Around the SEC in Week Three
Week Two of college football brought to you by Gameday Men’s Health in Auburn. Tired of feeling tired? Text 334-209-3706 and start feeling better!
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Week 3 in college football kicks off shortly and SEC play continues to move forward to full launch next Saturday. Things got kicked off last weekend when South Carolina travelled to The Commonwealth of Kentucky upsetting The Wildcats on their own bluegrass home field. Six SEC teams will square off against each other this week while the rest of the league continues to mostly clean up their non-conference schedules this weekend and next. The pickers at RFA had a nice rebound last weekend going 5-2 after a dreadful 0-3 week one. Yours truly is 6-5 for the year still clinging to a slight lead over “local man” with that stunner in week zero Ga Tech Yellow Jacket! Let’s look around the SEC below.
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Alabama -16.5 at Wisconsin – Unless the Badgers have been playing dead on offense this season, I am not sure there is enough firepower in Madison for Wisconsin to hang with The Tide. This has felt like a trap game for Alabama all Summer. As kick off becomes closer, it appears Alabama is trending towards a trap cover. There are a lot of questions still in Tuscaloosa, but not this weekend. Crimson Tide 35, Badgers 17.
LSU –7 at South Carolina – The Gamecocks shocked UK and the SEC last weekend crowing in Lexington after a huge upset that no one outside Columbia and some inside saw coming. “Hot Seat” talk about head coach Shane Beamer has ended for now and may rotate across the sidelines to LSU frontman Brian Kelly. A season ending injury to Bayou Bengal RB, John Emery Jr., has the faithful in Baton Rouge again on edge. Kelly staves himself off the pressure cooker this weekend, but just barely. Tigers 23, Gamecocks 22.
Boston College +16.5 at Missouri – Alabama fans have outwardly hated on BC coach Bill O’Brien for so long that people forget the guy is a good football coach. Golden Eagle QB Thomas Castellanos is one of the most dynamic players in college football you have not heard of. Just ask FSU. Mizzou is loaded with playmakers including Heisman hopeful Luther Burden III who has been virtually impossible to cover for years. Depending on the weather in COMO, this one has all the makings of a wild west Show Me State Style Shootout! Tigers 42, Boston College 32.
Tulane +13.5 at Oklahoma – In business, this is what is called a “Look ahead game”. OU will open SEC play next weekend at home hosting explosive Tennessee. Tulane football has an established reputation now as a scrappy football team. The Green Wave nearly knocked off now 3-0 Kansas State last weekend in the Big Easy. Oklahoma stumbled and bumbled on their way to a near loss but ugly win vs Houston. Watch out Boomer Sooner, Tulane may have something called a tsunami for you in Norman. Green Wave 27, Sooners 24.
Texas A&M –3.5 at Florida – Loser leaves town pack your bags suitcase game of the year 2.0. UF head coach Billy Napier already failed horribly in the original edition of this game week one against Miami. He cannot afford to do that again or he will be able to afford a lot of things with his contractual buyout. New Aggie coach Mike Elko opens his SEC conference career in what was once one of the hardest places to play in college football. Too many newbies have drowned in their first trip to the swamp and that trend should continue today. If not, goodbye Billy and it has been nice knowing you. Gatee 20, Aggies 17.
UAB +21.5 at Arkansas – Bloodbath alert in Fayetteville! Hogs 52, Blazers 10.
Ole Miss –23.5 at Wake Forest – Something stinks about this line. Mississippi should roll big here. If it smells like cologne, leave it the hell alone. Rebels 31, Demon Deacon 21.
UTSA +33.5 at Texas – Bloodbath alert 2.0 in Austin. Longhorns 52, Road Runners run over.
GA State +9.5 at Vanderbilt – Normally Vandy comes back to earth right about week 3. QB Diego Pavia makes sure that does not happen. Commodores 31, Panthers 21.
Georgia –23.5 at Kentucky – Bloodbath alert 3.0 in Lexington. Dawgs Barking 49, Wildcats 10.
Toledo +10.5 at Miss State – Undefeated Rockets blast into Stark Vegas and think they have landed on the moon. Bulldogs 28, Rockets 27.
Kent State +49.5 at Tennessee – They should call out the national guard to protect KSU. Wait, Neil Young would have to write another song so scratch that. Vols 66, Golden Eagles 14.
New Mexico +28.5 at Auburn – What has not been said about the disappointment of Auburn over the last five to ten years that can be said. After yet another letdown inside JHS last weekend against California, AU is now 24-25 since 2020. Tiger fans in the famous words of Dave Ramsey are “TIRED OF BEING TIRED”. Now 7-8 as Auburn Head Coach, apparently Hugh Freeze is as well. He has benched pariah and former starting QB Peyton Thorne for Hank “Put it in the Bank” Brown. After what I saw last weekend in person against Cal, there should be a few more to be replaced against New Mexico also. What part of it is time to move on from underachieving upperclassmen do people at AU not understand? With an over/under set by Vegas for total wins at 7.5, why not go young and move away from a cursed past for a more hopeful future? At 0-2, The Lobos have scored 70 points this season. People wonder if under Thorne Auburn would have scored 70 points the rest of this season. Hence, the change at QB. The Lobos also have given up 96 points this year on defense. Hence, why New Mexico is 0-2. This was the perfect opportunity for Freeze to make the change to a younger QB against a woeful defense in preparation of SEC play beginning next Saturday against Arkansas. No matter what happens today, the change HAD TO BE MADE. 58-year-old Mark Bronco Clay Mendenhall, the head coach at New Mexico, is a legit college football coach. In his career as former coach at BYU and Virginia, Bronco has sent 60 players to signed contracts in the NFL. The coach is known for an unorthodox attack both offensively and defensively and will be looking to confuse the fresh AU QB Brown along with DJ Durkin’s Auburn defense. The last legit, unorthodox approach coach from New Mexico to come to Jordan-Hare was with New Mexico State last season in Jerry Kill. The rest was history, and it will be history for Freeze and staff if history repeats itself on Saturday. Ultimately, AU has way more talent on their roster. The Tigers SHOULD line up and POUND New Mexico running the ball often and early on Saturday Night. Mix that in with an effective play action game, and the Tigers should win easily. That said, nothing has been easy for Auburn for years and tonight will not be either. Tigers 35, Los Lobos 20.
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