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South Carolina State
(1-1) at South Carolina (2-0)
7:00
PM GamePlan
Why to Watch: While
the world will gloss over this
game as an easy blowout for
South Carolina, it's a game of
historic and symbolic
significance, as it's the first
time the two programs have ever
faced each other. The
historically black South
Carolina State will get its
first shot at the big boys just
a few miles down the road. On
the field, the Gamecocks get a
breather after a 16-12 win at
Georgia that made an SEC East
statement. With a trip to LSU
next week, and a chance to make
some thunderous national noise,
SCSU will be used to as a
scrimmage to make everything is
working well. The Bulldogs lost
to Air Force 34-3 in the season
opener before beating Bethune-Cookman
24-13.
Why South Carolina State Might Win: Talk
about your letdowns, after
beating Georgia and with LSU
ahead, you'll have to forgive
everyone around the USC program
if the bags are already packed
for Baton Rouge. Considering how
much the offense struggled in
the first two weeks, that could
be a major mistake. Another big
problem is a Gamecock run
defense that's allowing 190
yards per game. The Bulldogs
don't throw, but they can
certainly run.
Why South Carolina Might Win:
SCSU won't be able to throw for
more than 100 yards on the
Gamecock secondary, so as long
as the front seven is actually
trying, it should be able to tee
off. How bad are things for the
Bulldog passing game? The pass
protection has been
non-existent, which has caused
the quarterbacks to scramble,
which has added up to 178
passing yards combined in the
first two weeks.
Who to Watch: If South Carolina
has any dreams of beating LSU,
it needs Blake Mitchell and the
passing game to be able to open
things up more than they were
able to against Georgia.
Mitchell was fine at controlling
the tempo and making the short
to midrange throws, but 20 of 31
for 174 yards isn't going to cut
it next week. Even at the
expense of appearances, USC has
to throw and keep throwing just
to get Mitchell, who was
suspended for the season opener,
more live reps.
What Will Happen: South Carolina
will need about 20 minutes to
wake up, and then it'll be over
by halftime.
CFN Prediction:
South Carolina 38 ... South
Carolina State 0
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 1
Ole Miss
(1-1) at Vanderbilt (1-1)
7:00
PM GamePlan
Why to Watch: It's
only September 15th, but a bowl
game is on the line for the
winner. Actually, to be more
accurate, the loser will
probably be eliminated from
post-season possibilities with
the meat of the SEC schedule
ahead for each. Ole Miss got by
Memphis in the opener before
getting blown past by Missouri,
but there have been positive
signs thanks to an improved
offense and the best passing
game the program has seen since
Eli Manning was slinging it
around. Vanderbilt has had high
hopes coming into the year,
thanks to a talented offense and
a slew of veterans on both sides
of the ball, but the excitement
crashed with a resounding thud
last week in the 24-10 loss to
Alabama. The Commodores can't
afford to give away home games,
especially to a mediocre team
like Ole Miss. The Rebels can't
afford to give away losses,
period. If nothing else, this
should be close. Seven of the
last eight games between the two
have been decided by a touchdown
or less.
Why Ole Miss Might Win: For
the first time in years, Ole
Miss can keep pace with a
passing game that should be able
to keep the Vandy safeties off
of the line. The more room for
BenJarvus Green-Ellis to rumble,
the better. The senior took his
game to another level last week
against Missouri, running for
226 yards and a touchdown on a
workmanlike 33 carries. The
Commodore run defense got shoved
around by Alabama last week and
is sure to key on Green-Ellis
from the start. Ole Miss QB Seth
Adams will see plenty of single
coverage to exploit.
Why Vanderbilt Might Win: The Ole
Miss secondary hasn't decided to
start the season. Memphis QB
Martin Hankins bombed away for
343 yards and a touchdown, while
Missouri's Chase Daniel threw
for 330 yards and five
touchdowns. To be fair, the
Rebels did a great job of
picking off Hankins, forcing
four turnovers, but they should
have a nightmare of a time with
Earl Bennett, who was held in
check by Bama last week but
should be a lock for 100 yards.
The junior caught ten passes for
179 yards last year, but he
might have a hard time matching
that again since ...
Who to Watch: .... Vandy starting
QB Chris Nickson is
questionable, at best, after
suffering a hamstring injury
against Alabama. Sophomore
Mackenzi Adams has all the tools
to eventually become a great
one, but he needs plenty of
seasoning before he'll be
consistent. In limited action so
far, he's completed 13 of 24
passes for 108 yards and a
score, while rushing for 44
yards against Richmond. If he
struggles, and assuming Nickson
isn't ready, the offense could
be turned over to Richard
Kovalcheck, the Arizona transfer
who has the best arm of the
bunch.
What Will Happen: The Vanderbilt
pass defense will keep Adam from
having a huge day. While
Green-Ellis will get his yards,
he won't be able to control the
tempo enough to overcome the
Vandy passing game. Bennett will
go for 150 yards with a late
score proving to be the
difference.
CFN Prediction:
Vanderbilt
26 ... Ole Miss 20
... Line: Vanderbilt -5
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 2
Louisville
(2-0) at Kentucky (2-0)
7:30
PM ESPN Classic
Why to watch:
This has a chance to be a
classic, even if the only
three-pointers will be kicked on
grass instead of shot behind an
arc. Better known for their
indoor rivalry, the Cardinals
and Wildcats meet with as much
anticipation as this game has
had in years, and on a national
scale, it takes on far more
significance than anything the
two have done on the hardwood in
a long time. While Louisville
has won seven of the last eight
in the series, most
convincingly, Kentucky believes
it’s narrowed the gap, and is
poised for a breakthrough.
