SEC
East
Florida
| Georgia
| Kentucky
| South Carolina
| Tennessee
| Vanderbilt
West
Alabama
| Arkansas
| Auburn
| LSU |
Ole Miss
| Miss State
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SEC Fearless Predictions
Aug. 30
|
Sept. 6
How are the picks so far? SU:
16-5 ... ATS:
6-10
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SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
Three
Western Kentucky (1-1) at Alabama (2-0),
7:00 EST GamePlan
Why to watch: Alabama had it all.
After the dominant 34-10 win over
Clemson to start the season, everyone
fell in love with Crimson Tide football
again. There was the cover of Sports
Illustrated. There was talk about
going from a sleeper to a favorite in
the SEC race. There were even whispers
that the young team was ahead of
schedule just enough to be in the
national title hunt. And then came last
week’s 20-6 clunker of a victory over
Tulane. The Green Wave outgained,
outplayed and outworked the Tide, and
now Nick Saban has to get his team
playing back into midseason form with
road trips to Arkansas and Georgia
coming up next. Western Kentucky got
ripped up by Indiana in week one and
returned the favor against Eastern
Kentucky last week. The Hilltoppers
won’t be a fully-fledged FBS team until
next year, but they’ll have a few more
shots against the big boys playing
Kentucky and Virginia Tech over the next
few weeks.
Why Western Kentucky might win:
If Alabama does that again,
Western Kentucky has a shot. You and ten
friends would have a shot if the Tide
struggles like it did against Tulane.
WKU did a good job against Indiana’s
passing game, and did a better job
against Eastern Kentucky’s running game.
Alabama couldn’t pass protect last week,
and it showed as John Parker Wilson only
completed 11-of-23 passes for 73 yards.
WKU has to get into the backfield early.
Why Alabama might win: Yeah,
yeah, yeah, Alabama stunk last week. It
still won. There was the inevitable
letdown factor after the Clemson win,
but this is a good enough Tide team to
stink it up once in a while and still
come away with the win. Indiana was able
to run for 297 yards on the Hilltopper
defense, and Alabama should be able to
do the same.
Who to watch: Part of Alabama’s
problem against Tulane was the offensive
line. Actually, most of the problem was
the offensive line. All-Everything
tackle Andre Smith was out with a slight
knee injury, while starting guard Marlon
Davis left early with a knee injury.
Both will be back. For WKU, stating
quarterback K.J. Black is out with a
dislocated shoulder. David Wolke was
fine against Eastern Kentucky, but he
wasn’t anything special. He’ll have to
be special to give the Hilltoppers a
shot.
What will happen: Alabama will
rebound with a good, efficient day from
J.P. Wilson, while the running game will
get back on track with 200 yards.
CFN Prediction: Alabama 34 …
Western Kentucky 10 ... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Hole in
the Wall - 1 First Blood) …
1.5
-
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Middle Tennessee (1-1) at Kentucky (2-0),
7:00 EST GamePlan
Why to watch: All those who had
Middle Tennessee beating Maryland last
week raise your hand. All those who had
Kentucky turning in one of the two best
defensive performances of the season so
far raise your other hand. No you
didn’t. The Blue Raiders stunned a
hapless and punchless Maryland team
24-14 in one of the biggest wins in
Middle Tennessee history. Unfortunately,
the team would’ve rather come up with
the opening day win against Troy, but
after a 31-17 loss, there will be uphill
battle for the Sun Belt title with a
trip to face a read-hot Arkansas Stat
next week. Kentucky’s defense was
fantastic against Louisville and better
against Norfolk State, giving up a total
of five points in the two wins. As long
as Rich Brooks’ club can avoid the
upset, a 4-0 start is likely with
Western Kentucky up next before kicking
off the SEC slate at Alabama.
Why Middle Tennessee might win:
It’s not like the Kentucky offense is
hitting on all cylinders. It has been
fine, but most of the success has come
from the defense. If the Blue Raiders
can hang around and keep it close, they
can hope for the two-plus turnovers
they’ll need to pull off the upset.
They’ve forced seven turnovers in two
games and should be able to come up with
a few big defensive plays if UK starts
to panic at any point.
Why Kentucky might win: Middle
Tennessee can forget about running the
ball. The tremendous UK defensive front
has been a brick wall against the run so
far, while the secondary hasn’t been too
bad, either. There won’t be any chances
taken by the offense, even if the Blue
Raiders get up early. UK should be able
to keep it conservative, not turn the
ball over, and hope the defense and
special teams can take care of the rest.
Middle Tennessee isn’t going to come up
with an offensive explosion.
Who to watch: Mike Hartline
didn’t set the world on fire as the UK
starting quarterback with no touchdown
passes and just 207 yards in two games.
Needing to add more flash to the mix,
the UK coaching staff threw Randall Cobb
to the wolves last week. While the
freshman struggled at times and is
expected to make a few big mistakes, he
has the talent to be one the offense
revolves around for the next few years.
Cobb only completed 6-of-11 passes for
87 yards with a touchdown and an
interception against Norfolk State, but
he ran for 48 yards and two touchdowns.
