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Missouri
(1-0)
at Ole Miss
(1-0)
6:00 PM
Why to Watch: Which
Missouri team will show up? Will
it be the one that was on its
way to a blowout over Illinois,
or the one that almost choked it
away in the 40-34 win? This is
one of the most talented teams
in the Big 12 North, and it
needs to get as many
confidence-boosting wins before
facing Nebraska in early
October. A loss to the Rebels
wouldn't be a total disaster,
but for a team that's as flaky
as they come, it could set the
wheels in motion for a
disappointing year. Ole Miss
hung on to pull out a tough
23-21 win over Memphis. A home
win over the Tigers would be the
biggest in the Ed Orgeron era
and would be a huge boost going
into the SEC season with
Vanderbilt, Florida and Georgia
coming up over the following
three weeks. Consider this a
bowl game for the Rebels.
Why Missouri Might Win: The
Ole Miss offense appears to be
better than last year, but it's
still not going to hang up 45
points on the board. This isn't
an Illinois-like offense with a
slew of young talent to come up
with a big comeback; if Mizzou
gets up early, it'll stay there.
As Memphis tried to come back on
the Rebels last week, QB Martin
Hankins threw the ball at will.
Tiger QB Chase Daniel should be
able to do the same if ...
Why Ole Miss Might Win:
... his offensive line doesn't
get him killed. The Tigers
couldn't run the ball on the
Illini thanks to a lousy day
from the offensive line, while
Daniel was sacked twice and
under pressure all game long.
Ole Miss might not have the most
disciplined, stout defense, but
it can get into the backfield
and it'll be disruptive. Mizzou
has problems when it becomes one
dimensional. Take away the
ground game, and things become
interesting.
Who to Watch: The big question
all off-season for Ole Miss was
whether or not the passing game
could be any better. Brent
Schaeffer struggled way too much
last year, and senior Seth Adams
had the spotlight squarely on
him going into this season.
While he wasn't out of this
world, he completed 19 of 30
passes for 201 yards and a
touchdown against Memphis, doing
enough to force teams to worry
about more than just RB
BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Against
Missouri, he won't have to match
Daniel yard for yard, but he'll
have to be efficient and he
can't make mistakes.
What Will Happen: Missouri will
have to withstand an early surge
of emotion as the Rebel defense
will come out roaring. After
about 20 minutes, the Tigers
will hit on a big pass play to
change the momentum, and then
will get a crushing score that
Ole Miss won't be able to
answer.
CFN Prediction:
Missouri
27 ... Ole Miss 17
... Line: Missouri -5.5
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2.5
Final Score:
Mississippi State
(0-1)
at Tulane
(0-0)
7:00 PM
Why to watch:
After failing miserably in its
first crack at an opponent from
Louisiana, Mississippi State
gets a second chance with this
week’s visit to New Orleans to
play Tulane. Already in dire
need of a win after getting
stuffed 45-0 by LSU in a
turnover-fest, the Bulldogs and
Sylvester Croom can ill afford
another sloppy effort. The head
coach’s eventual fate in
Starkville might depend on the
progress of his feeble offense,
specifically QB Michael Henig,
who threw six picks to the Tiger
defense last Thursday night.
Tulane pops the cork on its 2007
season after being one of a
handful of programs that was
idle last weekend. The game
marks the debut of Bob Toledo,
best known for his offensive
ingenuity and up-and-down stint
as UCLA’s head coach. It’s been
five years since the Green Wave
finished above .500, and a win
over any SEC team would give a
much-needed boost to a wobbly
program.
Why Mississippi State might
win: Dig beneath the
Bulldogs’ 45-0 loss to LSU, and
you’ll notice a defense that
played surprisingly well, and
only trailed 3-0 just before
halftime. Strong up front with
DE Titus Brown and solid in the
secondary behind the playmaking
of FS Derek Pegues, Mississippi
State will frustrate new Tulane
QB Scott Elliott and the flimsy
Green Wave front wall. If the
offense doesn’t put them in
constant holes, Mississippi
State has the defenders to shut
down a Tulane offense that’s
still digesting a new system.
Why Tulane might win: If
Mississippi State continues to
struggle with turnovers, it’ll
be tough to beat anyone.
Henig’s confidence is clearly
shaken after last week’s
debacle, something the Green
Wave will attack with a veteran
and underrated front seven.
When healthy, Tulane RB Matt
Forte is the best offensive
weapon in this game. Forte’s
healthy, and capable of carrying
an offense that’ll take some
time breaking in Elliott and the
new passing game.
Who to watch: With the
Bulldog staff looking to take
some pressure off Henig this
week, it’s an ideal opportunity
for powerful RB Anthony Dixon to
have a monster game. At 6-1 and
235 pounds, he’s a downhill
runner, who’ll rumble for his
first 100-yard game of the
season after going over the
century mark twice as a true
freshman last November.
What will happen: Dixon
will go blow-for-blow with Forte
for player of the game honors,
pulling away with a career day
and a Mississippi State
victory. The Bulldogs defensive
line will control the line of
scrimmage, getting a bunch of
quarterback hurries from Brown.
CFN Prediction:
Mississippi State 27 ...
