SEC football kicks off this weekend in full force for the first time in 2008. We've had a handful of high profile games and good contests, but you can't find more than one game this weekend that doesn't get you interested for some reason. Only South Carolina plays a weak opponent and Kentucky takes the weekend off. Other than that, you could turn yourself into a serious couch potato watching the remainder of good contests in conference this weekend. Here's a rundown of each game, what in interesting or important about each match up and what teams can do some serious "proving" this weekend.
Arkansas vs Alabama - Nearly everyone is picking Alabama....probably just as much for the poor wins by the Hawgs so far as it is for Bama's performance against Clemson three weeks ago. Arkansas can prove a ton by winning this game. They can make a statement that they are a team to be reckoned with and that they aren't going to go down in the West without a fight. It is also the first true test for this Petrino offense against a good SEC team. Alabama has less they can prove just due to the fact that nobody has much respect for Arky yet. An Alabama win will give them a slight bit more credibility in the top 10, but most will be waiting to see the Tide against Clemson in a week. Interesting match ups on both sides of the ball. First, can the Alabama offense, namely John Parker Wilson, be effective against an SEC defense. The Hawgs are very young and honestly have not looked very good on the defensive side of the ball and if Alabama cant move the ball on them, it would be a bad sign. The other match up is truly Saban vs Petrino......can the Hawgs move the ball on a defense that looks much better than many thought it would to this point. Put me with the majority on this one......Bama wins by double digits.
Auburn vs LSU - There hasn't been a better 4 year series anywhere in college football...maybe in any football. Every game close, every game nasty and every game with some form of controversy or strangeness to it. Typically this is a defensive game, especially when played at Jordan Hare. Last 2 results are 10-9 and 7-3....that 7-3 game was the most well played 7-3 game I've seen in my lifetime. Auburn's offense has looked pretty bad, despite an encouraging performance against Southern Miss, the Tigers followed it with a horrid outing at MSU on that side of the ball. LSU's offense hasn't proven much to this point either, especially at QB. The disadvantage for LSU is only having played two games, and them both being against teams that were seriously lacking in the type of size and speed they will see on Saturday. Practicing against it is one thing, playing is completely different for guys like Andrew Hatch and Jarrett Lee. Both teams have a ton to prove and this is normally the game that turns the season for the winner and the loser. The winner will jump into the national discussion and be the outright favorite to win the West and get to Atlanta. I'll bet on the home team in this rivalry until that streak gets broken, but I'm not very comfortable doing it.
Florida vs Tennessee - Is a healthy Percy Harvin really the answer for the Gators? This was to be the premier offense in the conference or maybe even nationally with Tim Tebow coming back and the weapons and returning players at his disposal. Hasn't happened yet. The Vols have looked pretty inconsistent and in my opinion rely on the passing game too often. Crompton has not looked very accurate or poised and too many times they run the ball well early and abandon it later in the drive or game. This is a season saving kind of game for Tennessee after the UCLA debacle. They face Auburn, Northern Illinois and Georgia in the next three weeks and the fans could be looking at 2-4 at the midpoint of the season with Alabama, South Carolina, improving Vandy and Kentucky left to play. Fulmer's extension will get quite a bit of talk the week if the Vols get beaten badly. Florida was a media favorite for the SEC title and BCS title game birth. To live up to that hype, this team needs an offensive breakout game. Nothing like a John Chavis defense to help you out. There isn't a more predictable defensive coordinator in the conference.
Vandy vs Ole Miss - Winner likely gets a bowl trip and has a big leg up on the bottom half of the conference to shore up that spot. Both teams are good enough to beat almost anyone in the SEC on a good day....both are thin enough and inexperienced enough to lose to anyone as well. Not many fans nationwide or even in the SEC region will be watching this game with the headliners that we have this weekend, but it is a monster game for both schools. Vandy has a chance to be 4-0 with a 2-0 record in the SEC...that is just silly.
