Well SEC fans, another crazy week in the SEC (and college football overall for that matter)! Let's jump straight into the games.
Vandy at Georgia. Absolute domination by the dawgs! I'll have to give it to you UGA fans but I'm sticking to my guns and not picking UGA to win a game the rest of the season. Don't be mad though. You guys haven't lost a game since I started picking against you so if it holds out, you won't lose another game the rest of the season and maybe Mark Richt keeps his job!
Arkansas at Auburn. Was this a freaking WAC game? What the heck happened to the defense folks? I've seen Auburn in all but one of their games and have now watched Arkansas in four games. Arkansas I can see having a defensive lapse but Auburn? Good win by Auburn but they better do something on the defensive side or their National Championship hopes will take a slide if they allow LSU to score like that on them.
South Carolina at Kentucky. As I said in the preview, I thought that USC would probably allow Kentucky to score too much and make it tight because of the hangover from the victory over Alabama. What I didn't lend enough weight to was how much the two weeks to prepare for Bama aided South Carolina in that victory and then switching back to a week prep for a very able SEC team. Great win for the Wildcats!
McNeese State at LSU. This one was alot closer that one would have expected at the half with LSU clinging to a 6 point lead but they came out in the second half and shut down McNeese State and put up 16 more points to close it out 32-10. LSU continues to hang on by skin of their teeth. They seem to play to their opponent, whether that is up or down. With a huge one coming up with Auburn this weekend, we'll see how that works out for them.
Mississippi State at Florida. Well, as I said in my preview, if this one would have been in Starkville I would have picked the Dawgs to pull it out. I thought for sure that Florida would pull this one out in the Swamp. I thought wrong. I guess the Gator Nation is in as much shock as most of the rest of us in the SEC and that has kind of taken the threat of the home crowd out of the game. Huge win for Mullen and the Bulldogs on the road, 10-7.
Ole Miss at Alabama. Well, the Black Rebel Bears (or whatever they call themselves these days) came in to Bryant-Denny to hope and pile on a reeling Bama squad. Didn't quite work out for them. Having that been said, the Bama team that we saw for the first few games of the season is not showing up now. Bama's defense played well but the offense is still not clicking right now. I thought early on, from what we were seeing on the field, that Bama was by far the best team in the league. I can honestly say now, with the current play, that they aren't even the best team in the SEC West. I think that lies with the other team from the state in the Auburn Tigers.
To briefly recap....I had Vandy, Auburn, South Carolina, LSU, Florida and Bama this week and went 3-3 for the week that brings me to a pitiful 12-8 since I started running my picks. Most of my previews have been dead on but I have given too much weight to the home teams or traditional powers being able to pull it out based simply on heart and experience. Maybe I'll put more thought into it this week.
With the upsets that we have seen in the last two weeks in the SEC, some things are starting to work themselves out. I saw some write-ups yesterday that said, for instance that Bama was done and they would finish third in the SEC West. I think it's a little early for that. The SEC East, I think, is pretty much safe to call. If South Carolina doesn't absolutely implode over the next few weeks, I still believe that they will be playing in Atlanta in December. As far as the West, I'm still hanging in there with Bama. Auburn, LSU and Bama still have to play one another. Those head to head matchups will help to sort all this out and it starts this weekend with LSU travelling to the plains to take on the Tigers. I will say this, I do not see the SEC West champ coming through SEC play without a loss. Bama already has one and since every team they play from here on out from the SEC has a week off prior to playing them, it's going to be tough. They lose one more and they are out of the SEC Championship picture. Auburn still has LSU, Ole Miss, UGA and Bama. LSU has Auburn, Bama, Ole Miss and Arkansas and Bama has Tennessee, LSU, Miss. State and Auburn. Just looking at these schedules it seems to me that Bama might have the easiest road and this is why. Yes, they have to go to Neyland Stadium and play a Tennessee team that has been close a couple of times to pulling a huge upset and they are due but I think Bama will get it done. Then, after a week off, they have LSU in Baton Rouge. Most folks would look at this and say, Oh goodness...LSU in Death Valley! Here's the thing though, there is a reason that LSU stopped wearing the VooDoo Blue at home when playing Bama and that is because they couldn't win there and I guess they thought that changing jerseys would help. Bama has a 23-8-2 record in Baton Rouge. Then they have Miss. State at home and after playing Ga. State on a Thursday night, play Auburn the following week at home. After Auburn has LSU at home they have to go to Ole Miss, gets a upset minded UGA at home and then to Bama. I'll say it right now, there is NO way that LSU beats Auburn, Arkansas and Bama. NO WAY! And that's why I say Bama has the easiest road to the SEC Championship even though there is no EASY road to the SEC Championship through the SEC West. Do you agree? If so let me know...if not, let me know what you do think with a comment and let's get the debate started!
I'll be coming out with my picks for Week 8 later this week. Be sure to check back and let me know what you think. Also, don't forget to check out my friend Shane's blog at http://www.alabamatailgate.com/ and check out some recipe ideas for your tailgate.
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