|
Arkansas State (4-3) at Alabama
(8-0),
3:00 EST GamePlan
Why to watch: UL Monroe
21 – Alabama 14. Again, UL
Monroe 21 – Alabama 14. Last
season, Alabama was caught
looking ahead to Auburn and got
tagged by ULM in a bad
mid-November loss that bottomed
out the first year of the Nick
Saban era. Now in the national
title hunt and with the huge
game at LSU coming up next week,
the Bama coaching staff is doing
its best to remind everyone what
happened the last time the Tide
played a Sun Belt team. Arkansas
State isn’t just any old Sun
Belt team, it beat Texas A&M to
open the season and has a
nightmare of a rushing offense
that could give the Tide defense
fits if it’s not focused.
Why Arkansas State might win:
ASU has a tremendously balanced
offense full of veterans who
aren’t going to cower just
because they’re facing the No. 2
team in the nation. Led by QB
Corey Leonard, the Red Wolves
are good at mixing it up on
offense, and strong when it
comes to getting into the
backfield on defense. Alex
Carrington is as good a pure
pass rusher the Tide will face
all season long, and he’ll be
moved around to give the Tide
offensive line a few different
looks. ASU will find a way to
generate at least three sacks
and several other pressures.
Why Alabama might win:
Alabama has the wrong defense
for the ASU running game. Forget
about running wide on this
group, there’s way too much
quickness and athleticism on the
outside, and while Terrence Cody
will be out with a knee injury,
ASU isn’t strong enough up front
to pound away on the inside. The
Red Wolves will have to throw
the ball to win, but it doesn’t
have the receiver talent to make
much of a dent in the solid Tide
secondary.
Who to watch: ASU junior
QB Corey Leonard has played in
30 games and has done a little
bit of everything with over
5,000 career passing yards with
35 touchdowns and 1,227 yards on
the ground. He’s the type of
player who can control a game
all by himself, and he might
have to. He’s a tough, sharp
veteran who can’t make mistakes,
can’t turn the ball over, and
he’ll have to keep the offense
on the field as long as
possible.
What will happen: Alabama
will score on its first two
drives, will let up just enough
to let ASU back in the game, and
then will turn it on when needed
to finally put away a pesky team
looking to pull off the upset of
the season.
CFN Prediction: Alabama
31 … Arkansas State 13 ... Line:
Alabama -23.5
Must See Rating: (5
RocknRolla – 1 High
School Musical 3: Senior Year)
… 2
-
Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
|
Get Tickets
Tennessee (3-5) at South
Carolina (5-3),
7:00 EST ESPN2
Why to watch: There are
games that change around a
program and games that define
programs, but this one could be
the difference between a new
regime and the status quo for
Tennessee. Just when it seemed
like things were about to turn
around with a 34-3 win over
Mississippi State, the Vols were
slapped back into reality by
Alabama with a 29-9 home loss.
With a layup against Wyoming
and the traditional East
lightweights (although not
necessarily this year)
Vanderbilt and Kentucky to
close, the chance is there to go
on a four-game run to end the
regular season and potentially
save Phil Fulmer’s job. A
blowout loss in Columbia could
mean the job search will be on.
For South Carolina, a win would
get things back on track after a
tough home loss to LSU two weeks
ago. The team was just starting
to play well with a four-game
winning streak before the loss,
and with Arkansas coming up
next, the Gamecocks could get
hot again in a hurry with a win
this week.
Why Tennessee might win:
South Carolina likes to give the
ball away, and the Tennessee
secondary likes to take it. The
safety combination of Eric Berry
and Demetrice Morley is the best
in America and it’s been great
at making plays when the ball is
in the air. Of the 15 takeaways
the Vols have come up with this
year, 15 were interceptions
including fourth quarter pick
sixes from both Berry and Morley
against Mississippi State. South
Carolina has turned it over 23
times this ear with 15
interceptions. The Vols should
take away at least two passes.
Why South Carolina might win:
Tennessee has the nation’s 112th
ranked offense averaging a
measly 281 yards per game. The
attack has scored more than 14
just once in the last six games
and isn’t showing any passing
game whatsoever. South Carolina
might not just shut down the Vol
offense, it could shut it out.
