SEC Preview: Back Online
October 17th, 2008 by Chris Pendley
After an unintentional weeklong hiatus (thanks, Comcast !), we’re back with the SEC again. Thank god. Of course, in the meantime Florida’s shown up in the national title chase again, South Carolina’s back on our radar again (reluctantly), Vanderbilt is now 0-1 in trap games over their history (also: thanks for the Crooming ), and LSU may not be quite as good as we thought. What’s not news? Auburn, Mississippi State, and Tennessee all have Downs-Syndrome (not autistic) level offenses – and Arkansas still stinks. Don’t be fooled.
Arkansas @ Kentucky
This game certainly sounds interesting, as both teams qualify as intriguing. However, don’t be bamboozled; this is going to be an ugly affair. What remains to be seen is if it’ll be ugly in the “1-AA team comes in for Homecoming” kin d of way, where it looks like the second-teamers beat the crap out of the first-teamers and l eft them for dead in the locker room, or in the “quality ACC gam e” w ay, wh ere it looks like a good game unless you start paying attention. My vote’s on the latter. (And speaking of Homecoming, this is Kentucky’s homecoming game.) The Kentucky defense is a solid start, as is K Lones Seiber . Anyone else is likely marginal (heck, Seiber is unless you’re in a deep league).
Mississippi State @ Tennessee
Lordy, am I gla d this game isn’t on TV, as there’s no way I’d want to actually watch this. This is going to be hideous; most hack writers would make a 3-2 joke here, but I will go hack-plus and instead opt for a 14-12 final (7 safeties against 6). They should call this game as soon as someone scores on offense; of course, that means they could still be playing come Monday. Obviously both defenses should be solid here, but do yourself a favor and only check the game stats once the game is over.
LSU @ South C arolina
Last year featured the fake-field-goal smack of the decade, and for that we’ll always be grateful for Les Miles. That being said, this is one of those quasi-interesting games that could be exciting if South Carolina stays close (or ahead) of LSU through h alftime, but will likely be decided by the end of the third quarter, even though three’s no rational reason this game shouldn’t come down to the wire. Jered Cook shou ld still get his yards, the South Carolina defense will likely have issues with Charles Scott unless LSU abandons the run early (not likely), and the defenses – like most this week – should be better than most, but I don’t trust much else beyond that. Kenny McKinley should get plenty of attention, but I don’t normally recommend him; why start now?
Ole Miss @ Alabama
Now this game … this should be fun. On one hand, this shouldn’t be too tough a game for Alabama, but on the other, you have the SEC’s answer for Mary land in Ole Miss. After bombing the game against South Carolina, you can easily leave the Nuttsters for dead, but I know better than to count out the crazy. We have a solid shot of seeing this season’s second full-on Giggity, and for that I ’m excited. (Now watch ‘Bama win by 45.) Jeva n Snead and Dexter McCluster are likely your o nly solid starts from Ole Miss, but Glen Coffee should have fun against a nasty Ole Miss front seven, meaning Julio Jones is the guaranteed Start’o’the’Game – provided John P arker Wilson can keep it together long enough to get him the ball.
Vanderbilt @ Georgia
In what seemed like a great idea at the time, Vandy is Georgia’s homeco ming game. Of course, these aren’t your normal Commies; no, this year they’re the 2007 Croomdogs, complete with most ly-terrible offense and a remarkable ability to get lucky at the right time. If they’re rolling, this game should be close, but if not expect Georgia to slowly but surely choke the life out of Vandy. Gamblers bet on t he Vandy defense , but I play it smarter and stick to Knowshon and A.J. Green. Your mileage may vary.
Related posts:
