Gene Chizik? Seriously?

Okay, so now I'm just confused. Auburn fires Tommy Tuberville, a proven winner with a 70% winning percentage over Alabama, and hires Gene Chizik, a guy with 2 years of head coaching experience under his belt and 5 total wins. Tuberville had 5 wins in the season that got him fired.

Auburn fans have to look at themselves now and realize that Mississippi State did a better job hiring a football coach. Mississippi State. In Starkville, MS. That's a sobering dose of reality for a program that just last year was among the most consistent winners in the country.

After thinking about, I've come up with a few explanations as to why Jay Jacobs would fire Tuberville to hire Gene Chizik:

• Chizik has compromising photographs of Jacobs... possibly something with farm animals or leather


• Jacobs was unable to resist hiring Chizik after Nick Saban triple dog dared him to, despite the slight breach of etiquette by skipping the "triple dare"


• The spirit of Bear Bryant possessed the body of Jacobs and forced him to the make the most damaging, idiotic hire possible


• Jacobs wants to set the bar as low as possible for himself so that all his future decisions will seem brilliant in comparison to this one

Can anybody else come up with an idea or two as to why this hire was made?

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What now Auburn?

We’re currently in Day 10 since Tommy Tuberville was fired resigned from Auburn. In 10 seasons on the Plains, Tuberville was 85-40 overall and 52-30 in conference games. Most importantly, he was 7-3 against Alabama. And yet, as more details come out about his dismissal, the sketchier it seems.

Remember the scene from American Beauty where Kevin Spacey was supposed to defend his job to his new boss, but instead writes how he really feels? And then he ends up blackmailing his boss to pay him a year’s salary after he quits? That’s what comes to my mind when I try to process Jacobs’ BS.

This is starting to look more and more like what Ole Miss did to Cutcliffe in 2004 by the minute. As most remember, Cutcliffe had a winning record his first 5 seasons at Ole Miss before a 4-7 campaign in 2004. He was asked to make changes by his AD, refused, and found himself on the street. More than 2 weeks later, after interviewing several candidates, the Rebels somehow selected Ed Orgeron.

The list of coaches Jacobs is interviewing is underwhelming at best. Even former DC Will Muschamp doesn’t want the Tigers’ money. Neither does Spurrier. Besides, who of those candidates would be a decided upgrade from Tuberville. When Syracuse fired Gregg Robinson or Mississippi State fired Sylvester Croom, nobody thought twice about it. Neither could coach or recruit well enough to win. But Tuberville did. He did it in Oxford. And he sure as hell did it on the Plains.

I understand that this was a tense season for Auburn. The offensive woes reached an all-time high (or low?) this season. Tuberville admitted as much as shouldered the blame for the failed experiment. Meanwhile, across the state, Nick Saban took Alabama to one quarter away from playing for the BCS title in just his second season in Tuscaloosa. While the kneejerk reaction may be panic, it seems foolish to fire a guy who produced a consistent winner for a decade.

Which of the candidates will have Tiger fans saying “Whew, I’m glad we got rid of Tuberville for that guy”? Sure Brady Hoke has put together a nice 2-year run in Muncie, but is he ready for the big time? Turner Gill is certainly a great story, but is he an upgrade over Tuberville? Derek Dooley? Rodney Garner? Patrick Nix? These are the guys you’re going to replace Tuberville with?

The longer this drags out, the worse it is for Auburn. With the football power in the stat clearly shifting back to Tuscaloosa, now is an inopportune time to have uncertainty at your program. But that’s the bed that Jay Jacobs and Bobby Lowder have made, so now they get to lie in it. If he's comfortable lying behind a podium, a bed should be no problem.

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Tuberville out at Auburn

That's what The Birmingham News and the Auburn Beat are reporting.

Unless there's been another Petrino-gate type episode - maybe Leach-gate or Petersen-Gate this year - and they've got a big name guy lined up and ready to announce, I can't say I agree with the firing. Auburn's struggles this year were exacerbated by Alabama's success no doubt, but that hardly seems reason to abandon ship.

