SEC Talk

This is the week of the upset. The first game jitters are gone and teams are looking to the future with high hopes–or no hopes. Trap games, tough non-conference games, and surprise teams await the SEC this week, and there will be some changes in the hierarchy of the conference.

Alabama at Vanderbilt
Alabama will go down this week. Earl Bennett is a truly phenemonal receiver and he will light the Tide up in Nashville. Bama will keep it close, but too much Bennett, VU 21-17.

South Carolina at Georgia
One of the most important games of the season for both of these teams. A MUST win for South Carolina considering the way their schedule shakes out later in the season, and their urgency shows as they go down to Athens and slip past the Bulldogs, 20-13.

Missouri at Mississippi
The Rebels had a good win on the road last week and they face a tough task at home facing Missouri and QB Chase Daniel. Ole Miss gets blasted, Mizzou 35-14.

Troy at Florida
Troy follows up their game in Fayateville with a game in Gainesville. Not an easy way to start, and it doesn’t result in anything close to a victory, UF 61-21.

Kent State at Kentucky
A potential trap game for an upstart Kentucky program looking ahead to their showdown with Louisville. Kent State won last week in Ames over Iowa State, but the Cats have too much offense, UK 45-30.

Mississippi State at Tulane
Wow. I really don’t have much to say here. Croom won’t start saving his job now, though, Tulane 20-6.

Southern Miss at Tennessee
Southern Miss will bear the brunt of the Cal loss, as the angry Vols smash the Golden Eagles in Knoxville, UT 50-7.

South Florida at Auburn
There has been a lot said about this game in the offseason, perhaps too much to garner an upset. I don’t think the Bulls are sneaking up on Auburn here, and the Tiger defense will shut down USF, AU 14-6.

Virginia Tech at LSU
The game of the week, no doubt. LSU makes a statement with Matt Flynn and the offense, LSU 30-14.

The weekend went pretty much the way that everyone expected it to, except I really though UT was going to go out west and make a statement. They failed.

California 45, UT 31
I predicted Ainge was going to play a huge role in this game. He did, but not in the way that I expected. Coming in injured was probably not the best set-up for the mistake-prone QB, but Ainge looked very good throwing for 271 yards and three scores. In the end, Cal seemed a step faster and waaaaaaaaaaaay more athletic. Arian Foster had a solid game and Chris Brown caught to TD’s, so the Vols really shouldn’t fret too much.

Florida 49, Western Kentucky 3
The outcome of this game was never in doubt and Gator fans were pleased with Tim Tebow’s debut, chucking 3 TD’s and 300 yards. The Gator’s may not have the same weapons, but they look very fast still. The UT game in two weeks should be interesting…

Kentucky 50, Eastern Kentucky 10
Not an easy week for small schools from the state of Kentucky as three of them (Murray State, Eastern KY, and Western KY) lost by a total of 149 points. UK’s Andre Woodson had a solid season debut after mush off-season hype, but the Cats running game stole the show. If they can keep that up, they will have an offensive force that will possibly be the most talented in the conference.

Arkansas 46, Troy 26
The Good: Darren McFadden looked about as good as expected, even throwing a TD. Felix Jones also rushed for over 100 yards.
The Bad: They were only up six at half. However, Troy was a bowl team last year and Casey Dick looked pretty bad. If he truly is that bad, they will be in trouble as other teams will put eight in the box and at least contain the two backs.
The skinny: They need Marcus Monk badly.

South Carolina 28, Louisiana Lafayette 14
USC used both a running back and quarterback by committee approach, and snuck out with a win. Hopefully, for their sake, Blake Mitchell is much better than that Smelley guy. He stinks.

Auburn 23, Kansas State 13
I predicted a KSU “upset” and I should’ve gotten it. They were up going to the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on. The Tigers shut down the Wildcats on the ground but gave up a lot of passing yards. They both looked pretty weak.

Mississippi 23, Memphis 21
As an SEC fan, you must beam with pride for the Ole Miss Rebels who went to Memphis and really had a chance to blast the Tigers. They led by a score of 20-0 at the half but Memphis came back but not far enough. Ole Miss has a pretty solid defense and they now have some good road experience. Memphis isn’t as good as they’ve been but it’s good to see Ole Miss go on the road and play the way they did (or bad…depends on how you look at it).

Georgia 35, Oklahoma State 14
Well, I picked this upset as well, but I was wrong about OSU defense. Perhaps I underestimated UGA’s defense. They are going to be a force in the East especially if Stafford can continue to be productive. Let’s not jump the gone, though; OSU may suck.

Vanderbilt 41, Richmond 17
Vandy is for real. I understand they beat up on Richmond, but Earl Bennett is the truth. They have a good offense and perhaps the best receiver in the SEC. They could surprise some people this year.

Alabama 52, Western Carolina 6
As expected, ‘Bama came in and gave their new coach a blowout to start out the season. Saban seemed fairly pleased with the outcome and the Tide now needs to prove that they can score on other defenses. John Parker Wilson has experience in the SEC; we’ll see if he has the talent.