It was a hell of a week in the SEC, where Georgia actually didn’t give their fans heartbreak in a close game (finally), Auburn lost a defensive brawl to Clemson, and Texas A&M showed why they still have problems.

But here are our quick takes on every team in the SEC after Week 2.

1. Georgia: UGA fans turned out in their tens of thousands to South Bend to witness the Bulldogs beat the Fighting Irish 17-16. It wasn’t so much a barnburner of a game as a really ugly one, with UGA’s ‘D’ playing lights out. Jake Fromm was pretty good as a QB, which means that Jacob Eason will be worrying about his place. One worry though: The Bulldogs offensive line will face better teams’ defense than Notre Dame. We’re not sure how they’ll cope. Vegas is also kicking its heels after making Notre Dame the favorite, and so are ESPN, with 4 out of 5 of the experts picking the Leprechaun boys.
2. Auburn: The Tigers were stifled in Death Valley by Clemson. Jarrett Stidham seemed to spend most of the game running for his life. Gamblers who had Clemson winning by more 6.5 were also happy. Auburn will be fine, but they didn’t look great.
3. Texas A&M: In a week sadly highlighted by a racist letter to his wife and people questioning his job security, Kevin Sumlin could have done with a massive win over Nicholls State. Winning by 10 didn’t quite cut it for us. We’re writing this from Texas after seeing Texas beat San Jose State, and we can truly say this: If Texas vs Texas A&M had played their year-end game this year, then God would have to help us all. Both teams are awful.
4. Arkansas: Is Bret Bielema really that good a coach? Are Hogs fans beginning to get impatient. A 28-7 beating at home by TCU certainly won’t make them happy. And they’ll play better Ds than that one. Suddenly the Texas A&M game in Jerryworld becomes all-important for bowl reasons….
5. South Carolina: The Gamecocks are a sneaky pick for the SEC East. Will Muschamp’s got the offense moving in the right way….
6. Mississippi State: Many thought that MSU would struggle at Louisiana Tech, but they didn’t, putting up 57 points by the fourth quarter. Talk about some optimism coming into the match-up against LSU…
7. Missouri: On the other hand, we’d like to apologize to anyone who actually bet on Missouri winning 8 games after my SEC East preview earlier this year. They are awful. They lost with bad defense, bad offense, and comedy special teams moments.
8. Alabama: Coasted to a win over Fresno State, and they are still No.1. No great revelations there. Again, if you took Fresno State to lose by less than 44 in Tuscaloosa, you would have been ecstatic by what happened. Alabama called off the Dogs at halftime effectively, and ‘only’ won by 31.
9. LSU: Won 45-10 against Chattanooga and sacked their QB five times. Danny Etling again looked serviceable and Derrius Guice looked like Derrius Guice. They’ve got playmakers on both sides of the ball, but we’ll see how it all pans out in SEC play, particularly with a potential barnburner next week against Mississippi State and QB Nick Fitzgerald.
10. Kentucky: We said that the Wildcats would “have it pretty easy” against Eastern Kentucky. Down 13-10 at halftime, they recovered to a 27-16 victory. But still, it was hardly a revelation for Mark Stoops.
11.  Vanderbilt: Not a lot to say about the Commodores after the 42-0 win over Alabama A&M. Apart from the fact that it was Alabama A&M and they face Alabama on September 23rd.
12. Ole Miss: After seeing Ole Miss look like they have lots of offense but no defense against UT-Martin, and watching Cal have a lot of offense but no defense against Weber State, we can truly say this: The Ole Miss-Cal game scheduled for next week? Could be first to 70!

Thoughts and prayers to the people for Florida in the middle of Hurricane Irma. We hope you are safely. We think particularly to the University of Florida and Gainseville, and all the students who know people in the Tampa area. We hope everyone’s safe. 

OK, so it’s the start of the College Football Season proper (despite Stanford and, er, Oregon State starting things off last week) on Thursday, and to say we’re excited would be an understatement. Mostly, it’s to do with the monster battle between Alabama and Florida State, although the Michigan vs Florida game is going to be pretty awesome too.

So here’s how we think SEC teams will get on this weekend. We’ve also including some spread action if you’re into that, even if we’re not.