I said when Fulmer was fired (and I stole it from The Dark Knight): You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.

Creativity Abounds in Oxford

After a questionable ending to the Ole Miss/Alabama game last year in Oxford, a local band called the Lexington Brothers penned this little ditty called "It's Okay to Hate Doyle Jackson". Last week, before the Rebels took on Auburn and their former HC, they sang a song called "Wasting Away in Tommy Tuberville". Pretty funny stuff.



* H/T to the 2 Ole Miss fans who sent this my way

Tommy Tuberville's gmail account

With all the hoopla surrounding the kid that hacked Sarah Palin's email, I had my investigative staff lay low for a while. As the Palin story cooled down and things on the Plains heated up, they were able to hack into Tuberville's gmail. See below.


*Click on image to see for full size

Other examples of their work:
Sylvester Croom
Phil Fulmer
Houston Nutt
Bobby Petrino

Most Cost Efficient Coaches

Just for fun, I figured I’d take a look at the most cost-efficient coaches based on annual salary* divided by the number of wins.

Former Arkansas/current Ole Miss HC Houston Nutt tops the list, barely skimming in under Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom and Kentucky’s Rich Brooks. While it’s certainly not an exact science, it’s an interesting look at things. The three highest paid coaches – UF’s Meyer, UAT’s Saban, and AU’s Tuberville – rank 10-12 in conference, as they'd need nearly perfect seasons to rank closer to the top. Surprisingly (or not), former Ole Miss HC Orgeron ranked 9th in conference in cost efficiency despite being the 2nd lowest paid coach in the conference.


*I got this idea (and all salary data) from CoachesHotSeat.com, a great reference site that - in a lot of cases - actually has a scanned copy of a coach’s contract available for viewing.

Unemployment Line

Already, there have been 3 high-profile jobs open up this week with Lloyd Carr stepping down from Michigan, Dennis Franchione resigning from Texas A&M, and Bill Callahan being relieved of his Nebraska coaching duties after giving 60+ points yet again. Both the Michigan and A&M jobs have SEC West coaches as the leading candidates to replace the departed with Miles and Tuberville respectively.

For Miles, I can see the decision to leave making sense, particularly in the light of another silly loss yesterday. "Two-Loss" Les played at Michigan and has done less with more than any other coach in the conference this season and his magic 8-ball let him down yesterday. The Tiger fan base is becoming more and more divided on his credentials and any number of top coaches would jump at the opportunity to not only coach in the SEC, but also at a school with the tradition, resources, recruiting hotbed that LSU has.

For Tuberville though, I'm trying to figure out why he would leave Auburn for Texas A&M? Have you been to College Station? How could that move be anything but lateral at best? He not only survived "Petrino-gate" a few years back but he has thrived since and would seem to have the administration wrapped around his fingers. I can't imagine that the A&M job - where you'll always be the 2nd or 3rd school in the state - is more appealing than coaching in a great college town like Auburn and owning your arch rival.

Jason Whitlock calls out Tuberville

I've mentioned my respect for columnist Jason Whitlock before in an earlier post. He doesn't pull any punches with any player, organization, or team. He pretty much calls it like it is.

Here's an excerpt from his latest column on Fox Sports regarding Auburn's Chaz Ramsey's chop block on LSU's Glenn Dorsey. I'm on record as saying I thought the league should and would suspend Ramsey for the chop block on Dorsey, but apparently they're not going to. Whitlock brings the blame a little closer to home, calling out Auburn HC Tommy Tuberville for not delegating discipline of his own.

Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is an absolute coward and fraud for not suspending the freshman lineman who chop-blocked LSU's Glenn Dorsey in the back of the knees.

I've watched the highlight over and over and what transpired is completely unjustifiable. Tuberville claims all the linemen were supposed to cut block. You don't cut block a defensive linemen moving toward you on the back of his knees.

