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Alabama (1-0) at
Vanderbilt (1-0)
12:30 PM GamePlan
Why to Watch: The
second game of the Nick Saban
era might appear to be a
breather before facing showdowns
with Arkansas, Georgia and
Florida State, but this isn't
the same sort of Vanderbilt team
you're used to. The Commodores
are loaded with experience, and
has more talent than you might
think. After trouncing Richmond
41-17, this is a chance to make
the biggest home statement yet
under head coach Bobby Johnson,
and would likely mean a 4-0
start with Ole Miss and Eastern
Michigan to follow. For Alabama,
anything less than a relatively
easy win would send off panic
alarms. This might not be a
world-beater of a Tide team, but
there's more than enough talent
on both sides of the ball to be
a factor in the SEC race, even
if it's by picking off some of
the top teams. Bama has won 19
in a row over Vandy, with the
last loss coming in 1984, and a
loss this year would quickly
sour the Saban lovefest. Even in
rebuilding years, Alabama isn't
supposed to lose to Vanderbilt.
Why Alabama Might Win: Vanderbilt's
biggest issue all year will be
the secondary. It's not awful,
but it's certainly not going to
be the team's strength. Despite
a good showing against Western
Carolina last week, Bama's
offensive strength all season
long will be throwing the ball.
The O line did a great job in
week one, and it shouldn't have
too much of a problem with a
Commodore defensive front that's
not great at getting into the
backfield. Bama QB John Parker
Wilson should have all day to
throw.
Why Vanderbilt Might Win:
Will Alabama be able to pressure
Vandy QB Chris Nickson? Getting
to the quarterback on a
consistent basis was a problem
last year for the Tide, and
while Saban wants to turn up the
heat, he might not have the
players to do it against a good
offensive line like Vandy's that
can do just enough to give its
mobile quarterback time to
operate. Unlike last year when
Vandy lost 13-10, this is a more
balanced offense that likely
won't make as many mistakes.
Who to Watch: Coming into the
year, VU junior receiver Earl
Bennett was considering among
the best in the nation and an
All-America candidate by most,
and he did nothing to disappoint
against Richmond with 13 catches
for 223 yards and three scores.
Going back to last year, over
his last five games, including a
four-catch, 16-yard performance
against Tennessee, Bennett has
made 50 grabs for 800 yards and
six touchdowns. For Alabama, the
big story of the first week was
the ground game that cranked out
313 yards and six touchdowns led
by Terry Grant, who tore off 134
yards and three scores on 18
carries. He's a small, quick
back who might not be a
workhorse, but could be
extremely effective for
stretches.
What Will Happen: Vanderbilt has
the type of team that could pull
off a win like this, and it
might if Nickson is hot and
there aren't a slew of
turnovers. However, the
Commodores won't generate enough
pressure to throw off John
Parker Wilson, and the expected
return of WR Keith Brown from
suspension to help out D.J. Hall
will tear up the VU secondary.
CFN Prediction:
Alabama
23 ... Vanderbilt 17... Line: Alabama
-5
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 3
Final Score:
South
Carolina (1-0) at Georgia (1-0)
5:45 PM ESPN2
Why to Watch: Georgia
came up with a fantastic 35-14
opening day win over a dangerous
Oklahoma State team with the
type of weapons that can light
up just about anyone. The
defense was all over the field
and answered several early
questions, while the offense had
one of the best overall
performances in the young
Matthew Stafford era. Now the
real season begins for the Dawgs
in what could amount to an
elimination game in the SEC East
race. South Carolina overcame a
series of suspensions and a
bizarre end of the off-season to
beat UL Lafayette 28-14. With
LSU the next SEC date, the
Gamecocks can't afford to lose
here. Georgia won last year's
matchup 18-0 and has won five
straight and eight of the last
ten.
Why South Carolina Might Win: The
Gamecock linebacking corps, led
by Jasper and Casper Brinkley,
came up with a great first game
against UL Lafayette, and it
should be able to keep the
Georgia running game from
cranking out a huge day. While
the Ragin' Cajuns don't have
much in the way of a passing
game, the USC secondary had a
nice first game. It'll be tested
against an improved Georgia
receiving corps, but it likely
won't give up the big plays OSU
did.
Why Georgia Might Win:
The Gamecock offensive line is
still a major work in progress.
It didn't have a great game
against an overmatched ULL
defensive front, and it should
get shoved all over the place,
and blown past, but a Georgia
defensive front seven that was
all over the place against the
Cowboys. Georgia can make plays
in the South Carolina backfield,
but South Carolina can't make
plays in the Georgia backfield.
Who to Watch: Who'll be under
center for South Carolina? Blake
Mitchell was suspended for the
season opener after cutting
classes, and while he'll be
coming in rusty, he'll likely be
the starter. Mitchell was solid
in the loss to Georgia last year
completing 16 of 22 passes for
156 yards, but he failed to
generate any points. If Steve
Spurrier changes his mind at the
last minute, it'll likely be up
to Tommy Beecher to take over
after Chris Smelley, the starter
against ULL, hurt his shoulder.