Georgia vs Arizona State - One of the two out of conference games that matter this weekend. Arizona State struggled last week and some of the luster has since worn from this match up. I expect a better Bulldogs offense and a game that isn't that close. Georgia can prove a lot by blowing out a Pac 10 team as far as the national pundits and polls go. It will be a common opponent between the Trojans and Georgia as well. Expect more Moreno and long balls by Stafford with a suffocating defense against an opponent that didn't look so good against big, physical teams a year ago.
Miss State vs Georgia Tech - Huge test for the Bulldogs after a tough home loss in the 3-2 nightmare game. There defense is built to stop the run, and that is what Tech does. If MSU cant win this one, look for a very long season and Sly Croom being the basement team of not just the West, but the entire conference.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
What we've learned and a look ahead to Week 2
One week down for SEC football and we have at least one team that looked better than expected and two teams that lost games we did not expect them to lose. Normally people want to take the first game and change their entire view of teams after seeing a glimpse of what they offer. Careful now. While some of the things we saw will allude to a big season or a monumental disappointment, many teams will look much different a month from now. There are too many examples to list, it is just part of the game. We will take a look at what we learned last week....what might be meaningful going forward....and what might not.
Alabama - I can recall hearing 2 things from Bama fans and the beat writers for probably the last 3 preseasons - "We are going to use the tight ends more" and "Maybe the best offensive line in the league". So when I heard those things again this year, I laughed them off as the same ole talk until I saw it proven otherwise. Obviously Tommy Bowden and his staff did the same. We've seen the "Bama's Back" moments before in the last 4 years or so - the big win over Florida and the trouncing of Tennessee last year - but I'm not sure we saw the Tide perform as physically as they did this weekend. That to me is a sign that this team is actually improved and will make some noise. For all the hype the young guys got, I was actually more impressed with the improvements of the players that had been on campus a few years. That is really what made Bama look like a team to be concerned with in the SEC. The new guys looked good, but give me a senior QB playing like Wilson did and an experienced offensive line finally living up to the billing it had been given and you can take Julio Jones out of the equation without effecting the wins and loss column. We won't get to see how "for real" this one was for a few weeks as the Tide take on some weaker opponents the next few weeks, but for now I'm sure fans are trying to figure out how many more National Title's they can add to those t-shirts.
Arkansas - Wow. I didn't expect to see that score line coming across the screen. The Hawgs were all but beaten by lowly Western Illinois this weekend and needed a solid late comeback to take a victory. Arkansas is obviously a team in complete transformation and it will be very interesting to watch the next month or so. I predicted Casey Dick would look like a stud.....all indications are that he was the Hawgs best player and looked like a completely new QB. I still say I'll buy it when he's playing Texas, Alabama, Florida and Auburn in consecutive games and doesn't throw 9 picks in those 4 games.
Auburn - Accomplished the mission of not getting upset by Lousiana-Monroe like their rival Alabama did a year ago. A 34-0 score would not lead to much to talk about except that 2 TD's came from the defense and special teams and another was set up by a really short field. Auburn ran the ball as it has for a decade.....very effectively. Auburn passed the ball as it has for the most part of that same decade....pretty poorly. The QB rotation was a disaster and they are changing the way they give out snaps this week. First game jitters and lack of a leader can explain some of the passing game issues, but the Tigers need one guy to step up and fast. Auburn has to get that fixed this week or the chances of beating the LSU's and Georgia's of the world are fading fast. On a bright note the defense looked to be it's typical suffocating self. The young DB's did not look to be a big liability and will be better for having to be forced into large playing roles this early.
Florida - Close and kinda scary early for the Gators. Hawaii looked like a really bad football team that played it's heart out early and ran out of both gas and luck after the first quarter. I didn't see one thing that convinced me that Urban Meyer has found a true starting RB that can run the ball in this offense...unless his name is Tim Tebow. They had success late with the scat back types when the Warriors defense was tired and had given up hope. All we learned from Week 1 with UF is that they are alot more talented and alot faster than Hawaii.....shocker. Florida gets Miami this weekend and we should be able to tell a bit more about this team with that game even though they are still a large favorite. Miami is young but has enough talent to at least give the Gators a good push back.