1. Alabama (-7) vs Florida State: This is the game of the week and maybe the game of the college football season. Alabama will have to show everybody what they are like with a retooled defense and a new offesnive co-ordinator, while Florida State will show us what life’s like without Dalvin Cook. The key man – in my view – is going to be Alabama RB Bo Scarborough. If FSU don’t get him under control, Alabama will control the game and win this one comfortably. And that’s what we think will happen. PREDICTION: Alabama by 10. 
2. Michigan (-4.5) vs Florida: Again a massive game to start the season, and again this pisses me off about the fact that it’s in Jerryworld instead of being a home-and-home. It would be cool to see UF going into The Big House as well as the Wolverines walk into The Swamp the year later. Well, this year both teams – with the tragic events of Houston going on down the road – are going in fairly beaten up, with Florida finally working out their quarterback just days before the start (Feleipe Franks over Malik Zaire), while Michigan has so many parts to replace (including a massive one in Jabrill Peppers). What’s also hurt Florida is the news that it’s suspended its starting running back Jordan Scarlett alongside already-sidelined Antonio Callaway. Jim McElwain must be going crazy. This should be a fun, close game. PREDICTION: Florida by 3 in a tight, fun one.
3. Texas A&M at UCLA (-4): The fact that Texas A&M is starting the season without Myles Garrett and they have an unproven QB in Jake Hubenak adds some eyebrows to the Aggies side. Don’t get us wrong, we still think Christian Kirk is an all-world athlete, but can the Ags defense stop Josh Rosen and his exciting bunch of receivers? We think not. PREDICTION: UCLA by 7 in an go-to-the-wire game
4. Tennessee (-3) at Georgia Tech: It’s undeniable: Tennessee’s going to be missing a lot of talent. this year. Joshua Dobbs is gone, as is RB Alvin Kamara, top WR Josh Malone, and a lot of their defense. John Kelly will be a very exciting returning RB, but other than that, we’ve got no damned idea what to expect. With Georgia Tech, they’ve just recently booted their leading rusher Dedrick Mills for ‘breaking athletic department rules’. UT won’t find walking into Georgia Tech’s stadium particularly worrying: They’ll have plenty of their own fans comin’ to Atlanta to scream Rocky Top at the top of their voice in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But Georgia Tech may well cause them problems. This is going to be fantastic. PREDICTION: Tennessee wins by 6
5. Georgia (-14) vs Appalachian State: Vegas seems to think something exciting’s going to happen in Athens, because the Dawgs opened as a 35-1/2 favorite and they’ve bet it down to just 14. They obviously think another Michigan 2007 game might happen. Oh, and they saw the Nicholls State debacle and they decided that UGA’s offensive line might have the same problems. OK, well here’s our argument: Georgia has an excellent young QB in Jacob Eason, two battering rams in Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, and if the offensive line does its work against what will be a smaller defense, Georgia will have fun. PREDICTION: Georgia eases through, winning by 28.
6. LSU (-16 1/2) vs BYU: We all know that this game was meant to be placed in Houston, and our thoughts are with the UH and the fans there. Sensibly, both schools didn’t argue and moved the game to New Orleans, where it’ll be essentially a home game for the Tigers. We don’t expect BYU to be able to stop any of LSU’s running posse – least of all Derrius Guice, and LSU’s defense will be far too good to let BYU have any sort of unstoppable other hand. You know, unless LSU shoot themselves in the foot – like they did against Wisconsin last year. PREDICTION: LSU wins by 21, and the Play-Off chat begins.
7. South Carolina vs NC State (-5): Vegas has set the over/under at 52.5, which means that they think this’ll be an entertaining one. A lot of people love South Carolina’s QB Jake Bentley, and there’s a lot of hope going on with the program. The problem for NC State will be in the trenches: NC State’s got some fantastic soon-to-be NFL talent in the defensive line, featuring Bradley Chubb, Kentavius Street, B.J. Hill and Justin Jones, who had excellent seasons last year. But Carolina’s secondary better keep their eye out, because TE Jaylen Samuels is plain nasty. NC State will also have home field advantage bearing in mind this game’s being played in Dullsville (sorry Bank of America Stadium), Charlotte. PREDICTION: NC State wins by 10.
8. Vanderbilt (-3) at Middle Tennessee: Vanderbilt finished the season pretty well with a victory over Tennessee, but we’re expected a brawl of a game in Murfreesboro, just 35 miles away. Vandy don’t bring much travelling support, so we’re expecting a full house of MTSU ready to make things difficult. If Vandy’s defense can continue to improve (head coach Derek Mason is a defensive guru), then things will be difficult for MTSU. This one will go to the wire. PREDICTION: Vandy by 3 in a classic.
9. Kentucky (-1o) vs Southern Miss: Southern Miss is a dangerous team, and so scheduling them suddenly doesn’t look like a cupcake from the Wildcats’ point-of-view…particularly in Hattiesburg. A lot of things point to Kentucky having its hands full. PREDICTION: Kentucky wins by 4, but Southern Miss upsets Vegas. We also like the over of 57, people, as both teams don’t seem to enjoy playing much defense. 
10. South Alabama vs Ole Miss (-23 1/2): Hugh Freeze blah blah blah…..We expect Ole Miss to blow the doors off South Alabama. If nothing else to make the point that they don’t care about no NCAA, homes. PREDICTION: Ole Miss by 42.
11. (And onto boring game No.1:) Auburn’s a 34-1/2 point favorite against Georgia Southern. They’ll win by over 40, because Gus Malzahn will want to prove a point to the haters (blah blah blah).
12. (Boring Game No.2): Missouri State’s visit to Missouri should see Missouri win comfortably. So much so that Vegas isn’t offering odds on the game. We think Mizzou wins by 50, and pleases our friends at the Mizzodcast, the excellent Tigers podcast.
13. (Boring Game No.3): Mississippi State‘s 2016 opener was an embarrassment when they lost at home to South Alabama, but we don’t think it’s going to repeat itself against Charleston Southern, who is a useful FCS school (it has won the Big South twice in the last two years), but won’t keep up with the Cowbellers. Mississippi State by 38.
14. (Boring Game No.4): We’d like to ask one massive question. Why in the Lord of Hogs’ name is Arkansas’ game against Florida A&M being played in Little Rock instead of Arkansas’ true home in Fayetteville? Arkansas will roast the Ratters by 40, and no-one’s going to care after the first quarter…

MAs much as everyone keeps on talking about Georgia, the brutal fact is this: Georgia hasn’t won a SEC title since 2005. Since Georgia’s last SEC title, Florida has won two of them. Georgia hasn’t been to Atlanta since 2012, while Florida have been to the last two.

Florida’s also won the last three Cocktail Parties against Georgia.

So who’s going to win the SEC East?

