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Vanderbilt (3-0) at Ole Miss
(2-1),
7 EST
Why to watch: Is it
finally time for Vanderbilt to
break through under head coach
Bobby Johnson and get to a bowl
game? With a 24-17 win over
South Carolina a few weeks ago,
the Commodores have put
themselves in a great position
to make plenty of SEC East
noise, but they have to win all
the winnable games on the slate.
This is one of them. Ole Miss
also needs every victory it can
get against teams its own size.
The Rebels are opening the SEC
season with a must-win before
going on the road to face
Florida to kick off a run of
three SEC road games in the next
four. Each team has a fun,
exciting quarterback, a pumped
up coaching staff, and a whole
bunch of hope for a strong year.
Call this a defining game for
the SEC’s mid-section.
Why Vanderbilt might win:
Turnovers. The Commodores need
to win the turnover battle to
pull off the win. This is a bad
matchup for them, the strengths
don’t match up well, so being at
least +2 in turnovers is a must.
Vandy forces turnovers, Ole Miss
doesn’t. This is an aggressive
defense that’s going to have to
make the big plays. It’s
certainly going to try.
Why Ole Miss might win:
Vanderbilt wins with a strong
pass rush and a great running
game. Ole Miss has been great
against the run so far and has
only allowed one sack so far.
The Rebel defensive front will
try to contain Commodore QB
Chris Nickson with speed on the
outside, but South Carolina
tried that, too. There will also
have to be a steady push from
the middle, while offensively,
the more time QB Jevan Snead
gets, the better. There are big
plays there to be had with a
half-second extra to throw, and
while the Vandy secondary might
be among the best in the SEC, it
has allowed plenty of passing
yards in the first three games.
Who to watch: Ole Miss is
getting one of its biggest stars
back just in time for the start
of the SEC season. Greg Hardy,
2007’s leading SEC sacker, has
missed the first few games of
the season after breaking his
foot in August. He’s still not
quite 100%, but he’s practicing
and he should see enough action
to get his feet wet.
What will happen: This
could be the SEC’s most
entertaining game this weekend.
Vanderbilt will get its rushing
yards, but Ole Miss will do a
better job of controlling the
clock with a strong game from
the offensive line. The Rebel
balance will be the difference.
CFN Prediction: Ole Miss
23 … Vanderbilt 20 ... Line: Ole
Miss -6.5
Must See Rating: (5
Dr. 90210 - 1 Biggest
Loser: Families) … 2.5
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Wofford (2-0) at South Carolina
(1-2), 7 EST GamePlan
Why to watch: This is a
dangerous game for South
Carolina. It could be argued
that the Gamecocks are roughly
two plays away from being 3-0
and 2-0 in SEC play, and they’re
coming off a heartbreaking loss
to Georgia after screwing up
deep in Bulldog territory in key
moments. Wofford has the best
running game among FBS teams,
and the defense is just good
enough to annoy a Gamecock
offense that’s struggling to
produce on a consistent basis.
If South Carolina is trying,
it’ll win, but this is letdown
alert time.
Why Wofford might win:
South Carolina doesn’t have a
consistent enough offense to
rely on game in and game out.
The Terriers have allowed just
91 rushing yards in two games
and has an aggressive, attacking
defense that’s great at getting
into the backfield. South
Carolina can’t protect its
quarterbacks, and Wofford should
be able to generate enough
pressure to force a few
mistakes. The Gamecocks are
always good for two turnovers a
game.
Why South Carolina might win:
South Carolina’s defense is
great, as in first in the nation
in pass defense and ninth
overall great. Wofford averages
400 rushing yards per game with
a variety of players getting
involved, but there’s no passing
game whatsoever. The South
Carolina linebacking corps is
good enough to shut down the
Terrier ground game for long
stretches.
Who to watch: Junior TE
Jared Cook had a nice 2007 with
30 catches for 421 yards and
three touchdowns, he showed this
off-season that he has the
potential to do far more for the
attack, and he showed the
potential to be a good pro
prospect. After catching eight
passes for 111 yards against
Vanderbilt, he made three
catches for 68 yards against
Georgia with a few catches in
key moments. With star Kenny
McKinley still hurting, the more
Cook can do, the better.
What will happen: South
Carolina will go through the
motions and will be pushed into
the third quarter, and then the
offense will wake up and go on
two long scoring drives to avoid
the embarrassment.
CFN Prediction: South
Carolina 31 … Wofford 10 ...
Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5
Dr. 90210 - 1 Biggest
Loser: Families) … 1.5
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Consultants FREE selections
Georgia (3-0) at Arizona State
(2-1),
8:00 EST ABC
Why to watch: Last
weekend might not have been
great for Georgia or Arizona
State, but each will get its
shot to get back in the national
title picture in a big hurry.
Yes, ASU can still be in the
hunt for the BCS Championship
over the next four games with a
brutal slate against Georgia, at
Cal, at USC, and Oregon. Win
those four, get the national
respect, be in the driver’s seat
for the national title … it’s
just that easy. Of course, there
was that overtime loss to UNLV
last weekend to trip up the Sun
Devil momentum, and of course
it’s asking way too much to win
the next four games, but for the
program to take the next step
under head coach Dennis
Erickson, it needs to prove it
can win a home game like this
one against a national title
favorite. For Georgia, winning
impressively at ASU might not
carry too much weight after the
Sun Devils’ loss to the Rebels,
but it’s a national spotlight
game and chance to make a
statement. It doesn’t matter
what anyone else does, if
Georgia goes unbeaten, it’s
playing for the national title.
However, after struggling to get
by South Carolina in a 14-7 war,
and with Alabama and Tennessee
up next, the time is now to show
everyone that USC shouldn’t be
handed the crystal trophy quite
yet.
Why Georgia might win:
The Bulldogs should have way too
much offensive balance for ASU
to handle. The Sun Devil defense
struggled generating any
pressure on UNLV QB Omar Clayton
last week, and has been way too
inconsistent against the run.
The Georgia attack might not be
crisp, but it can win any way
needed. Knowshon Moreno can
carry the offense for stretches,
like he did against South
Carolina, and Matthew Stafford
is a fearless passer who doesn’t
make too many big mistakes. ASU
will have to be perfect to pull
this off, and it won’t be. The D
isn’t great at taking the ball
away, and the offense bogs down
a bit too much.
Why Arizona State might win:
The Georgia defensive line isn’t
playing like the killer it
should be. Generating a steady
pass rush has been a problem,
and there have been way too many
problems in the secondary.
Granted, most of the passing
yards came when Georgia Southern
and Central Michigan were trying
to come back, but when the
quarterback isn’t getting hit on
a regular basis, the secondary
is going to struggle. ASU has
the firepower to keep up any
pace.
Who to watch: The Arizona
State linebacking corps might
start finding people in the
stands to play. The depth has
been gutted by injuries and
suspensions, and now the man in
the middle, Gerald Munns, will
have to try to fight through a
banged up hand. That means Mike
Nixon will once again have to
play a big role in the middle,
while the rest of the
linebackers have to play far
better than they did last week
against UNLV’s spread attack.
What will happen: Arizona
State will get out to an early
lead, but there are too many
injuries and too many issues to
hold off a top team like
Georgia. The Bulldogs are
hurting, too, but they’ll still
be able to pound the ball, play
good defense, and get the
occasional big play from Moreno.
CFN Prediction: Georgia
34 … Arizona State 23 ... Line:
Georgia -7
Must See Rating: (5
Hole in the Wall - 1
First Blood) … 4
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Consultants FREE selections
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SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
Four, Part 1 |