SEC: What 2 Watch 4: Week 6

12:00, Legion Field

Birmingham, AL

ESPN2

Record [point spread]:

Mississippi State (2-3, 0-3 SEC)  [-19]
UAB (0-4, 0-2 CUSA)

W2W4: Mississippi State gets a scrimmage before hosting South Carolina next week.  I fully expect State to cover against UAB, as UAB is bad.  Really bad.  However, it is Mississippi State, and Louisiana Tech gave MSU all it could handle.  Can MSU get caught looking ahead?  Nope.

Prediction: 55-13, Mississippi State

12:21, Williams-Brice Stadium

Columbia, SC

ESPN3

Record [point spread]:

Kentucky (2-3, 0-2 SEC)
South Carolina (4-1, 2-1 SEC) [-21]

W2W4: Well, at the start of the week, I would've predicted South Carolina by 24.  I think Marcus Lattimore would've rushed for nearly 200 yards in a complete blowout.  All in spite of Stephen Garcia.  Now Connor Shaw has been named the starter, and South Carolina's offense is in such disarray, Kentucky might actually be able to keep it close.  Lattimore will still get his yards, but Kentucky should stack the box and attempt to make Shaw throw the ball.  He won't be able to, and Lattimore is good enough to still get his yards against all 11 Kentucky defenders in the box.  Plus SC's defense is going to kill Kentucky.  I would, however, take Kentucky and the points.

Prediction: 24-13, South Carolina

3:30, Tiger Stadium

Baton Rouge, LA

CBS

Record [point spread]:

#17 Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC)
#1 LSU (5-0, 2-0 SEC) [-14]

W2W4: LSU had a scrimmage last week to prepare for Florida.  Florida got decimated by Alabama.  LSU is prepared, Florida is limping.  Florida may be able to keep it close for a while, but ultimately LSU and their defense will overtake the gaytors.  A wildcard in this game will be Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee.  Will Jefferson cause a rift, and some discontinuity in LSU's offense, or will Jarrett Lee secure his starting role?

Prediction: 34-17, LSU

7:00, Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

Fayetteville, AR

ESPN

Record [point spread]:

#15 Auburn (4-1, 2-0 SEC)
#10 Arkansas (4-1, 0-1 SEC) [-10]

W2W4: Auburn just keeps finding ways to win.  I can't explain it.  Arkansas has shown some fight, especially in the 2nd half of the Texas A&M game.  But how much of that was Texas A&M's inability to adjust?  I think Michael Dyer could be huge in this game for Auburn, and Arkansas' defensive line has been getting shredded, first by Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy, and then by Christine Michael.  Arkansas gets Chizzed on, and some how Auburn pulls another game out of their ass.

Prediction: 20-17, Auburn

7:00, Bryant-Denny Stadium

Tuscaloosa, AL

ESPNU

Record [point spread]:

Vanderbilt (3-1, 1-1 SEC)
#2 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) [-29]

W2W4: Vanderbilt magical mystery tour is about to end.  Even with as a 29-point favorite, my money is on Alabama.  I mean, if Vanderbilt can only score 3 on South Carolina, good night.  Vanderbilt will be lucky to score against Alabama.  Will Alabama just tee off on Vanderbilt?  This should be a warm-up for the scrimmage next week (against Ole Miss).

Prediction: 35-0, Alabama

7:00, Neyland Stadium

Knoxville, TN

ESPN2

Record [point spread]:

Georgia (3-2, 2-1 SEC) [-2]
Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC)

W2W4: Here we go.  Derek Dooley puts his mushroom stamp on Mark Richt's forehead this weekend for the "signature win" everyone claims he's been hunting.  This game is winnable for Tennessee.  It's also very losable.  But Tennessee has had 3 weeks of practice to get ready for this since the Florida game.  I think Tennessee realized how poorly it reacted to losing Justin Hunter in the Florida game, and I believe Tennessee is ready to take the next step.  Aaron Murray lit up Tennessee last season, and Georgia has some weapons on offense.  Orson Charles, Malcolm Mitchell, and Isaiah Crowell are all guys Tennessee will have to know, at all times, where they are on the field.  I also fully expect Da'Rick Rogers to be shaded by two guys: some rotation of Bacarri Rambo, Brandon Boykin, and Sanders Commings.  Special teams could be a real key Saturday night for both teams.  On the kick return front, Boykin is always a threat.  Can Devrin Young be a threat for Tennessee?  Blair Walsh, a notorious 'money' kicker, has developed Chuck Knoblauch syndrome, and Mike Palardy is a coin toss.  I think Neyland Stadium will be rocking, and Tennessee will be amped up.  If Tennessee can come out hot, the rout could be on.  And Barbara Dooley will approve.

