This week it’s normal one of the craziest games on the SEC Calendar: LSU vs Auburn.

We’ve had burning buildings, missed kicks at the end, last-second touchdowns and the end of Les Miles’ tenure. The Geaux Tigers have won 3 in row and 7 of the last ten, but of those last three games, they’ve been settled by a TOTAL of eight points.

With no-one thinking about both sides seriously, it should be fun to at least watch, praying for a Big 12 game to once again break out in Jordan-Hare (if you’ve got the over!).

Elsewhere, one of the SEC West’s most underrated rivalries takes place at Kyle Field instead of Arlington, which is unfortunate bearing in mind just how awesome it’s been in JerryWorld. That’s Texas A&M vs Arkansas. Then there’s Georgia, primed for a trip to a Kentucky team who must be licking their wounds after getting trumped by Missouri, oh, and there’s Alabama against Mississippi State, where you’ll hear the name “Waddle” mentioned a lot. A lot. A lot. We’ve also got Missouri going to the University of Florida, which has been its own little COVID-19 hotspot recently, and Ole Miss playing Vanderbilt, which won’t warrant anyone’s attention aside from the betting community and die-hard fans of both sides.

So here are the games we’re interested in….

1. LSU (-3, O/U 63 1/2) at Auburn

Both sides have been pretty unimpressive this season – it’s the first game since 2001 that both sides are unranked. But this is why it’s going to be interesting. Firstly: The flaws which should make it even more fun, especially bearing in mind that it’s the defenses. Oh, and if hadn’t mentioned it….it’s LSU vs Auburn. It’s so much fun.

Oh, and about the sides? LSU will be looking forward to more of TJ Finley, who grabbed his chance against South Carolina with both hands. Auburn will be another level for him. He’ll be asked to spread it out a lot (we love you, Terrace Marshall and Arik Gilbert), and that’s going to give Kevin Steele fits. But defense is still a problem. Although they beat Carolina 52-24, Carolina put up 403 yards and were pretty impressive at times – especially when running the ball (Kevin Harris had 126 yards and 2 TDs on just 12 touches). And what’s Auburn’s strength? Running it. Tank Bigsby’s going to cause the leaky LSU front fits (he leads the SEC in making defensive players missed tackles with 22). Oh, and if Bo Nix can do something that’s not braindead this game, it’s going to be fun.

PREDICTION: LSU wins by 3  in a crazy one, because why not? LSU 48, Auburn 45.

2. Arkansas at Texas A&M (-13, Over/Under 54 1/2)

Texas A&M hasn’t lost to Arkansas since it’s been in the SEC, winning the last 8 straight years. But most of the games have been exceptionally watchable (three of the games have gone to overtime, and it’s almost always been high-scoring), and this should be fun.

Expectations in College Station are now sky-high that the No. 8 -ranked Aggies are good enough to get into the College Football Play-Off (hint: They aren’t), but there are still questions about A&M’s secondary. Offenses complete passes against the Aggies 72.7% of the time, and if Feleipe Franks can be manageable, he could cause the Aggies problems. On the other side of the ball, Arkansas  aren’t world-beaters, but they’ve been a hell of a lot better than recent years. Grant Morgan should be a Butkus Award finalist, and the Razorbacks have been ballhawks so far this season. But while they are better against the pass, they are susceptible to the run (4.4 yards per rush given up) – which will mean that we can expect Isaiah Spiller to be fed all night long.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M! Ninth straight! Aggies by 10. Texas A&M 31, Arkansas 21.

3. No.5 Georgia (-17, O/U 47.5) at Kentucky 

Missouri just gave Georgia the gameplan to beat Kentucky: Stifle the run game, and make Terry Wilson throw. Terry Wilson is fine with his legs, but throwing-wise, he’s a lower-tier SEC QB at best. So if Georgia do what Georgia do, they’ll stack the box to stop the running game of Chris Rodriguez, Asim Rose and Wilson himself, and make the Wildcats QB throw the ball. And their secondary will then cause havoc. On the other side of the ball, Kentucky’s got the hosses in the secondary, so Georgia will try to make sure that they give the ball to Zamir White (a lot) and keep Stetson Bennett from over-throwing it. If they stick to the gameplan, this is going to be ugly. Also, I think we are all secretly praying that it won’ t be as bad as last year’s game.

PREDICTION: Georgia 31, Kentucky 10.

4. Missouri at No.10 Florida (-12 1/2 Over/Under 61 1/2)

We wouldn’t normally be particularly interested in this game had Missouri been falling down the trajectory that we thought they would after the Tennesse game, but now the Tigers have won two in a row, and they are facing a Gators team who will have had limited time to face them because of a stream of COVID-19 positive cases, stemming from – how to do we put this – Gators players generally not giving a crap about COVID-19 (Dan Mullen doesn’t seem to care either, but that’s another story).

Anyway, the problem Missouri is going to have is facing Florida’s vertical game. Kyle Trask throwing to Kyle Pitts and Kadarious Toney is going to cause Missouri fits. But on the other side of the ball, the way that Eli Drinkwitz has managed to get Larry Roundtree III the ball and used him and the offensive line to control the ball has been eyebrow-raising….especially against a Kentucky team that was meant to be superior on the offensive line.

PREDICTION: It’s close, but Florida closes it out with a late touchdown in the fourth quarter. Florida 38, Missouri 28.

5. Ole Miss (-16 1/2 Over/Under 64) at Vanderbilt

Ole Miss was very unfortunate to lose their game to Auburn last week – a notion that cost Lane Kiffin $25,000 for criticising SEC Officials, but there has been a comment that Ole Miss does make its own luck sometimes. This Ole Miss side has an offensive side from heaven but a defense from hell, and it shows. They just miss, miss and miss tackles.

