Poor Les Miles.
Facing a season-long jury trial on his fitness to be LSU's coach (much less qualify for driver's license or change a light bulb), he and his Tiger team were decided underdogs in the season opener in Atlanta. But then North Carolina pulled a Dean Wormer and suspended the entire Delta House -- up to 16 Tar Heel players, many of them starters, could sit this one out.
In a flash, LSU goes from the luxury of letting 'er rip to being expected to win and win big. Which puts Miles right back behind bars in the Prison of Big Expectations.
LSU should win, but there's no guarantee it will. The Tigers still must show they have the quarterback and the line play that all those good-looking players couldn't quite muster a year ago. North Carolina? The Heels, all 14 of those still eligible, will come flying.
LSU should win. But by gawd, they better.
Tigers: 24-17.
San Jose St. at Alabama
The defending champs can't wait to play. In the last few days, The Tide has lost its Heisman Trophy winning tailback Mark Ingram to an injured knee and All-American tackle Marcel Dareus, who suffered a rupture to that part of the brain that makes good choices. What next? Nick Saban joining a nunnery? Naw, God has his own PWAHCESS, but Nick likes his better. Tide, 44-0.
Miami of Ohio at Florida: Urban Meyer is licking his licks. All that talent, and all those people with their noses pressing against the glass seeing if he can survive the tumultuous off-season and the loss of Gator Boy. The answers ain't coming from this one. Gators, 49-14.
La-Lafyette at Georgia:
One of the worst off-seasons in Georgia history ends Saturday. Then the real fun begins. Given his record, Mark Richt shouldn't be under so much pressure to win. But he is, and he starts this pivotal season with questions on defense, an unproven quarterback and more players in police lineups than "The Usual Suspects." Now he faces a deceptively scary opener. Gamecocks already kicking up dirt. Dogs, 28-14.
Kentucky at Louisville: To quote Chuck Barris. Joker, Joker, Joker. The 'Ville, 24-14.
UT-Martin at UT-Knoxville. The Vols, who want no part of an ACC school, get to open with someone their own size. Better enjoy this one. UTK, 35-7.
Northwestern at Vandy: Losing a coach so close to the start of the season is the least of Vanderbilt's problems. Northwestern, 33-10.
Tennessee Tech at Arkansas: Ryan Mallett kicks off the remake of "My Favorite Year." Hogs, 55-10.
Arkansas State at Auburn The Fighting Chizickians launch Year II with Cameron Newton taking controls at quarterback. No pressure. Newton is supposedly an amalgam of Batman, Robin, The Fantastic Four and Submariner. Sorry, that's a bit of an hyperbole. We haven't seen him swim. AU, 42-17.
JSU at Ole Miss: Jeremiah, we hardly knew ye. The team formerly known as Rebels, 20-7.
Memphis at Mississippi State: When's the last time so much excitement surrounded a perennial doormat. Bullies, 31-21.
-- MG
LSU vs. UNC: This does sort of have "Hoosiers" potential -- I can see Butch Davis sending out eight guys on defense and shouting "My team is on the field!" But I'm thinking the only SEC-caliber players the Tar Heels have will be watching from Chapel Hill. It'll be close for a quarter and a half until the adrenaline wears off. LSU, 35-13.
San Jose St. at Alabama: That ESPN special, the Ingram injury, the Dareus suspension... you can already smell the Tide's season going bad. This week, though, San Jose State plays the part of Febreze. Bama, 33-6.
Louisiana-Lafayette at Georgia: Hey, my Dawgs are on SEC TV this week! If Aaron Murray looks half as good as Stephen Garcia did last night, I'll be happy. Dawgs, 30-13.
Kentucky at Louisville: I'm going to pick Joker Phillips until he loses. Which probably won't be long. UK, 19-17.
Northwestern at Vanderbilt: Our academic school is better than your academic school. Just not this week. Northwestern, 27-20.
Arkansas 56, Tennessee Tech 10
Auburn 38, Arkansas State 7
Mississippi State 19, Memphis 12
Ole Miss 42, Jacksonville 14
Florida 49, Miami (Ohio) 10
Tennessee 33, UT-Martin 0
-- Tommy T.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Who Ya Got? Week I, part II
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1 comments:
Let me jump in here with a "what we learned, Week 1" post:
-It's hard to say you learned anything in a week full of games against severely inferior opponents.
-Last year, Misipi started the year #4, fell out of the rankings and eventually ended up in a major bowl. This year, they immediately drop into a black hole on week 1. Will they rebound like last year or become Vanderbilt West? My bet is on the latter.
-If you stop Randall Cobb, Kentucky is finished. But stopping him is the tricky part.
-Last year, Auburn's defense was thin and terrible. This year, Auburn's defense has a little depth and is slightly less terrible. Good thing there are more weapons on offense. I see a ton of 35-31 games ahead.
-Memo to Les Miles: it is very dangerous to stop playing 35 minutes into a game. Do you remember what happened when Spurrier was at Florida and he did that? No? Of course you don't, because he never did that. People hated him, but he never had to sweat at the end like you did. When you can go for the throat, do it.
-Out of conference, we learned that Boise St is very capable of going on the road and beating a grossly overrated opponent. If they are one of 3 unbeatens at year-end, they're going to get left out.
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