Ultimate Nightmares: Nerds & Gators In The National Championship

Yesterday morning over breakfast, my roommate told me he had the most awful, disturbing, and horrific nightmare of his life.

He told me he saw images of a disgusting sight. The old gold/mustard/off-yellow dressed fans cheering on the Trade School against Floriduh in the National Championship.

I nearly slapped him for suggesting that he could even have a thought process to conjure up a nightmare of such horrific standards.

Think about that. It's so awful, I didn't want to bring it up to put the thought in your heads. However, it is so awful, I couldn't help but bring it up!

While very far fetched and vastly unlikely to happen, the reality is at the moment it is not completely impossible.

That's a pretty scary notion and one I will do almost anything to push out of my brain. Just the thought of it makes me want to do everything in my power to ensure that Miami doesn't lose again, or work to ensure that we pummel the Trade School into a post-Thanksgiving submission.

Imagine over 92,000 bandwagoners filling the Rose Bowl. That's just not football. It might even be the absolute end of football!

I might stab my eyes out at such a sight. While you would root for injuries, there would be the undeniable fact that nothing beneficial for Dawgs could result from such a match up.

This is too awful to discuss any further. Let us never speak of this again.

SEC Weekend Games of Interest: 9/26/2009

Another week and more big time football, for the most part. While I was wrong about Florida scoring until they were bored last week, the Gators still won and that gave us a 7-1 clip, bringing our season record to 20-4. We still have a few JV match-ups on the menu and some action in the Thursday Night Lights department, oh goodie. Without any further adieu, here is what’s happening in your neck of the woods.

The Thursday Night Appetizer:

Ole Miss at South Carolina: I’m one of the people that isn’t completely sold on this Ole Miss team and it’s not because Houston Nutt can’t coach with expectations. I know they have a great group of talent and expect them to have a solid year, they are not however, one of the 10 best teams in the country. Jevan Snead is still mind numbingly inconsistent and he is not complemented by a dominant running game at this point. Dexter McCluster is a great talent, but still not a RB. And while the combination of RBs Brian Bolden and Enrique Davis is talented, both players are still sophomores on a team that hasn’t been tested. All of this, combined with the fact that South Carolina won in Oxford last season, give me some doubts about this early season duel.

Expectations for South Cackalacky on the other hand have been fairly modest and it seems like the Gamecocks are really embracing this attitude. Stephen Garcia has been improving and the OBC looks to have found a serviceable combination of RBs in Brian Maddox and freshman Jarvis Giles. The big question tonight will be how the Carolina defense contains the Rebel offense and this is a perfect showcase for Eric Norwood to show his amazing skills nationally. The same thing can be said about the Ole Miss defense and their outstanding DE Greg Hardy. It’s bound to be a strange game if my prediction comes true and I’m picking the Gamecocks in this one, 28-24.

The Kid’s Table:

Ball State at East Alabama Male College: Gene Chizik couldn’t have and a better 4-game stretch to open his career on the Plains and the hiring of this Malzahn character is paying some dividends. I don’t know anything about Ball State and you shouldn’t either. However, after this weekend, I know they will have a fat loss to the Tigers. Auburn rolls 45-10.

Ohio at Tennessee: Hopefully, Lane Kiffin plays to win in this game as Jonathan Crompton probably throws 3 TDs but still throws 2 picks. No Kindergarten Kiffin humor this week, he pretty much does that on his own. Vols win 42-7.

Vanderbilt at Rice: Vanderbilt has been pretty inconsistent offensively to open the year. At some point in this game, expect McKenzie “I’ve been here 7 years” Adams to take some snaps as starting QB Larry Smith isn’t making the early season cut. Rice throws the ball a lot and has given up 140 points this year. It will be ugly but Vandy wins 24-21.

Big Boy Football:

LSU at Mississippi State: LSU is similar to Ole Miss in a lot of ways and there are still lots of questions that need to be asked of this squad, mostly on offense. LSU is much stronger defensively compared to last season and hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the last 6 quarters of football, improving with each game under DC John Chavis.

Mississippi State on the other hand pulled out a tough game in Nashville last weekend behind the tough running of senior RB Anthony Dixon. This game will most likely be similar to the last couple of games played by LSU and will be pretty quick with plenty of running on both sides of the ball. Expect the superior athletes of LSU to pull through and for the Bayou Bengals to have some momentum coming into Athens next week off of a 31-13 victory.

Arkansas at Alabama: Usually a good early season match up that produces some surprising results, Arkansas is a threat with their offense to challenge the Crimson Tide. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, the Arkansas defense will be getting off the bus with Ryan Mallett when they arrive in Tuscaloosa. Mallett and his company of wide receivers can stretch the field vertically against any team in the country. But it will be hard for the lurch of a QB to throw the ball when he is lying on the ground. It will also be hard for Mallett to throw the ball while Bama’s trio of RB’s Mark Ingram, Roy Upchurch, and Trent Richardson control the clock all day, not mention that Greg McElroy is a big upgrade over JPW and Julio Jones could be back this week. Arkansas will hang tough but be out matched in this premium 3:30 CBS game and the Tide should roll to 4-0 with a 35-21 win.

Florida at Kentucky: I’ve said week after week that Kentucky is on the right path with Rich Brooks/Joker Phillips and they are. But, they are still lacking on offense and will need some serious help on special teams to challenge the Gators into the 4th quarter. Having Derrick Locke back is a huge help for the Wildcats this year, but there aren’t enough athletes on the field for UK to consistently drive the ball on the Gators with the elusively challenged Mike Hartline at QB.

