Alabama and LSU are the Cream of the Crop in the SEC
LSU’s defense looked overwhelmingly good on Thursday night against Dan Mullen and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. So good that Dan Mullen pulled his QB Chris Relf in hopes that his back-up would have some success against the nasty Tigers defense. LSU is not going to wow you with their high octane offense but they don’t need to. Defense wins Championships and LSU is certainly in line to take a shot at one of those.
Speaking of defense, Alabama has now allowed 6 points per game after giving up 0 to North Texas. Anytime you shut-out a team, no matter who it is, it’s an impressive outing because it takes just one missed assignment or one great play by the opposition to get into the end zone. Right now Alabama and LSU are the cream of the crop in the SEC. Can Arkansas join them? We will see, so far Arky (as is usually the case with the Razorbacks) likes to beat up on multiple patsies before heading for SEC play so they are still a mystery although I expect them to be a factor in the SEC West.
What’s Next for LSU? at West Virginia
What’s Next for Alabama? vs Arkansas
Florida is going to be a handful this year
I’m a Georgia fan and grad so I hate Florida! But what I will tell you is that they look like they are going to be pretty darn good this year. One of the things that stood out on Saturday was how the defense just flew around the football. Yes they had their defensive issues- especially with the penalties in the secondary but they look like a dangerous and athletic team on defense. On offense John Brantley looks like the same guy as last year but Charlie Weis is having him throw the ball only 5 to 10 yards on average and it’s working. Brantley’s stat line was 14 of 23 for 213 yards and 2 TD and played the game manager pretty well. When you dump off a 5 yard pass to a burner like Chris Rainey and he takes it 83 yards to the house he can make your stats look deceptively good. Another thing I really liked about Florida this weekend was the energy that Will Mushcamp brought on the sideline. On game day, this is a guy that you want to play for. Watch out for Florida this year they are my new front-runner in the SEC East until someone proves otherwise.
What’s Next for Florida? at Kentucky
Tennessee is not quite ready for prime time
Tennessee showed a lot of heart in their game with Florida but after Justin Hunter went down they just didn’t have the horses to keep up with the Gators. Ultimately what held the Vols down was their inability to get a running game going against the Florida defense line. Tennessee will beat some teams they aren’t supposed to this year but they are still a year or two away from contending in the SEC East.
What’s Next for Tennessee? off next week, vs Buffalo in Week five
South Carolina is not as good as the sum of it’s parts
Last week I told you that South Carolina has some great defensive players but they don’t have a great defense. I’m starting to buy into that concept more and more but not just of the defense of the entire Gamecocks team. South Carolina has the most talent they’ve had in my lifetime on both sides of the football but it seems like it takes great individual efforts for them to win games so far this year. This week it was Marcus Lattimore running for 246 yards so they could beat a stingy Navy team by 7 points. I like the Gamecocks but I’m not sold on them right now. They seem like a team destined to under-achieve this year.
What’s Next for South Carolina? vs Vanderbilt
Maybe Gene Chizik doesn’t have a rabbit’s foot stuck up his ass after all
Auburn and Gene Chizik finally ran out of luck this weekend against Clemson. Auburn started off 14-0 in this one and it looked like they were going to run Clemson out of their own building but Clemson hulked up and controlled Auburn down the stretch. At this point in the season, Auburn is exactly where I thought they would be (2-1) they just got there a different way than I thought they would. To win games this year Auburn is going to need to put points on the board because their defense is young, inexperienced and quite frankly not very good right now.
What’s Next for Auburn? vs FAU
Sometimes you just need to find that small kid down the street and beat the crap out of him
While I don’t condone bullying it’s always nice to find a team weaker then you and just pick them apart on the football field. That’s what Georgia did this week as they played the game that they should have started the season with and won 59 to 0 in a bully beatdown against Coastal Carolina. Georgia now heads to Ole Miss with some confidence behind them as they take on one of the worst teams in the SEC.
What’s Next for Georgia? at Ole Miss
Houston Nutt’s seat is en fuego
I called it early this spring simply because I didn’t think Nutt had the players to compete with the rest of the SEC West. But after getting blown out by VANDERBILT! Yes, Vanderbilt! A team whose fans don’t even know that they field a football team took Ole Miss to the woodshed on Saturday 30-7. Houston Nutt is in trouble and he’s got a focused Georgia squad coming in this week for the “Hot Seat” Bowl.
What’s Next for Ole Miss? vs Georgia
Kentucky is in for a long, long season
Kentucky somehow escaped their first two weeks against the mighty Central Michigan Chippewas and the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky. Luck caught up with them this week as they got taken down by a very young Louisville, who has struggled quite a bit themselves this early season. Kentucky’s next three games are against Florida and at LSU and South Carolina. They will start off 2-4 and will have to dig themselves out of a hole.
What’s Next for Kentucky? vs Florida
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