SEC Preview - October 22, 2005

SEC

Arkansas at Georgia - There will be nothing pretty about this game. Georgia's tenacious run-D is gonna try and shut the door on Arkansas' 6th ranked rushing offense. That should be no problem given the 'Dawgs hardly have to worry about Arkansas beating them through the air. Normally Houston Nutt would blitz frequently, but with the poise and mobility that QB D.J. Shockley brings to the table, this will only leave the Razorback secondary exposed. Georgia's offense should score enough points for a sound victory, though, without Nutt's help. Arkansas 13 - Georgia 28.

Kentucky at Ole Miss - This is the pillow-fight of the week. Between the two of them, they can claim wins over Idaho State, Memphis, and the Citadel. Kentucky has shown life at times, as indicated by Louisville's narrow escape in the season opener. However, Louisville has since been shown to not be the powerhouse of a year ago. Ole Miss has played well recently, with Bama needing a last second field goal to pull out the victory. That is probably evidence of Bama looking ahead to this week's match-up with Tennessee rather than extra effort on the part of the Rebels. Ole Miss' offense is still inept, but its defense is looking better. Kentucky 13 - Ole Miss 17.

Houston at Mississippi State - These are the games that you hate that someone has to win. Mississippi State has a better defense, but Houston has a much better offense. The Cougars have also played tough against UTEP and Tulsa. While UTEP and Tulsa are hadly at the level of SEC competition, one could make the same argument about the Bulldogs. Houston wins in a close one because Mississippi State can't help tripping over itself. Houston 24 - Mississippi State 20.

Tennessee at Alabama - The game of the year for both teams, so far. Each has had this game circled for a long time. Tennessee has fallen from national glory as quickly as Bama has risen, evidence of the error of preseason predictions. Though continually overrated, Tennessee is still a solid team. The offense, however, needs to get on track. Neither QBs Ainge nor Clausen can put together a good, four-quarter game. RB Gerald Riggs, meanwhile, still hasn't made the splash he was expected to. The defense is sound, though hurting from the loss of DB Jason Allen. Bama is led by QB Brodie Croyle and RB Ken Darby, but has lost speedy WR Tyrone Prothro for the year. Backup WR DJ Hall is ailing as well. Fortunately, it has one of the best defenses in college football. Last week's last second win over Ole Miss was nothing more than looking ahead to this game. Alabama's defense will make Tennessee's already struggling offense look even uglier than it already does. This will not be a blowout simply because of the heart of Tennessee and a lack of explosiveness from Bama, but there will be no doubt which team dominated the game. Tennessee 17 - Bama 27.

Vanderbilt at South Carolina - As much as everyone wants to see Vandy make the postseason, they have to beat Steve Spurrier to do it. Luckily, Spurrier is surrounded by 1/20th the talent level he had at Florida. This game should be pretty close, but it is unlikely Spurrier wants his first season at South Carolina marred by a loss to Vandy, resurgent or not. Vanderbilt has dropped three in a row, but it is likely they realize they MUST win Saturday to have any chance of reaching bowl-eligibility. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks have won the games they should have won (UCF, Troy, and Kentucky) and lost the games they should have lost (UGa, Bama, and Auburn). This is a game they should win. Secretly I'm rooting for Vandy, but I think it's going to be another long post-season for the Commodores. Vandy 21 - South Carolina 23.

Auburn at LSU - Auburn? Have they played a game since early September? You wouldn't know it from the media coverage, but Auburn has quietly crept up the rankings. Meanwhile, LSU has put its slip-up against Tennessee in the past, using its wins at Arizona State and against Florida to keep itself propped up in the polls. This is a true test for both teams. Auburn has been slowly developing QB Brandon Cox and trying to find some kind of a running game. They've found it in RB's Kenny Irons and Brad Lester. Unfortunately, Lester is hurt, and will most likely not play on Saturday. This puts all the pressure on Irons to keep the heat off Cox. LSU is likely to blitz early and often (and late and often) in order to force Cox to make mistakes, (see GaTech and Arkansas). To find success he will need to utilize all his recievers, including his tight ends and backs. If he gets greedy or careless, LSU will capitalize. Cox has shown poise and does not quit. However, if untimely interceptions give LSU a short field, even a talented Auburn defense will not be able to stop LSU. LSU, on the other hand, has a young QB of its own in JaMarcus Russell. He has tons of talent but has yet to find any sort of consistency. Look for LSU to pound the Auburn D-line and small linebackers with RB Joseph Addai and then go up top with WRs Early Daucet and Skyler Green. This will be the Auburn defense's first true test against a talented offense. If LSU can avoid the mistakes that plagued them against Florida, they may be too powerful offensively and defensively for Auburn to keep up for four quarters. (By nature of bias, Auburn 17 - LSU 14).