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Western Kentucky
at Florida
6:00 PM
Why to Watch: The
defending national champions in
every sport that matters will
get two much-needed tune-ups
(playing Troy next week) before
the big game against Tennessee,
and with so many new faces in
key places, there isn't time for
taking it easy on a sacrificial
lamb like Western Kentucky. This
is a provisional year for the
Hilltoppers as it makes its way
into the D-I world in the near
future. For now, the goal is to
not get embarrassed before the
end of the first quarter, take
the paycheck, and move on to
West Virginia Tech.
Why Western Kentucky Might Win: WKU
has an experienced defensive
front seven that might be able
to keep the Gators from scoring
for a drive or two. The offense
is undergoing a personnel
overhaul, while the secondary
returns three starters from
D-IAA's (or the FCS's) 16th
ranked pass defense. Florida
head coach Urban Meyer isn't big
on running up the score and
won't likely let this be uglier
than it needs to be.
Why Florida Might Win: Yeah, the
WKU defensive front is full of
veterans, but they're not very
big, and they're not very good.
The Gator offensive line should
be rock solid, and could grow
into the team's biggest
strength. Expect it to shove
around the Hilltoppers like
they're Ohio State. While the
Gator offense doesn't have to
get quirky, anything outside of
the box (like a reverse) will
work. Most top 25 teams can't
run with Florida, much less WKU.
Who to Watch: Tim Tebow. While
he's supposed to be fantastic
against a team like WKU, the
pressure is now on for him to be
the guy who keeps the
momentum going. Chris Leak
wasn't always beloved until he
won a national title, and by
winning a championship, he goes
from being the face of the Ron
Zook era to a Florida legend.
Tebow has a lot to live up to,
and every mistake will be
scrutinized from the start.
There are certainly bigger fish
to fry down the road, but he
needs to make an early
statement.
What Will Happen: Florida will be
Florida. It can bring its C game
and still win by 30.
CFN Prediction:
Florida 41 ... Western Kentucky
7
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Hef wants you
to take his place on The Girls Next
Door, but you can’t because you have
to watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 1
Final Score:
Oklahoma
State at Georgia
6:45 PM ESPN2
Why to Watch: This
falls under the category of
mega-statement games for two
very good programs that'll be
sleepers (if that's possible for
Georgia) in their respective
division races, and for two
power conferences. Oklahoma
State is loaded with the type of
speed and athleticism that SEC
fans like to brag about on a
regular basis. This is the
ultimate feast-or-famine, home
run hitting team that can put up
points in bunches, and it's a
team Georgia needs to be really,
really scared off. The
Dawgs are solid on both sides of
the ball, but they might have to
be spectacular to avoid the
upset. If Georgia wins this game
easily, it means it'll be a
major contender for the SEC
title. For the Cowboys, this is
the game that could put the Mike
Gundy era on the national map.
Why Oklahoma State Might Win: Georgia's
secondary isn't exactly a
weakness, but it'll certainly be
a question mark to start the
year, while defensive starting
experience is a major problem at
all spots. A number one corner
has to emerge right away after
the loss of Paul Oliver to
academic issues, and that means
future NFL starting WR Adarius
Bowman should require way too
much attention from the
safeties. The more the defensive
backs have to hang back, the
more openings for the OSU ground
game.
Why Georgia Might Win: Is
Oklahoma State the real deal?
Yeah, there are more than enough
athletes to run with Georgia all
day long, and it was able to
beat Alabama rather easily in
the Independence Bowl, but this
is still the type of team that
can beat anyone, but can lose to
anyone. The Cowboy defensive
line is average, the secondary
is questionable, and there's no
sure-thing number two receiver
on the other side of Bowman. If
Georgia's young and
inexperienced O line is ready to
roll, the Bulldog ground game
should equal the OSU production.
Who to Watch: SEC fans, get ready
to see the best twosome of backs
you might see all year (or at
least a close number two behind
those guys in Fayetteville).
5-9, 195-pound Dantrell Savage
averaged 6.5 yards per carry
last year and has the
warp-wheels to crank out yards
in chunks. Keith Toston is a
bigger back who can also hit the
home run from anywhere on the
field. These two need to shine,
and QB Bobby Reid has to take
his rushing yards when he can
get them, to have a shot at
pulling off the upset.