Not only was the block illegal, but it was as immoral as LSU coach Les Miles claimed. Plus, it's damaging to college football. Dorsey returned to LSU for his senior season. He could've turned pro after last season. Now every NFL agent is going to show every third-year defensive lineman the tape of the block that could've cost Dorsey millions of dollars.

The NCAA needs to step in here and suspend the freshman guard. No one is saying the kid is a bad kid. But the sport needs to send a strong message that those type plays will not be tolerated, even accidentally.

I seriously doubt that Ramsey had any intention of actually hurting Dorsey when he chop blocked him. I know that Tuberville and his staff didn't plan for that to happen. But it did. Ramsey wasn't blocked or pushed into Dorsey. He turned, saw Dorsey engaged with another lineman, and dove at his knees.

That sort of chop block was made illegal because of the severe damage it can do to the defender. The league or - as Whitlock points out, Tuberville - needs to step in and make sure Ramsey has learned his lesson. Anything less is sending the wrong message.

Week 4 Predictions

Saturday’s SEC docket includes just 7 games, the lowest total of the season so far. Of those games, 4 of them are conference games and all pit the Eastern division against the Western division. Some very intriguing conference games, as South Carolina travels to LSU, Georgia travels to Alabama, and Kentucky travels to Arkansas. Florida travels to Ole Miss in a not-so-intriguing game. Tennessee, Auburn, and Mississippi State all venture out of conference, while Vanderbilt has the weekend off.

Here’s how the weekend will shake out…

Saturday
(#3, #3)Florida (3-0, 1-0) @ Ole Miss (1-2, 0-1)
11:30 CST, LFS
Wednesday's Line: Florida -23

In September, under HC Orgeron, the Rebels are 3-0 against Memphis and 0-8 against everyone else, and are 2-14 against the spread in their last 16 September games. Ole Miss is 11-9-1 all-time against Florida, but these are certainly different times from even 2002-03, when the Rebels swept the Gators in Oxford and Gainesville. The Gators have lost their last 3 trips to the state of Mississippi.

This is the perfect SEC game for Tebow to make his first road start. So far this season, he’s been nothing short of spectacular, completing nearly 75% of his passes for 835 yards and has also rushed for close to 200 yards. The Gators’ defense stepped up last week and played its best game of the season forcing a high powered Tennessee offense into 3 turnovers and held them to just one offensive touchdown. On the negative side of things, they have been penalized 28 times in 3 games, which is far more than HC Meyer would like.

QB Brent Schaeffer will get his first start of the season for the Rebels Saturday, as Seth Adams is still out. If you don’t know the Schaeffer saga, Google it, not enough room on this page for it. Suffice it to say, he’s been a disappointment for the Rebels. After rushing for a career high 226 yds against Mizzou, BenJaurvus Green-Ellis came back to earth with a 21 carry/66 yard day against Vanderbilt, just one week after Bama sliced/diced Vandy for 221 yards. The Rebels face an inexperienced Florida defense this week, but unless the offensive line plays its best game of the season, the athletic Florida D will wreak havoc all game long.

This will be the 4th time in 4 games that the Rebels have faced a spread offense. While I would normally say that’s an advantage for them, they’ve been torched in those 3 games for an average of 401 ypg (110 rushing/291 passing) and 30 ppg. The Gators are currently averaging 572 ypg (287 rushing/235 passing) and 56 ppg, so the math is not difficult. This one won’t be close.

Straight Up Winner: Florida
Against the Spread: Florida

(#12, #14)S. Carolina (3-0, 1-0) @ (#2, #2)LSU (3-0, 1-0)
2:30 CST, CBS
Wednesday's Line: LSU -16.5

In a preview of the SEC Championship game, the Gamecocks venture down south to their personal house of horrors. South Carolina is just 2-14-1 against LSU all time, including a 1-9 record in Baton Rogue, their win coming 1994, 18-17.

