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.

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.

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.

Thank you, Lord Jesus. The SEC is back on Saturday.

For a while, we thought there would be no college football season, let alone SEC season.

But the SEC waited – and came up with a plan. The plan is that every SEC side will play 10 games.

This week is Week 1.

So here we go – in order of games that we’re most excited to see.

1. No.23 Kentucky at No.8 Auburn (-7.5) 

Auburn bring back two of the better wide receivers in the SEC West in Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz, and a very solid defensive corps as well. Kentucky will start senior QB Terry Wilson and brings along a strong line with him and a running back group committee – which could consist of electric freshman Michael Brennan II. This will be battle of the offensive lines. Auburn’s is really inexperienced, but then again, Kentucky’s will have to deal with Big Kat Bryant and the rest of the NFL talent that Auburn will bring to face it.What might make this a lot closer is the fact a week of Auburn’s August was wiped out because of COVID-19. We haven’t had the same problems with Kentucky (so it seems),  so that will give Kentucky some sort of advantage.

PREDICTION: Gas in the Gus Bus!Auburn wins by 3 in a nip-and-tuck thriller.

2. Mississippi State at No.6 LSU (-16.5)

This is going to be a weird game, primarily because Mike Leach is involved, which should be a cure for any shut-out. We know why LSU was No.1 in January, but we can’t work out why they are No.6 now, bearing in mind that they’ve lost so much talent on both sides of the ball. Mississippi State brings back its best rusher in Kylin Hill and KJ Costello – the graduate transfer from Stanford, so that could give LSU more fits than people let on. If Myles Brennan can get the ball to freshman former five-star wideout Kayshon Boutte a lot for LSU, this could be fun.

PREDICTION: Much closer than people think, but LSU will pull it out, because it’s talent alone. LSU by 7.

3. No.16 Tennessee (-3.5) at South Carolina

There’s been a lot of chatter about Tennessee, and people are pretty excited on Rocky Top. Unlike most years where people were not remotely talking up the Volunteers, people are talking about a possibility of them even taking Georgia close. Unless Jarrett Guarantano suddenly gets a lot more consistent and Eric Gray does good things against top opposition, we think this is fairly unlikely. However, against a South Carolina side that has no running attack of mention and will only bring one wide receiver back of worthy mention (Shi Smith) to help grad transfer QB Colin Hill, that won’t really matter.

PREDICTION: Tennessee by 10. And don’t think that the pressure won’t be on Will Muschamp after Week 1…because it will. 

4. No.5 Florida (-12 1/2) at Ole Miss.

New coach, new madness at Ole Miss? The swarms that would normally fill out The Grove certainly do. Lane Kiffin’s come on board and made some nice additions – including TE Kenny Yaboah from Temple – and WR Elijah Moore (yes, him!) could hurt Florida, but Florida’s got more talent on both sides of the ball to be truly scared in GroveTown on Saturday. Florida’s settled at quarterback with Kyle Trask, and there will be more than enough option with dual-threater Emory Jones, too. Oh, and on the other side of the ball, Florida’s secondary is nasty.

PREDICTION: Gators roll, and all aboooooooard the Mullenwagon! Florida by 17.

5. No.4 Georgia (-26) at Arkansas 

The only reason I have for Arkansas covering is that Feleipe Franks is going to do an awful lot of handing the ball to Rakeem Boyd and melting down some clock. Georgia is stacked with talent, starting at the quarterback duo of former USC starter J.T. Daniels and five-star freakshow D’wan Mathis and they are going to hit the brilliant George Pickens Jr all night long. Georgia is going to roll.

PREDICTION: Georgia by 28. 

6. No.2 Alabama (-28) at Missouri

We knew this would be a baptism of fire for Eli Drinkwitz, and what a one it will be. Missouri’s already got 12 players out of the game with COVID-19 precautions, so Alabama’s going to run riot. Honestly, it’ll be over by half-time.

PREDICTION: Alabama by 35. And because Oklahoma and Clemson are also out there smashing opponents, Saban won’t be setting the second and third-teamers on Mizzou until the fourth quarter. 

7. Vanderbilt at No.10 Texas A&M (-30)

Texas A&M lost one of its top wide receivers and one of its top linebackers via a pardecision to opt out of the 2020 seasons, but Vanderbilt is already beaten-up due to injuries, their own transfers and opt-outs. This could be the start of one of the ugliest seasons in Derek Mason’s pretty ugly history in Nashville.