With Vanderbilt, they FINALLY can put together a team that hasn’t been drilled by COVID-19, so we expect them to be better….but not that much better.

PREDICTION: Ole Miss by 20. Ole Miss 41, Vanderbilt 21.

6. Mississippi State at No.2 Alabama (-30 1/2 Over/Under 64)

Everyone’s going to talking any awful lot about the injury to Jaylen Waddle, but Alabama still has two future first round picks in DeVonta Smith and John Mechie, and they’ve got a Heisman candidate in Najee Harris. Meanwhile, they face a Mississippi State side which is an absolute shitshow, with its best player (Kylinn Hill) deciding to opt out of the 2020 season and prepare for the NFL (he’ll presumably a 2nd-to-3rd round pick).

PREDICTION:This one won’t be close. At all. Alabama 58, Mississippi 10

It’s our weekly SEC Rankings.

Honestly, they’ve gotten so hard right now because Auburn might be 1-4 if the SEC Officials had used their brains, but then again might be 4-1 if the SEC Officials had used their brains. Texas A&M might be 2-2 if Dan Mullen’s offense could defend Kellen Mond, and Alabama might be….oh wait…they look unbeatable at the moment.

So here we go. Please note that past No.4, it’s basically a free-for-all until Vanderbilt….who are bottom.

1. Alabama (5-0)

The injury to Jaylen Waddle didn’t really slow down the Crimson Tide as they slaughtered Tennessee. Slade Bolden plugged in and put up 94 yards for just six catches. The rest of the Tide are awesome. Sure, there’s going to be a few plugs to fix on the defensive line, but at the moment, who’s going to touch them?

2. Georgia (3-1)

The Dawgs got their only loss from Alabama, and will get their only loss from Alabama. Georgia will work out very quickly that their run:pass game should have a 65:35 mix to it. It will be interesting to see how much Stetson Bennett throws against Kentucky, who have the hosses in the backfield to cause him problems.

3. Texas A&M (3-1)

Can’t wait for the next referendum on Kellen Mond against Arkansas on All Hallow’s Eve, this Saturday.

4.  Florida (2-1)

Interestingly, if Florida manages to get away from the COVID issue, they will have had only a few days’ practice before facing Missouri. That said, this is still a very talented Gators team and Kyle Pitts is the best in the business at tight end.

5. Auburn (3-2)

Auburn is the luckiest 3-2 team in the country, after getting reffing calls for two weeks’ straight. But Auburn seems to be learning that if they give the ball to running back Tank Bigsby, good things can happen. The offensive line and defensive lines continue to be a problem, though.

6. Missouri (2-2)

On a two-game winning streak, Missouri HC Eli Drinkwitz managed to completely reorganise the playbook against Kentucky, instead opting for time-of-possession instead of long throws which saw the Wildcat secondary gobble up nine interceptions. Connor Blazelek is an above-average running back, but Missouri also has some above-average players and a good coach. They want that Tennessee game back for sure.

7. LSU (2-2)

The Tigers showed what they can do offensively by ripping South Carolina apart early and often in Death Valley. Sure, the 52-24 scoreline was helped by a pick-6 and a kick-off return for a touchdown, but the offense finally clicked. The Tigers were still getting gashed by Kevin Harris, but LSU may not be as bad as we thought they were. Oh, and new QB TJ Finley might be the find of the SEC season.

8. Arkansas (2-2)

We know the story. Barry Odom is one of the best DCs in the game, and Arkansas are suddenly world-beaters. Fun fact: They aren’t. Feleipe Franks is still a decidedly ordinary quarterback, but he’s lucky that he has a defense – led by Grant Morgan – that will keep the Razorbacks close. It should be pretty interesting against Texas A&M on Saturday night. Those games generally are.

9. Kentucky (2-3)

After their excellent performance against Tennessee, the Wildcats returned to earth with an absolute clunker against Missouri. They were controlled all day long by Missouri – who many thought would be beaten by 10. Terry Wilson is not a very good quarterback, and when an offense doesn’t throw to their secondary, Mark Stoops is going to get found out.

10. Tennessee (2-3)

The Vols are on a massive slide at the moment since crumbling in the second half against Georgia. It’s been awful from then on. Jarrett Guarantano is NOT the answer for the Vols, and Jeremy Pruitt’s stubborness isn’t helping the locker room, either.

11. South Carolina (2-3)

Kevin Harris is an awesome running back, Shi Smith is fun to watch as a wide receiver…..and that’s all we have to say on them. One day they’ll give you hope, the next day they’ll get destroyed. Week before? Beat Auburn. Week after? Get smashed by LSU.

12. Ole Miss (1-4)

They were unfortunate to lose against Auburn, but the fact is this: Ole Miss doesn’t have the defense to contend with anyone right now. Still, they get extra points for Lane Kiffin getting fined by the SEC for protesting the terrible call.

13. Mississippi State (1-3)

Mike Leach’s team got a week’s break to work out where they are as a team. Hopefully the practices will contain such useful moments as: “Pass the ball to a wide receiver instead of someone else’s secondary” as stuff like that. We don’t know, though. We could just write this off as a “First year Mike Leach” thing, though.

14. Vanderbilt (0-3)

Ugh.

After a poor game against Vanderbilt and a blow-out by Alabama, Texas A&M fans were fuming. They wanted Jimbo Fisher’s head on a plate. Some of the more racist elements of Texas A&M messageboards straight-up blamed Kellen Mond’s off-season civil rights activities for a reason why the school looked shabby. Florida was coming, and the season was going to go to the wolves.

And then Florida came to town. In a messy, fun game, Florida was beaten, 41-38. Mond was brilliant, throwing for 338 yards and 3 TDs, and didn’t do anything stupid. A week later, they stopped Mississippi State’s ‘Air Raid’ offense in Starkville, and suddenly Texas A&M fans are talking about how they could pip Georgia to the second SEC spot in the College Football Play-Off.