The Gamecocks are a brick wall
against the pass and are fourth
in the nation in total defense
allowing just 256 yards and 16
points per game. This isn’t
going to be the week the
Tennessee offense starts to play
like it has Peyton Manning,
Jamal Lewis and Carl Pickens
running the show. The Volunteer
passing game could be downright
painful to watch.
Who to watch: With all
the talk about a quarterback
controversy, and with Stephen
Garcia taking over, the biggest
issue for South Carolina could
be the running game. Mike Davis
has had problems with his knee,
and top backup Eric Baker
suffered a concussion. If these
two can’t go, or try to go and
can’t last, it’ll be up to true
freshman Kenny Miles, who is
supposed to redshirt this year.
The coaching staff really,
really doesn’t want to burn a
whole season because there
aren’t any other rushing
options.
What will happen:
Tennessee is catching South
Carolina at just the right time.
The Gamecocks are beaten,
battered and bruised, but it
won’t matter. The USC defense
will outplay the Tennessee
defense, and Garcia will do
enough with his legs as well as
his arm to pull off the win.
CFN Prediction: South
Carolina 24 … Tennessee 17 ...
Line: South Carolina -6
Must See Rating: (5
RocknRolla – 1 High
School Musical 3: Senior Year)
… 3
-
Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
|
Get Tickets
Tulane (2-5) at LSU (5-2),
8:00 EST, ESPN GamePlan
Why to watch: After two
damaging losses in the last
three weeks, where does LSU go
from here? Dreadful performances
against Florida and Georgia have
the defending champs resetting
their goals and, barring five
straight wins and a little help,
out of BCS bowl contention. With
No. 2 Alabama waiting in the
on-deck circle, the Tigers can
use this weekend to work on a
defense that’s tackled poorly
and got exposed in October.
Tulane faced the Tide already
and played respectably well,
losing 20-6. That was then, and
this is now. The Green Wave
season, which started with
promise, has unraveled with
three straight losses and a
season-ending injury to leading
rusher Andre Anderson. A trip to
Baton Rouge is the equivalent of
a bowl game for Tulane and a
chance to make headlines against
an SEC team.
Why Tulane might win:
Let’s see. In between games with
Georgia and Alabama is a visit
from 2-5 Tulane. Yeah, LSU could
be looking past the Green Wave
this Saturday night. This is not
your typical Tiger defense,
creating fewer turnovers than
any SEC team and getting beat
badly through the air. While Joe
Kemp won’t be confused with Matt
Stafford or John Parker Wilson,
he did provide a spark to the
Tulane offense a week ago and
has earned an alternating role
with starter Kevin Moore.
Anderson will be missed, but
true freshman Nathan Austin ran
well as his replacement and
brings fresh legs to the
backfield.
Why LSU might win: A
Tulane defense that was fast out
of the gate has come back to
Earth in recent weeks, allowing
an average of 34 points over the
last month. The Tigers’ most
obvious edge will be at the
point of attack, manhandling the
Green Wave front with a physical
offensive line. They’ll want to
work on the passing of Jarrett
Lee and Andrew Hatch, to be
sure, but it’s the running of
Charles Scott and Keiland
Williams that’ll help build an
early cushion. A Tiger defense
that knows it has something to
prove will take out all of its
frustration on a weaker
opponent.
Who to watch: Where was
that vaunted LSU defensive line
that was supposed to school the
youthful Georgia O line a week
ago? The Tigers are loaded up
front, but need to play with
more consistency in the second
half of the season. It’ll help
if Ricky-Jean Francois is back
to stay from a groin injury
suffered in September. He played
a week ago, and has the blend of
speed and strength to help
transform the LSU pass
rush.
What will happen: Even if
LSU has a hard time getting up
for this game, it’ll cruise to a
victory on talent alone. The
Tigers will run the ball without
much resistance and try to
recapture some of the swagger
that’s been lost on defense. If
Les Miles has his way, he and
his staff will be thinking ahead
to next week’s visit from Bama
before the start of the fourth
quarter.
CFN Prediction: LSU 41 …
Tulane 10 ... Line: Indiana -2.5
Must See Rating: (5
RocknRolla – 1 High
School Musical 3: Senior Year)
… 2
-
Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
|
Get Tickets
-
SEC Fearless Predictions, Week
10, Nov. 1
|