PREDICTION: After a slow start, Texas A&M pours it on in the fourth quarter, and wins by 31 in a game where Vandy will feel lucky to get the ball into the end-zone.

Alabama and LSU have named their starting quarterbacks.

After a battle with newcomer Bryce Young, the Crimson Tide named Mac Jones as the person who will first take the ball from center.

Jones had a productive year in 2019, throwing for 1,503 yards, 14 TDs and 3 INTs. In the bowl games against Michigan, he threw for 327 yards and 3 TDs.

Down in the Bayou, LSU have given Miles Brennan the starting job. Redshirt junior Brennan – Joe Burrow’s understudy last season – threw for 353 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT last year.

Brennan’s job was pretty much his own after competition Peter Parrish was booted from Baton Rouge.

Today Florida said that they had 7 COVID-19 cases on their team, up from six from last week.

The news silenced practice for today – not great news for Dan Mullen’s team that start the season against Ole Miss on September 26th.

Right now, practice is important.

Earlier on, Ed Orgeron said about COVID-19: “”I think most — not all of our players — but most of our players have caught it… I think hopefully they don’t catch it again and hopefully they’re not out for games… I’m not going to say all of them…. But some players have caught it. I don’t know the percentage. Hopefully, that once you catch it, you don’t get it again.” Orgeron declined to talk about actual numbers.

We know that COVID-19 has annihilated depth charts. Tennessee had to cancel a scrimmage at Neyland Stadium because there weren’t enough players. Positive cases aren’t the problem so much as NCAA rules which dictate that positive players and those who are in higher risk of getting the disease have to be quarantined. Auburn has had practices decimated because of positive cases and quarantine rules too.

While players are tested three times a week – Alabama head coach Nick Saban made a point of this on a recent press conference  – but no other coach has talked about how many positive cases there have been.

You can understand this happening in a way because we are just about to hit the season, and coaches don’t want to give their opposition anything going forward.

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said recently that the team will not disclose how many positive tests there have been on his team, and the competitive disadvantage was the reason. “Just like we would with an injury, we made the decision to not broadcast that. I know we’ve been probably the most transparent school in the country up until then, but you don’t want to give your team a competitive disadvantage, so we’re not going to do that”.

You could argue that the students have a right to know how many of the team are affected. I’m sure that the school presidents wouldn’t mind telling people, because if it’s a small number, they look as though they run a tight ship, and if it’s a large number, then they can use it to tell kids to socially distance and behave themselves.

The SEC fans won’t matter to the schools, because they will root for their team regardless. And the sponsors will continue to sponsor and the TV networks will continue to show their games.

GOING GREEN

Ironically, the people who are mostly going to be impacted are from Vegas.

In a world where the quick buck is becoming more and more important – especially in a climate where people are desperate for quick cash (that’s what happens in a recession!) – gambling is a bigger and bigger market. Only recently ESPN announced a partnership with DraftKings. Various sportswriters have deals with betting sites, and even yours truly talks about the lines of different games.

And because of COVID-19, no-one should take a line – rather like this season itself – that seriously. Because even if Alabama is a 31-point favorite against Missouri on September 26th (we actually think Alabama -21.5 is a pretty good shout!), no-one knows about how many players have been lost to practice because Nick Saban won’t want you asking. The same goes for all the schools. It’s led to uncertainty about who the starting quarterbacks are and everything else to go with the game. We also don’t know how many practices have gone the way of Tennessee’s or Florida’s and have had to be cancelled.

Of course, a team who’s practiced more will have the advantage – even a mild one – over a side that doesn’t.

We particularly saw this from a tackling point-of-view in the BYU vs Navy game of a couple of weeks’ ago, when The Mormons annihilated the Midshipmen – ostensibly because Navy didn’t allow tackling during any of its practice sessions.

And although we know that teams out of the gate will be rusty (unless you’re Alabama), it should be fascinating to see what lines get crossed-up and those that don’t.

For the record, one of the great lines out there for SEC football will be about how many games might get cancelled or postponed because of COVID-19. Despite a great number of games getting postponed or cancelled because of the virus, the only all-conference game that has had to be moved was Virginia and Virginia Tech in the ACC.

Like any forward-thinking football fan, I’m going for 2.

Texas A&M star receiver Jhamon Ausbon has decided not to play for the Aggies this year and instead focus on the 2020 NFL Draft.

Ausbon had 66 receptions for 872 yards and 5 TDs for A&M last year – with his biggest game a 96-yard, 1 TD performance in the loss against Georgia last year.