The answer to whether Texas A&M is very good is somewhere in the middle. Mond is obviously improved after two weeks, but then again this season his numbers will be well-improved by the fact that the rest of the competition is pretty medicore. Auburn is rocking. Ole Miss can’t play defense. Arkansas is great on defense, but pretty dismal on offense. And LSU? Oh. LSU.

In keeping with our remarks about Texas A&M, we decided to into a bunch of categories. It’s not power-rankings per se.

ELITE

• Alabama (4-0): The Tide’s second half performance against Georgia was fantastic. Mac Jones can pass on an elite defense, and Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith and John Mechie will destroy any secondary. Hey, Najee Harris is pretty good too. Let’s not forget, though, that the defense was much better than we thought they were, pretty much silencing George Pickens all night long. Oh, and some favorable referee calls helped too, especially on pass interference. Alabama looks unbeatable in the SEC.
• Georgia (3-1): We’re not throwing Stetson Bennett out with the mail just yet, but this wasn’t a great performance. The decision to make Bennett throw 40 times (he completed 18 of them, and had 3 INTs) was weird. Why Georgia decided not to keep running at Alabama, exercise some ball control, and drive the Alabama front into the ground we’ll never know. But Georgia’s still a power, and should get its chance for revenge in Atlanta.

BETTER-THAN-AVERAGE

• Texas A&M (3-1): See above.
• Kentucky (2-2): Their secondary’s performance against Tennessee was excellent. Jarrett Guarantano may have given them the opportunities, but they didn’t make any mistakes. This Kentucky team is trending upwards, and could worry some Georgia people in two weeks’ time. We like what Mark Stoops is doing.

M’EH

• Florida (2-1): COVID cancelled the game with LSU, and it’s all the Gators’ fault. Dan Mullen’s also got COVID-positive, which is ironic, since he wanted to fill The Swamp with fans. 23 new cases on Tuesday amongst the team isn’t going to help the team going forward, either.
• South Carolina (2-2): The signature win over Auburn was helped by some awful Auburn mistakes, but Shi Smith and running back Kevin Harris has given Muschamp’s team some hope.

YING AND YANG

• Arkansas (2-2): I never thought I would put Sam Pittman’s team as high as ‘M’eh’, but their incredible defense gets balanced out by a not-particularly incredible offense.
• Mississippi State (1-3): It was noted on excellent podcast ‘Spit Zone Duo’ that Mike Leach’s first year is going true-to-form with regards to his previous jobs at Texas Tech and Washington State. KJ Costello came in and now has shown that the four-to-the-floor-throw-a-million-time doesn’t work for him. Leach has used words like ‘purge’ when referring to his team, and it’s all looking a complete mess. Which is weird, if you think that Mississippi State’s still got one of the best defenses in the SEC. If only the offense wouldn’t turn the dang ball over!

QB HORROR SHOWS WON’T HELP

• Auburn (2-2): How bad is Bo Nix? Very. Once again the wheels are coming off the Gus Bus, but it’s unlikely with the money that he’s making, that he’ll get fired. Auburn’s got a young offensive line, and we’re not sure about things defensively, either.
• Tennessee (2-2): How bad is Jarrett Guarantano? Yeah. Awful. And yet Jeremy Pruitt thought it a brilliant idea to fire his defensive line coordinator, instead of QB coach Chris Weinke. It wasn’t the DL’s fault that Guarantano threw two pick-6s and gifted Kentucky 17 points, was it?
• Ole Miss (1-3): Matt Corral’s SIX interceptions against Arkansas were unexcusable. Kiffin should at least changed him after the third. The Rebels can’t play defense, and we’re struggling to see where the next win will come from.

ARE THEY CLOSE TO BEING FINE?

• Missouri (1-2): Was it new quarterbacking and some excellent defense at the end that gave Missouri the magical victory over LSU, or was it the fact that LSU can’t play defense? We just don’t know. And we would have known more after this Saturday’s Vanderbilt game, had COVID not killed it.

YEAH…..DEFENSE AWFUL

• LSU (1-2): Things are pretty awful in Death Valley right now. Myles Brennan is beaten-up, LSU is reeling from losses to the NFL, Bo Pelini is not doing well as a defense coordinator, and Ed Orgeron is a little bit more under-fire. People love to convince themselves that LSU is fun to watch, but they would be if they were in, say, the Big-12, because we’d expect very little. They are better than the worst team in the SEC, but not by much.

FAR FAR AWAY

• Vanderbilt (0-3): There is nothing nice to say about this Vanderbilt team. So I won’t.

The SEC has moved a number of teams’ schedule after Vanderbilt postponed its game against Missouri and then Florida postponed its match-up with LSU – both thanks to COVID-19.

• Kentucky‘s clash with Missouri has been moved to October 24th to October 31st.
• Georgia at Kentucky has been moved from October 24th to October 31st. 
• Missouri at Florida has been moved from October 24th to October 31st.
• Vanderbilt at Missouri has been moved to December 12th (as expected).
• LSU‘s trip to Florida has been moved to December 12th (as expected).

The set of fans that are absolutely fuming are Georgia fans. Although Georgia’s still going to get a week off, it’s not going to be before the World’s Largest Cocktail Party clash with Florida on 7th November, but next week after the Alabama game. Instead, they get Kentucky on the 31st and then the Florida game. They have claimed Florida favoritism.

But unfortunately, they are wrong. Despite things being their own fault, Florida’s game with Missouri HAD to be postponed or pushed, bearing in mind that the team was suffering from positive tests from the LSU game, bearing in mind the SEC’s COVID restrictions that mean that Florida now has 30 players in quarantine, taking them below the 53 players needed for a game. The Gators would not have been able to practice or play before the scheduled clash with Missouri, so therefore the game had to be moved.

