense was down right terrible. I'm sure it will be improved, but I'm not sure it will be improved enough. This is the year that Notre Dame fans think is their year. They have a good coach and plenty of talent, the question will be can they hold it together? I look for both teams to improve this season, but as for the game, I think Notre Dame was closer than Texas was last season, and I think they're a much more talented team this season, and I just don't see the Domers losing at home to Texas in the first game of the season. Final score Notre Dame 35-17

 

[Norka!]

Chewy @Chewbaccer, Nice work Chewy! This is fucking awesome!

 

[Chewbaccer]

And a couple of side notes:

1. I'm ready for conference games, 17 games is a lot.

2. I know there's a lot of anticipation for Ohio State against VA Tech, but I think OSU embarrasses them this year and won't be that good of a game for the NB3.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Chewy @Chewbaccer, Nice work Chewy! This is fucking awesome!

I appreciate it man. Sorry about not getting in a true conference preview like I planned on, but I just wasn't up for it last week.

11,000 character limit freaked me out for a minute.

 

[TigerBait1971]

Well done.

Look forward to this each week.

I hear UGA named Lambert the starting QB. Kinda surprised.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Well done.

Look forward to this each week.

I hear UGA named Lambert the starting QB. Kinda surprised.

Thanks man.

That news is surprising to me. It's true, I just checked. Was announced about the same time I started writing this . Whether it's Ramsey or Lambert, it doesn't really change the preview for us. QB is still a huge question mark.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

Michigan/Utah could be good.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Michigan/Utah could be good.

Could be, but unless it's a really weak week for ranked teams, I try to have all of the NB3 games featuring at least one ranked team.

 

[4down20]

I saw that Georgia hasn't had any arrests this off season.

That's pretty scary since we play them this year. Not sure what to think of a Georgia team that doesn't have multiple people suspended the first couple of games.

 

[Chewbaccer]

I saw that Georgia hasn't had any arrests this off season.

That's pretty scary since we play them this year. Not sure what to think of a Georgia team that doesn't have multiple people suspended the first couple of games.

Hopefully Chubb can end our string of 5 star starting running backs either being suspended or kicked off the team.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Maybe we'll have a QB next season.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Another work day done and another day closer to kickoff.

 

[Norka!]

I appreciate it man. Sorry about not getting in a true conference preview like I planned on, but I just wasn't up for it last week.

11,000 character limit freaked me out for a minute.

Chewy, you nailed it, I'm proud of you, man! The only problem? You set the bar pretty high for yourself, Excellent work! And I'm honored you mentioned me in your blog, you didn't have to do that! But Thanks, it's going in the gloat compartment.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Chewy, you nailed it, I'm proud of you, man! The only problem? You set the bar pretty high for yourself, Excellent work! And I'm honored you mentioned me in your blog, you didn't have to do that! But Thanks, it's going in the gloat compartment.

No problem man. I really appreciate it. It's your concept, so credit has to go where it's due.

 

[Norka!]

No problem man. I really appreciate it. It's your concept, so credit has to go where it's due.

So Chewy, during or after the games, do you plan on using this thread to discuss the games?

 

[Chewbaccer]

So Chewy, during or after the games, do you plan on using this thread to discuss the games?

I haven't thought about it, but that works for me. I doubt I'll be around my computer much this weekend to participate though. I'll be in Darlington, SC for the Southern 500 this weekend. I'll be able to watch most of the games on the TV in my grandpa's motor home, but I'm not sure of the wi-fi situation.

 

[Norka!]

I haven't thought about it, but that works for me. I doubt I'll be around my computer much this weekend to participate though. I'll be in Darlington, SC for the Southern 500 this weekend. I'll be able to watch most of the games on the TV in my grandpa's motor home, but I'm not sure of the wi-fi situation.

I'll just look for you when you get back and I hope you have a great time!

 

[Chewbaccer]

I'll just look for you when you get back and I hope you have a great time!

It's my favorite race track and I'll be with my first drinking buddy, my grandpa.

We're taking his 57 Ford for the car show on Friday, watching football and drinking cold beer and white liquor on Saturday before the Busch race, then repeat for Sunday before the Southern 500 on Sunday night and heading home Monday morning.

Friday will be the second day I've taken off this year, so I'm really looking forward to this trip.

 

[BTHOtu]

tl;dr