SEC
East
Florida
| Georgia
| Kentucky
| South Carolina
| Tennessee
| Vanderbilt
West
Alabama
| Arkansas
| Auburn
| LSU |
Ole Miss
| Miss State
SEC Fearless Predictions
Sept. 1 | Sept.
8 |
Sept. 15 | Sept.
22 |
Sept. 29
Oct. 6 | Oct.
13 |
Oct. 20 | Nov. 3 | Nov.
10 |
Nov. 17 | Nov.
24 | Dec.
1
How are the picks so far? SU: 52-11 ... ATS:
33-21-1
SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
9,
Part 1
Miami University
(4-4) at Vanderbilt
(4-3)
2:00
Why to watch: The two teams
take a break from their conference
schedules as they each look for a win to
get that much closer to bowl
eligibility. For Vanderbilt, this is a
must-win with at Florida, Kentucky, at
Tennessee and Wake Forest to close
things out. It'll take a minor miracle
to win two of the last four, but getting
one, to get to six wins, is more than
possible, and now the Commodores are
confident after stunning South Carolina
17-6 in Columbia last week. At the
opposite end of the spectrum is Miami,
who's leading the MAC East race but lost
to Temple last week. As crazy as this
might sound, MU has a showdown with
Buffalo next week, but could use this
win to get back on track after losing to
the Owls.
Why Miami University might win:
Miami should be able to load up against
the run and turn out fine. Vandy might
have one of the nation's best receivers
in Earl Bennett, but it's struggling to
get the passing game consistently going
averaging just 167 yards though the air.
The Commodores win on defense, forcing
mistakes, and opportunistic offense, so
if the RedHawks can avoid key turnovers
and use its big advantage in the punting
game to win the field position battle,
they could make this a battle. Vandy
doesn't score, putting up just 41 points
over the last three games, but ...
Why
Vanderbilt might win: ... it's not
like MU is lighting up the scoreboard.
Even with a 47 point outburst against
Bowling Green two weeks ago, the
inconsistent RedHawk offense is only
averaging 20 points per game. This is an
inefficient attack that gets passing
production in spurts. Vandy's excellent
corners should be able to keep the deep
plays under wraps, while the front line
should have little trouble generating
pressure into the backfield.
Who to watch:
It's not necessarily a positive that a
corner makes plenty of tackles, but
Vandy's D.J. Moore has done it all with
53 stops, good for second on the team,
and has picked off five passes. A
do-it-all playmaker, he's averaging over
27 yards per kickoff return while also
getting a few carries on offense. Coming
off an eight tackle, two interception
day against South Carolina, he'll be
avoided as much as possible by the MU
offense.
What will happen:
Vanderbilt can't afford to letdown
against anyone. Miami's defense is
playing well enough to give the
Commodore offense from exploding, but
the offense won't be able to take
advantage of several prime chances.
CFN Prediction:
Vanderbilt 26 ...
Miami University
16 ...
Line: Vanderbilt -13.5
Must See Rating: (5
America's Most Smartest Model - 1
Marie Osmond on DTWS) ... 1.5
FIU
(0-7) at Arkansas
(4-3)
2:00
Why to watch:
Arkansas takes a week off from the SEC
schedule after finally getting its first
conference win of the season in a 44-8
domination of Ole Miss. With a rough
final four games against South Carolina,
Tennessee, Mississippi State and LSU,
with the battles against the Vols and
Tigers away from Fayetteville, the Hogs
need to use this apparent layup to get
the backups some work and hope for an
easy win. FIU is on a 19-game losing
streak, but has improved a bit over the
last few games. This is a payday for the
school, and it hopes to be competitive
for more than just a few drives.
Why
Florida International might win:
It's all about the letdown factor.
Arkansas is simply looking to show up,
win easily and move on before dealing
with South Carolina. The Golden Panthers
have an aggressive defense that's decent
at getting into the backfield and should
be able to come up with a few plays
behind the line. The passing game has
picked up over the last few weeks and
should be able to throw it around a
little bit if the Hogs aren't bringing
their full intensity.
Why Arkansas might win:
The Golden Panthers struggle against the
run. Four teams have been able to crank
out 200 yards or more, as FIU lacks the
defensive front to handle the Hog O
line. Arkansas got stuffed by Auburn,
but has rolled on everyone else,
cranking out rushing yards in chunks and
being every bit as good as everyone
expected it to be. FIU will try to load
up to slow down Darren McFadden and
Felix Jones, but QB Casey Dick has
thrown well in the easy wins, completing
11 of 17 passes with three touchdown
passes against the Rebels.