But because Kentucky hadn’t had any positive tests, Missouri’s game with the Wildcats was able to move up to the 24th. It must come as some relief for Wildcats fans, who were going to face Georgia on 24th October, but now they face Missouri, while on the other side Missouri play back-to-back tough opponents in Kentucky and Florida. Straight after the LSU game – with the Tigers on a high- Vanderbilt were meant to come to town, and it would have been an ideal time for Eli Drinkwitz to get his second win.

The biggest loser for October 24th are the TV viewers, which only has four SEC games on it.

They will be:

• Auburn at Ole Miss
• Alabama at Tennessee
• Kentucky at Missouri
• South Carolina at LSU

Well, Georgia’s trip to Alabama is the biggest match-up of the week, and – when all’s said and done- the whole of the 2020 College Football season.

It’s a monster.

LSU vs Florida would have been cool for the reason that the over/under would be 2084, due to both sides’ abject failures to tackle, but COVID-19 got in the way of that. It also got in the way of Missouri’s efforts for a second-straight victory against Vanderbilt. Both games have been postponed to December 12th. We have a feeling they won’t be the only ones.

So anyway, there’s also Auburn’s trip to South Carolina, Texas A&M at Mississippi State, Kentucky at Tennessee, and Ole Miss at Arkansas.

It could actually be one of the tightest weekends (score-wise) we’ll see this year in the SEC, because all of the sides are pretty even. And by even, we mean mediocre.

1. No.3 Georgia at No.2 Alabama (-4 1/2, O/U 58). 

Alabama’s defense was embarrassing last week, and Georgia’s offense stops and starts. On the face, Alabama’s got the offense to cause Georgia’s vaunted secondary (5 INTs) problems all day, and all night, but they will probably have to do it without Najee Harris, who won’t be able to get past the Bulldogs’. Mac Jones has been untouched all season long, but it’s going to change against a Georgia rush who’s second in the SEC in sacks (10). On Georgia’s side, they simply have to get something going smoothly. We think that UGA will use its solid game (we see you, Zamir White) and slower-tempo offense to try and stop Alabama. Georgia holds the ball for 35 mins a game (second in CFB; Alabama holds it for 27 per game).

PREDICTION: Georgia wins on a long drive at the end. Georgia 31, Alabama 27.

2. No.11 Texas A&M (-5, O/U 55 1/2) at Mississippi State

After their team was motorboated against Alabama, the Aggies’ messageboards talked about the possibility of not winning for all season long, and blamed Kellen Mond’s social justice activities for the reason for the downfall (Nothing like hysterical Aggie racists, folks!). But now A&M beat Florida and Mond had an excellent change, everyone’s talking about the possibility of the Aggies getting the play-off. On the other side, Mississippi State looked like the bees knees against LSU, and then their game at Arkansas made us realise that a) Mike Leach had been worked out and b) LSU’s defense was a joke. Kentucky completely silenced MSU’s offense, forcing Leach to change QBs, such was KJ Costello’s appalling performance. The good thing? Mississippi State still has an underrated defense. The sack machines of Starkville lead the SEC in that stat (12), but the passing defense isn’t wonderful, which should play into Mond’s hands. On the other hand, Texas A&M secondary isn’t great, and if Mississippi State can actually sort out its problems offensively, this should actually be an under-the-radar fun game.

PREDICTION: Both teams battle it out until the middle of the fourth quarter, and then A&M pulls away. Texas A&M 38, Mississippi State 28.

3. No.15 Auburn (-3, O/U 52) at South Carolina

Auburn got away with the win against Arkansas. And when I mean ‘got away’ I mean: “If you refs hadn’t bungled a call, Auburn would have lost”. Auburn was NOT impressive against Arkansas, rolling to a 17-0 lead before giving it all back. South Carolina, on the other hand- jumped on the back of Keith Harris’ back and took him through the rain for a win against Vanderbilt. On paper, Vegas would have had Auburn winning by 15-20, but such is the paucity of the Auburn offense at the moment, it’s only 5. Auburn will have to improve on its drops (Seth Williams (7) and Anthony Schwartz (3) lead the SEC) and Bo Nix will have to stop doing stupid stuff for the Auburn to avoid the upset. On the Carolina side, expect Muschamp to go to the well over and over again with Harris – who ran for 171 against Vandy and before that 100 against Florida – especially with Auburn giving up 155 rush yards per game (3.7 yards per carry), which is 10th in the SEC.

PREDICTION: Massive upset in Columbia. South Carolina 31, Auburn 28.

4. Ole Miss (-1 1/2, O/U 75 1/2) at Arkansas

Arkansas was good at shutting down Mississippi State’s offense a couple of weeks ago, and after a slow start against Auburn, did the same to Bo Nix & Co. They were shafted out of a victory by the SEC refs and their non-understanding of the rules. And while moral victories may not be much, the positive back-to-back response that they’ve got from the media and the fanbase is awesome to see. Sam Pittman is that likeable. On the other side, Lane Kiffin’s debunking of Alabama’s accusation of sign-stealing was downright hilarious. The great thing for Arkansas is that Feleipe Franks – as much crap as I give him – as actually been pretty accurate against three good defenses. Look for this to continue this week. They will have to, because Arkansas’ DC Barry Odom is going to have to put together quite the gameplan to stop Kiffin’s offense, led by Matt Corral, who’s already thrown for 1,000 yards (2nd the SEC) and 9 TDs (3rd). One ‘X Factor’ is COVID – Ole Miss has a few cases, and that could hurt the Rebels’ depth.

PREDICTION: Fun down in Hoggy Country. Ole Miss pulls out the victory. Ole Miss 45, Arkansas 42.

