Well, we’re almost out of the out-of-conference woods now. Only half the SEC teams are playing other teams, and only two of those teams (Alabama and Georgia) are playing absolute walkovers. Kentucky gets no credit, because they’re a walkover until

RB Vick Ballard is in the Top Ten of all fantasy going in to week two. Week three status there unlikely facing LSU. (Icon SMI)

proven otherwise.

Mississippi State v. LSU

So you know how I said Vick Ballard would be a good start? Yeah, ignore that this week. LSU is dangerous and a half at the moment on defense, so I’d be careful of starting Ballard or Chris Relf against this LSU defense. If there’s not a better matchup for other guys, that’s one thing, but this just screams danger.

On the other hand, the Mississippi State D isn’t spectacular.  Michael Ford isn’t the worst idea, even with the relative confusion in the LSU backfield. The passing game, on the other hand, is a nightmare.

On to the rest of the games, including a great old rivalry that I have a particular interest in…

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Wasn't I the top SEC QB last week????

We’re finally getting closer to the end of out-of-conference play. Then again, this is mostly good news for me (I don’t have to go through twelve box scores to find everyone) and not for, say, Arkansas, not that it made much difference yesterday. Besides, apparently even the good defenses have off days, although South Carolina’s D/ST unit did a good job redeeming themselves (and Auburn’s D/ST unit can’t be construed as good regardless).

Top Performers:

Tyler Bray, QB, Tennessee (34-41, 405 yds, 4 TD; 2 car, 3 yds, 1 TD)

At this point, lines like Bray’s are just siren songs. I don’t exactly expect an 80% completion rate against, say, Florida, but this team will pass, they will pass frequently, and Bray has a great rapport with Justin Hunter and Da’Rick Rogers, who will also be here a lot. The rest of the team’s question marks, but the passing game is as explosive as they come. Read the rest of this entry →

Hi, I'm Marcus Lattimore, you can read about me at the end of the article. (Icon SMI)

Look, I hate to write about expansion as much as anyone. I don’t think I have a choice, though; with Texas A&M openly courting the SEC and the rest of the Big XII bolting for the doors, it’s time for me to think bigger. With that in mind, I’m going to take this week to preview what next year’s SEC teams are doing this week.

Kentucky v. Central Michigan

This time around, we’re just going to put the games to skip up top. Kentucky is, to put it eloquently, a dumpster fire on offense. Avoid.

Vanderbilt v. Connecticut

Vanderbilt scored 45 points against Elon last week. In that game, nobody passed for more than 150 yards, rushed for more than 40 yards, or had more than 60 yards receiving. Against a real team, this just sounds like danger.

Ole Miss v. Southern Illinois

Yeah, it doesn’t say much when your best fantasy asset is your Defense. Let’s just go ahead and start the Ole Miss D/ST and hope it ends up being worth it in the end.

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Will UT QB Tyler Bray be able to move from sleeper to stud? (Icon SMI)

After a relatively quiet opening week, the SEC looks to regroup going into Week 2. Wait, what’s that you say? Auburn should’ve lost against Utah State? Georgia is already starting to unravel? Um, well then. Alabama at least dominated an overmatched opponent, right? Good.

Top Players:

Tyler Bray, QB, Tennessee (17-24, 293 yds, 3 TD; 6 rush, -38 yds)

I feel compelled to note that Vince and Drew decided to rank Tyler Bray as the 79^th-best QB in FBS – behind two guys he had better weeks than who are also appearing below.  Sure, it was Montana, but Tennessee is running a very vertical passing game this season with two quality receivers; why shouldn’t these numbers continue? Read the rest of this entry →

Yep, RB Vick Ballard is going to be a beast against Memphis. (Icon SMI)

I’d be lying if I said I was excited about the majority of the games this week. On the other hand, it’s football, you know? The headline games are as big as they get – why hello, Oregon – but aside from a couple of games along those lines, it’s all just guesswork and covering your eyes. I mean, do you want to watch Vanderbilt-Elon?

Mississippi State v. Memphis

This is a Thursday game, so heads up. Also, Memphis is awful, so heads up. That makes Vick Ballard an easy start, and even tongue-in-cheek darkhorse Heisman candidate Chris Reif might even be worth a start in a pinch. Chad Bumphis is barely worth considering save for deep leagues. Beyond that, it’s all carnage, all the time. Read the rest of this entry →