What will happen: Kentucky’s
defense will come up with five sacks of
Middle Tennessee QB Joe Craddock and
will keep the Blue Raiders under 100
yards rushing. The UK offense won’t be
special, but it’ll be effective enough
to get by.
CFN Prediction: Kentucky 26 …
Middle Tennessee 13 ... Line: Kentucky
-16.5
Must See Rating: (5 Hole in
the Wall - 1 First Blood) …
2
-
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Samford (2-0) at Ole Miss (1-1),
7:00 PM ET
Why to watch: Ole Miss should
probably by 2-0. After beating Memphis
without too much of a problem, the
Rebels and QB Jevan Snead came up with
an impressive late rally to take a 28-27
lead against Wake Forest with just over
a minute to play. Demon Deacon QB Riley
Skinner led the way down the field into
All-America PK Sam Swank’s range, helped
by a key pass interference call, and now
Houston Nutt is 1-1 as the Ole Miss head
man. It’ll be 2-1 after this week before
battling with an upstart Vanderbilt
team, but the Rebels need to get some
work in. The defensive line has to
tighten up through all the injuries, and
the offense could use a bit more pop.
Samford is expected to finish at or near
the bottom of the Southern Conference,
but it’s 2-0 after getting by West
Georgia 21-19 and blowing away Faulkner
62-0. This is the Bulldogs’ only game
against an FBS team.
Why Samford might win: The
defense was a nightmare throughout last
season, but it’s been solid so far. The
run defense has only allowed 35 net
yards while the pass rush has been
excellent. The offense has run at will
with 367 yards and seven touchdowns
against Faulkner, but that was against
Faulkner.
Why Ole Miss might win: If West
Georgia’s Sean Gray could throw for 315
yards and two touchdowns, Snead should
be able to do whatever he wants to. The
Rebel offensive line should dominate
from the opening whistle, and the Rebel
running game should start to produce a
big rushing total for the first time
under Nutt.
Who to watch: Ole Miss might have
lost to Wake Forest, but it found its
quarterback and its star. Snead, a
transfer from Texas, struggled a bit
against Memphis, but he was stellar
against the Demon Deacons completing
20-of-31 passes for 253 yards and four
touchdowns. Most importantly, he came
through when the team needed him to in
the clutch.
What will happen: Ole Miss will
run for over 300 yards and the backups
will be in just before the end of the
third quarter.
CFN Prediction: Ole Miss 45 …
Samford 10 ... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Hole in
the Wall - 1 First Blood) …
1
-
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FREE selections
North Texas (0-2) at LSU (1-0),
8:00 EST GamePlan
Why to watch: LSU has been able
to beat almost everyone in its path, but
it can’t beat Mother Nature. Hurricane
Gustav forced last week’s game against
Troy to be postponed until November, and
this week’s game against North Texas was
a question mark with even more bad
weather on its way. Hurricane Ike is
supposed to miss the battered and beaten
Baton Rouge area, so instead of moving
the game to a separate location, the
Mean Green and Tigers will get in on
Saturday night in Death Valley. UNT
hasn’t been creating much of a storm so
far getting blown out in the opening two
games against Kansas State and Tulsa by
a combined score of 101 to 32. The
defense hasn’t even been close while the
supposedly high-octane offense hasn’t
done much. LSU is back on the field for
the first time since a 41-13 pasting of
Appalachian State. The team has had far
more to deal with than just football,
but with Auburn coming up next week,
there can’t be any lack of focus now.
Why North Texas might win: The
Mean Green might have more of a
distraction than LSU considering Ike is
supposed to hit Texas, but considering
the damage and the clean up the Tigers
have had to deal with, football hasn’t
been priority one. The Mean Green
offense has to start bombing away like
it did at times last season, while the
defense has to hold up for a drive or
two early on to keep this from being
over in the first quarter.
Why LSU might win: Tulsa’s David
Johnson threw for 420 yards and six
touchdowns, while Kansas State’s
quarterbacks combined to throw for 306
yards and three scores. The LSU
combination of Jarrett Lee and Andrew
Hatch threw for 193 yards and four
touchdowns against Appalachian State,
and they should be able to take
advantage of a UNT that’ll have to
concentrate on stopping the run.
Who to watch: Giovanni Vizza is
still the North Texas starting
quarterback … for now. The sophomore
hasn’t thrown an interception yet and
has been fine, throwing for 347 yards
and three touchdowns in two games, but
he hasn’t been lights out. Star recruit
Riley Dodge, head coach Todd Dodge’s
son, will be used a bit as a receiver,
but it could be just a matter of time
before there’s a quarterback switch if
Vizza isn’t getting the job done.
What will happen: LSU won’t have
any interest in doing anything other
than getting this over with as soon as
possible.
CFN Prediction: LSU 50 … North
Texas 3 ... Line: LSU -41
Must See Rating: (5 Hole in
the Wall - 1 First Blood) …
1.5
-
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FREE selections
-
SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
Three
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