The Gamecocks survived their first road test in Athens a couple of weeks ago and currently sit 1-0 in the SEC. QB Blake Mitchell’s 3/3 TD/INT ration isn’t near where HC Spurrier would like it to be, or where it needs to be for South Carolina to continue winning in the SEC. Unlike Spurrier’s teams of the past, it’s been the defense and special teams that have been the foundation for this team. The defense did take a blow this week as starting DL Nathan Pepper is out for the season with a knee injury. The offense has been steady, but not spectacular.

As for LSU, everything has been spectacular. 137-7 in 3 games. 3rd in the conference in scoring. 2nd in the nation in pass defense. +7 turnover margin. Best punting average in conference. The list goes on and on. HC Les Miles has the Tigers flying high. He even rested his starting QB Flynn last week and backup Perrilloux threw for ~300 yds and 3 TDs. Flynn will be back for the Gamecocks, though it’s a nice contingency plan to have Perrilloux as #2.

This will undoubtedly be LSU’s biggest test of the year so far. The Gamecocks’ D will be the stiffest Matt Flynn and company have faced this year, and there are few better big game coaches than Spurrier, who, by the way, is 11-1 against LSU (all at Florida). Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, they just don’t have enough on offense to get through the immovable object that is the LSU defense. Mitchell will be under pressure all game, and his tendency to force throws plays right into the Tigers’ hands. This game will not be decided until the second half, but a late defensive TD will ice it for the Tigers.

Straight Up Winner: LSU
Against the Spread: LSU

(#21, #23)Kentucky (3-0, 0-0) @ Arkansas (2-1, 0-1)
5:00 CST, ESPN2
Wednesday's Line: Arkansas -6.5

The last time these two got together on the gridiron, the Hogs won 71-63... in 7 OTs. UK beat Ole Miss to start 1-0 in the SEC for the first time since 1987 last year, and would love to make it 2 seasons in a row. This is the first road game of the season for UK.

Kentucky is coming off its biggest victory in years (arch-rival, first top 10 win since 1977, ranked for the first time since 1984), and this would seem an obvious time for a letdown game. But this Wildcats team has been through the ropes of an SEC season before and is full of veterans. QB Woodson established himself as a legitimate Hesiman candidate with his performance last week, but the Wildcats will need to keep on winning.

Arkansas is left to wonder what could’ve been after last week’s heartbreaker in Tuscaloosa. The Hogs lost by only 3, despite digging themselves a 21-0 hole after just 1 quarter. They actually had the lead for about 8 minutes in the 4th before another passing TD doomed them.

The Hogs rank 11/12 in conference in passing D, while the Wildcats come in at 10/12 in rushing D. Neither team will be able to stop the other team’s strength. Arkansas will be able to control the clock with their power running game, and DMac and company will be looking to atone from their loss last week. Andre Woodson’s conference record of consecutive passes with no interceptions will come to an end, and the Razorbacks grind out an exciting, high scoring win.

Straight Up Winner: Arkansas
Against the Spread: Arkansas

Arkansas State (1-1) @ Tennessee (1-2, 0-1)
6:00 CST, No TV
Wednesday's Line: Tennessee -19

This is the first meeting between these two programs, but Arkansas State is 1-44-3 versus current SEC teams. Tennessee needs a game like this after the shellacking they took on national television last week at the hands of the Gators. Arkansas State had a controversial 8-point loss to Texas in Week 1, so the Vols better not take them too lightly.

Last week appeared to be the first time QB Ainge was affected by the broken pinky on his throwing hand. He did complete 63% of his passes for ~250 yds, but he only threw for 1 TD against a Florida D that had allowed ~280 yds passing and 2 TDs to Troy the week before. Granted, Troy looked like world beaters last Friday against OKSt, but Vols fans would like to think they’ve got better talent than Troy.

