Well, well. Shannon,
Nolen and I all gained on the sixth grader last week. But I’m afraid our
larger, more experienced brains and superior intellect (in mine and
Shannon’s cases, at least) are still not going to be able to
reel in that little rascal, whoever he or she turns out to be.
WEIS End Zone Show
producer Kurt Duryea is all a-titter about the “big reveal,” too. He wants
photos of an entire panel of potential prognosticators to grace the pages of
next week’s edition of The Post. Then, he’s going to “pull away the curtain”
next week to show us all which product of the local school system is the
more capable football “expert” than three guys who earn at least a portion
of their living knowing all there is to know about SEC football -- from a
media point of view, at least. Allegedly, that is.
In the mean time,
let’s see if I can conjure up another near-perfect week and jam a burr under
Duryea’s overrated sixth-grader’s saddle.
Georgia
Southern at No. 3 Alabama
Alabama’s
final home game of the 2011 season offers a chance for a lot of younger fans
to see something that hasn’t taken place with any regularity since there was
a “Bear” roaming the sidelines – the wishbone-style triple-option working
its way towards the end zone in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Granted, it’s going to
a slightly under-talented version of that once-famous offense, so it
shouldn’t present a wealth of problems for the Alabama defense. But Nick Saban admitted last
week that he hasn’t seen an option attack this old-school since he was head
coach at Toledo
in 1990. Shoot-fire, you reckon
Georgia
Southern might be able to run their way into the zone against the Tide?
Nope, I reckon not. Final: 42-3, Alabama
Mississippi State
at N0. 6 Arkansas
Arkansas
gets one final tune-up before next week’s showdown with No. 1 LSU. A year
ago, Arkansas needed two overtimes to get
past the Bulldogs in Starkville.
This year, the Razorbacks are 9-1 and ranked No. 6 in the BCS standings and Mississippi State is … terrible, at least on offense.
The Dogs’ defense is pretty darned solid, actually. But the running game has
improved dramatically for Bobby Petrino’s team in the past few weeks.
Therefore, I figure as long as the
Arkansas
offense maintains balance and produces as it should there is no way Dan
Mullen’s team can hang with the Hogs.
Final: 31-13, Arkansas
Samford at No. 24 Auburn
This
Auburn
team, despite being 6-3, reminds me of the guys in “The Hangover.” Last
season’s national title was like the Tigers’ big night on the town. This
season, most every game has been like the morning after from the movie.
Simple tasks (tackling, for instance) are difficult to perform. A tooth is
missing. There’s a vague sense that at least one horrible thing has happened
(the Georgia game),
maybe two (the LSU game). Now, the Tigers find themselves staggering towards
the final stop of a nightmarish trip with no reasonable expectation of a
positive outcome (the Alabama
game). We’ll have to wait another week to find out whether Auburn backs into a happy ending or ends up in
the elevator with Carrot Top. In the mean time it’s homecoming and Samford
is in town. Happy homecoming. Final:
35-17,
Auburn
No. 1 LSU at
Mississippi
Remember what I
wrote last week about Houston Nutt being able to pull his team together
around him despite his impending dismissal? Well, forget it. I hope the guy
can hold a microphone and smile into the camera, because based on what Nutt
has (not) accomplished this season at Ole Miss, he may be watching football
games from the press box for years to come. I mean, would you hire the guy
to coach for your university? Heck no, not if you wanted to field a
competitive football team! And the Rebels aren’t one.
Final: 45-10, LSU
Furman at
Florida
Who cares?
Final: 27-10, Florida
Kentucky
at No. 14 Georgia
Georgia
fans always worry that the Bulldogs are capable of laying an egg when
there’s something important on the line, and the boys in blue are the only
hurdle between Georgia and a trip to the conference
championship game. If the Bulldogs show their maternal side week against
Joker Phillips’ hilariously inept Wildcats, they ought to be forced to play
the Georgia Tech game without helmets. Kentucky is dead-last in the SEC in every
offensive category except sideline wardrobe atrociousness (congratulations,
Derek Dooley). Hang in there,
Kentucky
fans. Basketball season is almost here.
Final: 43-6,
Georgia
Citadel at No. 12 South Carolina
If ever a team
needed to bounce-back from a WIN, it is the Gamecocks after last week’s
dismal 17-12 crap-fest against the Gators. South
Carolina
still has an outside shot at a trip to
Atlanta, but their destiny is no longer in their
hands. Whether he’ll admit it or not, the primary goal for the Old Ball
Coach at this point in the 2011 season is probably to pee-pee in Clemson
head coach Dabo Swinney’s Wheaties next weekend. That win, combined with a
win Saturday against the Citadel, would earn South Carolina only is
second ten-win season in a century of playing football. Navy utilized the
triple-option attack earlier this season against the Gamecocks and nearly
clipped their wings. They’ll see the same style of offense from FCS opponent
The Citadel this weekend. This game may be a close one, at least on the
scoreboard. Final: 23-17, South Carolina
Vanderbilt at Tennessee
Vanderbilt is a
favorite at Neyland Stadium. Let me repeat that, so you know you read it
correctly: Vanderbilt is a favorite at Neyland Stadium this weekend. A win
gets the Commodores bowl eligible; a loss gives the Volunteers their only
conference win of the season. Vandy’s main threat on offense is its running
game. Unfortunately, the lone aspect of the game of football that the Vols
are not completely terrible at is stopping the run. This one’s a toss-up,
folks. I just hope I pick the opposite of Shannon
and the sixth grader, so at least I’ll have a team to root for if I stumble
across this game while I’m channel surfing during commercials.
Final: 17-13,
Tennessee
Jacksonville State at
Tennessee
State
Jacksonville
State
tried its darnedest to give away its fourth game in a row last weekend, but
lowly Southeast Missouri State
refused to take it. Somehow, the Gamecocks were able to get it together for
long enough to stage a second-half comeback from two touchdowns behind and
pull out a 22-21 win.
Tennessee
State isn’t terrific, but
they’re every bit as good as Coach Crowe’s mediocre ‘Cocks. And they’re the
home team. And the Tigers haven’t lost at home all season long. And I don’t
think they’re going to start this week.
Final: 28-23,
Tennessee State
Kansas
at Texas A&M
Is it the Aggies’ turn to win this week? The win-loss column on A&M’s season
reads like a tennis match: back-and-forth, back-and forth. Geez. I’ve lost
track of which week this is. Did I mention Texas A&M is statistically
superior to the Jayhawks in every significant offensive and defensive
category, with the exception of net punting? It’s a good thing the Jayhawks
can punt well; they are probably going to be doing it a lot, come Saturday.
Final: 42-13, Texas A&M