Friday, October 15, 2010

Who ya got? Week 7.

Georgia gets a new dog. The SEC's former favorite for the Heisman meets the current edition. Wounded Alabama either hides in its corner or gets off the mat. South Carolina sees if it can catch its breath in rarefied air. And Florida and Mississippi State duke off in a battle of, gulp, also-rans.

We're off.

Michael Gordon

Ole Miss at Alabama Nick Saban can huff and puff all he wants about meeting the standards he has helped set in Tuscaloosa. But until his defense starts playing better, his press conference curse words carry more weight. Enter the Rebs, not your grandmother's normal homecoming patsy. The Ole Miss offense and Jeremiah Masoli storm into Tuscaloosa playing their best ball of the season. The Reb defense: not so much. But that didn't stop lineman Jerre Powe from shooting off his mouth. Powe, whose biggest claim to fame is that it took him longer to get into school than it does most students to complete a doctorate, took time off from his studies to declare "Almighty Alabama" a one-dimensional offense. In that, Powe sounded like a truly annoying segment of the Alabama fan base -- one regular-season loss in 29 games and the end is near. Not this week. Tide, 44-28

Arkansas at Auburn Ryan Mallett's last chance to get back into the Heisman conversation lucks into an Auburn defense that played one of its worst halves of the season at Kentucky. Cam Newton, again, bailed out his team. But in Mallett, Auburn is facing its most explosive opposing player of the year. Still, Arkansas, like most SEC schools this year, is not the same team on the road. And Auburn runs on rocket fuel in front of the home crowd. This one could be like Shiloh -- massive casualties on both sides and only the narrowest of winning margins. In the end, I like Newton's arm and legs. Mallett will put up big numbers that, once again, don't add up to enough. AU, 42-35.

South Carolina at Kentucky The win against Alabama may have been the most important 60 minutes in Gamecock history, but it had the staying power of a charcoal fire. Based on its past, South Carolina could very well lose at Kentucky -- it's what the Gamecocks have done for more than a century. Stephen Garcia can't play any better than he did last week. A letdown is one thing. But if Garcia reverts to the dark side, South Carolina is in trouble. Lucky for Steve Spurrier, he has freshman tailback Marcus Lattimore. Luckier still, Kentucky likely will be without Derrick Locke, its leading rusher. The two defenses aren't close. Still, the score will be closer than it should be. Gamecocks, 24-20

Vandy at Georgia The "All is Well" Tour in Athens gets its second freebie in as many weeks. Vanderbilt may be a step up from the worst Tennessee team of my lifetime, but it should provide little resistance for the Dogs, who introduce a new mascot Saturday as it tries to spit polish what still looks like a lost year. Woof, I say. Woof, woof. UGA, 35-14

MSU at Florida: If this were in Starkville, Urban Meyer's team would need fitting for a hat trick. MSU is too young and untalented at too many positions to be counted on for a road upset. But if Florida is expecting a handout, the Swamp will have more boos than bare midriffs by game's end. Gators, 24-14

McNeese State vs. LSU: Does Les Miles' deal with Beelzebub extend to in-state patsies? Seems like a waste of brimstone to me. Tigers. 42-7.

Your turn.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is it just me, or has this blog boiled down to an Auburn-‘Bama rivalry discourse with a little bit of Georgia and Misipi thrown in? I would have expected some Fightin’ Chickens fans to light the blog up with their best team ever rolling along. I also miss the days when woefully-uninformed ACC fans tried to come in here to argue. Oh, well, as long as the comments section is mine to dominate, I’ll keep up the flow of eastern Alabama philosophy. And sit back and grin as I imagine smoke pouring out of Mike Gordon’s ears.

And the week 7 picks:

Misipi at 'Bama – This is definitely a case where having an extra week to prepare means nothing. The Evil Empire 34, Misipi 21

Misipi State at Florida – These Bulldogs are on the rise, but their QBs are about as poor as Florida’s. UF has too much talent edge in other areas. Gators 27, Misipi St 21

Vanderbilt at Georgia – memo to celebration-starved players: If you’re gonna drink, do it in your dorm room. And sleep it completely off before you go off campus. Big Ol’ Hairy Dawgs 38, Vandy 14

South Carolina at Kentucky – Some think SC is ripe for a letdown. The Joker is starting to realize that his defense is the joke. Not having Locke really hurts. Fightin’ Chickens 34, Randall Cobb 24

McNeese State at LSU – seriously?????? Even LSU can’t take this one down to the wire. LSU 42, McNeese St 3

Ar-Kansas at Auburn – Memo to Mrs. J: Please pick up 2 more bottles of Maalox while you’re at the store. This defense is better than Kentucky’s and so is their quarterback. I’m putting all my hope in it being a home game. And the Maalox. WAR EAGLE 38, Ar-Kansas 34

Last week’s record: 5-2
Season record: 39-11

Anonymous said...

FSU would be in the thick of the SEC race-only the Fighten' Chickens and Tide would stand in the way

Michael said...

J, you spoke too soon. An ACC interloper has entered the garden.

Anon, welcome and come back when you can.

But are you really basing your argument on the fact that the Noles are beating up on (wait for it) ACC TEAMS? Why don't you just ride the horse through the middle of a kindergarten lunchroom, you'd get the same results.

Understand, the Expats feel a certain kinship for FSU. Nevertheless, we feel a moral obligation to ask that you actually BEAT SOMEBODY before your next pronouncement.

mg

Michael said...

J: We welcome the southwest Georgia perspective here anytime. It brings a certain unfiltered barbarianism to the board. As such, anthropology students are among are biggest fans.

Good luck with the Hogs. Don't think it's going to be that close.

Anonymous said...

MG - Good one! A man who's school hired a coach with a fondness for gentleman's clubs calling us barbarians. Now that's funny!

Anon - I'll gladly put Cam Newton, Michael Dyer, Darvin Adams and all our other playmakers against your defense any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Seems to me the last time you stepped out of conference for a big game was against the best team in a very rotten Big XII and you gave up more than XL points. I don't like FSU's chance against anyone in the SEC except maybe Vandy and Tennessee.

Michael said...

J, at least we fire our mistakes. You keep them on the payroll for decades, and they limp around your program extolling the glories of yesteryear like Civil War veterans.

Lowder and out.

mg