5. Kentucky at No.18 Tennessee (-6 1/2, O/U 46)

If we’re honest, this could be a really dire-to-watch-but-very-competitive match-up. Both sides don’t give up a lot against the pass (Kentucky’s 19.3 vs Tennessee’s 21.7), but not particularly solid against the run (140 at Tennessee vs 156.5 at Kentucky). Tennessee’s was obliterated in the second half against Georgia, mainly because of the awful play of Jarrett Guarantano in the second half (UT was actually winning at half-time), with the ‘vaunted’ offense knifed through like butter. It was no wonder that the Vols gave up 40+ points, if you consider how much the defense was on the field! Kentucky on the other hand, put together a defensive masterpiece against Missisisppi State, grabbing 6 INTs in their 24-2 victory. You can see Tennessee pile it on Ty Chandler and Eric Gray offensively, while on the Kentucky side, Asim Rose will get a bunch of touches, such is the mediocrity of Terry Wilson.

PREDICTION: Tennessee just about rolls. Tennessee 21, Kentucky 18.

It’s the biggest game of the season, and it’s probably the biggest game of most regular seasons since the LSU vs Alabama 9-6 debacle in 2011.

So who are the players to watch?

GEORGIA

Stetson Bennett (QB): Bennett has been the perfect game manager since coming on in the second half of the Arkansas game. To say the least, he’s been an amazing success, throwing for 958 yards and 5 TDS. He’s not been spectacular, but he’s one of the most accurate passers in the country, with a QB rating of 93.5. He hasn’t thrown an interception either. He’ll face an Alabama secondary that was ripped to piece by Ole Miss last week, and is definitely trying to find itself. If Georgia can get him the time, he’ll flourish.

Kearis Jackson (WR): George Pickens got a lot of talk after an excellent freshman year in 2020, but Jackson has been downright sensational this season. He’s already up to 300 yards receiving, although he’s got just the one touchdown. That’s because usually within the 10-15 yard range, the ball’s given to Zamir White (4 TDs) to trundle the ball into the end-zone. And more’s the case, he’s a better catcher than Pickens (he grabs them 73% of the time, compared to Pickens’ 50, although both WRs haven’t had any drops).

Monty Rice (LB): The fifth-year senior has been downright filthy this season, leading the Dawgs in tackles. He’s also defended a pass and has a forced fumble. He will be primed to add to a body to attempt to stop Najee Harris.

Richard Lecounte III (DB): The future NFL first rounder has done nothing to make the scouts differently, grabbing two interceptions this season. And this is despite the fact that quarterbacks will actively throw away from him. That also loosens up fellow DB Eric Stokes to get on the fun. It’s should be fascinating how LeCounte copes with Alabama’s highly dangerous wide receiving trio of Jaylen Waddle, Devonta Smith and John Metchie – all of them have about the same amount of yards received).

ALABAMA

Mac Jones (QB): If we’re honest, we were a bit skeptical of Jones getting the ball instead of freshman sensation Bryce Young, but right now, Jones looks like a Heisman candidate in this wide-open, soooo much fun to watch offense. He’s thrown for 1,100 yards and 8 Touchdowns already, but if he can have a Joe Burrow moment (which was – ironically – against Alabama year) against this defense, we could be talking about a New York entry. He’ll have to face the best rush he’s faced so far, and his offense will be pushed to continue their average of just one sack given up per game.

Najee Harris (RB): Harris has been nothing short of brilliant this season. Helped by an offense that’s passing it more so it’s not sticking everything on his head at the moment, he’s still been able to stack up the touchdowns (10), although not necessarily the yards (347). But he’s also a receiving threat for Alabama on the short pass.

John Metchie (WR): OK, so Waddle and Devonta Smith get most of the plaudits and will be listed by College Gameday as “the ones to watch”, but Metchie is under-the-radar. I mean, as a sophomore who’s put up an astonishing 298 yards on just ELEVEN receptions. He’s got TDs. Talk about a speedster.

Dylan Moses (LB): This is more with a critical eye than anything else. Moses was so embarrassed by the fact that Ole Miss flew by the Alabama D last week that he started blaming Lane Kiffin for stealing defensive signals (Kiffin basically replied: “It’s not our fault that you can’t keep up the speed of our signal-calling). Moses was part of a goddawful defensive performance where the defense gave up countless defensive tackles and blew a laughable amount of defensive assignments. The defense – of which he’s a captain – was tragic on third down (Ole Miss converted 9 of 17 from there, but the average distance they had to convert was 8.8 yards, which means either Alabama got complacent or was incompetent). Moses might not be THE problem, but he’s a symptom of it. And it’s not done his NFL Draft stock any good, either.

Jordan Battle (DB): We expect Battle to lined up against Jackson all night, because he’s the best secondary player Alabama has got (that’s not saying much, but still). If Battle can win the, er, battle against Jackson, then Alabama’s defensive schemes might find some sort of life. He may also be asked to come and blitz to stop Georgia’s very healthy run game.

This is going to be quick, because the wife and I are meant to be on ‘Date Day’ but I forgot to ratchet these predictions out this week.

For the record, thoughts and prayer go out to the people of Lake Charles, LA, which will have been hit by a hurricane by the end of the day. My heart breaks.

Anyway, the big game of the day is Tennessee’s trip to Georgia and Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban reunitining in the never-particularly-boring Alabama vs Ole Miss game, and an intriguing game between Arkansas and Auburn. LSU’s ‘home game’ in Death Valley has been moved to Missouri, Mississippi State plays Kentucky, Florida’s going to Texas A&M, and South Carolina go to Vanderbilt in the latest test of Gamecock Nation’s patience with Will Muschamp.

Once again, we’re doing this in order of games we’re most interested in.

