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last weeks looks and opinions/stats
SEC overview
1. Florida - The Gators rolled over a hapless Troy team 56-6 last week, piling
up 663 total yards of offense. This week they face Tennessee as four touchdown
favorites and despite Urban Meyer downplaying Lane Kiffin’s loose
lips in the offseason, you can rest assure winning by a sizeable margin is
on the minds of the Gators. Should be an interesting day in the Swamp.
2. Alabama - The Tide started slowly against Florida International, playing
a very sloppy first half in which they led only 20-14 at the break. They
turned it on in the second frame led by freshman running back Trent
Richardson’s 118 yards and two touchdowns. Bama had over 500 yards
of offense for the second straight game and held FIU to 214 total yards,
including just one yard from the Panthers’ run game. The only surprising
thing was FIU scoring a 96-yard touchdown on a kickoff return. That play
allowed FIU to score the ATS victory.
3. Ole Miss - The Rebels were off last week and many were recuperating
from the swine flu. Dexter McClusker was hospitalized but did return to
practice.
4. LSU - The Tigers beat Vanderbilt 23-9 at home as the defense bounced
back from allowing nearly 500 yards in the opener to Washington. LSU
allowed just 210 total yards to the ‘Dores, but had only 340 yards of its
own.
5. Auburn - The Tigers piled up 49 points against Mississippi State and
have unquestionably looked much better offensively this year under Gus
Mahlzan than they did under Tony Franklin. The running game has been
dominant, with 693 yards of rushing in the first two games.
6. Arkansas. The Hogs were off last week and have their first real test of
the year this week with Georgia coming to town. The atmosphere should
be unreal as the fans have some huge expectations for the second year of
the Bobby Petrino era.
7. Georgia - The Bulldogs bounced back from their opening loss to Oklahoma
State with a win over South Carolina, 41-37. However, it wasn’t exactly
the offensive explosion that it looked like with UGA posting only
308 total yards. The Bulldogs returned a kickoff for a touchdown, had 40-
and 52-yard TD drives, a one-yard FG drive and also had a two-play drive
that ended with a 61-yard TD run. They definitely must be given credit for
scoring 41 points on a supposedly solid South Carolina defense, but they
didn’t exactly march up and down the field.
8. South Carolina - The Gamecocks did what Steve Spurrier said they
would do and threw the pigskin around a little bit last week. They had 427
yards and 26 first downs, also converting 3-of-4 fourth downs, but unfortunately
couldn’t get the job done in Athens. The Cocks had a fourth-and-
4 inside the Georgia 10-yard line in the final minute, but couldn’t score the
touchdown to get their second win.
9. Kentucky - The Wildcats were also off last week after crushing Miami-
Ohio, 45-0 in their opener. This week the Cats are lined as high as -13 at
home against arch rival Louisville. Hard to believe that they were +23 in
this contest three years ago.
10. Vanderbilt- Vandy gave a solid effort on the road in Baton Rouge before
falling to the Tigers, 23-9. The Commodores are closing in on being
a weekly force in the SEC, but still must develop the passing game to get
to that next level.
11. Tennessee – What happened to the days of Peyton Manning or even
Tee Martin for that matter? Tennessee had terrible quarterback play last
year and Jonathan Crompton was the culprit on most occasions. He is still
the starter and still making terrible decisions, as he did against UCLA last
week in a 19-15 loss. The Vols’ offense had just 208 total yards and four
turnovers, all by Crompton. They also had only three drives of more than
six plays in the entire game. That doesn’t bode well for this week’s game
in the Swamp.
12. Mississippi State - The Bulldogs are better on offense than they are
on defense. Unfortunately, the better isn’t very good. They were crushed
at Auburn, 49-24, and outgained 589-297. It is going to be a long year for
the Bulldogs.
ACC and others
The ACC saved a little face this week after a terrible opening week, but
it was close.
Florida State squeaked by Jacksonville State 19-9 at home
and
Maryland nudged James Madison, 38-35, in overtime. The Terps
were outgained 417-359 and Florida State had just one offensive touchdown.
North Carolina scored all 12 of its points in the fourth quarter of an improbable
win at UConn. The Tar Heels’ defense allowed just 196 yards and
were bailed out with a game-winning safety with less than two minutes
remaining in the game.
Big games this week in the ACC include Boston College at Clemson, Georgia
Tech at Miami-FL and Florida State at BYU. Given the struggles of the
conference, I was surprised to see the Seminoles getting just a touchdown
in Provo. If Jacory Harris and the Miami offense can throw for nearly
400 yards against Florida State, Max Hall and the BYU offense should be
primed for a huge outing.
Conference-USA
scored a huge upset this week as Houston went to Stillwater
and beat the No. 5 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, 45-35. The
Cougars were able to run up 514 yards of offense against a defense that
had previously shut Georgia down. The Cowboys opened the second half
with 21 straight points but it wasn’t enough as Houston’s spread offense
had little trouble doing what it wanted to do on offense.
East Carolina also had a chance for a big road win, but were completely
overmatched by West Virginia’s underrated defense. The 35-20 final score
was not indicative of how much of a blowout this one was. West Virginia
hurt itself with four turnovers that helped keep the game close, but they
were able to march up and down the field at will. They had a 509-237
yardage advantage over the Pirates to avenge last year’s loss.
Louisiana-Lafayette and MTSU were able to give the Sun Belt a couple
of marquee non-conference wins last week, but the rest of the conference
was crushed by BCS teams. ULL’s win came over Kansas State after
they played the Wildcats tough on the road last year. MTSU was able to
dominate Memphis, 31-14, and now travel to Maryland, which they beat
at home last year.