1. Florida — Georgia might have the tailbacks, but Florida brings back a hell of a lot of experience on the receiving front, with Antonio Callaway leading the way. If Callaway can keep his nose (and lungs) clean, then the Gators have an excellent WR who had 721 yards and 3 TDs last year. If Dre Massey can also be 100%, then Florida’s really dangerous. And despite all the talk about Malik Zaire starting as quarterback, it seems as though Feleipe Franks has started in Jim McElwain’s good graces, kicking off the season’s practices with the first-team offense. And if the offensive line can play beyond expectations and keep Franks/Zaire alive, the Gators could be exciting. Oh, and while we’re mentioning exciting, things are going to be interesting with the Gators defense. New DC Randy Shannon is a fantastic hire by McElwain, and he should have some solid returnees in DE Cece Jefferson, safeties Nick Washington and  Marcell Harris. But will they be OK after losing 8 starters? Florida’s schedule sees the Gators play Tennessee, LSU, Texas A&M and Florida State at home, and Michigan and Georgia in neutral site venues. These Gators could shine. PREDICTION: 10-2 (losses to FSU and LSU)
2. Georgia — It must be because Athens is pretty close to the SEC Network’s base in Atlanta, but everyone’s – again – drooling about the Bulldogs. OK, I GET that Nick Chubb and Sony Michel are one of the best running back combinations in the SEC. Although please name in a season where both players have managed to get through the whole season unimpeded by injury. Eljah Holyfield has been named as an exciting prospect if when one gets injured. Quarterbacks-wise, everyone with a red shirt will talk your ear off about Jacob Eason, and we know he has the skills. But get this: He’s still got a young offensive line, and his biggest piece of receiving talent has gone in Isaiah McKenzie, who at times lived up to his nickname as the ‘Human Joystick’. Terry Godwin and Riley Ridley will have a lot of slack to pick up. Defensively, Trenton Thompson (58 tackles, 5 sacks) and LB Davin Ballamy can be stars alongside a defensive line which is will be one the best in the nation. The biggest problem for UGA is a nasty schedule which sees them go to Notre Dame, Tennessee, Auburn and play a tricky Mississippi State team who has the kind of quarterback in Nick Fitzgerald to exploit their secondary. PREDICTION: 10-2 (losses to Auburn and Florida, meaning Florida goes to SEC Championship Game.
3. Missouri — This could be a very good team, but then again, this also could be a very bad one. The returners are potential stars, with QB Drew Lock, RBs Damarea Crockett and Ish Witter and there’s a star in there in J’Mon Moore, who led all SEC receivers by averaging 84.4 per game. However, Moore dropped EIGHTEEN catches (that’s 22.5% of all balls thrown his way). He’s claimed a new focus, but we’ll have to see. Defensively, Missouri’s going to have to stop the rot. With Charles Harris now gone, the pressure’s going to be on former five-star prospect Terry Beckner Jr, who has struggled with injuries ever since he’s arrived in Columbia. He could be a frightening prospect for opposing offensive lines – especially if Marcell Frazier can get back to his best. Mizzou brings back an experienced linebacking corps who SHOULD improve from 2016. Schedule-wise, things aren’t easy with trips to Georgia, Kentucky and Arkansas, and the home games to Auburn, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee are hardly gimmes either. PREDICTION: 8-4
4. Tennessee —- If he doesn’t succeed, 2017 might be Butch Jones’ last at Rocky Top. Unfortunately for Jones, he’ll have to replace some studs to save his job. QB Joshua Dobbs, top RB Alvin Kamara, top WR Josh Malone, top CB Cam Sutton, top DEs Derek Barnett and Corey Vereen have all left Knoxville. That’s a lot of talent. And to make matters worse, QB Quinten Dormady – who’s seen as the potential starter – isn’t highly thought-of in the least, although WRs Jauan Jennings and Josh Smith and TE Ethan Wolf could cause problems. They’ll also be helped by an O-Line which is one of the most solid in the conference. However, the defensive losses are massive. Barnett and Vereen’s losses take 75% of last year’s sack production. The schedule is evil, with trips to Florida and Alabama as well as home games against Georgia and  LSU. They could well go 0-4 in those games. The trips to Kentucky and Missouri won’t be easy either.  PREDICTION: 6-6 (And Butch Jones gets fired after the season ends)
5. South Carolina — People are actually pretty excited about Gamecocks football this season. After finishing 6-7, Carolina returns with a quarterback who came in under-the-radar for the second half of the year, starting seven games, going 4-3, and throwing for 1,420 yards and 9 TDs and 4 INTs. That’s Jake Bentley. Deebo Samuel (WR) and Hayden Hurst (TE) are both receivers who cause trouble for anyone’s secondary. Speaking of secondaries, the Gamecocks return five out of their top six DBs, led by the CB trio of Jamarcus King, Chris Lammons and Rashad Fenton. The big issue for them is a nasty schedule, in which they go to Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Missouri. They’ve also got a local rival who may have won the National Championship at home. They’ll be happy to go 3-2 in that space. Which we don’t think they will. PREDICTION: 5-7.
6. Kentucky — Everyone seems to be tipping Kentucky for magnificent things this season, but I’m not convinced. The defense – which was horrible against the rush last season (110th in the FBS, giving up 228.2 yards/game at 5.15 per rush) doesn’t really improve, and they are in a conference where rushing is a big component. Their schedule – they face Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, Louisville, Ole Miss, Missouri and Arkansas (amongst others) will feature teams who will try and test them. If they can improve, good things will help. Stephen Johnson is an excellent QB and WRs Garrett Johnson and Dorian Baker could cause defenses problems. But I’m sorry, I’m not sold. PREDICTION: 5-7 (Win over Ole Miss makes life better pulls people back on Mark Stoops bandwagon)
7. Vanderbilt — I want to point this out: I really like Derek Mason, Vanderbilt’s head coach. He seems like the sort of head coach who would actually suspend a starter if they were arrested black-out drunk at the driver’s seat of his car, whatever the game they had to start the new season. You know, unlike another guys we could mention. But that doesn’t mean I think they are going to be great. Here’s why: They’ve lost a ton of talent on the offensive line and they aren’t bringing it back. The poor offensive line – against formidable defensive competition – is going to hurt Davis Webb, Vandy’s QB. If that doesn’t work, then it’s going to be a long old season. Defensively, saying goodbye to the excellent Zach Cunningham is going to be a big blow. The schedule is nasty with games against Alabama and Ole Miss, and they’ll have to go to The Swamp and to Tennessee. Otherwise, the Dores play UGA, Missouri and Kentucky at home. PREDICTION: 4-8 (Although they’ll score a stunning win over Kansas State).