Prediction: 31-17, Tennessee

SEC Power Rankings Week 6

Bama  > LSU

It is Week 6 SEC Power Ranking time, which means it is also the announcement of the top two and maybe three teams in the nation.  We learned more this weekend about our conference and the scope of football in general.  One thing for sure, Alabama is the best team in College Football.  The staff at RockyTopics has turned in their rankings and Alabama received every 1^st place vote except for one.  Here is how it looks.

#1 Alabama proved this week they are the team to beat by going to Ben Hill Griffin (formerly known as "the Swamp") and beat Florida like they stole something.  Alabama has the best run defense in college football.  Don’t even try to run on them.  If they took a knee every play this week against Vandy, Alabama would still win by 12 points.  How about Trent Richardson?  Does that guy have some wheels?  Not only is he pimpin' a $60K ride without a job, he can run with authority.  Those Alabama boosters sure are courteous.

#2 LSU let’s see who did they play?  Well, it will come to me later.  LSU has a good team, but they are not Alabama.  Alabama would beat them on any turf Les Miles chooses to graze from.  With that said, they would beat Oklahoma so badly that Oklahoma would want to join the Sunbelt by halftime.

#3a Arkansas showed a lot of grit after getting beaten the way they did by Alabama.  Then to fall as far behind Texas A&M as they did and to come back and win tells us that this team grew up fast.  And Tyler Wilson can play.  Arkansas still has some question marks and Texas A&M is no SEC team (that’s right), but Arkansas looks like a team that can make a run at the top five.

#3b Auburn yes, we have a tie for the third spot.  As bad as I hate to admit it, the towel swinging of Trooper Taylor was enough to propel Auburn to another win Saturday.  Auburn simply finds a way to win.  Dyer looks like a featured SEC back and Trotter played smart enough to put his team in place to win.  The Auburn D finally showed up, but the special teams looked poor at times.

#5 Florida is so gay and so are their fans.  Florida came out swinging Saturday night and then they realized “they are who we thought they are” and they are better than us!  Had Brantley not gotten hurt, Florida would have lost 52-10.  After Brantley went down, Weis got conservative and Saban got bored.  Florida has to find some offense from their green QB if they want to move up in this poll.

#6 South Carolina who knows what to expect with this team?  Their D looks good, but their QB looks like Verne Lundquist in a Speedo (sick)!  What is wrong with this team?  They should win the East.  Their problem is the name on their jersey.  If you took every player and coach from this staff and put them at UT or Florida they would win the East and contend for the Championship.  It must be awful to wake up and know you are a South Carolina fan.

#7 UGA they are like the Hamlet movie that Mel Gibson was in back in the 90’s.  You know what I mean…..they spent all that money and the cast and props look great, but the story is still the same stupid story that nobody cares about.  They get #7 simply because of the Georgia High School football programs.  Just imagine if they were coached up.

#8 Tennessee has the best QB in the SEC, but still no running game and their special teams has found a way to get worse.  They get a punt blocked, pick it up, run for the first down, and the whole bench celebrates like they just beat somebody.  The defense has now given up four 50+ yard TDs in four games.  They don’t know where to line up and they can’t tackle.  This site may have some interesting reads on Wilcox before the season is over.

#9 Mississippi State what a bunch of rednecks.  They are just not any good, but they are Miss St.  All of the SEC media members that voted for Chris Relf in front of Tyler Bray should turn in their credentials today.  Just another reason why we do not allow media members to contribute to RockyTopics.

#10 Vanderbilt did they play this weekend?  I don’t get ESPN 8 so let’s just say they had the week off.  How bad are the next two teams if an intramural team can be in front of you?

#11 Ole Miss does not deserve to be in the SEC.  They are more like a Big 12 team.  They look great coming out of the tunnel and nobody watches them on TV and everybody knows they are not nearly as good as they think they are.  Hey, they don’t care how bad they are so why should we keep them in the conference?  I would much rather have Southern Miss (and Brett Favre) in the conference than Ole Mess.

#12 Kentucky is simply terrible.  They are so bad that I honestly thought UT was playing Kentucky Saturday instead of Buffalo, but then I noticed how well the Bulls blocked and I knew it was not Kentucky.  They have officially decided to play basketball year round and they are going to use their football budget to buy each Basketball player a new SUV and a years supply of tattoos.