SEC overview
1. Florida - The Gators rolled over a hapless Troy team 56-6 last week, piling
up 663 total yards of offense. This week they face Tennessee as four touchdown
favorites and despite Urban Meyer downplaying Lane Kiffin’s loose
lips in the offseason, you can rest assure winning by a sizeable margin is
on the minds of the Gators. Should be an interesting day in the Swamp.
2. Alabama - The Tide started slowly against Florida International, playing
a very sloppy first half in which they led only 20-14 at the break. They
turned it on in the second frame led by freshman running back Trent
Richardson’s 118 yards and two touchdowns. Bama had over 500 yards
of offense for the second straight game and held FIU to 214 total yards,
including just one yard from the Panthers’ run game. The only surprising
thing was FIU scoring a 96-yard touchdown on a kickoff return. That play
allowed FIU to score the ATS victory.
3. Ole Miss - The Rebels were off last week and many were recuperating
from the swine flu. Dexter McClusker was hospitalized but did return to
practice.
4. LSU - The Tigers beat Vanderbilt 23-9 at home as the defense bounced
back from allowing nearly 500 yards in the opener to Washington. LSU
allowed just 210 total yards to the ‘Dores, but had only 340 yards of its
own.
5. Auburn - The Tigers piled up 49 points against Mississippi State and
have unquestionably looked much better offensively this year under Gus
Mahlzan than they did under Tony Franklin. The running game has been
dominant, with 693 yards of rushing in the first two games.
6. Arkansas. The Hogs were off last week and have their first real test of
the year this week with Georgia coming to town. The atmosphere should
be unreal as the fans have some huge expectations for the second year of
the Bobby Petrino era.
7. Georgia - The Bulldogs bounced back from their opening loss to Oklahoma
State with a win over South Carolina, 41-37. However, it wasn’t exactly
the offensive explosion that it looked like with UGA posting only
308 total yards. The Bulldogs returned a kickoff for a touchdown, had 40-
and 52-yard TD drives, a one-yard FG drive and also had a two-play drive
that ended with a 61-yard TD run. They definitely must be given credit for
scoring 41 points on a supposedly solid South Carolina defense, but they
didn’t exactly march up and down the field.
8. South Carolina - The Gamecocks did what Steve Spurrier said they
would do and threw the pigskin around a little bit last week. They had 427
yards and 26 first downs, also converting 3-of-4 fourth downs, but unfortunately
couldn’t get the job done in Athens. The Cocks had a fourth-and-
4 inside the Georgia 10-yard line in the final minute, but couldn’t score the
touchdown to get their second win.
9. Kentucky - The Wildcats were also off last week after crushing Miami-
Ohio, 45-0 in their opener. This week the Cats are lined as high as -13 at
home against arch rival Louisville. Hard to believe that they were +23 in
this contest three years ago.
10. Vanderbilt- Vandy gave a solid effort on the road in Baton Rouge before
falling to the Tigers, 23-9. The Commodores are closing in on being
a weekly force in the SEC, but still must develop the passing game to get
to that next level.
11. Tennessee – What happened to the days of Peyton Manning or even
Tee Martin for that matter? Tennessee had terrible quarterback play last
year and Jonathan Crompton was the culprit on most occasions. He is still
the starter and still making terrible decisions, as he did against UCLA last
week in a 19-15 loss. The Vols’ offense had just 208 total yards and four
turnovers, all by Crompton. They also had only three drives of more than
six plays in the entire game. That doesn’t bode well for this week’s game
in the Swamp.
12. Mississippi State - The Bulldogs are better on offense than they are
on defense. Unfortunately, the better isn’t very good. They were crushed
at Auburn, 49-24, and outgained 589-297. It is going to be a long year for
the Bulldogs.
ACC and others
The ACC saved a little face this week after a terrible opening week, but
it was close.
Florida State squeaked by Jacksonville State 19-9 at home
and
Maryland nudged James Madison, 38-35, in overtime. The Terps
were outgained 417-359 and Florida State had just one offensive touchdown.
North Carolina scored all 12 of its points in the fourth quarter of an improbable
win at UConn. The Tar Heels’ defense allowed just 196 yards and
were bailed out with a game-winning safety with less than two minutes
remaining in the game.
Big games this week in the ACC include Boston College at Clemson, Georgia
Tech at Miami-FL and Florida State at BYU. Given the struggles of the
conference, I was surprised to see the Seminoles getting just a touchdown
in Provo. If Jacory Harris and the Miami offense can throw for nearly
400 yards against Florida State, Max Hall and the BYU offense should be
primed for a huge outing.
Conference-USA
scored a huge upset this week as Houston went to Stillwater
and beat the No. 5 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, 45-35. The
Cougars were able to run up 514 yards of offense against a defense that
had previously shut Georgia down. The Cowboys opened the second half
with 21 straight points but it wasn’t enough as Houston’s spread offense
had little trouble doing what it wanted to do on offense.
East Carolina also had a chance for a big road win, but were completely
overmatched by West Virginia’s underrated defense. The 35-20 final score
was not indicative of how much of a blowout this one was. West Virginia
hurt itself with four turnovers that helped keep the game close, but they
were able to march up and down the field at will. They had a 509-237
yardage advantage over the Pirates to avenge last year’s loss.
Louisiana-Lafayette and MTSU were able to give the Sun Belt a couple
of marquee non-conference wins last week, but the rest of the conference
was crushed by BCS teams. ULL’s win came over Kansas State after
they played the Wildcats tough on the road last year. MTSU was able to
dominate Memphis, 31-14, and now travel to Maryland, which they beat
at home last year.
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