Hey guys, if you believe the SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Florida’s going to be close, then you’re either a really, really overly-confident Florida fan, or a Florida fan who’s taken a lot of LSD.

Alabama will win, and Alabama will probably win big.

They won’t win so big – in the way that they destroyed Florida last year – and Missouri the year before – because Florida has some sort of defense that maybe will keep Hurts from putting on the hurt (see what we did there?) for the first quarter-and-a-half.

If there are Alabama fans who insist to you (because it’s ‘important to be humble’) that it could be close because of all the injuries the team has, I want to throw this out there:

How is it that every time there’s been a difficult injury to Alabama, they’ve generally managed to rebound in time for a big game, and then play the game of their lives? I can think of star safety Eddie Jackson. Bo Scarborough suffered an injury against Chatanooga that had people pretty scared, until he ran over people against Auburn. Guys, when Nick Saban’s warning the media that the team’s got some injuries and how’s it’s a modern miracle that the team has come this far, please don’t know he’s taking the media for a spin. Or he’s talking B.S., if you want to put it like that. He’s trying to seem humble, when he really knows that Alabama should beat the living crap out of this Florida team.

And we think they will do.

PREDICTION: Alabama 45, Florida 6. 

Here are some other games that might interest you:

• Clemson vs Virginia Tech: We hate the fact that the game was moved to Orlando from Charlotte. Not because of the principles of the political matter, but because it was moved to frickin’ Charlotte. Why couldn’t have the game have been moved to Tennessee or Jacksonville or someone else? Orlando’s a shitty place for both sides to get to. Anyway, about the game. Virginia Tech has done well against teams it has no business doing well again, and it’s punished teams that have made mistakes (we see you, Notre Dame). The problem with Virginia Tech is that they turn over the ball too much – and this will be against a Clemson team who WILL punish teams for doing so. The offense is finding its mojo again, but the opposition will be far more superior to what they’ve faced the last two weeks. PREDICTION: Clemson 38, Virginia Tech 21.
• Wisconsin vs Penn State: We were talking to a buddy of ours who writes for Penn State’s 24-7 website, and he says that the best battle of the day will be Penn State’s lightning receivers against Wisconsin’s DBs. My argument would be whether Penn State’s offensive line can give Saquon Barkley (check out the highlights, people – he’s awesome! (He was offered by Ohio State, Notre Dame and Missouri (amongst others)), and whether Barkley is fit. Also, whether Wisconsin’s offensive line can be troubled by Penn State’s defenses. Both defenses can brawl. This will be low-scoring. PREDICTION: Wisconsin 20, Penn State 10. 
• Washington vs Colorado: We wish the game was played on January 2nd, because the smell in the parking lot would have been AWESOME. Joking apart, we expect Washington to win pretty comfortably  I know, I know, everybody would love to see the Buffs win (including ESPN’s Chris Fowler), but I just can’t see it. PREDICTION: Washington 45, Colorado 10. 
• Oklahoma State vs Oklahoma: A de facto Big XII Championship Game between two sides who are pretty fun to watch. It’s called ‘Bedlam’, because it’s an awesome name for a rivalry. It’s been close over the last five years (OU leads 3-2), but Oklahoma has absolutely owned Oklahoma State, leading Bedlam in not particularly Bedlam-esque fashion, 85-18-7. What was pointed out by SB Nation’s ‘Shutdown Fullcast’ is that the reason why it should be a lot of fun is that both sides will be looking to win and impress the Play-Off Committee, so you can expect a high-scoring game. Although they also noted the Big XII’s chances of making it TO the play-off has gone by the wayside – particularly with the conference’s dismal OOC record. PREDICTION: Oklahoma 55, Oklahoma State 45. 

Happy Christmas and Happy New Year! We know that bowl season is in full swing, but we’ll be honest…..none of the bowls matter until SEC teams play in them. Here’s why: When the SEC does well everyone talks about SEC bias, SEC strength, and SEC godliness, and when SEC teams do badly, people are quick to jump down our butts and tell us how bad we are (and we’re honest — we were poor as hell as last year).

LSU’s going to kick off the SEC bowl season against Texas Tech, and Alabama – we hope  – will end it in the National Championship Game. Simple.

So here are our previews….

THE BIG ONE (College Football Play-Off Semi-Final @ Cotton Bowl, Dec 31): ALABAMA vs MICHIGAN STATE 

It’s interesting. The 2015 incarnation of the college football play-off has three teams who lost against teams they shouldn’t have done. Alabama lost to Ole Miss at home (special teams killed ’em), Michigan State lost to Nebraska (who won because the refs screwed ’em), and Oklahoma lost to Texas (they were awful). Ohio State will argue that they deserved a spot ahead of any of three teams, but Urban Meyer proved to be utterly indecisive both as a coach trying to work out who the best quarterback was (Nick Saban would have encouraged one of the three quarterbacks to transfer), and as a motivator (Ohio State thought they walked on water all season long, and suffered the consequence against Michigan State, only to rebound by actually playing like everyone thought they might by savaging Michigan at The Big House). So anyway, Michigan State and Alabama are in the game, and it looks like a defensive brawl. Both defenses have been rough to run on all season long. Both offenses have good-if-n0t-great quarterbacks in Jake Coker and Connor Cook, and we don’t know about Cook’s shoulder. It’s in rehab. It could ripped off by A*Shawn Robinson & Co if the MSU offensive line doesn’t do its job….and it didn’t exactly look like Mark Dantonio intended against Iowa. Offensively, Alabama’s got the upper hand because they’ve got a running back in Derrick Henry who could start in the NFL tomorrow (Cleveland could do with a good RB, by the way). He’s averaging a gadzillion yards a game and the only way you can put him down in the latter stages of a game is with an elephant gun. If Michigan State bottles up Henry (or downs him with an elephant gun early), then everything’s going to be on Coker to succeed. Which we would consider a better bet than an injured Cook against that Alabama defense. Alabama’s playing in its second home of the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, by the way.