“This was not an easy decision at all!” Ausbon tweeted. “Sounds cliche, but when I decided to come back for my fourth year, I would’ve never imagined not playing this season with the guys that I love and call brothers. These are bonds that I will hold for a lifetime and I mean that wholeheartedly.”

He added that finishing the fall semester, he would complete his degree.

“I am blessed and thankful to everyone that helped me get to this point and I will represent Texas A&M forever”.

Texas A&M’s most famous alum, Johnny Manziel – who won a Heisman wearing the same No.2 jersey that Ausbon played in – weeted back: “Love you! Appreciate you repping the deuce the way it should be repped”.

The problem for Ausbon at the next level may be his lack of speed, and that might mean that he probably needed another year to put up even better numbers.

However, the reactions from other Texas A&M players weren’t so complimentary. Former Aggie nose tackle and 5th round pick Daylon Mack tweeted: “Everyone has there own reasons but I hope these college football players aren’t opting out because of promised money from an Agent. Because a good agent would advise you to play if there is a season. #MissedOportunities“, while former Aggie Javorskie Lane said: “We’ve lost 3 good WRs in the last couple of years due to misguidance. You’re going to lose the war without film. Get your stats up THEN go.”

A lot of people think Ausbon won’t even be drafted.

This is going to be an interesting season for a lot of reasons. Most of them have already been covered.

But for a lot of SEC fans, the question will be: “Who’s going to be the damned starting quarterback?”

For some – like in Florida, Tennessee, Auburn and Texas A&M – the question is fairly obvious, but for other schools, the battles will rage right until the Friday before Gameday.

So here’s our lowdown on who’s going to win out.

ALABAMA

Our pick: Mac Jones over Bryce Young. Jones and Young – the latter one the No.1-rated dual threat QB on the 24-7 2020 recruiting board and the second-best player in the nation – had an almighty battle, and both will see time against Missouri, but Jones will start because he’s got the experience. In his last two games with the Crimson Tide – both against mammoth teams, he threw for 7 TDs and 2 INTs (and you could argue that the second INT was a freak happening rather than his fault), and for over 600 yards.

UPDATE: Jones. 

ARKANSAS

Our pick: Feleipe Franks. Franks is a grad transfer from Florida who was injured during his time in Gainseville, and upon his return was comfortably beaten out for the starting job by Kyle Trask. It looks as though with Emory Jones also snipping at Trask’s heels, the best Franks could do was a graduate transfer. He’s said that he’s hoping to use his experience in Fayetteville to ‘go to the next level’, and if he can show what he can as well as he did in his sophomore year – and lead Arkansas to a couple of surprise victories, then the NFL will have a look. We think he’s head and shoulders above his rivals.

UPDATE: Franks

AUBURN

Our pick: Bo Nix. Not always the most popular QB in Tigers’ history, Nix’s excellent performance against Alabama probably cemented his job on The Plains for this season. Although it’s not been announced, this will have been one of Gus Malzahn’s easier decisions, bearing in mind how bare the cupboard is on The Plains.

FLORIDA

Our pick: Kyle Trask. Dan Mullen’s talked about Trask and Emory Jones taking almost equal-weight this season, but Trask will be the guy after an excellent 2020. Mullen’s made all the right noises about using Jones – a dual-threat QB who’s going to hurt defenses in short-yardage situations (we think) – more, but Trask will run things.

GEORGIA

Our pick: J.T. Daniels. After grad transfer Jamie Newman decided to sit out the year after Daniels’ arrived on campus after his own transfer from USC, it should be set in stone that Daniels will start. But here’s the problem: How healthy is Daniels? In a season where playing in 2020 doesn’t really matter (it’s not going to count towards eligiblity anyway), you might see more of pro-style QB D’wan Mathis as well. Mathis is 6-6 with a cannon of an arm, while Daniels is a pretty damned good himself.

KENTUCKY

Our pick: Terry Wilson. After Wilson got injured early on in the 2020 season, Lynn Bowden took over and did a miraculous job. Although Kentucky HC Mark Stoops brought in Joey Gatewood, the player has not gone through NCAA waivers, so he – at the time of writing – is ineligible (we have no words for the NCAA right now!). Anyway, Wilson’s got the experience, he’s in full health, and although Gatewood will see some reps, Wilson will win out.

LSU 

Our pick: Myles Brennan. The guy following up Joe Burrow’s insane season is one of the unluckier people in Death Valley this season, particularly bearing in mind that most of the offense has left for the NFL or opted out. Brennan’s life has been made easier by the fact that one of his bigger competitors – Peter Parrish – entered the transfer portal after getting suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules.