1.No.14 Tennessee at No.3 Georgia (-12 1/2, Over/Under 43 1/2)

This is going to be a raining one in Georgia, therefore we expect the ‘G’ at the center of Sanford Stadium to be muddied. The game between bruising offensive lines, where we should see an intriguing clash between Tennessee’s excellent one and Georgia’s ferocious rush that gave Bo Nix no time whatsoever last week in the thumping of Auburn. Jarrett Guarantano will be asked to be a bit more than a game-manager against Georgia, but expect Tennessee’s rushing back duo of Ty Chandler and Eric to churn up the ground. On Georgia’s side, more will be expected of Zamir White, who’s had 159 yards with 3 TDs on 32 carries. This is going to be a war in a hurricane, folks. Also key to the game? Georgia punter Jason Camarda and Paxton Brooks. Camarda averages 50.2 yards per punt and Brooks averages 41.6 yards per punt.

PREDICTION: Georgia rolls. Georgia 31, Tennessee 22

2. No.2 Alabama (-23 1/2, Over/Under 70 1/2) at Ole Miss 

This game was moved from 5pm to 6.30 pm on worries about Hurricane Delta’s arrival, which would have made tailgating something of an event in any normal year. But this is no normal year, so we don’t have to worry about sundresses becoming parachutes and umbrellas in the face of God’s wrath. But you know who’s going to be in the face of wrath? Lane Kiffin. Don’t think of a second that Nick Saban thinks Kiffin’s jibes earlier to him this week or funny….or that he’s forgotten about Kiffin deciding to take the FAU role before the National Championship Game. Ole Miss’ day will be lengthened by the fact that their defense is a horror show. This one will be like the weather: Ugly.

PREDICTION: Alabama slamming. Alabama 58, Ole Miss 21

3. No.4 Florida (-6 1/2, Over/Under 58) at No.21 Texas A&M 

This is going to be pretty short: Texas A&M’s secondary was straight-up lousy against Alabama, and Florida has a very good passing offense, led by future Heisman candidate Kyle Trask and his band of merry men. Kellen Mond isn’t a good quarterback, and it’s weird that he has the second-most passes in the SEC, bearing in mind that he isn’t good. But speaking of good, check out – if you haven’t already – Kyle Pitts, Florida’s future NFL tight end.

PREDICTION: Florida 35, Texas A&M 14

4. Arkansas at Auburn (-13 1/2, O/U 47)

Arkansas ended its losing streak against Mississippi State last week (YESSSIRRRRR!) and defensive coordinator Barry Odom suddenly became a genius after being an idiot for four years at Missouri. Where Odom won the day against Mississippi State was the fact that it played zone defense. And it also got the luck. The offense for the Razorbacks is still straight-up terrible. This game will be tight due to weather and the fact that Seth Williams will probably be double-covered all day long, but it should be fun enough.

PREDICTION: Arkansas muddies it up, but Auburn squeaks by. Auburn 25, Arkansas 21 

5. Mississippi State vs Kentucky (-2, Over/Under 57) 

Kentucky has been extraordinary about getting in its own way in the last two weeks. Last week’s was Asim Rose streaking away for a TD…and then fumbling it, and then missing an extra point in overtime. Mississippi State’s ‘Air Raid’ offense was found out against Arkansas in the manner that the Razorbacks put 8 in the secondary to stop the big plays that make Mike Leach its money. It will be interesting to see how this all goes.

PREDICTION: Weird, but fun. Kentucky 38, Mississippi State 31

6. South Carolina (-13 1/2, Over/Under 41) at Vanderbilt

South Carolina wasn’t bad as you might have thought against Florida, battling the Gators until midway through the second quarter. And if Will Muschamp had ‘gone for it’ against Florida on the final drive, things might have been even closer than the 38-24 scoreline. Vanderbilt weren’t great in the first half against LSU, and were straight-up awful in the second. South Carolina should roll.

Prediction: Gamecocks happier. South Carolina 41, Vanderbilt 14.

7. LSU (-14 1/2, Over/Under 54) at Missouri 

This game has been switched to Missouri because of Hurricane Delta. Let’s be brutally honest: LSU is much better than Missouri, and Missouri fans are down already – even though they went 0-2 against two teams they were MEANT TO LOSE TO. If Missouri’s wide receivers can actually hold onto the ball (they have 10 dropped passes so far this year), then this might be closer than you think, because Derek Stingley Jr can’t do everything.

Prediction: LSU in cruise control. LSU 45, Missouri 28

In terms of the Impressed/Depressed list, we’ve got quite the list of who we were impressed with and who we were really not.

