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SEC Preview: Not Smelly version
By Chris Pendley | September 5, 2008
We’re up to Week 2 in SEC land, and what this basically means is: in-conference games! Sure, nobody had any real fantasy reason to watch Vandy / South Carolina (you don’t own Chris Smelley, do you?), but hey, conference football is conference football, even if it’s on Thursday night.
What’d we miss last week? Well, a bunch of blowouts: Florida completely wrecking Hawaii (sans Percy Harvin, right Icon SMI), Alabama completely wrecking Clemson (sans a sentient Clemson offensive game plan - apparently Tommy isn’t the only Bowden in the booth; we know what you’re up to, Jeff. You’re not fooling anyone), and Tennessee completely wrecking ….wait. Um, scratch that.
So what’s in store this week? Well, a lot of this looks like Week 1 - lopsided out-of-conference games, one somewhat interesting matchup - except we actually have a conference game this time around! Of course, we don’t have anything on the magnitude of Alabama / Clemson, so that’s the tradeoff. Thankfully, we (okay, I) don’t have to see Tennessee blow an easily winnable game by forgetting to play defense. Heads up: LSU / Troy has been postponed due to Hurricane Gustav. Let’s get to it:
Alabama v. Tulane
This game would’ve been a lot of fun last year, as I suspect it would’ve turned out a lot like UCF-Texas only with Tulane winning. I’m not sure ‘Bama would have an answer for Matt Forte, and I’m not sure they do now. The problem is that Forte’s at the next level now and while RB Andre Anderson is good, he’s not game-breaking good, not in this game. Alabama should roll, and we’ll see a few Julio Jones highlights, but don’t go thinking John Parker Wilson is a good fantasy QB, because if you do you’re digging your own grave.
Arkansas v. UL-Monroe
UL-Monroe continues their SEC swing, this time playing a team who’s a bit closer to them in talent level. This should be their best chance to pull off a marquee non-conference win, but after upsetting Alabama they’re not sneaking up on anyone this time around. I expect a pretty closely-fought game here, but Petrino ends up opening up the playbook big-time come the second half and ULM can’t quite keep up. Honestly, I hope that doesn’t happen - I really want to see ULM roll big here, as I’m still annoyed at what the Arkansas fans did to Nutt - but I think there’s just enough of a talent disparity to throw it in Arkansas’s favor. Most players in this game who’d actually be on teams (read: anyone on UL-Monroe) is a “meh” here; if there’s nothing better out there, sure.
Mississippi State v. Directional (Southeast) Louisiana, Georgia v. Non-Directional (Central) Michigan
Look, both these games are going to be non-factors. Do you even know what conference SE Louisiana is in? I don’t. I know which conference Central Michigan is in, but that’s because I’m a nerd - and the MAC is apparently the Michigan Athletic Conference. Still, there’s no reason both Bulldogs shouldn’t roll here. That being said, I’d avoid anyone on MSU except RB Anthony Dixon until those Bulldogs show that they can, well, not suck. For the Georgia version, start the regulars; Central Michigan’s defense can be described as “scout team”. Also, there’s some QB dude who plays for Central Michigan who isn’t too shabby.
Kentucky v. Norfolk State
Norfolk isn’t a state; it’s barely even a freaking city. I hope Kentucky at least sprung for plane tickets for these guys; nothing would suck more than taking a bus from Norfolk to Lexington to get rocked, and then driving back. But at least they tried. The Kentucky defense, oddly, is a must-start here, but for anyone fortunate enough not to see the UK/UL offensive disaster, consider this a warning against starting anyone on the other side of the ball until they actually demonstrate some form of competence.
Florida v. Miami (FL)
There’s no reason Florida shouldn’t walk in this game, but dear god, let’s hope Randy Shannon has the troops ready to roll here. I mean, if you have the Miami Soldiers against Ronnie “AK-47″ Wilson, this should turn into a regular firefight. I suspect this game will come down to who can generate better coverage on D and effectively blast between the tackles on offense. Florida should win this, simply because they have so much more ammunition than the ‘Canes. Additional firepower alert: we should see the return - in some form - of Percy Harvin, all ripped up and ready to roll.
Auburn v. Southern Mississippi
Here’s your most likely candidate for “Stupidly Entertaining Game of the Week” - at least from the SEC. Southern Miss can normally put together a solid 45-50 minute effort against most SEC teams, and I don’t think it’s too likely Tony Franklin will totally unveil the playbook for the Tigers just yet, meaning Auburn will go into this game with an underdeveloped offensive game plan. That would be okay against most teams, but Damion Fletcher will be the best RB Auburn faces for a while. Fortunately for Auburn, they have a passing game to complement their running game, which is something that USM has been hearing rumors about for a while but haven’t actually done anything about yet. Still, Southern Miss will keep it close enough that you’ll wonder if they can pull the upset once they’re down 10-7 at halftime.
Ole Miss @ Wake Forest
For the love of god and all that is holy, don’t watch this game. I’m not even kidding. I want to like watching Wake Forest, but they play a freaking hideous brand of football, which apparently the entire freaking ACC has copied. Houston Nutt will be all too eager to play a whose-dick-is-bigger contest of smashmouth football, which will play right into Jim Grobe’s hands. It’s weird - I like Wake Forest the team and yet I have no desire to actually watch them. I suspect I’m not giving Ole Miss as much credit as I should, but this really looks like a 13-10 type of game, and if it comes down to kicking, Sam Swank is way better than anything the Rebels can muster.
Chris Pendley covers the SEC for Fantasy College Blitz and posits on baseball and college football at http://leftfieldbluff.blogspot.com - Sports, rarely posted.
Topics: Chris Pendley, College Football, Preview, SEC |
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