For Georgia, RB Thomas Brown ran
extremely well last week after
suffering a bad knee injury.
While he only ran for 48 yards,
he scored twice and showed
flashes of his old burst.
What Will Happen: Can Georgia
play well two weeks in a row?
Consistency could be a problem
for the relatively young team
that had to reload, but its
defensive pressure will make up
for other problems. It won't be
a pretty game, but it should be
a good defensive thriller for at
least three quarters.
CFN Prediction:
Georgia 17 ...
South
Carolina 13
... Line: Georgia -6.5
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 3.5
Final Score:
Kent State
(1-0) at Kentucky (1-0)
6:00 PM GamePlan
Why to Watch: Don't
look ahead to Louisville ..
Don't look ahead to Louisville.
All Kentucky has heard about
ever since its offense made the
program relevant has been
Louisville. After years of
getting pounded by its in-state
rival, losing four straight
including an ugly 59-28 blasting
last year, UK fans are dying to
get the Cardinals in
Commonwealth next week. But
first, UK has to deal with a
sneaky-tough Kent State team
with a nice defense and a decent
running game. The Golden Flashes
spoiled Gene Chizik's debut at
Iowa State with a 23-14 win in
Ames, and they're not going to
be freaked out by going on the
road to face a BCS league team.
Why Kent State Might Win: It
can't be overstated; Kentucky's
head is firmly on the Louisville
game. Oh sure, the players and
coaches are all paying lip
service to Kent State, but the
media has started looking ahead,
and it's not letting UK forget
about it. Kent State's secondary
is good enough to keep the
high-powered UK passing game
from exploding, while the
running game is strong enough to
keep the Wildcat offense off the
field.
Why Kentucky Might Win:
The Golden Flashes might be
solid, but they're not
explosive. If the Wildcats can
get up early and force KSU to
start throwing, this won't be
pretty, even though the UK
secondary is still suspect. To
pull off an upset like this, KSU
needs everything to go right,
and it'll be badly outplayed on
special teams and won't generate
enough pressure on Andre Woodson
to slow down the air show.
Who to Watch: Kent State has one
of the MAC's more interesting
backs in sophomore Eugene
Jarvis, a 5-5 speedster who can
be a surprisingly durable
workhorse. He ran for 113 yards
and a touchdown against Iowa
State, and will also have to be
worried about coming out of the
backfield in the passing game.
He needs to run 20 times or more
and keep the clock rolling. If
UK can shut him down, this
likely won't be a close game.
What Will Happen: Edelman will
keep KSU in the game for about a
half with a few brilliant plays
that'll make the UK fans shift
in their seats, and then Woodson
will come up with two big passes
and the Wildcats will pull away
in the third.
CFN Prediction:
Kentucky
35 ... Kent State 20
... Line: Kentucky -14
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2.5
Final Score:
Troy (0-1) at
Florida (1-0) 6:00 PM
Why to Watch: The
defending national champions did
what they were supposed to do in
the opener against Western
Kentucky, winning 49-3, and now
there's a slight upgrade before
the showdown with Tennessee.
Troy has just enough of a
defense, and a good, veteran
quarterback in Omar Haugabook,
that it could provide a few
problems if Florida is already
mentally gameplanning for the
Volunteers, but it didn't show
much in the 46-26 opening day
loss to Arkansas. The defending
Sun Belt champions aren't just
going to roll over and give up
when they see the Gator uniforms
and could make this a ball game
for a little while.
Why Troy Might Win: While
the Trojans didn't necessarily
look like world-beaters against
Arkansas, they have a talented
defensive line and a great
secondary that'll provide a bit
of a push. Florida might be
ultra-talented and with superior
athleticism, but this is still a
very, very young team that's due
to start making some rookie
mistakes on both sides of the
ball. Even with the blowout win
over WKU, Florida's defense had
several missed tackles and
didn't play as well as Urban
Meyer would've liked.
Why Florida Might Win:
The speed of the Florida defense
should be too much for the
Trojans. Haugabook had a great
game against Florida State last
year, but he struggled with his
consistency and threw too many
interceptions. Against Arkansas,
he only completed 15 of 43
passes for 204 yards and a
touchdown, along with an
interception. The Gator pass
rush should have him on the move
all game long, while there
likely won't be any semblance of
a running game if the UF front
seven is focused.
Who to Watch: In search of a
consistent running game for a
few years, Florida might have
finally found its back to work
around in junior Kestahn Moore.
While not a superior talent, at
least compared to other, less
experienced options, he's a
plugger who ran for 91 yards and
two touchdowns against WKU and
will likely get the boatload of
the carries. The less running
Tim Tebow has to do early on,
the better.
What Will Happen: This will be
the type of game that Florida
wins in a walk, but does just
enough things wrong to get the
coaching staff yelling.
Haugabook will complete fewer
than half his passes and will
toss three picks that'll make a
close game a blowout.
CFN Prediction:
Florida 38 ...
Troy 14
... Line: Florida -27.5
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2
Final Score:
SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
Two, Part 2 |