There will be some surprise about No.1…

1. Arkansas: THE HOGS WERE A 17 POINT UNDERDOG AND WON. WAS THERE ANY MORE IMPRESSIVE (DEFENSIVE) PERFORMANCE? Thanks to Barry Odom, who’s a better defensive coordinator in his lifetime than he’s ever been a head coach, they worked out Mike Leach, only letting KJ Costello only throw for one pass over 20 yards. It was awesome. Sure, the offense was (again) pitiful – and they managed to get the ball back off a muffed punt catch – but the losing streak is over, people.
2. Georgia: Georgia went aggressive from the word ‘go’ all night long, and Auburn’s experience O-Line couldn’t deal with it. Bo Nix ran for his life over and over again. The defense had 3 sacks and 6 tackles for loss, while the offense was fine and functional if not spectacular….which is exactly what was needed on a night when 27-6 did the Bulldogs a disservice.  The only bad news was the Georgia student section, who couldn’t seem to understand the words: “Wear a mask”.
3. Alabama: They had a bad first quarter, but the machine whirred and Texas A&M was crushed, accordingly.
4. Florida: Kyle Trask is awesome, and although Kyle Pitts added another couple of touchdowns, Kadarius Toney popped up with an 86-yard on just six receptions. Florida’s offense still wasn’t wonderful on the floor, but damn, it’s good in the air.
5. Tennessee:  Are Missouri very good? No. But Tennessee was a great improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, and we can’t wait for a proper test next week against Georgia. The offensive line gave Ty Chandler enough time to ground out 90 yards and give Jarrett Guarantano enough time to be functional. Which is what they need.
6. LSU: They needed a SEC doormat to show what they could do, and they did it. More importantly, they didn’t let Vanderbilt score for the whole of the second half and Myles Brennan had a 336 yard, 4 TD day. John Emory’s 106 yard rushing day means that LSU is finding some sort of rush game, and the fact that 11 players had receptions means that this offense is going to be pretty fun. OH AND WELCOME BACK DEREK STINGLEY JR YOU BIG STUD! TAKE ME TO BED OR LEAVE ME FOREVER!
7. Ole Miss: As much crap as we gave their defense last week with our jokes about social distancing, Kiffin’s groups improved themselves so much that they at least gave themselves a chance to have free football in Kentucky. They took advantage of it, and won by the field goal. Should we get on the Lane Train? No. Should we be thinking about it? Yes.
8. Kentucky: The Wildcats shot themselves in the foot twice in an hilarious manner last week. Asim Rose celebrating before he got to the end-zone and promptly fumbling was one, and then missing an extra point in overtime was another. Kentucky is killing itself in the flag department – 81 yards total. Mark Stoops’ decision to forgo Terry Wilson’s arm and get the team to run, run, run was a good idea (408 on the floor), but when your running back is dropping touchdowns, crap like this will happen.
9. Texas A&M: Little was expected, and little happened as a good first quarter was taken apart by two bad ones as A&M was rolled by the Tide. Much as been made of Jimbo Fisher, but little has been given thus far. Kellen Mond’s not the answer, folks.
10. Auburn: So much was expected and so little was given on a night when what Auburn feared would happen to the offensive line happened (3 sacks given up and 6 tackles-for-loss), and the Tigers couldn’t stay on the field, totalling just 216 total yards and a pair of field goals.
11. South Carolina:  Can someone explain to me why Will Muschamp thought that chewing up 7 minutes and 34 yards on a fourth quarter drive with the team down 14 would be a good idea? We’ve heard grumblings from South Carolina, and none of it’s good….
12. Missouri: Great things about the Tennessee game? Larry Rowntree and Nick Brown. Rowntree ran for 84 yards and a TD, and Bolton had a staggering 17 tackles. The bad things? There is no real defense past Bolton, the offense has got more kinks that a BDSM orgy, and the wide receivers can’t catch the ball (see the dropped 84 yards TD certainty for details).
13. Vanderbilt: The Commodores are expected to be bad, and were bad, highlighted by the fact that two WRs managed to get in each other’s way in the end-zone and prevented themselves getting a TD at the end of the first half of their 41-7 thrashing.
14. Mississippi State: Much was expected of Mississippi State after the win over LSU but little was given. OK, so the injury to Kylinn Hill ruined any chance of a setting up of the run game, but Leach couldn’t seem to work out that Barry Odom knows how to play him and structure his offense differently. The special teams screw-up by Hill cost them a try at the winning drive, but they wouldn’t have deserved it.

It’s Week 2 of the SEC Football season, and we’ve already seen a monster upset with LSU losing at home to Mississippi State, a very weird Vanderbilt vs Texas A&M game where the Aggies were awful and didn’t get remotely near the spread, and a true ‘game of two halves’ between Georgia and Arkansas, where Georgia looked like a Dawgs’ breakfast in the first half, and then did the Razorbacks dawgy-style in the second half.

OK, so that’s enough weird puns.

So here are your players to watch:

Georgia vs Auburn

Georgia: Whoever the quarterback is (Stetson Bennett or JT Daniels): All eyes are going to focus on Bennett or Daniels to get it done against an Auburn front that should have everyone back in Gus Malzahn have its way.

Auburn: Anthony Schwarz: Some of you might be asking why not Bo Nix or Seth Williams, but you can guarantee that Williams will be double-covered all night long, which should leave the playbook more open than it was for Schwartz against Kentucky, where he had three receptions for 40 yards.

Alabama vs Texas A&M

Alabama: Najee Harris A lot of focus is going to be on Mac Jones, Jaylen Waddle and the collection of freaks that seem to occupy both sides of the Alabama team, but it will be interesting to see if Harris can continue the 93 yards, 3 touchdown performance against Missouri against a pretty good and experienced Texas A&M defensive front.

Texas A&M: Kellen Mond After an awful performance against Vanderbilt where he fumbled the ball twice and lost one and the team lost a total of five and lost three, there was a lot of venom being poured out against the A&M QB. Mond will have to be on far better shape against Alabama.

Arkansas at Mississippi State

Mississippi State: KJ Costello: After his 600-yard, match-winning performance against LSU, what’s he going to do for an encore? Throw for 700? Walk on water?

Arkansas: Grant Morgan: Morgan had 13 tackles against Georgia in the Razorbacks not-awful loss, and to stop Costello and Co the senior linebacker will have to be at his best.

LSU at Vanderbilt

LSU: Myles Brennan: Brennan has immediately found the voice of critics after his not-great performance in the stunning loss to Mississippi State, but if he can’t perform against Vanderbilt, you can feel Coach O’s finger starting to wrap around the trigger. And look, we know that LSU is missing an awful lot of talent (and this will be repeated ad nauseum), but still, it’ll be on him.

Vanderbilt: Ken Seals: The quarterback earned a lot of praise for sticking in there against a pretty dominant Texas A&M defense, and going 20-29 with 150 yards, a TD and 2 picks on his freshman debut. With no pressure from the fanbase to do well, Seals could flourish.

South Carolina vs Florida

Florida: Kyle Pitts:  Pitts had 170 yards and 4 TDs on just 8 receptions against a socially distant Ole Miss defense, and we are wondering what he’ll get up to against a secondary that gave up 261 yards passing and a TD against Tennessee. Because Florida has so many weapons, we don’t see him being double-teamed as much as the man on the other side, Shi Smith.

