Who ya got, Week 1

Time for remote-control calisthenics, improving your time in the 40 (the 40-foot dash to the fridge), and working on the cardio you'll need to hang in there from the first game at noon through Hawaii-Colorado sometime in the Sunday gray.

Week 1 is here.

On Thursday the SEC showed well (Mississippi State plastered Memphis 59-14) and not so well (Kentucky barely held off Western Kentucky 14-3). Saturday brings the rest of the conference into action, including a couple of big early games. Here's who we got. Note the total lack of cohesion in structure, style and even color. SEC Expats: Amateurish Design Since 2009! (From RTR -- I cleaned it up as best I could, but I'm an expat, not a doctor, dammit.)

Mike:

Utah St at Auburn: After Auburn’s almost evangelical march to the promised land, almost every team on Auburn’s schedule will treat the Tigers game like a holy war. The key word is ‘almost.’ AU, 48-27.
Kent St at Alabama: Good opportunity for the Tide’s kid QBs to chuck it around a little and hand it to Trent Richardson a lot. Bama, 48-0.
BYU at Ole Miss: Not a great way for an endangered coach to start a season. BYU, 35-21.
Montana at UT: What happened to all that momentum? UT needs a win, but somebody behind center will need to make plays. (Maybe it will be Justin Worley, the freshman from Rock Hill.). Vols, 24-16.
Fla. Atlantic at Florida: So we know new Gator coach Will Muschamp will jump around a lot. The rest remains to be seen. Florida, 24-0.
Missouri St. at Arkansas: Scary, scary team that will score every point it can in hopes of sending a message to the SEC. Hogs, 55-14.
ECU-USC in CLT: The Gamecocks almost certainly will disappoint in their opening in Charlotte. In the past, that meant a loss. Here, it means Jadaveon Clowney didn’t fly over the stadium before the game. USC, 35-21.
Elon at Vandy: Do you know how hard it is for Vandy to find an opening patsy? ‘Dores, 28-14.
Boise at UGA: Do the intangibles of a new strength coach and a new commitment from a head coach to actually do the job he’s been paid really well to do make that much of a difference? I think it will … for a half. Georgia has forgotten how to win big games. And that negates any advantage the Dawgs have in size and speed. Say what you want about the Potato Boys, but they will keep it close, then do what they do better than Georgia – win a game late. BSU, 24-19.
LSU-Oregon: Both teams return plenty. But LSU’s preseason has resembled a Mardi Gras party turned mean. There are plenty of players to make up for the suspensions. But the disruption to preparations can’t be ignored. Oregon comes in with an underrated defense and a point to prove, after the Ducks got shoved around by Auburn in the BCS title game. Chew, Les, chew. Oregon, 28-24.

Tommy:

BYU at Ole Miss: My gut tells me the Rebs are a touch underrated this year. Then again, my gut used to think Milwaukee's Best was good beer. Ole Miss, 27-24.

USC v. ECU: Just yesterday I picked South Carolina to win the SEC, which led one commenter to note that I must have been smoking crack. Here was my theory: They have the best back in the SEC, the best receiver in the SEC, the top recruit in the country on defense, and the quarterback who led them to the title game last season. What did I forget? That Steve Spurrier can't help screwing with his quarterbacks. Stephen Garcia is out and Connor Shaw is in, at least for this week. That won't matter Saturday. But messing with Garcia's head will cost the Cocks down the road. USC, 31-20.

Boise State vs. Georgia: I've been thinking Georgia would win this game but lose to South Carolina next week. But now with Garciagate, maybe we could go 2-0... and beat Florida... and then Trent Richardson sprains his ankle in the SEC title game... and the Oklahoma team bus crashes... and we all ride unicorns in the victory parade. OK, one dream at a time. Georgia, 26-17.

Oregon vs. LSU: Is it really such a bad thing that Jordan Jefferson isn't playing? I believe in SEC athletes, I believe in LSU always having meat on the D-line, and above all I believe in Les Miles. LSU, 31-27.

Alabama 48, Kent State 3
Auburn 48, Utah State 3
Florida 55, Florida Atlantic 14
Tennessee 42, Montana 21
Arkansas 62, Missouri St. 13
Vandy 29, Elon 6


Peter:

Auburn 48, Utah St 24: Tigers fans continue annual first-game ritual of fretting about defense after an easy win.

Alabama 45, Kent St. 0
BYU 21, Ole Miss 20
Tennesee 35, Montana 14
Florida 28, Fla. Atlantic 17
Arkansas 55, Missouri St. 10
USC 24, ECU 10
Vandy 35, Elon 3
UGA 24, Boise 23
Oregon 28, LSU 14: Won't be off-the-troubles that stop LSU. It'll be Oregon's defense.

Trent:

Oregon 35, LSU 19: I have a feeling that Oregon coach Chip Kelly learned a lot about SEC-style football in losing to Auburn and will figure out a way to keep his team from getting pushed around this time. LSU will fall behind by at least 10 points early and never catch up.

Boise State 31, Georgia 28
Auburn 30, Utah State 3
Alabama 42, Kent State 10
BYU 28, Ole Miss 24
UT 24, Montana 17
Florida 48, Florida Atlantic 7
Arkansas 34, Missouri State 20
South Carolina 24, East Carolina 21
Vandy 20, Elon 0