PREDICTION: Alabama 28, Michigan State 14

And the other games (by game order):

TEXAS BOWL (Dec 29) – LSU vs TEXAS TECH

It’s pretty simple: Expect LSU to use Leonard Fournette a lot against Texas Tech’s almost historically-awful run defense, which was third-worst in the whole of college football. If he doesn’t get 400 yards, Les Miles should be fired on the spot and Cam Cameron won’t get back to Baton Rouge. If LSU’s defense plays well against Kliff Kingsbury’s high-powered offense, the seven-point line – LSU is favored – will be one of the best bets of bowl season.

PREDICTION: LSU 41, Texas Tech 30

BIRMINGHAM BOWL (Dec 30) – AUBURN vs MEMPHIS

One of our favorite songs of all time is Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis”. Auburn fans would love to see their team walk over Paxton Lynch and the Memphis Tigers – and it’s easy to see why they might now that Memphis’ coach Justin Fuente has taken his blue suede shoes up to Blacksburg to be Virginia Tech’s coach. However much Fuente will talk about being focussed on this game, his mind will be on Hokieland. But can Auburn stop him? We think it’s still unlikely – although Auburn’s a three-point favorite – unless Gus Malzahn has suddenly found a defense in the close season.

PREDICTION: Memphis 28, Auburn 23

BELK BOWL (Dec 30) – MISSISSIPPI STATE vs NC STATE

NC State really isn’t that good, and we love Dak Prescott. We anticipate Prescott giving a hell of a swansong to the Mississippi State faithful – after the not-so-good swansong against Ole Miss.

PREDICTION: MSU 31, NC State 14

MUSIC CITY BOWL (Dec 30) – TEXAS A&M vs LOUISVILLE

Bobby Petrino’s team had one vaguely good win this season, and that was the comeback-from-the-dead win against Kentucky. Otherwise, it was like watching a drunk frat boy try and convince everybody at the party he was sober, and then falling on his face. Repeatedly. Texas A&M could be accused of being the drunk frat boy too – especially as both their starting quarterbacks have decided to leave the frat house for “other options”, which Aggies fans must be pretty pissed about. The Aggies are going to have changes on their offensive line and at starting quarterback. They’ve also got Christian Kirk, who’s a livewire. On the other end, Louisville’s going to struggle to stop Myles Garrett. Louisville’s favored by 4.5 because of A&M’s QB problem, but we think that’s tough on the Aggies, who we still believe has a very good defense.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 38, Louisville 20

OUTBACK BOWL (Jan 1) – TENNESSEE vs NORTHWESTERN

Northwestern may have had a great 10-2 year, but the highlight was really made at the start when they stopped Christian McCaffery and Stanford on Game 1. They were considered lucky to have beaten Penn State’s crapshow of an offense, and were beaten soundly by Michigan in what most considered their biggest match-up. Now, they come against a Tennessee side who’s got a ton of momentum after shooting itself in the foot against Florida, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Tennessee’s an eight-point favorite against a stout defense, but can Northwestern really score to keep up with the Vols? We think not.

PREDICTION: Tennessee 28, Northwestern 17

CITRUS BOWL (Jan 1)  – FLORIDA vs MICHIGAN

A lot of Florida fans still have the vomit in their mouths after watching Treon Harris play in the SEC Championship Game. A lot of Michigan fans are still wondering what in the hell happened to them after their team was eviscerated at home to Ohio State. The guy with the weird expression must still be standing in Ann Arbor, crying over the fumbled punt against Michigan State. Or he’s at home, getting prepped for his trip to Florida for the Citrus Bowl, where his team’s a four-point favorite. The reason why it’s four points rather than 10 points is that Vegas loves Florida’s defense, which was exceptional for most of the Alabama game until tiredness took over. Can they get up for Michigan game? We just don’t know. My firm prediction: This will be ugly.

PREDICTION: Michigan 17, Florida 10

SUGAR BOWL (Jan 1) – OLE MISS vs OKLAHOMA STATE

Ole Miss was just a 4th-and-25 from going to the SEC Championship Game, while Oklahoma State was just two good performances from going to the College Football Play-Off (they got spanked in both games). Oh, and Ole Miss has been pretty distracted this week with the news that heralded defensive tackle decided to go professional in weed smoking and skydiving before he decided to professional as a football player. In other words, this sugar ain’t tasting nice for either side. Ole Miss is a seven-point favorite in what should be a very entertaining game.

PREDICTION: Ole Miss 48, Oklahoma State 45

TAXSLAYER BOWL (Jan 2) – GEORGIA vs PENN STATE

If you speak to Georgia and Penn State fans, both fans would have opted for their teams NOT to play in a bowl game at all, put the season to sleep, and start again with new offensive co-ordinators. And for Georgia, a new head coach. There are rumblings amongst the Penn State faithful that James Franklin has been clueless at the helm this season. Both sides came out of 2015 with no banner wins despite having banner match-ups, with Georgia losing decidedly to Florida and Alabama while Penn State played Michigan close but was then thumped by Ohio State and Michigan State. We expect the stadium in Jacksonville to be 3/4 full for this one, that feels more New Year’s hangover than anything else. Georgia’s a 6.5-point favorite.