For Fulmer’s sake, Tennessee needs a solid effort in all aspects of the game this weekend. The rumblings in Knoxville are getting louder with each passing week. Both Tennessee’s losses – Cal & UF – have come to teams that outclassed them in speed. UT’s defenders have looked flatfooted trying to run down the speedy skill-position guys. While Arkansas State seems to be improved this year, there’s no reason they should hang with Tennessee this weekend.The Vols nearly hung 40 on Southern Miss, they'll eclipse that this weekend.

Straight Up Winner: Tennessee
Against the Spread: Tennessee

New Mexico St. (2-1) @ Auburn (1-2, 0-1)
6:00 CST, No TV
Wednesday's Line: Auburn -17
Offensive guru, cheater, and former UK head coach Hal Mumme returns to the SEC this weekend with his NMSU Aggies. NMSU is 0-13 against current SEC teams, and has lost 15 straight non-conference road teams. This will only be the second time these programs have ever played with Auburn winning 55-14 in 1993. They would have to play this game 3 times for Auburn to score 55 points.

Auburn’s offensive woes have been well documented. The offensive line has been horrid and QB Brandon Cox has struggled, throwing 7 INTs to just 2 TDs. The defense will be tested this week, as – like all Mumme teams – NMSU likes to chuck it all over the field, and currently averages ~400 yds passing. The Aggie D surrenders 370 ypg and 27 ppg, so the opportunity to score is there. QB Kodi Burns may see more PT this weekend, after providing some spark for the Tigers last weekend.

HC Tuberville has made sure his Tigers realize the importance of this game. They need this to get to .500 and preserve any hope of a respectable season. NMSU can’t match the athletes that the Tigers have, but you have to wonder why Vegas thinks this Auburn team could outscore anyone by 17 points. Auburns wins, but not by much.

Straight Up Winner: Auburn
Against the Spread: NMSU

Gardner-Webb (1-1) @ Mississippi State (2-1, 1-1)
6:00 CST, No TV
Wednesday's Line: No Line

Mississippi State HC Croom looks to equal his win total from each of his first three seasons with a victory over 1AA Gardner-Webb this weekend. MSU did stumble against a 1AA opponent in 2004, losing 9-7 to Maine, but this is a fired up Bulldogs team now, with a very strong defense. They haven’t allowed a 2nd half point in either of the last two games, and probably won’t give up a single point all game Saturday.

MSU will be able to control the tempo of this game from the outset with RB Anthony Dixon. Reality will set back in with a trip to Columbia, SC next weekend, but the Bulldogs can enjoy being 3-1 for the first time in a long time.

Straight Up Winner: Mississippi State
Against the Spread: N/A

(#22, #21)UGA (2-1, 0-1) @ (#16, #20)Alabama (3-0, 2-0)
6:45 CST, ESPN
Wednesday's Line: Alabama -3.5

The Georgia Bulldogs travel to Tuscaloosa this weekend to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Georgia has won 2 in a row in this series, though they're just 1-7 all-time in Tuscaloosa, with current HC Mark Richt winning 27-25 in 2002.

Georgia is trying to avoid an 0-2 start in conference play, basically eliminating them from the SEC East race. They’ll try to build on their performance last week against Western Carolina. They’ve dominated their two non conference opponents, but failed to score a TD in their conference game against South Carolina. UGA will try to establish its running game early and let QB Stafford ease in to passing game. South Carolina was very effective taking away the deep ball, as Stafford averaged only ~5 yards per completion

Alabama HC Saban’s main jobs this week were to calm down the emotions after a shocking victory over Arkansas with :04 seconds left last week, and to get his defensive linemen rest. They were dragging at the end of that game after chasing down DMac, Felix Jones, and other Arkansas RBs. Saban inherited a veteran team, so the emotions should be in check this weekend. If Alabama wins this one, they’ll be 3-0 in conference before stepping out of conference the next 2 weekends. Freshman RB Terry Grant has been spectacular, ranking 2nd in conference behind DMac in rushing ypg. The Tide’ll have a similar game plan this week as they have all year – disciplined football, power running, efficient passing. QB Wilson gave Georgia something else to think about last week, throwing for 327 yds and 4 TDs.