What Will Happen: If Oklahoma
State can keep its head for a
full sixty minutes and doesn't
panic when Matthew Stafford and
the Bulldog offense gets the
momentum on its side, it can
pull off the upset. The Dawg O
line is still too green, the
receiving corps too average, and
the secondary too suspect to
beat a team as good as OSU if
it's playing up to its
capability.
CFN Prediction:
Oklahoma
State 27 ... Georgia 20
... Line: Georgia -6.5
Must See Rating: (5 Hef wants you
to take his place on The Girls Next
Door, but you can’t because you have
to watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 4
Final Score:
Troy at
Arkansas
7:00 PM
Why to Watch: Troy,
the defending Sun Belt champions
have a decent defense and a
veteran quarterback in Omar
Haugabook, to make this a
dangerous game for an Arkansas
team almost certain to be
looking ahead to Alabama. The
Hogs have had a tumultuous
off-season, to say the least,
and could use a confidence boost
after losing its final three
games of last season and with
all the issues surrounding the
program. If Troy can keep it
close, it'll be a major victory
for the Sun Belt and will send
off panic alarms around
Fayetteville.
Why Troy Might Win: There's
a ton of returning experience
and a good enough defense to
keep the Hogs under wraps for
prolonged stretches. Arkansas
can't throw anyway, and now it's
without star receiver Marcus
Monk thanks to a knee injury.
The Trojan secondary has NFL
talent in Leodis McKelvin and
Sherrod Martin, while the
defensive line, led by pass
rushing terror Kenny Mainor,
should make Arkansas even more
one-dimensional than it already
is. The linebacking corps isn't
as fast as the Arkansas running
backs, but it can really, really
move.
Why Arkansas Might Win: Troy just
doesn't have enough offense in
the bag to keep up if Arkansas
gets up early. Haugabook is a
good Sun Belt quarterback, but
he's not the most polished
passer around and will throw
plenty of interceptions
throughout the year. If Arkansas
can force the Trojans to play
catch up and abandon the running
game, there will be plenty of
chances for turnovers to own the
field position battle.
Who to Watch: Arkansas might have
a quick strike running game, but
the more it's kept off the field
and the more Troy can own the
time of possession, the better.
Sean Dawkins is a big, pounding
runner who has to test the Hog
tackles early on and has to keep
the chains moving, while leading
returning rusher Kenny Cattouse
is a quick back who has to crank
out a couple of big runs. Of
course, the stars of the show
are in the Arkansas backfield
with the return of Darren
McFadden and Felix Jones, but
this is a game for Casey Dick.
Even though the much maligned
quarterback is without Monk, his
top weapon, he has to show he
can throw with some semblance of
consistency. If he struggles,
that'll only make everyone lick
their chops that much more to
load up against the run, and get
the fans grumbling even more
about the passing attack.
What Will Happen: Troy's defense
will keep this from getting
ugly, but it'll be the Arkansas
defense that makes this an easy,
but ugly, Hog win.
CFN Prediction:
Arkansas 24 ...
Troy 10
... Line: Arkansas -24
Must See Rating: (5 Hef wants you
to take his place on The Girls Next
Door, but you can’t because you have
to watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 2
Final Score:
Richmond
at Vanderbilt
7:00 PM
Why to Watch: Richmond
will try to recapture the magic
of last year's opener when it
shocked Duke 13-0, but this is a
Vanderbilt team good enough to
not only come up with an easy
win, but could also come out
roaring with veterans and yes,
talent, on both sides of the
ball. It's bowl game or bust for
the Commodores, who need this
game as a tune-up before hosting
Alabama and Ole Miss the
following two weeks. No, Vandy
isn't good enough to take anyone
lightly, but if this really is
going to be the school's best
season in several years, this is
a game it has to walk through
without breathing hard.
Why Richmond Might Win: The
Spider offense might not have
been explosive last year, but it
was solid and balanced. Nine
starters return, including
sophomore QB Eric Ward, who had
a few decent moments in his
first season at the helm. As
long as the offense avoids
screwing up on its own, which
was an occasional problem last
year, it should be fine since
Vandy doesn't have the type of
defense that'll force a ton of
mistakes.