South Carolina: Shi Smith: Smith was excellent against South Carolina, grabbing 10 catches for 140 yards and a TD. He’ll be double-teamed against Florida, but it should be fun if he can get open.

Missouri at Tennessee

Missouri: Devin Nicholson: The sophomore linebacker had  team-leading 10 tackles against Alabama. He’s a leader within a defense that mightily improved in the second against Bama – albeit after the Crimson Tide were walking away with the game.

Tennessee: Brandon Johnson: The senior WR pulled off a circus catch against South Carolina. He’s so much fun to watch.

Ole Miss vs Kentucky 

Ole Miss: The secondary: Ole Miss’ defense was AWFUL against Florida, giving up 642 yards and 51 points, but the secondary was a special kind of terrible, giving up 416 yards passing and 6 TDs to Kyle Trask.

Kentucky: Terry Wilson: The senior QB was fine in his return to action after a season-ending injury last year, but Auburn has a legit defense. Ole Miss does not, which means that Wilson should be able to use his collection of wide receivers and running backs more as the Wildcats try to get back on track.

Who impressed us most this year in the SEC?

1. Mississippi State (1-0): It shouldn’t really have stunned people to find out that KJ Costello, who threw for 3,540 yards and 26 TDs in his 2018 year and had already hit another 1,038 in his second before he was injured at Stanford was a good quarterback, and yet Gary & Brad just made stupid jokes about him being a Stanford grad all day long. Costello threw for 623 yards and 5 TDs on LSU. It wasn’t always pretty (he threw 60 times and only had a 65.2% completion percentage and was responsible for two bad turnovers), but Leach’s offense hit TEN different receivers, led by Osirius Mitchell, Kylin Hill and JaVonta Payton, who had over 120 yards each.
2. Alabama (1-0) Might not have beaten the spread, but rolled through Missouri. They knew they’d won it after they replaced Mac Jones with Bryce Young at the start of the 4th quartter. Jaylen Waddle is a stud, and there isn’t a lot wrong with this team. And yet Dylan Moses was upset with the defense’s performance in the second half, after they ‘lost’ the second half 16-10.
3. Auburn (1-0): The Kentucky game was meant to be unbelievably tough for those crazy Tigers, but in the final quarter the Tigers shut out the Wildcats 14-0. Seth Williams is amazing. His one handed grab in the fourth quarter was a thing of beauty. All this was strange because we only saw 3 receptions from Anthony Schwartz, the most dynamic of the Auburn players.
4. Florida (1-0): Kyle Pitts (170 yards, 4 TDs) is an absolute STUD. Kyle Trask ripped apart Ole Miss’ secondary limb from limb, but then again, most offenses could have done that. The defense brought in 6 new starters, and it showed after they were shelled for 613 yards and 31 points. We still think Todd Grantham is the most overrated DC in college football.
5. Vanderbilt (0-1): Honestly, we expected the Commodores to get absolutely hammered at Texas A&M (as did Vegas), thanks to their injuries, opt-outs and transfers, but they caused three turnovers, limited the Aggies to 17 points, and had the game close until the end.
6. Arkansas (0-1): This is based on the first half performance, in which they hassled Georgia non-stop. IF THEY JUST HAD A BETTER QUARTERBACK THAT FELEIPE FRANKS, THEY MIGHT HAVE DONE SOME REAL DAMAGE.
7. Georgia (1-0): This is based on the second half performance, because the first half was an absolute trainwreck. D’wan Mathis was absolutely awful, and had to be replaced by Stetson Bennett IV after not even a half. Bennett put the team on his back, throwing for 211 yards and 2 TDs. But let’s be also honest – the Dawgs still had 13 of its 37 points from anything OTHER than the offense. Todd Monken will make people happy in Georgia in the future, but it wasn’t this time.
8. Tennessee (1-0): The Vols needed a bit of luck to beat South Carolina, but Jarrett Guarantano didn’t do many things wrong, and we love the dual RB combination of Ty Chandler and Eric Gray. Brandon Johnson’s grab in the game was something to be behold.
9. South Carolina (0-1): As predicted, the Gamecocks gave Tennessee everything they could handle, but as is usual with Carolina, they were a couple of plays away from doing excellently. Shi Smith is a warrior and will be tasked with carrying this offense, but there enough qualities for me to think that times aren’t going to be totally awful in Columbia.
10. Texas A&M (1-0): The only nice thing you can say about this performance is that the Aggies won. The Aggies had five fumbles (three lost), and Kellen Mond was poor all day long. You can look at the loss of key personnel, but this team looked utterly demotivated. Good luck against Alabama, folks.
11. Ole Miss (0-1): The offense is fun but the defense will win prizes for College Football Social Distancing.
12. Missouri (0-1): They were always going to be thumped by Alabama, and thumped they were. But Shawn Robinson’s performance was fine, even if the two fumbles were not. When Missouri gets the 12 players back that it missed through the game, they will be in much better shape.
13. Kentucky (0-1): The Cats were meant to cause Auburn fits, but two scoreless quarters indicate that nothing is going to be a gallop in the Grasslands.
14. LSU (0-1): The Tigers were dreadful. Yes, we know that the cupboard was exceptionally bare before the game with Mississippi State (not helped by the hospitalization of Derek Stingley Jr before the game), but they should have had enough talent to beat Mississippi State, right? The Tigers looked disorganised, going-through-the-motions, and Myles Brennan was a massive disappointment. This team could now go 2-8…..like PROPERLY.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 

KJ Costello (Mississippi State): 632 yards, 5 TDs isn’t a bad start from a brainy boy from Stanford, is it? I just don’t understand how anyone didn’t give him enough credit going into his game.