Talent-wise, Georgia is the superior team in this game. They have big play capability on both sides of the ball. But, until they show consistency against a legitimate opponent, it’s hard to pick them to win in a hostile environment, especially against a veteran team and coach like Saban. Alabama will control the clock with Grant running the ball, and the D and QB Wilson will make just enough plays for the Tide to eke out a tough conference win.

Straight Up Winner: Alabama
Against the Spread: Alabama

Week 3 Predictions

Saturday
Mississippi State (1-0, 0-0) @ Auburn (1-0, 0-0)
11:30 CST, LFS
Wednesday's Line: Auburn -13

What looked to be a gimme win for Auburn before the season started, now seems as though it may be something of a battle. Auburn has won 6 in a row in this series, and Mississippi State hasn’t scored in this game since 2004, but this a different Tiger team than the one that's 33-5 the last 3 seasons.

Auburn’s offense has struggled in both games this season, particularly the offensive line. QB Brandon Cox has assumed most of the blame for Auburn’s offensive woes, as he’s barely completed 50% of his passes and has 4 interceptions and just 2 TDs. It doesn’t hep that the Tigers rank last in the conference in rushing ypg either. The defense has played well enough to give them a chance to win, but too many mistakes by Cox and company doomed them against USF.

Mississippi State rebounded from their dismal week 1 performance against LSU to pick up a much needed win against woeful Tulane. The defense played well again, limiting the Green Wave to 243 yards. They’ll face a fired up Tiger team this weekend looking to rebound form last week’s loss. The key matchup will be the Auburn O-Line vs the MSU D-Line.

This will be a low-scoring game, as neither offense is capable of putting up a lot of points against an SEC-caliber defense. It will be all about the in-game adjustments, and Auburn keeping Brandon Cox on his feet. When it comes down to Tuberville vs. Croom, give me the Riverboat Gambler any day of the week, and twice on a football Saturday. Auburn will win the game outright, but the 2 TD line may be too much to ask…

Straight Up Winner: Auburn
Against the Spread: Mississippi State

Western Carolina (0-2) @ (#23, #25)Georgia (1-1, 0-1)
Noon CST, No TV
Wednesday's Line: No Line

This game against the Catamounts falls at a perfect time for UGA. Their offense was held in check last week against South Carolina, so HC Mark Richt and staff can use this game as an opportunity to get things rolling again. In their other visit to an SEC stadium this year, WCU was rolled 52-6 by Alabama.

After an impressive opening game against Oklahoma State, the Dawgs sputtered badly against South Carolina, scoring scored 23 fewer points and converted only 3/18 3rd downs. QB Matthew Stafford should be able to get things back on track this week, and the holes should be much bigger for RBs Moreno and Lumpkin. With 4 SEC games the next 4 weeks – including 3 on the road – this is their last chance to get things back together.

Straight Up Winner: Georgia
Against the Spread: N/A

(#22, #24)Tennessee (1-1, 0-0) @ (#5, #3)Florida (2-0, 0-0)
2:30 CST, CBS
Wednesday's Line: Florida -8

This is another huge early season SEC matchup, much like Georgia/South Carolina last week. While both the Gators and Vols have been explosive on offense, averaging 54 and 35 ppg respectively, neither has shown much on defense. Cal ran roughshod over UT in Week 1 while Florida surrendered 336 yards and 31 points to Troy last week.

UT struggled against the team speed of Cal in Week 1, and they’ll be faced with a faster overall team in Florida. The Vols defense played better last week against USM, forcing 3 TOs and only allowing 2/16 3rd down conversions, but they did surrender 354 yards of offense. QB Ainge was fairly sharp again despite a broken pinky on his throwing hand. Not helping UT’s cause is losing defensive captain Antonio Gaines for the season last week to a knee injury.