PREDICTION: Georgia 17, Penn State 10

LIBERTY BOWL (Jan 2) – ARKANSAS vs KANSAS STATE 

I looked at Vegas’ prediction that Arkansas will win by just 13 points, and laughed. Either they haven’t seen Kansas State at all this season, or they think that Bret Bielema will have too much respect for Bill Snyder to put the kind of beating on him that he did to Charlie Strong the year before. The big question: Who does Bret Bielema HAVE any respect for? That’s a slightly more ethereal question than I want to answer at this time of writing, because my biggest question right now is: “Why in the hell has my game prediction for this one gone on for so long?”

PREDICTION: Arkansas 48, Kansas State 13

No Championship? No problem for Nick Saban.

The Alabama Crimson Tide was AGAIN the No.1 recruiting team on National Signing Day, with a tremendous signing day haul.

It included: Three of the ESPN 300’s top 10 players (OT Cameron Robinson, DE Da’Shawn Hand, CB Tony Brown), and the No.10 and No.12 players in the nation, too (ATH Bo Scarborough, and CB Marlon Humphrey).

They also stunningly picked up OLB Rashaan Evans from Auburn High school – who had also been rated highly, despite many thinking – including Auburn itself– that Evans was a cert to play in Jordan-Hare. The move seemed to have annoyed Evans’ mother, who seemed clearly worried about what people in the area would think. Saban described the process: “All the people you’re going to make unhappy….you’re going to make more people happy here”. Evans has been described as the ‘next Melvin Ingram‘, by Bleacher Report, although that will have to be seen to be believed.

Saban added that he saw the Electric Slide video on YouTube that had everyone laughing, and was sorry that no-one saw his ‘Wobble’. “I do that pretty well, too”, he said, in a rare lighthearted moment.

No Alabama signing was under a three-star recruiting valuation for the Tide, who also added former Florida State QB Jacob Coker (not counted here) as well as former Georgia TE Ty Flournoy-Smith, who is getting a second chance in Tuscaloosa.

Usually when it comes to Georgia fans, they like to swear in the general direction of Mark Richt.

They blame him when the Bulldogs lose. They blame him when the Bulldog players get arrested. They blame him when the Bulldog players get injured.

But now, Georgia fans are actually happy with Mark Richt- especially after National Signing Day.

The Georgia coach landed No.14 player on the ESPN 300 list DE Lorenzo Carter (despite the close attentions of Florida, LSU and Florida State), which definitely got the fans buzzing – especially those who had been critical of Richt for not filling out his staff after defensive co-ordinator Todd Grantham decided to leave for Louisville.

The 6ft 5, 324lb player said: “The defense is going to be nasty, and I want to be part of it”, at his press conference. Some think he might even play OLB. Whatever happens, Jeremy Pruitt’s pretty happy.

Pruitt also recruited five secondary players – including one safety and four cornerbacks. A number of them might see action as close as the Clemson game bearing in mind the team’s current woes in that department.

Earlier in the day Richt added two five-star running backs in tailbacks Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. Both are thought out of as ‘five-star talent’. Chubb was described as having ‘Todd Gurley-type talent’. Georgia fans can only hope.

Not only that, but Richt also shored up his offensive line with Kendall Baker, Dyshon Sims and Jake Edwards, as well as tight ends Jeb Blazevich and Hunter Atkinson. Atkinson committed to Cincinnati before he was recruited by UGA.

And also, the Athens media have now christened a new ‘return specialist’ (if returning WR/punt returner Malcolm Mitchell wasn’t enough) in Isaiah McKenzie.

Offensive co-ordinator Mike Bobo said: “His No. 1 job is gonna try to be that punt returner, kick returner for us….It could be the difference in one ballgame, and obviously help us on offense if we can sometimes just get 10 yards on the punt return. That’s the first down for the offense. And field position is so crucial, it sometimes doesn’t matter how effective you are as an offense, the percentages go down if the field position isn’t in your favor. It’s hard to go 80 yards on anybody, I don’t care who you’re playing.”

The Bulldogs ranked 8th in the National Rivals Rankings.

There is nothing else to say, really.

Auburn is the 2013 SEC Champion. Yes, you heard me: Auburn – a team unfancied by anybody to do anything this season – is the SEC Champion.

Some might say Auburn coach Gus Malzahn did a deal with the Devil. Some might say dumb luck, but in the end, it was a breathless running machine that blew away Missouri for 677 yards – 545 on the ground – which included Tre Mason’s 304 yard, 4-touchdown performance that torched Mizzou’s D 59-42 in one of the crazier games you’ll ever see.

Auburn is 12-1 this season, and they are a team that has caught their breaks:

MAJOR BREAK 1) Kris Frost’s blatant horsecollar on Johnny Manziel as he was driving Texas A&M towards a comeback victory against the Tigers. There were no flags. Auburn hangs on to win.

MAJOR BREAK 2) Auburn blows 37-17, fourth quarter lead to trail 38-37. Nick Marshall’s prayer on 4th and 18 is answered as two Georgia secondary players want to go for the jazzy interception instead of knocking the ball down. Ricardo Louis catches the rebound, and runs it in. And then Aaron Murray couldn’t help them come back, but by God they came close.

MAJOR BREAK 3) The Iron Bowl victory. Not only the field goal that was missed that was returned by Chris Davis to the house with no seconds left on the clock, but Cade Foster’s THREE missed field goals beforehand.

MAJOR BREAK 4) The dependence on others: Ohio State – ranked No.2 – loses to Michigan State. Baylor loses to Oklahoma State a week-or-so before. Auburn in National Championship Game.