Georgia - Well, nobody got arrested....so they got that going for them, which is nice. Seriously though, not enough competition here to take anything away from this game. The Dawgs have too many big games coming up to show anything against Georgia Southern....and it won't get any better next week against Central Michigan.
Kentucky - Rich Brooks thinks he has a very good defense, and he might be right. It is so hard to tell with Louisville right now.....we know they have the skill players to make an offense work, but it seems like they cant get anything going since Petrino left. All I can take away from this game is that Kentucky is a little better probably than many SEC fans wanted to give them credit for this year. They won't likely be in the hunt like they were a year ago without some of the studs they lost, but I don't think they are going to be easy wins for everyone either. You'll have to play a decent game to beat the Wildcats this year. Kentucky will now be 4-0 heading into a road game at Alabama in week five. The Tide will be coming off a road trip to #2 Georgia. Mark this one down as a game to watch for both teams.
LSU - Well, we know they can run the ball. As I pointed out last week, the Tigers dominated the line so much we cant tell how good they really are at QB or in the defensive backfield. They were focused and did not overlook this team, nor did I expect them to. Although Troy has been a tough team for some BCS opponents to play, I don't see much different this week for LSU. When you are playing a lesser opponent who has a chance to hang with you on the line of scrimmage you might have a problem. When you can dominate the line, it doesn't matter what the other teams skill players are capable of. LSU won't get tested till it sees teams that have strong lines...and that just isn't happening this week.
Mississippi - The Rebels solidified their spot as the sleeper in the conference. I'm not saying they are a sleeper to win the division, but a sleeper to win some games that nobody expects them to. Jevon Snead is an improvement from every QB that Ole Miss has tried lately and he looked better than any QB that Houston Nutt has had in awhile. SEC fans would be wise to be tuned into the game at Wake Forest this week. If the Rebs win that one, look out. Even though the ACC may be closer to the Division II football than they are to the SEC it would still be a significant win for Colonel Reb.
Mississippi State - When you looked at the MSU schedule you could see probably 6 games that they Bulldogs would be underdogs in. To equal last years win total they'd have to upset a team from the list of Auburn, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, LSU or Alabama while not giving any games away against teams that would be considered a slight underdog to them like Vandy, Kentucky and Arkansas. I don't think many expected the game at Lousiana Tech to be in question after a solid year from Sly Croom's team. The bounces didn't go their way and Wesley Carrol did throw the bad picks and MSU looks alot like the MSU we saw from Croom in his first few years. It will be very, very difficult for Croom to regain momentum here as he looks likely right now to be 1-4 going into their off week. They get a win this week before a tough three game slate.
South Carolina - SSDD(Same Steve, Different Day) Spurrier really tried to be patient with QB Tommy Beecher, but the kid just didn't cooperate. The Gamecock offense didn't look much better than it did a year ago and I don't put any stock in the late game flashes. NC State knew it was beat the minute USC went up by two scores and it looked like they just gave up. This is the same exact team we saw last year.....great defense, poor offense. Except this time I don't think they have as good of a running back. Amazing that a decade after he was the offensive genius of the conference that the calling card of his South Carolina team is defense....just so strange.
Tennessee - The Vols just keep giving the Pac 1 +9 people an argument don't they. It was absolutely amazing to me that the offense felt EXACTLY the same as it did with a different coordinator. They may have lined up differently and may have other looks, but the playcalling and general feel of the offense looked identical to me. 2nd and 6.....lets throw passes on both 2nd and 3rd down even though both Foster and Hardesty looked great running the ball. UCLA basically had 2 great defensive tackles and when those guys got tired, Big Orange owned the line. However they didn't take advantage of it by pounding the ball at them until the Bruins had to take them off the field. The Vols will beat a very good SEC team at some point this year, maybe even a couple. However they looked to be predictable and easy to gameplan against to me. The worst part for Fulmer is that it is very reasonable to see this team sitting at 1-3 after the UF game and a trip to Auburn and very possibly 3-5 after dates with Georgia and Alabama. Unless Dave Clawson has more up his sleeve than we saw Monday night, this team is in trouble.