If human cyborg Tim Tebow can pull this one out, his cult hero status in Gainesville will begin approaching Legendary. In two games this year, he’s already thrown for 536 yards and 6 touchdowns and rushed for 130 more yards. Florida’s going to score, no doubt, but the question remains if they can stop a real team on offense. The Vols will easily be the most explosive offense they face the first 5 games this season and will provide a stiff test for the Gator’s young D.

This has been a remarkably close series of late, with 6 of the last 9 being decided by 4 points or less, including UF’s 21-20 win last year. Both teams know how important this game is, as the loser of this game hasn’t made it to the SEC Championship Game since 1997. This will be a high scoring affair, but Florida’s got too much speed for the Vols to handle for 60 minutes.

Straight Up Winner: Florida
Against the Spread: Florida

(#16, #16)Arkansas (1-0, 0-0) @ Alabama (2-0, 1-0)
5:45 CST, ESPN
Wednesday's Line: Alabama -3

Two serious contenders for second place in the SEC West do battle at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa this Saturday. Arkansas is coming off an off weekend, while Alabama slogged out a wet and wild victory in Nashville last week, winning 24-10 over an improved Vanderbilt squad. Arkansas has won 3 of the last 4, including 2 in double overtime.

Alabama dominated last year’s game in every aspect… except for the final score. Constant miscues led to a 24-23 loss in a 2OT game that jumpstarted Arkansas’ unlikely run to the SEC West title. This season, the Tide appear more disciplined than the last few years, having committed only 11 penalties and 1 turnover through 2 games. RB Terry Grant leads the SEC in rushing at 154.5 ypg. and TDs scored with 5.

When it comes to RBs though, Grant will only be the third best in this game. Arkansas’ dynamic duo of Felix Jones and Darren McFadden will be turned loose against a Tide D that is only allowing 66.5 yards per game. In its one game earlier this season, Arkansas ran for 350 yards (7.0 ypc) against Troy. While they won't come close to that, Arkansas should find some success on the ground. The question is, how much success will they have through the air. QB Casey Dick or DMac will need to stretch the Tide D to open up the running lanes for the potent ground attack.

This should be a great game. These are two evenly matched teams and I expect this to be a close game throughout. Despite the fact Alabama is playing at home, I give the slight edge in this one to the Hogs. The power running of DMac and Felix Jones will wear down the Tide defense and the Hogs will score on some kind of trick play late in the game to ice it. The Tide just don't have enough offense through the air to counteract Arkansas' ground game.

Straight Up Winner: Arkansas
Against the Spread: Arkansas

South Carolina State (1-1) @ (#17, #23)South Carolina (2-0, 0-0)
6:00 CST, PPV
Wednesday's Line: No Line

Between the emotional high of beating Georgia on the road last week and the excitement of traveling to Baton Rogue next weekend, it’s a good thing the Gamecocks draw SCSU this weekend. Any kind of “real” opponent here would certainly qualify as a trap game.

While the defense has been stout – 2 TDs allowed in 2 games – and the special teams solid, eventually the Gamecocks will need to score a few more points. With Spurrier lurking on the sidelines, you know there’s always the potential to just draw up a pass play in the dirt, but that explosion has been lacking this year. After missing the first game of the season, QB Blake Mitchell played fairly well against UGA, completing a high percentage of his mostly short, safe passes. He should be able to find a solid rhythm early against SCSU, and build for the remainder of the season.

Straight Up Winner: South Carolina
Against the Spread: N/A

Ole Miss (1-1, 0-0) @ Vanderbilt (1-1, 0-1)
6:00 PM, No TV
Wednesday's Line: Vanderbilt -5

Ole Miss travels to Nashville Saturday in what appears to be their best chance for a road SEC victory since 2004. The Rebels saw their long-stagnant offense come to life against a porous Missouri defense Saturday, while the Commodores not only lost the game, but star QB Nickson is questionable for the game Saturday. The Rebels have won 6/7 in this series, including the 17-10 victory last year.