So, Auburn will play Florida State in the National Championship Game. And you know what, we can’t wait to see what breaks Gus Malzahn gets this time.

If you hadn’t noticed, this week in the SEC has its fair share of antagonism.

And we love it. On all three days of the Thanksgiving Holiday. And you know what? We’re thankful for it!

We love Alabama fans screwing with Auburn fans, and vice-versa. With both proving equally touchy.

We love Ole Miss and Mississippi State fans screwing with each other. With both proving equally touchy.

We love South Carolina and Clemson fans screwing with each other. Or more’s the case, Steve Spurrier screwing with Dabo Swinney, and Swinney desperately trying to rise above it. Which he’s failing to do.

We love Florida and Florida State screwing with each other, with Florida students, despite their school’s record, thanking God that they don’t have to go to the ‘SECOND SCHOOL IN THE STATE’

And Georgia fans just call Georgia Tech fans nerds. You know, as the Georgia Tech fans are whizzing past ’em in their Ferraris.

The SEC itself is trying to create a ‘new rivalry’ between LSU and Arkansas (‘The Battle For The Golden Boot’ has been played (deep voice) every year since 1996 but one of the more interesting games may be in Lexington, KY where Kentucky entertain Tennessee. Kentucky still needs a SEC win. 

Oh, and if it’s interesting (and cold) you want, go to Columbia…..Missouri, where it’ll be a balmy 44.6 F for the Texas A&M players (colder at night) where Missouri has to win its game against Texas A&M to go to the SEC Championship Game.

And while you were sleeping, there’s the battle of the rich schools when Vanderbilt go to play Wake Forest. They won’t be extending this to 2014, because it’s not a rivalry game anymore (The SEC wants a ‘Tennessee rivalry game between Vandy and Tennessee’ next year).

After that short introduction….

THURSDAY

OLE MISS AT MISSISSIPPI STATE

After the beating that was put on them last time the two teams played each other as well as the resurgence of Ole Miss, Mississippi State must be feeling a little like little sister at the moment. And despite beating Arkansas last week to gain its second SEC victory of the year, Mississippi State simply HAS to beat its hated inter-state rival to claim bowl eligibility. Ole Miss is already there at 7-4, but they were completely outclassed at home to Missouri last week. Both sides will be looking forward to this one in an atmosphere that’s going to be very, very loud. If you don’t like cowbells, do not watch this game. You’ll get a headache.

BOTTOM LINE: Ole Miss by a touchdown in an unexpectedly great SEC game.

FRIDAY

ARKANSAS AT LSU

Congratulations to LSU fans who finally saw their team play 60 minutes of football this season after a fantastically complete victory over Texas A&M. Sure, the Tigers benefited from the fact that that powers-that-be-in the Aggies co-ordination team didn’t want to run the ball at them, but they harassed Johnny Manziel into his worst night of his season, and maybe wrestled the Heisman Trophy away from him. On the other side of the ball, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham STILL look like the best wide receiving duo in the nation, and Zach Mettenberger looks like a NFL QB. We expect them to prosper against Arkansas – even though early on, Razorbacks running back Alex Collins is going to cause them some problems.

BOTTOM LINE: Vegas’ 24.5 prediction a little high for our liking. We’ll take LSU to win, but only by 21. So in other words, less than the spread.

SATURDAY

ALABAMA AT AUBURN

Here’s one thing for certain: It sure is going to be LOUD in Jordan-Hare Stadium this weekend. LOUD because it’s Alabama/Auburn, and LOUD because if Auburn wins, it goes to the SEC Championship Game. Mind, if Alabama wins, the Crimson Tide go to the SEC Championship Game. No pressure, then. Can Nick Marshall and Auburn’s fast-paced offense catch ‘Bama cold? Can Bama’s relentless rushing attack and the Best Quarterback Ever (AJ McCarron) secure victory? These questions – and more- will be answered on Saturday afternoon.

BOTTOM LINE: Alabama’s a 10.5-point favorite with Vegas. We’re going for Alabama by 14. But it’s going to be close until the final couple of Alabama drives.

TEXAS A&M AT MISSOURI

We talked a lot about Johnny Football coming to Baton Rouge last weekend, but he was outschemed by LSU’s defensive co-ordinator, John Chavis. Let’s not think for one moment (he says, putting on his Khan voice in ‘Star Wars’) that Dave Steckel hasn’t look at the tapes (repeatedly) and is thinking up something similar for Johnny. That means that Kevin Sumlin’s going to have to use the rush game better, and trust in everyone else offensively – not just No.2. On the other side of the ball, the Texas A&M ‘D’, which struggled to stop Jeremy Hill last week, is going to have similar problems with Henry Josey, and Mizzou’s big receiver L’Damian Washington and Dorial Green-Beckham are going to cause A&M’s secondary a handful, too.

BOTTOM LINE: Missouri’s a 4.5-point favorite. We love Missouri to beat the spread and win by at least a touchdown. A&M’s got the firepower, but it ain’t got the stop-power.

CLEMSON AT SOUTH CAROLINA

One of the games of the week that’s making us incredibly indecisive, for a number of reasons. Connor Shaw (USC) can’t stop winning games for the ‘Cocks. Mike Davis is a hell of a running back – and we all saw what good running backs did to Clemson’s defense. But on the other side of the ball, it’s been difficult to deal with Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins and a host of other Tigers firepower, Clemson has a ‘SEC’ offense. Plus, Clemson’s already 1-0 against SEC teams, although the friendly confines of Death Valley are probably a little different to the screaming hordes of Williams-Brice, where families are known to fight over their allegiances at the Thanksgiving table.