UPDATE: Brennan

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Our pick: KJ Costello. For a myriad of educational reasons, it’s unlikely that someone from Stanford would transfer to Mississippi State, but it makes sense in a football world. KJ Costello passed for over 6,000 yards and nearly 50 TDs (and only 18 TDs) in his time in Northern California, and he was heavily recruited by offensive wizard Mike Leach. So de facto: He’s going to be the QB down in Starkville.

MISSOURI

Our pick: Shawn Robinson. First of all, we’d like to note that Eli Drinkwitz is not going to name his starting quarterback until the last second before his team gets rolled by 50 against plays Alabama on Saturday, to try and keep Nick Saban & Co guessing. But Robinson – the junior transfer from TCU came into Columbia in 2019 to play for Barry Odom before Barry Odom was canned at the end of the season (Robinson had to sit out a year), has the arm and the feet that could cause some defenses trouble in the SEC. Taylor Powell, Connor Bazelak and Brady Cook are also QB1 too according to Master of Mystery Drinkwitz, but we think Robinson will take it because of his experience.

OLE MISS

Our pick: Matt Corral. He’s going to share the role with Jon Rhys Plumlee, but Corral’s arm will offer more than Plumlee’s. Lane Kiffin loved him during the scrimmage, too.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Our pick: Collin Hill.  Hill and Ryan Hillinski are in a close battle for victory for the QB spot. While Hillinski’s got the starting experience, the offense wasn’t a lot to talk about last year (104th of 130 last year), Collin Hill’s played until USC offensive coordinator Mike Bobo while he was Colorado State. We think Bobo goes with what he’s used to.

UPDATE: HILL

TENNESSEE

Our pick: Jarret Guarantano. Guarantano had a rollercoaster of a 2019, ending with a nice comeback which has made many people he should be a walk-in for starter. But freshman Harrison Bailey – a four-star pro-style QB who is ranked 3rd in his position by 24-7 – has made a lot of waves at QB recently. People are really excited about seeing him play.

TEXAS A&M

Our pick: Kellen Mond. This is a slam-dunk. He’s a leader both on and off-the-field, he’s a playmaker, and he doesn’t have to do a whole lot bearing in mind how good the Aggies are going to be at running back.

VANDERBILT

Our pick: Ken Seals. Seals is a freshman alongside Mike Wright, junior college recruits Danny Clark and Jeremy Moussa, and he and the other three have no SEC experience. Seals is considered the favorite because he’s practiced more than the others, but new OC Todd Fitch has said that he doesn’t know who it will. We don’t expect Vanderbilt to be very good this season anyway, so this position may be about green shoots than making any green.

It’s that wonderful time of the year when you know the SEC is coming to your TV, and your 3.30s for about two-and-a-bit months are about to be non-existent to anyone but yourself and the Big Box Of Wonder.

And although there are bad things about CBS’s coverage (generally Gary Danielson’s efforts to give Nick Saban fellatio at all instances), generally, it’s one of the best around.

Soooo, here are your TV times:

Week 1: Sept. 26 – Mississippi State at LSU, 3:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm CT

Week 2: Oct. 3 – Texas A&M at Alabama, 3:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm CT

Week 4: Oct. 17 – Georgia at Alabama, 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT

Week 5: Oct. 31 – LSU at Auburn, 3:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm CT

Week 6: Nov. 7 – Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville), 3:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm CT

Week 7: Nov. 14 – Alabama at LSU, 6 pm ET / 5 pm CT

In order of games we’re looking forward to, looking at that is:

1. Georgia at Alabama (Blockbuster)
2. LSU at Auburn (It’s weird)
3. Florida at Georgia (Can Florida actually win this one)
4. Alabama at LSU (Won’t be the same in a 1/3 full Death Valley, and LSU has lost so many players from opt-outs and decisions to go to the NFL)
5. Texas A&M at Alabama (Can Texas A&M finally get over the hump for their first win over the Tide since Johnny Manziel was there?)
6. Mississippi State at LSU (Mike Leach might be fun against a defense where everyone’s leaving).

I’m looking forward to late games involving Auburn and Georgia, LSU and Florida, Texas A&M and Florida and genuinely most games involving the offensive minds of Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin. Oh, and Kentucky vs Florida will continue to be underrated, and Eli Drinkwitz’s offense will take a couple of games to really show what it can do.