Who to watch:
Of course McFadden is a superstar of the
highest order, and a possible top five
draft pick if he chooses to enter the
NFL Draft early, but more and more, the
scouts are starting to pay special
attention to Jones, a speedster of the
highest order as both a runner and a
kickoff returner averaging 9.5 yards per
carry and 31.6 yards per kickoff return.
Despite not getting more than 16 carries
in any game this year, he has five
100-yard games and a 96-yard day. While
he might not be a workhorse this week,
he might get a chance to see a bit more
work in what should be a blowout.
What will happen:
Arkansas will be able to go through the
motions and still come away with the
easy win. FIU simply doesn't have enough
scoring pop to make this close.
CFN Prediction: Arkansas
45 ...
FIU
9 ...
Line: Arkansas -39.5
Must See Rating: (5
America's Most Smartest Model - 1
Marie Osmond on DTWS) ... 1
Ole Miss
(2-6) at Auburn
(5-3)
6:00 GamePlan
Why to watch:
If there's an award for the nation's
best 5-3 team, it has to go to Auburn
after losing in heartbreaking fashion to
both South Florida and LSU. Fine, so
there's that matter of the home loss to
Mississippi State, but the team has
played far better over the last five
games and still has a shot at a special
season by winning out. Before dealing
with Georgia and Alabama, after the
light scrimmage against Tennessee Tech,
the Tigers have to get past an Ole Miss
team that can't seem to catch a break.
0-5 in conference play, the Rebels
battled hard against Alabama and
Florida, but were obliterated by Georgia
and Arkansas. It's a stretch to suggest
a win this week would turn things
around, but with Northwestern State and
Mississippi State still to play, there's
a chance for a nice flourish if they can
pull off the upset. Auburn is 12-2
against the Rebels since 1993.
Why
Ole Miss might win: You'll have to
forgive Auburn if it eases up on the
throttle. After an emotional revenge win
over Arkansas, and the heartbreaker
against LSU, it might be next to
impossible to gear it up for a date with
the league's worst team. As good as the
Tigers might be, Mississippi State
showed that crazy things do happen,
especially after a tough loss. The 19-14
Bulldog upset came on the heels of the
USF shocker, and all this week, Auburn
has been buzzing about the LSU ending
more than Ole Miss game. The Rebels
might not be solid on either side of the
ball, but Auburn's offense, while
improved, isn't always sharp. The Rebels
have to pounce on every opportunity, and
if they come into Jordan-Hare fired up,
they might be able to pull off a
Mississippi State.
Why Auburn might win:
The defense continues to play
tremendously well. It took everything in
the bag, and a strange, but successful,
final play call for LSU to win last
week, and before that Auburn was able to
keep Florida, Vanderbilt and Arkansas to
a total of 31 points. The run defense
has been fantastic all season long, but
the three losses came on the three worst
days against the run. Against USF, MSU
and LSU, the Tigers struggled started
giving up passing yards after the run
defense had a few problems. It's not
like they were steamrolled over, only
allowing 135 yards to the Bulls, 172 to
the Bulldogs, and 169 to the Tigers, and
Ole Miss isn't getting much from its
ground game. Auburn should be able to
stuff BenJarvus Green-Ellis and the
running game, meaning it'll be up to ...
Who to watch:
The quarterback situation at Ole Miss
continues to be a major problem even
this late in the season. Seth Adams was
starting to look like a possible
playmaker who could make the Rebels a
dangerous team against the league's big
boys. And then he started to struggle
with his decision making. Accurate for
the first half of the year, he struggled
over the last three games with ten
interceptions, including four against
Arkansas on a 9-of-21, 79-yard
performance that forced the coaching
staff to go with Brent Schaeffer for a
stint. Schaeffer once again showed he's
not an SEC caliber quarterback, and
Adams is once again the starter.
However, he's on a short leash and will
get pulled early if he makes any big
mistakes.
What will happen:
Ole Miss will throw its best game at
Auburn in what'll turn into a tough
defensive struggle. The Tigers will win
the game by winning the turnover margin.
CFN Prediction:
Auburn 24 ..
Ole Miss
13 ...
Line: Auburn -17
Must See Rating: (5
America's Most Smartest Model - 1
Marie Osmond on DTWS) ... 2.5
SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
9,
Part 1