Two Daves Pick The SEC November 26, 2010
Welcome to Two Daves Pick The SEC! It's a sad time of year as the 2010 college football season winds down this weekend. There were plenty of interesting things this year. Jeremiah Masoli getting kicked out of Oregon only to be greeted lovingly by Houston Nutt, Les Miles demonstrating egregious clock management in a loss to Tennessee that allowed the Tigers to get one more play at the end of regulation and win the game, and endless sea of Georgia players being arrested, Chris Rainey death texting, Les Miles eating grass and the Cam Newton saga. Another year in the SEC, no doubt. I posted our Iron Bowl picks before the game here: http://sixpackspeak.yuku.com/topic/57887 I hate Friday games. Doug says: I can't believe this week is pretty much the end of the regular season. The older I get, the quicker these seasons go by, it seems. And what a shame, because it's been a fun one. We've seen the rise of Auburn and South Carolina, and we've seen the fall of Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. We've been privileged to watch Cam Newton, one of the best talents to come through the conference in some time, and we've been disgusted by the alleged behind-the-scenes actions surrounding his recruitment. We've witnessed the Jeremiah Masoli eligibility saga, and in hindsight, it seems like so long ago. And of course, we've witnessed the coaching soap opera, which only fans of the SEC can get, from Urban Meyer's health, to Mark Richt's job status, to Dan Mullen pinging his rivals, to Houston Nutt lecturing his fanbase, to Les Miles eating grass, to Steve Spurrier being, well, Steve Spurrier, to Derek Dooley and Robbie Caldwell's press conferences, and on and on. We've still got this week, championship week, and the bowl season, but it's sorrowful, indeed, to see the season in the rear view mirror. What are we supposed to do now, watch the NFL? Auburn at Alabama Dave: Hatred in the State of Alabama is redefined in the 2010 Iron Bowl. Auburn hates Alabama, and vice-verse. The twist here is the Cam Newton story. Alabama fans have been hammering Auburn and Newton, whom is guilty until proven innocent in their eyes. I did find it interesting that a week after SEC commissioner Mike Slive did not intervene in the Newton eligibility issue, citing that is up to the institution and not the SEC offices, he did intervene and take out Bruce Pearl out for half of the SEC basketball season. Both of these teams can hang points on opponents, and each has playmakers. This game comes down to who plays defense better, Alabama or Auburn. The Tigers have used many of their nine lives in wins against Mississippi State, Clemson and Kentucky. I don't know they can overcome the Tide. Alabama 31 - Auburn 28 Doug: The Iron Bowl. This one should live up to the billing. Not much news off the field this week on the Cam Newton front, which is good for the Tigers, as they've been able to prepare for this one without distraction. I don't think it will matter. You see, Auburn, and especially Newton, have been splendid this season, but they've done it in a manner that the top dog in the SEC doesn't generally follow. They're one dropped pass away from losing to MSU, needed a furious rally to beat Clemson, were nearly upset by Kentucky, and gave up 48 points to Arkansas. Alabama plays defense, son, and can control the line of scrimmage. I don't care how good Mr. Newton is; this will spell trouble for the Tigers. Rolling 31 Reeling 28 Kentucky at Tennessee Dave: Kentucky is bowl eligible and Tennessee is trying its best to do so as well. Tennessee has new life with Bray leading the offense. Kentucky has one of the best playmakers in the nation in Randall Cobb, but is he enough on the road? I don't think so. Tennessee 27 - Kentucky 24 Doug: With the victory, the Vols can become bowl eligible, which was completely unfathomable just a few short weeks ago. Since installing Bray at QB, Tennessee has been a different team. Kentucky has had a typical Wildcat season, and they'll be bowling somewhere. They'd love to improve their standing by getting to seven wins, but the Vols just have more at stake here. Rocky 28 Mildcats 24 LSU at Arkansas Dave: LSU's slim chances at the BCS title game lie within this game. A loss to Arkansas kills LSU's chances. A win by the Hogs may get them into an upper-tier bowl game. You'll have an NFL QB in Ryan Mallett facing an NFL CB in Patrick Peterson. Will Mallett challenge Peterson? Can the Hogs defense stop Steven Ridley? These two matchups will determine the winner. My gut is telling me to pick the Hogs, I should listen to it. Arkansas 34 - LSU 31 Doug: I've been discounting Arkansas all year, and they continue to prove me wrong. Their OT thriller with Mississippi State last week was one of the best games of the season. Well, the problem this week for the Hogs is that they will be going up against arguably the best defensive secondary in the country versus LSU, instead of the porous one MSU threw at them last week. This does not bode well for Ryan Mallett, who is a tremendous talent, but is also easily rattled. The Arkansas defense, particularly in the secondary, is horrendous. Want proof? Mississippi State QB Chris Relf, who couldn't throw