Vanderbilt - Good win for the Commodores. Bobby Johnson thinks this is the best team he has had in Nashville. We'll know for sure after this weekends date with South Carolina. The only in-conference game of the weekend will tell us something about both squads. Vandy always plays so tough and with tons of heart. They typically stay in games when their talent level doesn't say they should be there. Until proven otherwise, the Dores' are the Dores' and will struggle to get an SEC win.
Alabama - I can recall hearing 2 things from Bama fans and the beat writers for probably the last 3 preseasons - "We are going to use the tight ends more" and "Maybe the best offensive line in the league". So when I heard those things again this year, I laughed them off as the same ole talk until I saw it proven otherwise. Obviously Tommy Bowden and his staff did the same. We've seen the "Bama's Back" moments before in the last 4 years or so - the big win over Florida and the trouncing of Tennessee last year - but I'm not sure we saw the Tide perform as physically as they did this weekend. That to me is a sign that this team is actually improved and will make some noise. For all the hype the young guys got, I was actually more impressed with the improvements of the players that had been on campus a few years. That is really what made Bama look like a team to be concerned with in the SEC. The new guys looked good, but give me a senior QB playing like Wilson did and an experienced offensive line finally living up to the billing it had been given and you can take Julio Jones out of the equation without effecting the wins and loss column. We won't get to see how "for real" this one was for a few weeks as the Tide take on some weaker opponents the next few weeks, but for now I'm sure fans are trying to figure out how many more National Title's they can add to those t-shirts.
Arkansas - Wow. I didn't expect to see that score line coming across the screen. The Hawgs were all but beaten by lowly Western Illinois this weekend and needed a solid late comeback to take a victory. Arkansas is obviously a team in complete transformation and it will be very interesting to watch the next month or so. I predicted Casey Dick would look like a stud.....all indications are that he was the Hawgs best player and looked like a completely new QB. I still say I'll buy it when he's playing Texas, Alabama, Florida and Auburn in consecutive games and doesn't throw 9 picks in those 4 games.
Auburn - Accomplished the mission of not getting upset by Lousiana-Monroe like their rival Alabama did a year ago. A 34-0 score would not lead to much to talk about except that 2 TD's came from the defense and special teams and another was set up by a really short field. Auburn ran the ball as it has for a decade.....very effectively. Auburn passed the ball as it has for the most part of that same decade....pretty poorly. The QB rotation was a disaster and they are changing the way they give out snaps this week. First game jitters and lack of a leader can explain some of the passing game issues, but the Tigers need one guy to step up and fast. Auburn has to get that fixed this week or the chances of beating the LSU's and Georgia's of the world are fading fast. On a bright note the defense looked to be it's typical suffocating self. The young DB's did not look to be a big liability and will be better for having to be forced into large playing roles this early.
Florida - Close and kinda scary early for the Gators. Hawaii looked like a really bad football team that played it's heart out early and ran out of both gas and luck after the first quarter. I didn't see one thing that convinced me that Urban Meyer has found a true starting RB that can run the ball in this offense...unless his name is Tim Tebow. They had success late with the scat back types when the Warriors defense was tired and had given up hope. All we learned from Week 1 with UF is that they are alot more talented and alot faster than Hawaii.....shocker. Florida gets Miami this weekend and we should be able to tell a bit more about this team with that game even though they are still a large favorite. Miami is young but has enough talent to at least give the Gators a good push back.
Georgia - Well, nobody got arrested....so they got that going for them, which is nice. Seriously though, not enough competition here to take anything away from this game. The Dawgs have too many big games coming up to show anything against Georgia Southern....and it won't get any better next week against Central Michigan.
