Unless you've been living under a rock or don't have ESPN/SEC Network, you know that this weekend will see The Mad Hatter against Lord Saban. These two teams have been the 1A and 1B of the SEC West since Saban came to Tuscaloosa. They'll meet on Saturday Night in T-Town for what many consider to be an elimination game for the SEC West Championship.
We'll get to that game in a minute, but let's look at the other SEC games starting with the Fighting Starkvillians against the We Are Completely Missourable Columbia Tigers! Hey State, bold move to wear all white in a monsoon. It didn't really matter though, because Missouri didn't tackle you enough to get them dirty anyway. Mizzou, thank goodness you were wearing all black because your offense is clearly in mourning. State dominated this game in Columbia, winning 31-13, but to be fair Missouri did actually score an offensive touchdown for the first time in a month, so there's some improvement. The Dak Attack threw for 4 TDs against a supposedly good Mizzou defense, while Missouri mustered 107 yards through the air.
I still can't believe this team went from SEC East Champion in back to back years to the worst team in the SEC in less than 12 months. Missouri gets BYU at home next week, while State hosts Alabama which means the Tide faithful will either be building another statute to Nick Saban or burning him in effigy depending how this week's game goes. Let's see how the rest of the SEC games will play out.
Vanderbilt
at Florida -20.5
Spoiler alert. Florida wins big. Go ask Jim McElwain what he's doing to prepare for whomever the Commodores play at QB. He'll tell you he's finishing his beer and hoping that the best lawyers in Florida can overturn Will Grier's suspension in time for the FSU game. Give me the Gators to win and cover. Florida 35 Vandy 10.
Kentucky
at Georgia -16
The biggest debate in this game might be which fan base is more excited for football season to end. I think Mark Richt's days are coming to a close in Athens. It's tough to see a coach who's likely going to go 9-3 move on, because he's under appreciated, but he's also failed to win the SEC since 2005. Georgia at home against a mediocre Kentucky team? I'll go with the Bulldogs to win, but Kentucky somehow makes a backdoor cover. Georgia 24 Kentucky 10.
Arkansas
at Ole Miss -10
Thank you CBS for putting Verne and Gary on the Bama - LSU game. Ole Miss and Arkansas fans couldn't be more thrilled and the rest of the country couldn't be more upset. On paper Ole Miss should win this game big, but with the weather tomorrow in Oxford scheduled to be rainy, it could be a lot closer than it should. I'm still going with the Rebels at home to get the win, but Arkansas keeps it close until the 4th quarter. Ole Miss will have virtually everyone back on defense, so they should be able to stop Arkansas's power running game, and I don't think Arkansas's defense is good enough to stop the Rebels offense, even in the rain. Rebels 34 Razorbacks 20.
South Carolina
at Tennessee -17
If Tennessee loses this game, God Help Butch Jones. The good news is that it's highly unlikely. The Vols should finish 8-4 in the regular season, with November games against South Carolina, North Texas, Missouri, and Vanderbilt. If they don't go 4-0 in that stretch, Butch should be fired on principle alone. Tennessee has far more talent than the Gamecocks and they'll roll at home in Knoxville. Tennessee 42 South Carolina 14.
Auburn
at Texas A&M -7
The Battle of Overrated Coaches takes place in Aggie Land between Auburn and Texas A&M on Saturday night on the SEC Network. The Aggies have finally solidified their QB in Kyler Murray, while the Tigers are likely going to go with a far less than healthy Sean White. This game might actually be a decent contest, but being that the Aggies are playing at home and have a healthier QB, I'm going with Texas A&M to get the win and cover late. Texas A&M 31 Auburn 22. Those helmets last week were awesome though.
LSU
at Alabama -7
Well, at least these two guys seems to be getting along. Alright, here we go. The loser of this game is pretty much done in the SEC West race. Both teams have very good defenses, and focus their offense on their feature running back. Additionally, both the Tigers and the Tide have QBs who can make plays when they have to, but aren't the strength of their offense. All week the experts have pointed to Brandon Harris as the X factor, and I agree that if LSU is going to win, it's going to have to do so on the arm/legs of Brandon Harris. Alabama's front 7 isn't going to let Fournette run all over them the way he has on other teams this year. They'll stack the box, and put single coverage on Dupre and Dural and dare Brandon Harris to throw the ball down the field.
Oh, the best part about this game is going to be the fans. LSU and Bama fans at night in the rain in Tuscaloosa. Surrender cobras and whiskey induced despair is going to be on full display tonight. I'll say this, I hope things get Les Miles weird tonight. Like T-Rexing for no apparent reason weird.
Alabama will hand off the ball to Derrick Henry 25-30 times, and tell Jake Coker to only make plays when he has to. I don't see Saban allowing Lane Kiffin to open up the offense, unless LSU makes some big plays early and jumps out to a lead. It'll be an extremely conservative game plan, especially with the weather being rainy, which should make for a low scoring game. If this game was in Baton Rouge, I'd go with the Tigers at night, but I'd be shocked if Bama lost 2 games at home this year, to its two biggest opponents. I'll go with the Tide to get the win, but LSU covers as Bama scores late to get a close victory. Bama 20 LSU 17.
Here's to what should be a fun and rainy weekend. Cheers.
Hello! Great analysis! I was hoping for a link to that SEC print at the end -- it is fantastic! I've search and cannot find it. Little help?
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