Why Vanderbilt Might Win:
Richmond had a tremendous
defense last season, but that
was last year and now eight
starters need to be replaced.
The front seven is basically
starting from scratch, which
isn't a plus considering the
Commodore offensive line should
be one of the team's biggest
early strengths. Vandy should be
able to power the ball at will
and control the tempo with its
running game.
Who to Watch: This has to be the
game when Vanderbilt QB Chris
Nickson shows he's ready to
become a star. He had a good
first season in place of Jay
Cutler, but he wasn't consistent
and threw too many interceptions
over the second half of the
season. This is an important
warm-up game to be ready for
Alabama. If he struggles with
his passing, there will be major
cause for concern with the big
games coming up.
What Will Happen: Even though
Richmond should be able to
generate a little bit of
offense, the defense won't be
able to handle the Vanderbilt
balance. Yes, the Commodores are
the real deal and should be able
to thump a team in transition
like Richmond.
CFN Prediction:
Vanderbilt 34 ... Richmond 13
... Line: No. Line
Must See Rating: (5 Hef wants you
to take his place on The Girls Next
Door, but you can’t because you have
to watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 1
Final Score:
Kansas
State at Auburn
7:45 PM ESPN
Why to Watch: When
we last saw Kansas State, it was
unable to do much of anything in
a lousy 37-10 Texas Bowl loss to
against Rutgers. QB Josh Freeman
couldn't throw, the defense
couldn't tackle, and the team
basically looked like it needed
to go back to the drawing bowl.
A good showing here would change
all of that. When we last saw
Auburn, it looked underwhelming
in a 17-14 Cotton Bowl win over
Nebraska. Sort of in the
national title hunt all season
long, but not really, the Tigers
couldn't seem to get their mojo
back after a midstretch against
a slew of overmatched teams.
While an impressive win over the
Wildcats wouldn't necessarily
mean it's time to start booking
tickets for New Orleans, it
would do a lot to ease concerns
about what the team might be
able to do, and a little
confidence would be nice before
a tough battle with South
Florida next week.
Why Kansas State Might Win: The
Wildcats have to take advantage
of an Auburn offensive line
that's still a work in progress.
While the Tigers won't be awful
up front, they lose four
starters and have to deal with a
defense that finished sixth in
the nation in sacks and 18th in
tackles for loss. The new
Wildcat 3-4 D should free up Ian
Campbell to wreak even more
havoc; Auburn QB Brandon Cox
could be under pressure all day
long.
Why Auburn Might Win: Is the
Kansas State offensive line
ready to be under attack from
Quentin Groves and the Tiger
defensive line? Yes, in theory,
but all the experience and all
the depth doesn't account for
much without the tackles to keep
Freeman upright for a full sixty
minutes. For Kansas State to
win, the skill players need room
to roam and can't be pressured
too much by the speedy Tiger D.
That won't happen. Expect plenty
of mistakes and just enough
turnovers to give Cox and the
offense short fields to work
with. On the other side of the
ball, the KSU defense can be
shoved around against the run.
Auburn's O line might not be
ready for prime time, but it
doesn't have to create much room
for the speedy backs to produce.
Who to Watch: All eyes will be on
the quarterbacks. Cox has to go
from caretaker to playmaker, and
he has to make his mediocre
receiving corps shine. That
could be a problem considering
the pass rush he'll likely face,
and the good KSU secondary that
could grow into the team's
strength. This is his team now.
For the Wildcats, the season,
and each game, will depend on
the play of Freeman. Can he be
the confident bomber who managed
to overcome adversity and beat
Texas, or will he be the lost
passer who completed just ten of
21 passes for 129 yards and two
interceptions against Rutgers
and was lousy in spring ball?
What Will Happen: Kansas State
will get its licks in on defense
and should force a few mistakes,
but the Auburn defense will make
the Wildcats look worse in an
ugly, mistake-filled game.
CFN Prediction:
Auburn 27 ...
Kansas
State 14
... Line: Auburn -13.5
Must See Rating: (5 Hef wants you
to take his place on The Girls Next
Door, but you can’t because you have
to watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 3
Final Score:
SEC Fearless Predictions, Week One
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