it in the water if he was standing on the beach, completed 20-30 for 225 yards last week. As bad as LSU has been offensively, they have more weapons at the skill position and will be able to take advantage of the Arkansas defense. Coonasses 31 Hogs 28 Florida at Florida State Dave: Jimbo Fisher is not new to the UF-FSU rivalry. In fact, he sat there and watch the Gators maul the Seminoles, which led to the retirement of Bobby Bowden. The Gators have gotten some of their swagger back in recent weeks, and they will handle the Noles in Tallahassee. Florida 27 - FSU 21 Doug: Stop the presses, dadgumit. Dadgum Florida State is 8-3, dadgumit. But that's against an ACC schedule. Florida, even during a down season for them, will not lose this game. They have more talent, they've played the tougher schedule, and they're more battle-tested. They're the better team. Jimbo Fisher has done a good job while trying to get out of the shadow of dadgum Bobby Bowden, but he also knows what's up because he's coached in the SEC before. Gators 31 Dadgumit 17 Mississippi State at Mississippi Dave: Hatred, part II. Mississippi State lost a tough game to Arkansas last weekend, while Ole Miss gave LSU all they wanted and then some. Mississippi State has a lot of trouble throwing the ball, Ole Miss has trouble defending the pass. Jeremiah Masoli and Brandon Bolden will work the bubble and attack State's defense where is has been bleeding on the edges. It would take a choke of biblical proportion to lose this game at home. Ole Miss 24 - Mississippi State 17 Doug: The Battle for the Golden Egg was more fun when it was on Thanksgiving night. There's nothing better than getting together with the family, gorging yourself on turkey and the trimmings, and then relaxing in front of the tube for three-plus hours of good, old-fashioned hate. Other rivalries get more press coverage, but pound-for-pound, I'd put this one up against any of them. Dan Mullen has done his part to throw gasoline on the fire, running his mouth in the press all week, which takes a lot of stones. Other coaches and some of players have done the same. Houston Nutt didn't put much importance into this one last year, and he learned his lesson quickly. You'd better believe the Right Rev is preaching his best sermons this week to get his boys fired up. There's no question that State has the better team, and they're better coached. But that doesn't always matter in this one-Ole Miss had the better team last year and got smoked in this game. Generally the home team wins in this one (in fact, the home team has won 10 out of the last 11), so the easy pick is to expect that trend will continue. Nutts 31 Stones 30 South Carolina at Clemson Dave: The AKC takes on archrival Clempson in a game that will not affect their conference standings. I should pick USC straight up. The problem is that lingering issue with USC falling apart late in the season. Will the Chikinz keep it together, or will they fall apart this weekend. Clempson is a good team, it's a rivalry, I'm not sure who to pick. A flip of the coin says.. AKC 27 - Clempson 26 Doug: This one is totally unpredictable. Carolina has gone in here with the better team and lost many times. I think this year will be different, though, because Carolina is a different team. They have the SEC East championship in their back pocket, and they'd surely spare us SEC fans the embarrassment of having the SEC East champs lose to an ACC team, wouldn't they? Clemson is capable of winning this game, certainly, but if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on the OBC. Cackolackey 28 Clempson 24 Wake Forest at Vanderbilt Dave: Vanderbilt's season will mercifully end this weekend. That's all I can say nice about them. I don't have anything nice to say about Wake Forest. Vannerbilt 17 - Wake Forest 13 Doug: Of course, we can't overlook this week's pillow fight. We've got two 2-9 teams trying to end their seasons on a high note. I have historically picked Vanderbilt in this matchup, and I'm historically wrong. I guess I don't want to be right, because I can't pick an SEC team to lose to a 2-9 ACC team at home, even if that SEC team is Vanderbilt. Vandy 27 Easier Than Vandy 21 Georgia Tech at Georgia Dave: Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech take their option game to Athens this weekend to face the Dawgs. The Dawgs need a win to go bowling. Can they do it? If Aaron Murray is OK after the repeated cheap shots by Nick Fairley, the Dawgs win. Why Fairley was not suspended for his actions is beyond comprehension. I think UGA is a happy dog this weekend. Jawga 31 - Jawga Tekk 30 Doug: Much like Tennessee, Georgia needs a victory in their last game to become bowl eligible. Just a month ago, the Dawgs were BACK, BABY! Yeah, so much for that. It's been a wreck of a season for Georgia, and you have to wonder if Mark Richt will survive it. Luckily for them, Georgia Tech has taken a step back this year. UGA has been pretty good offensively, which should serve them well this week. If they can just figure out a way to slow down the Paul Johnson Option Express, they should be in good shape. That's easier said than done, but I think they can do it. 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