Go Vols!

RR

SEC: What 2 Watch 4 - Week 5

12:00, Cowboy's Stadium

Arlington, TX

ESPN

Record:

#18 Arkansas (3-1, 1-1 SEC)
#14 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 BIG XII)

W2W4: How does each team respond to the first loss? Can A&M recover after letting OSU score 21 straight in the 3rd quarter? Will Arkansas recover enough from the beatdown in Tuscaloosa to run the offense? This game will be a preview of a future SEC opponent, so I think a lot of people will be interested to see how A&M performs against an SEC defense.

Prediction: Arkansas, 34-31

12:00, Sanford Stadium

Athens, GA

ESPN3

Record:

Mississippi State (2-2, 0-2 SEC)
Georgia (2-2, 1-1 SEC)

W2W4: Which program is better than it's record? MSU probably should've beaten Auburn, and hung with LSU for a long time. UGA is a trainwreck, the fans are bailing on Mark Richt, and two early losses to Boise State and South Carolina put Georgia in a big hole. If Georgia loses, Mark Richt's last game may be in Knoxville next weekend. Mississippi State thought it had nudged its way up to the big table in the SEC -- what a difference a year makes. Is MSU capable of winning in the SEC this year? Can Dan Mullen circle the cowbells and get a big road SEC win?

Prediction: 31-24, Mississippi State

12:21, Tiger Stadium

Baton Rouge, LA

ESPN3

Record:

Kentucky (2-2, 0-1 SEC)
#1 LSU (4-0, 1-0 SEC)

W2W4: Can Kentucky really be THAT bad? Unfortuntely, yes. Can LSU get up for this game and dominate like they should with Florida looming next week? Does Jordan Jefferson get mop up duty in the 2nd half?

Prediction: 48-10, LSU

12:30, Neyland Stadium

Knoxville, TN

ESPN3

Record:

Buffalo (1-3, 0-1 MAC)
Tennessee (2-1, 0-1 SEC)

W2W4: Tennessee is a 28.5-point favorite, but historically does TERRIBLE against the spread. Can Tennessee cover? How will the passing game look without Justin Hunter / who can/will become the #2 WR? Will Tennessee be able to run the ball on lowly Buffalo? Will they even try?

Prediction: 42-13, Tennessee

3:30, Williams-Brice Stadium

Columbia, SC

CBS

Record:

Auburn (3-1, 1-0 SEC)
#10 South Carolina (4-0, 2-0 SEC)

W2W4: Dark horse game of the week. How will Auburn respond after losing @ Clemson? Can South Carolina's offense get it together? Will Auburn be able to contain Lattimore? If so, will Garcia be able to get the ball to Alshon Jeffery? Can Auburn handle South Carolina's defense, or can Auburn keep South Carolina's defense out of the end zone?? Will Melvin Ingram score again?

Prediction: 31-30, South Carolina


8:00, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Gainesville, FL

CBS

Record:

#3 Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC)
#12 Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC)

W2W4: OH BABY! Game of the week. How long will Demps/Rainey stay in the game? How will Nick Saban and Kirby Smart scheme around Chris Rainey? Can John Brantley win the game for Florida? Can Florida's front 7 contain Richardson and Lacy? Can Florida withstand a 10-round bout with Alabama? Will Florida get TKO'd in the 3rd round? How badly does Muschamp want to beat Saban? Will there be trickeration? Can Florida get pressure on McCarron without blitzing?

Prediction: 37-17, Alabama

9:15, Bulldog Stadium

Fresno, CA

ESPN2

Record:

Ole Miss (1-3, 0-2 SEC)
Fresno State (2-2, 1-0 WAC)

W2W4: Just how fed up is the state of Mississippi with Houston Nutt? I only ask because it seems everyone BUT Ole Miss is calling for Nutt to be fired. Does Ole Miss care they suck? Do they just want to party in The Grove? Is it conceivable for Nutt to keep his job, no matter how the rest of the season turns out? Listen, no offense to Vanderbilt, but when Vanderbilt hands you a 30-0 shellacking, and you barely eek out a touchdown in the final minutes of game (AGAINST VANDY'S 2ND TEAM!!), you've got serious, serious issues. In my eyes, Houston Nutt should be gone no later than Monday of next week, and the campaign for Guz Malzahn should be on. Ole Miss needs to get on Malzahn before Georgia does. There's too much talent in the state of Mississippi (all going to Mississippi State) for Ole Miss to be this bad.

Prediction: 24-13, Fresno State