Tulane 13
... Line: Mississippi State -6
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2
Final Score:
Southern
Miss (1-0) at Tennessee (0-1)
7:00 PM GamePlan
Why to watch:
For just the second time in 16
years under Phil Fulmer,
Tennessee has to get off the mat
and bounce back from an opening
day loss. With a trip to
Gainesville waiting in the
on-deck circle, this Saturday’s
visit from Southern Miss already
qualifies as a must-win if the
Vols have any thoughts of a
January bowl game. While the UT
offense was in mid-season form
in the 45-31 loss to Cal, the
defense was brutal, allowing 471
yards and missing nearly as many
tackles. Running the new
hurry-up offense, Erik Ainge
showed no ill-effects from his
broken pinky, going 32-of-47 for
271 yards and three touchdowns.
Southern Miss has the reputation
as a giant killer, but hasn’t
had many notable non-conference
wins this decade. A trip to
Knoxville gives the Eagles a
chance to change that while
taking an early lead in the race
to become this year’s Boise
State. USM hardly broke a sweat
in last week’s win over
Tennessee-Martin, relying on two
fixtures, a potent running
attack and a solid D.
Why Southern Miss might win:
An uncharacteristically
vulnerable Tennessee defense
must now move forward without
top pass-rusher Xavier Mitchell,
who’s out indefinitely with a
concussion. Southern Miss
certainly isn’t Cal, but the
Volunteers had no answers for
the Golden Bear running game or
passing attack. The Golden
Eagles will establish a ground
game behind Freshman
All-American Damion Fletcher and
backup Tory Harrison, putting
the onus on QB Jeremy Young to
locate TE Shawn Nelson and WR
Torris Magee in the passing
game.
Why Tennessee might win: Led
by Eric Young and the entire
left side of the line, the Vols
have a borderline dominant
interior that’s good enough to
offset Southern Miss’ strength
in the front seven. With time,
Ainge will carve up a suspect
and beatable Golden Eagle
secondary. An already balanced
Tennessee offense gets a lift
from the return of last-year’s
leading rusher RB LaMarcus
Coker, who was suspended for the
opener and will join Arian
Foster in the backfield.
Who to watch: It’s only a
matter of time before Tennessee
true freshman DB Eric Berry
emerges into a full-fledged star
on the Volunteer defense.
Already on the doorstep of a
starting assignment, he had
seven tackles in his debut, and
has the size and cover skills to
play either safety or corner.
What will happen: With
something to prove, Tennessee
will play with a sense of
purpose, particularly on the
defensive side of the ball.
Southern Miss lacks the passing
game to really damage the Vol D
and the cornerbacks to
effectively shut down Ainge and
the passing game.
CFN Prediction:
Tennessee
33 ... Southern Miss 14... Line:
-13.5
Must See Rating: (5
Mad Men - 1 Chelsea
Lately)
... 2.5
Final Score:
South Florida
(1-0) at Auburn (1-0)
9:00 PM ESPN2
Why to watch:
South Florida has traveled light
years in just a decade, but to
really garner national
attention, the Bulls will need
to gore a name brand, out of
conference opponent. Auburn,
for instance. Quite possibly
looking ahead to this Saturday,
USF was sluggish and
inconsistent in its 28-13
victory over I-AA Elon. The
Bulls will again be led by
versatile sophomore QB Matt
Grothe and an attacking
defense. The wild card is true
freshman RB Mike Ford, a former
Alabama commit, who’s commanding
more playing time after
exploding for 84 yards and three
scores on just seven touches.
Auburn also had trouble in its
opener, narrowly surviving with
a 23-13 win over a feisty Kansas
State team that had the game in
hand, but blew it late. If the
Tigers are going to compete for
an SEC title, it’ll be on the
backs of a defense that only
allowed one touchdown and 27
rushing yards Saturday night.
Offensively, on the other hand,
they’ve got a serious shortage
of reliable blockers and
dangerous playmakers to support
veteran QB Brandon Cox.
Why South Florida might win:
The Bulls have the defensive
speed and tenacity to harass a
young Auburn line that starts
two freshmen and is really
struggling in pass protection.
In particular, they’ll have
their hands full with speedy DE
George Selvie, who began his
sophomore season with a whopping
six tackles for loss and four
sacks. With corners Trae
Williams and Mike Jenkins
blanketing the Tiger receivers
and Cox short on time, it’ll be
up to a depleted backfield to
move the ball on the South
Florida defense.
Why Auburn might win: If
the USF offense executes this
weekend like it did last
weekend, it won’t score.
Auburn’s defense is the fastest
the Bulls will see all year, and
there’s no one on the offensive
line that can contain ends
Quentin Groves and Sen’Derrick
Marks. Without much help from
the running game, Grothe will
try to do too much and be forced
into making poor decisions.
Who to watch: The Auburn
kickers. Starter Wes Byrum is
nursing a badly injured ankle,
meaning kicking duties could be
handled by a couple of complete
unknowns, either freshman Graham
Sutter or sophomore Zach Kutch.
In a low-scoring game that might
be decided by the special teams,
the Tigers’ fate could rest on
the foot of a frighteningly
inexperienced kicker.
What will happen: While
this is not a vintage Tommy
Tuberville team, Auburn will
escape with a close home win for
the second straight weekend.
Points will come at a premium,
making the turnover battle even
more critical than usual.
CFN Prediction:
Auburn
21 ... South Florida 13
... Line: Auburn -6
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 4
Final Score:
SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
Two |