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Tennessee (2-3) at Georgia (4-1),
3:30 EST CBS
Why to watch: Oh yeah,
Tennessee at Georgia. This was
supposed to be one of the
biggest games of the college
football season, last year’s
Tennessee shocking win ended up
keeping Georgia out of the SEC
championship, and possibly, the
BCS Championship Game, but the
Vols have yet to show up this
year and Georgia is coming off a
stunning home loss to Alabama.
While at 0-2 with a loss to
Florida, things might appear to
be bleak, but the race could
change in a big hurry if the
Gators lose to LSU this week
and, potentially, to Georgia. Of
course, that’s getting way ahead
of the game; Tennessee has to
figure out how to win.
The Vols haven’t just been
struggling, they’ve been awful.
The offense has been miserable,
coming off a 13-9 win over
Northern Illinois, while the
defense hasn’t been able to pick
up the slack. However, the
potential is there for a quick
turnaround if the passing game
starts to perk up. For Georgia,
the national title is still
there for the taking by winning
out and getting one loss from
the Big 12 champion and/or Penn
State. The Dawgs have been good
overall, but they’ve been
underwhelming at times on
offense and not national
title-good on defense. There
isn’t a breather the rest of the
way for Georgia, and as crazy as
this might sound, considering
the emergence of Vanderbilt and
Kentucky, Tennessee might be the
easiest game left on the slate.
Why Tennessee might win:
The Georgia secondary has been
stunningly soft. It can be
dinked and dunked on, and as the
Alabama game showed, it can go
through stretches when it can be
beaten deep. Tennessee needs to
at least give it a shot to
loosen things up, or its
talented running back corps
won’t have room to breathe. On
the other side, the defense has
been fine. Georgia’s passing
game likely won’t be able to
blow up against one of the
nation’s most talented
secondaries.
Why Georgia might win:
35-14. Georgia has been waiting
a year for this game. Last year,
the Vols came out roaring and
stunned Georgia in a win that
propelled them to the SEC title
game. Bulldog fans were waiting
for Tennessee to slip along the
way, but that never happened.
Now the hope is for this to be
payback time. The Volunteer
offense has been miserable, and
it’s not going to suddenly find
itself this week. The one thing
Tennessee can do relatively well
is run the ball, and that’s not
going to happen against a
Georgia defensive front that
gave up 129 yards and four
touchdowns to Alabama’s running
game, and that’s been about it.
Central Michigan’s spread gained
59 yards. South Carolina gained
18. Arizona State ran 19 times
and netted a mere four yards.
Who to watch: For a team
having major problems moving the
ball, Tennessee has to win the
field position battle. It hasn’t
helped that the Vols have one of
the nation’s worst punting game,
netting a mere 29 yards per try.
The punt coverage team has been
partly to blame, but punter Chad
Cunningham hasn’t been great.
Enter Britton Colquitt, the
All-America punter who was
suspended for the first half of
the year after getting nailed
with a DUI. He’s back this week,
and he needs to control the game
by keeping the Dawgs pinned
deep.
What will happen: Georgia
won’t come out roaring, but
it’ll be effective on its first
few drives and Tennessee won’t
have an answer. The Vols can’t
win if they have to play
catch-up, especially considering
they’re trying to get their
quarterback situation settled.
CFN Prediction: Georgia 27 …
Tennessee 10 ... Line: Georgia
-13
Must See Rating: (5 The
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Highlights) … 3
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Arkansas (2-3) at Auburn (4-2),
5:00 EST GamePlan
Why to watch: These are
trying times for two of the SEC
West’s best programs over the
last few seasons. The problems
at Arkansas can be forgiven.
It’s the first year under head
coach Bobby Petrino and he’s
rehabbing the entire program. On
a three-game losing streak, the
Hogs have struggled, to be nice
about it, losing to Alabama,
Texas and Florida by a combined
score of 149 to 31. There’s time
to turn things around and get to
a bowl with at least four
winnable games left on the
slate, but coming up with a road
win over a wounded Auburn would
be a huge kickstart to the
Petrino era. The world isn’t as
forgiving on the other side as
Auburn canned offensive
coordinator Tony Franklin just
six games into the season.
Nevermind that the pieces aren’t
quite there to run a proper
spread offense, especially at
quarterback, and that the Tigers
have played against some really,
really good defenses, Franklin,
apparently, didn’t mesh. If
you’re Auburn, you don’t lose to
Vanderbilt, even a 5-0
Vanderbilt, without someone
taking the fall. This is a big
risk for a 4-2 team that could
still win the West with a few
big breaks.
Why Arkansas might win:
Oh great, now what is the
Auburn offense going to do? It
was averaging a paltry 309 yards
and 19 points per game before,
and now, in the midst of the
meat of the SEC season, and with
a trio to West Virginia coming
up, the Tigers are going to keep
the offense but without the
teacher. It’s not like the
offense is suddenly going to be
special. The Arkansas defense
that’s had such a nightmare of a
time over the last few weeks
should get a week off.
Why Auburn might win: The
Arkansas offense is about to hit
a brick wall. This is a bad game
for the Hogs. The offensive line
is the worst in America in pass
protection, the turnovers are
flowing, and the defense isn’t
coming up with the stops needed
to keep the team in games.
Auburn’s defense is great at
getting into the backfield,
while the emerging secondary has
the potential to come up with at
least three interceptions.
Who to watch: While all
eyes will be on the Auburn
coaching staff to see how things
are going to be moved around,
the quarterback situation
remains in flux. Franklin and
head coach Tommy Tuberville
apparently never saw eye-to-eye
on the quarterback situation and
how they were progressing, or
weren’t progressing. The two
options, passer Chris Todd and
runner Kodi Burns, are getting
equal practice reps, and each
will be expected to see time.
Todd is currently the No. 1 guy,
but that could quickly change.
What will happen: Auburn
will go basic, and it’ll work.
There will be more vanilla
running plays, more power
running, and very little
passing. The Tiger defense will
come up with four takeaways and
six sacks.
CFN Prediction: Auburn 26 …
Arkansas 10 ... Line: Auburn -19
Must See Rating: (5 The
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SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
7, Oct. 11
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