Kentucky - Rich Brooks thinks he has a very good defense, and he might be right. It is so hard to tell with Louisville right now.....we know they have the skill players to make an offense work, but it seems like they cant get anything going since Petrino left. All I can take away from this game is that Kentucky is a little better probably than many SEC fans wanted to give them credit for this year. They won't likely be in the hunt like they were a year ago without some of the studs they lost, but I don't think they are going to be easy wins for everyone either. You'll have to play a decent game to beat the Wildcats this year. Kentucky will now be 4-0 heading into a road game at Alabama in week five. The Tide will be coming off a road trip to #2 Georgia. Mark this one down as a game to watch for both teams.
LSU - Well, we know they can run the ball. As I pointed out last week, the Tigers dominated the line so much we cant tell how good they really are at QB or in the defensive backfield. They were focused and did not overlook this team, nor did I expect them to. Although Troy has been a tough team for some BCS opponents to play, I don't see much different this week for LSU. When you are playing a lesser opponent who has a chance to hang with you on the line of scrimmage you might have a problem. When you can dominate the line, it doesn't matter what the other teams skill players are capable of. LSU won't get tested till it sees teams that have strong lines...and that just isn't happening this week.
Mississippi - The Rebels solidified their spot as the sleeper in the conference. I'm not saying they are a sleeper to win the division, but a sleeper to win some games that nobody expects them to. Jevon Snead is an improvement from every QB that Ole Miss has tried lately and he looked better than any QB that Houston Nutt has had in awhile. SEC fans would be wise to be tuned into the game at Wake Forest this week. If the Rebs win that one, look out. Even though the ACC may be closer to the Division II football than they are to the SEC it would still be a significant win for Colonel Reb.
Mississippi State - When you looked at the MSU schedule you could see probably 6 games that they Bulldogs would be underdogs in. To equal last years win total they'd have to upset a team from the list of Auburn, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, LSU or Alabama while not giving any games away against teams that would be considered a slight underdog to them like Vandy, Kentucky and Arkansas. I don't think many expected the game at Lousiana Tech to be in question after a solid year from Sly Croom's team. The bounces didn't go their way and Wesley Carrol did throw the bad picks and MSU looks alot like the MSU we saw from Croom in his first few years. It will be very, very difficult for Croom to regain momentum here as he looks likely right now to be 1-4 going into their off week. They get a win this week before a tough three game slate.
South Carolina - SSDD(Same Steve, Different Day) Spurrier really tried to be patient with QB Tommy Beecher, but the kid just didn't cooperate. The Gamecock offense didn't look much better than it did a year ago and I don't put any stock in the late game flashes. NC State knew it was beat the minute USC went up by two scores and it looked like they just gave up. This is the same exact team we saw last year.....great defense, poor offense. Except this time I don't think they have as good of a running back. Amazing that a decade after he was the offensive genius of the conference that the calling card of his South Carolina team is defense....just so strange.
Tennessee - The Vols just keep giving the Pac 1 +9 people an argument don't they. It was absolutely amazing to me that the offense felt EXACTLY the same as it did with a different coordinator. They may have lined up differently and may have other looks, but the playcalling and general feel of the offense looked identical to me. 2nd and 6.....lets throw passes on both 2nd and 3rd down even though both Foster and Hardesty looked great running the ball. UCLA basically had 2 great defensive tackles and when those guys got tired, Big Orange owned the line. However they didn't take advantage of it by pounding the ball at them until the Bruins had to take them off the field. The Vols will beat a very good SEC team at some point this year, maybe even a couple. However they looked to be predictable and easy to gameplan against to me. The worst part for Fulmer is that it is very reasonable to see this team sitting at 1-3 after the UF game and a trip to Auburn and very possibly 3-5 after dates with Georgia and Alabama. Unless Dave Clawson has more up his sleeve than we saw Monday night, this team is in trouble.
Vanderbilt - Good win for the Commodores. Bobby Johnson thinks this is the best team he has had in Nashville. We'll know for sure after this weekends date with South Carolina. The only in-conference game of the weekend will tell us something about both squads. Vandy always plays so tough and with tons of heart. They typically stay in games when their talent level doesn't say they should be there. Until proven otherwise, the Dores' are the Dores' and will struggle to get an SEC win.
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