Former walk-on QB Seth Adams has performed admirably for the Rebels in his two starts, throwing for 506 yds and 4 TDs, including 2 to DE Greg Hardy. All-SEC RB Benjaurvis Green-Ellis rushed for a career high 226 yards last week, and currently ranks 2nd in the conference in ypg. The Rebels have struggled in road games under Orgeron though, going just 2-9.

Vandy All-SEC WR Earl Bennett exploded in week 1 against Richmond, but against a tougher D last week, was held to 52 yards. Ole Miss surrendered 560 yards to Mizzou last week, including 330 through the air. Vandy doesn’t have that type of firepower, particularly if Nickson isn’t available or isn’t 100%. Vandy also doesn’t have the ground game to make up for any decline in the passing game, as they don’t have a single player who’s reached 100 yards yet for the season.

This game is important to both teams. For Vandy, bowl hopes ride on getting this win, while for Ole Miss, this would be the closest thing to a signature win for Orgeron. The Rebels want to use second half of last week’s game as a springboard for better times this season, as they outscored Mizzou 18-3 over the last 27 minutes. Vandy meanwhile will be searching for a ground game and some sort of offensive consistency. The Rebels should get the job done in Nashville Saturday and pull the mild upset.

Straight Up Winner: Ole Miss
Against the Spread: Ole Miss

(#9, #9)Louisville (2-0) @ Kentucky (2-0, 0-0)
6:30 CST, ESPN Classic
Wednesday's Line: -6.5

While these two schools really dislike each other, even they have to admit this game has the potential to be one of the highest scoring of the year. Both teams sport ridiculously high scoring offenses (65.5 ppg for Louisville, 53 ppg for UK), Heisman candidate QBS (Brian Brohm and Andre Woodson), and defenses that, well, aren’t very good. Louisville gave up 554 yards and 42 points to Middle Tennessee State last week and UK gave 453 yards and 26 first downs to Kent State, and had a very hard time getting off the field.

This has been a tough series for UK lately, as Louisville has won 4 in a row and 7/8, including a 59-28 win in Louisville last season. If Kentucky is going to beat Louisville anytime soon, this is the year to do it. The Triplets – QB Woodson, RB Little, and WR Burton – are 0-3 against the Cardinals and know they can go to a much better bowl than the Music City Bowl if they pull the upset here. The onus falls on the Defense to get off the field and hold an explosive Cardinal offense in check. Even FGs will be something of a victory, as Kentucky will put up a lot of points in this one.

The Wildcats should pull the upset here, they’re at home, playing at night, and have the bad taste of all the recent losses to Louisville in their mouths. Louisville lost three starters in the secondary during the offseason, so there will be a lot of inexperience in the defensive backfield against a team currently averaging nearly 250 ypg through the air. This could very well be a five hour game with 80 or more points between the two of them, but in the end, the Big Blue Nation will be happy.

Straight Up Winner: Kentucky
Against the Spread: Kentucky

Middle Tennessee State (0-2) @ (#2, #2)LSU (2-0, 1-0)
7:00 CST, No TV
Wednesday's Line: LSU -40

No team in the country has been even half as impressive as LSU has through 2 games. After predictably bombing Mississippi State in the opener, they hosted Virginia Tech last weekend in what was supposed to be a tight, low scoring game. Both defenses were great in Week 1 and both offenses struggled. Needless to say, LSU not only won, but embarrassed VTU on both sides of the ball, racking up 598 yards of offense and holding VTU to 149 yards, 11 first downs, and 7 points.

MTSU is coming off a game in which they gave Louisville all they could handle before falling 58-42. While their offense is explosive, they are defensively challenged, which spells disaster in Baton Rogue Saturday night.

Just like South Carolina (their next week’s opponent), LSU faces a trap this weekend. While MTSU is clearly better than South Carolina State, there’s no way LSU slips up Saturday, particularly with another late night kickoff. It’s hard to imagine that LSU’s focus will be entirely on this game though, or at least enough to cover this ridiculously large spread.

Straight Up Winner: LSU
Against the Spread: Middle Tennessee State