After last season’s 5-1 finish
and an Andre Woodson-led offense
that’s scored at least 50 points
in each of this year’s first two
games, this is a confident,
loaded team that should be able
to keep up in a shootout.
Considering Louisville’s Brian
Brohm is being touted as the
number one quarterback prospect
for next year’s NFL draft, and
Woodson is considered No. 1A,
this could be an all-timer of a
matchup that’ll be replayed for
years to come. Expect about 800
passing yards between the two
teams, close to 100 points, and
big play after big play after
big play in a game that could
define the rivalry and the
direction of the two programs.
Why Louisville might win:
The competition hasn’t been
stout, but the Cardinal offense
has been downright silly through
two weeks. Louisville is
averaging almost 700 yards and
65 points a game, moving the
ball as if it’s on a constant
power play. Brohm has been
red-hot, completing 68% of his
passes for 77 yards and nine
touchdowns and no interceptions
in two games. Adding balance has
been RB Anthony Allen, who’s
coming off a school-record 275
yards rushing in the win over
Middle Tennessee. Although
Kentucky is an obvious upgrade
in competition for the Cards, it
doesn’t have enough elite
defenders to slow down this
locomotive once it gets rolling.
Why Kentucky might win:
The Louisville defense got
exposed in a huge way by the
Blue Raiders. This was the same
Middle Tennessee that was
impotent a week earlier in a
loss to Florida Atlantic. The
Cardinals allowed 42 points and
555 yards, most of which came
when the game was still
competitive. If the poor
tackling and breakdowns in
coverage aren’t addressed
immediately by Mike Cassity,
Woodson and his sidekicks, WR
Keenan Burton, RB Rafael Little,
and TE Jacob Tamme, will score
early and often. UK has one of
the few teams in the nation with
the firepower to match Brohm and
company yard for yard.
Who to watch: Where in
the name of Elvis Dumervil has
Peanut Whitehead been?
Louisville’s sophomore defensive
end with the massive upside and
quick first step has been absent
so far this fall. On a unit
that has just one sack in 2007
and must pressure Woodson, it’s
incumbent upon Whitehead and
linemate Maurice Mitchell to
begin making some noise off the
edge this weekend. On the flip
side, Louisville has yet to give
up a sack. If UK can’t get to
Brohm, a 400-yard passing day
will be a near lock.
What will happen: All of
the ingredients are in place for
this Saturday’s game in
Lexington to be a memorable
one. In a slugfest that’ll be
highlighted by fireworks, the
quarterback that has the ball
last will win. Brohm will have
the ball last, bolstering his
Heisman brag sheet.
CFN Prediction:
Louisville
52 ... Kentucky 40
... Line: Louisville -7.5
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
...4.5
Middle Tennessee
(0-2) at LSU (2-0)
8:00 PM GamePlan
Why to Watch: What
appeared to be a brutally ugly
mismatch before the season began
has now turned into a brutally
ugly mismatch with a little bit
of intrigue after Middle
Tennessee's offense cranked out
555 yards of total offense and
42 points on Louisville last
week. Meanwhile, LSU spent last
Saturday night making its claim
for the top spot in the rankings
after stomping on Virginia Tech
48-7. With South Carolina up
next, the Tigers might suffer a
little bit of a mental letdown,
but with all the parts working,
it might not matter. For Middle
Tennessee, anything less than a
40-point blowout will be a
success. Next week, Western
Kentucky will look like it's
running in sand compared to what
the Blue Raiders are about to
deal with.
Why Middle Tennessee Might Win: Alright,
so how did the offense work so
well against Louisville? It was
able to get its running backs in
space and they took off for a
few really, really big plays.
DeMarco McNair took a short pass
78 yards for a touchdown,
Phillip Tanner ran for a 79 yard
score, and the ground game ended
up averaging 10.3 yards per
crack. Make no mistake about it;
Louisville can run, and MT still
came up with the home runs. If
LSU has a few mental breakdowns,
and misses a few tackles, it
could be shocked at how speedy
the Blue Raider skill players
are.
Why LSU Might Win: Yeah, Middle
Tennessee put up some huge
numbers against Louisville, but
it only scored seven points in
the second half once the
Cardinals decided to tackle and
chose to mentally check into the
game. On the other side of the
ball, Middle Tennessee's run
defense has been shockingly
awful. Considering there's
actually a few NFL prospects on
the front wall, Florida Atlantic
shouldn't have been able to run
for 216 yards. Louisville's
Anthony Allen cranked out 7.9
yards per carry on a 275-yard,
two touchdown day. LSU will want
to work on its passing, but
it'll hang the ball off 55 times
and go home with a blowout win.
Who to Watch: For those Tiger
fans waiting to see Ryan
Perrilloux under center for more
than just garbage time, this
should be your chance. Starting
QB Matt Flynn missed a little
practice time with a dinged up
ankle, and while it's nothing
remotely serious, it might be
just enough to get his butt on
the bench the second the game
gets out of hand. Perrilloux has
completed seven of eight passes
for 105 yards and three
touchdowns, and has run for 33
yards and a score, in limited
action.
What Will Happen: Middle
Tennessee will try to air it out
and will look for every
opportunity to take some
chances. LSU will get more than
its share of turnovers on the
way to a cakewalk of a win. The
reserves will play most of the
second half.
CFN Prediction:
LSU 48 ...
Middle Tennessee 10
... Line: LSU -41
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 1.5
SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
Three, Part 1 |