Florida on the other hand is still looking to identify their down field playmakers and this is where UK can present the biggest challenge for Urban Meyer’s game plan, as Trevard Lindley is one of the best DBs the SEC has to offer. Ultimately, superior depth will take over for the Gators and I suspect they will be motivated to make a statement after their performance against Tennessee last week. The plane ride back to Gainesville will be easy with a 38-14 win.

That does it got this week. Looking forward to being in Athens with a Bourbon and Coke this week, Fayetteville was a long way away. Go Dawgs!

SEC Weekend Games of Interest: 9/19/2009

Welcome back to another week of games and good times. We were 4-1 last week, improving our record to 13-3. Really didn’t see the UCLA win happening, but then again, I really didn’t see Tennessee being that good either. There are 8 SEC games on the schedule this week (excluding UGA) and, due to time constraints, we are really only going to focus on the four squads playing real competition. Here’s what is going on in your neck of the woods:

First, here are the picks for the four Junior Varsity games:

North Texas at Alabama: North Texas hired a High School coach as its head coach three years ago for a reason, Bama dominates 35-7.

Louisiana Lafayette at Louisiana State: Jordan Jefferson may not be the answer yet for the Tigers. However, he should be able to throw a couple of touchdown passes here and LSU wins 45-17.

Florida Atlantic at South Carolina: I can’t joke FAU too much, they have won two consecutive bowl games and have a really old, semi-viable coach in Howard Schnellenberger (Sounds like their opponent, but without the bowl wins). However, South Cacaklacky is expected to win these types of games at home. There is the potential for this to get interesting, but it won’t be and the Gamecocks win 28-14.

Southeast Louisiana at Ole Miss: Really, Ole Miss is playing SE Louisiana, this is a joke. We know nothing about the Rebels at this point other than they are super talented and this game won’t alter that perception. Hopefully Jevan Sneed will play better than he did against the Memphis Tigers; he didn’t look too hot in that one. The University of Mississippi wins 42-3.

And now, for the big boy table:

Louisville at Kentucky: The battle of the Commonwealth resumes for another year and I’m sure the basketball version will be far more entertaining this season than the football game. Someone check the restroom stalls in this one.

Louisville has been falling since Bobby Petrino left three years ago and Steve Kragthorpe has not been the answer for the Cardinals. To make matters worse, Louisville is a young team breaking in a new QB and a completely new defensive front four with the absence of DC Ron English (now the Head Coach at Eastern Michigan).

I continue to be impressed with what Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips have done upgrading Kentucky’s talent and attitude. While their offense left a lot to be desired last year, they have brought back some experience with QB Mike Hartline, RB Derrick Locke and will try as much as they can to get the ball in the hands of sophomore WR/QB Randall Cobb. Even with the offensive questions of 2008, the Wildcats dominated this game 27-2 last season at Papa Johns Field and I don’t expect things to be any better this season for the Cards. UK plays solid football and walks away with a 30-14 victory.

Tennessee at Florida: When Lane Kiffin took the Tennessee job, he pretty much started his career against Florida 0-1. He didn’t make matters any better by insulting Urban Meyer, who has proven to be a great Head Coach and recruiter, especially since he has a few years of it under his belt compared to Lane. There really isn’t much you can say about this game, it shouldn’t be close and it won’t be. Jonathan Crompton still isn’t very good and he’s probably going to look like this in the pocket:

There is just too much continuity and talent for the Gators on both offense and defense for Tennessee to sustain anything in this match up. The most intriguing aspect of this game will be Old Man Kiffin’s game plan against Tim Tebow and the Florida offense. If he can slow Florida, it will give other SEC squads some ideas in future games. However, there is no score prediction in this one, Florida scores until they get bored.

Mississippi State at Vanderbilt: Vandy hung tough last week on the road in Death Valley and should have some energy hosting the Western Division Bulldogs this week. Not to mention, Mississippi State handed the Commodores their first loss of the season in 2008 and Bobby Johnson will want to redeem that loss in front of the home crowd.

You don't just walk into Vanderbilt Stadium and walk out with a win. Scratch that, most teams do.

MSU didn’t have the game they wanted on the Plains last week and were embarrassed by an improving Auburn offense. Let’s be honest, we still have no clue how good Auburn will be on offense and this really makes me question the integrity of the Bulldog defense. They are still having issues with their spread offense and while senior QB Tyson Lee makes the fewest mistakes, sophomore QB Chris Relf gives them the best chance for big plays. Overall, this is a mismatch for a Vanderbilt squad that has learned how to keep games tight and win. The Commodore defense kept LSU in check and should make the offensive plays to control this game, winning 24-13.

West Virginia at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute: Auburn has been impressive in two games this year and this will be their biggest test to date. Both of these squads own wins over competitive non-BCS opponents and WVA’s 35-20 win over East Carolina last week would be a solid win for almost any squad. Jarrett Brown is West Virginia’s new starting QB and while he hasn't been a starting QB in the past, he has played a lot. This guy can play. I remember watching him lead the Mountaineers to a come-from-behind win against Rutgers as a redshirt freshman in 2006. He is a much more proficient passer than Pat White and is bigger with good athleticism.

This should be a fun game and expect some points to be put up in Jordan-Hare Saturday evening. There will be some big runs from both Noel Devine and freshman Tiger speedster Onterio McCalebb. Overall, Auburn should have the bigger, more physical team. If Chris Todd limits his mistakes and Ben Tate gets on track, look for plenty of toilet paper on Toomer’s Corner and a 35-31 Auburn victory.

That does it for this week. BulldawgJosh and I will be in Fayetteville this weekend, but more on that later. Everyone enjoy their respective games this weekend.