BOTTOM LINE: If we’re honest, it’s too close to call. If we’re pushed, we’re taking Clemson, because we feel South Carolina’s five-point favorite standing is a little too high.

A GAME THAT’S GOING TO BE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK….

GEORGIA AT GEORGIA TECH

The SEC Football Blog has a buddy called Mack. Mack really, really, really, really, really, really, really hates Georgia Tech. He really does. In fact, I don’t know a lot of self-loathing Georgia Tech fans who hate their team more than Mack does. Every week on Facebook we’re hit by the wrongs that have been put on him by the Yellowjackets, and he starts everything with the word: “Nerds”. You know, like Nerds  don’t eventually take over the earth or anything. Anyway, there’s an expectation from Mack that Georgia fans will take over Bobby-Dodd Stadium (true) and that his team will win by 60 (false). Now, this blog just wanted to give Mack a big hug, and tell him how truly sorry we are for him and his goddawful injury stack of a season, which last week saw off quarterback Aaron Murray for the rest of the year. Murray’s groom Hutson Mason will take over, and he’s going to be OK, if a little rusty. The Bulldogs are going to rely a lot on running back Todd Gurley and the lengthy stable of Georgia running backs, but there will also be a play or two for the likes of Bennett and Wooten to make their mark. They’ll be going up against a defense that is more solid that it’s given credit for….even if it did get socked at Clemson two weeks ago. Georgia’s defense isn’t great, either.

BOTTOM LINE: Georgia Tech has a great running attack and Georgia is hopeless against the run. Georgia’s a 3.5-point favorite…and we think Georgia wins by five in a finger-biting game for Mack and nerds concerned.

GAMES THAT AREN’T GOING TO BE THAT CLOSE

VANDERBILT AT WAKE FOREST

Last time out Vanderbilt squeaked by awful Tennessee and Wake Forest only just lost to ACC Championship contender Duke (yes, Duke!), and we’re anticipating better from the Commodores this time round.

BOTTOM LINE: Vandy’s a 14-point favorite in this one, but we’re going the whole hog and saying: “Vandy by 21”. Don’t have us wrong on your next-to-final game, James Franklin.

GAMES THAT REALLY, REALLY AREN’T GOING TO BE CLOSE

FLORIDA STATE AT FLORIDA

Florida just lost to Georgia Southern. Florida State can’t seem to lose to anybody. Florida’s offense is horrific and makes mistakes. Florida State’s defense eats mistakes. Florida State’s offense clicks like a Maserati. Florida’s defense is rusty, hurt and praying to the Lord Football Jesus that this season ends quickly (it will, by the way Gators, in 60 minutes).

This is going to be horrible.

BOTTOM LINE: Florida State by 40. No-one in Vegas seems to be willing to take bets on it.

There’s no denying that Georgia coach Mark Richt is one of life’s good guys.

He’s a coach who is also just a really good guy.

But Georgia fans don’t want decent guys. If they did, they’d hire a pastor. They want him to get over the hump, and not only win football games, but win BIG football games. And by BIG FOOTBALL GAMES, we mean National Championships – and wins over big time schools. They’re fed up by losing at Clemson, losing SEC Championship Games, and getting trundled at home by Alabama. Oh, and they HATE losing against Steve Spurrier, too.

But wait a minute – Mark Richt’s achievements at Georgia have been admirable.

Here’s the list:

• He’s won two SEC Championships (2002 and 2005) – including Georgia’s first since 1982.
• He’s won six SEC East titles (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012).
• He’s 8-4 in bowl games.
• He had a 118-41 record.
• He hasn’t left for the NFL, or a bigger job – something that – despite his success- can’t be said for Nick Saban (he left LSU for the Miami Dolphins, where he was a disaster) or Steve Spurrier (he left Florida for the Washington Redskins, where he was a disaster). And despite all the crap he’s been given, he’s stayed in his job since 2001, making him the longest-serving SEC coach.
• Oh, and he sent EIGHT players to the NFL Draft last year. That’s on top of the tens that he’s sent over the years. Notable players include Matt Stafford, AJ Green, and Ben Watson. He can’t take credit for octagenarian Champ Bailey, who played before he came along.

But the biggest criticism at Mark Richt – and the reason why he’s constantly decried in Georgia, is his failure to take Georgia to the promised land – the National Championship Game. There’s no question the team has talent, but it’s becoming its new verb in terms of screwing things up. See Clemson 2013 for details.

• Recently with Aaron Murray as QB, Georgia is 3-11 against ranked opponents, and 1-6 against Top 10 teams, with the sole victory coming last year against Florida, which was more of a result of Jarvis Jones than Aaron Murray.
• He’s lost out-of-state season openers against Boise State, Oklahoma State, and now Clemson – all of them ‘inferior’ conferences.
• Georgia seems to lose games by their own mishaps more than anything else. Is that bad coaching or simply bad play?
• Under Richt, they have a 4-8 record against Florida and lost three straight times against South Carolina and Steve Spurrier. Oh, and he’s 2-4 against Nick Saban (in his Alabama and LSU days), including an embarrassment in black shirts at home in 2010.
• He’s lost against Georgia Tech. Once, but it’s still a loss.
• 21 Georgia players have been arrested under Mark Richt in the last FIVE years. That’s not exactly keeping control of your players, is it?

THE BOTTOM LINE: If you want to go to the NFL, Georgia’s a pretty good place to start. Mark Richt’s a decent guy, and he’s a winner who’s won the team bowl games and SEC titles – including their first since 1982. He’s made Georgia a perennial contender after some lean years, and he’s a great QB coach. If you doubt me, ask Matt Stafford. Sure, there’s pressure on him, but he’s not worth firing. Who better could you get, apart from the guy coaching at Alabama?