Game of the Week Florida (5-3) vs. Georgia (7-1) - 3:30 pm EST CBS Why to watch: Once again Georgia is in the national title race, and once again Florida can provide the knock out blow. It's the Cocktail Party and it's once again one of the biggest games of the year for the SEC race. Florida handed Georgia its only loss of last year with a great performance by Rex Grossman, and now the rested and confident Gators will be looking for yet another win in the great series. Florida's wash of a season took a dramatic turn of events over the last few weeks with great road wins against LSU and Arkansas to get back into the SEC race. Georgia might be in the driver's seat in the SEC East, but it couldn't be more vulnerable coming off two horrible performances in wins over Vanderbilt and UAB and with several key players banged up or out altogether. Why Florida might win: The way everyone around Georgia is talking, it'll be a shock if the Dawgs can even field a full team. Some of it might be in a Lou Holtz-like poor-mouthing style before a big game, but Georgia is legitimately hurting. Cornerback Decory Bryant is out for the year, receiver Fred Gibson is iffy with a bruised knee, and end David Pollack is nicked up to go along with several other Georgia bumps and bruises. The coaching staff is so concerned that there wasn't any contact in practice on Tuesday. Now compare that to the rested Gators with two weeks off to prepare. Why Georgia might win: Georgia might be having major issues with consistency on offense lately, but the defense hasn't skipped a beat. There shouldn't be too much of a drop-off in overall production even with all the injuries to the nation's number one defense, and it could make life hard for a Florida offense that hasn't exactly been lighting anyone up. While the young Gators haven't made too many mistakes, this is still a young team with a freshman quarterback going against one of the best teams in America. Who to watch: Florida running back Ciatrick Fason has been more of a weapon in the Gator attack over the last two weeks rushing for 92 yards against LSU and 98 against Arkansas. He also caught a touchdown pass in each of those two games. While he might not necessarily be a marked man, he has caused a wee bit of a stir this week by saying he wants a big game against Georgia because the Bulldog recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner had allegedly called him soft when trying to get him to come to Athens. True or not, any motivation in a game like this, for either side, is always a factor. What will happen: Georgia has the better defense and the better team, but rule number one in college football is to not mess with a streak. Lately Oklahoma always beats Texas, Miami always beats Florida State, and Florida beats Georgia. Either the Gators will pull off an ugly win, or Georgia will drop the defensive hammer in a blowout. Once again, never screw with a streak. CFN Prediction: Florida 20 ... Georgia 17
Arkansas (4-3) at Kentucky (4-4) - 7 pm EST ESPN2 Why to watch: Arkansas was on a magical 4-0 run to start the season with a huge win over Texas and a strong performance against Alabama. And then the wheels came off losing three in a row getting bounced out of the SEC race. Kentucky has turned things around with a two game winning streak. With Vanderbilt ahead in two weeks, the Wildcats can continue this nice midseason run with a win over the Hogs. Why Arkansas might win: Kentucky's run defense leaves a lot to be desired, while the offense hasn't exactly been a well oiled machine. The Wildcats were able to score on Mississippi State and Ohio, but the Arkansas defense is far, far better than either of those two. With good corners to handle the average UK receivers, Arkansas should be able to ask its safeties to cheat up to shut down the pedestrian Wildcat ground attack. Why Kentucky might win: Even when the Wildcats were losing they were playing well. The Louisville loss looks worse than it seems because of a late garbage touchdown. UK gave Alabama a battle, lost to Florida by three in dramatic fashion and to South Carolina by six. This team can hang with anyone in the SEC and has enough talent to pull off the win against the Hogs at home. Who to watch: Who's going to run the ball for Arkansas? Senior backup LB Brandon Holmes, who has been working at RB to help provide depth to an injury-plagued backfield, is lost for the remainder of the season after suffering an ACL tear in his right knee during special teams duty last Saturday at Ole Miss. Sophomore RB De'Arrius Howard was back at practice yesterday, but senior starter Cedric Cobbs missed another day of workouts still hobbled by a sore hamstring. What will happen: The Arkansas slide will continue in a hard-fought battle. Jared Lorenzen will come up with his best game of the year. CFN Prediction: Kentucky 24 ... Arkansas 20 UL Monroe (1-7) at Auburn (5-3) - 2:30 pm EST Why to watch: If you want to see how good the backup Auburn running backs are; this is the game for you. Auburn gets a week off before jumping back into the SEC race with an apparent breather against a bad UL Monroe team. The Indians are in a tough stretch coming off a 21-14 loss to New Mexico State with Auburn this week and North Texas the week after. The Tigers beat the Indians 52-14 last year. Why UL Monroe might win: The fact that UL Monroe is from Louisiana could cause Auburn to have flashbacks to the LSU game forcing a post-traumatic stress disorder rendering the team powerless to play up to its capabilities. Why Auburn might win: UL Monroe has one of the worst run defenses in the Sun Belt meaning it has one of the worst run defenses in America. Who to watch: It's not that Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell hasn't been efficient, he just hasn't been amazing. He completed short passes against LSU, but they didn't go anywhere. Going against a ULM pass defense that's second to last in the nation in pass efficiency defense, he needs to use this game to start pushing the ball downfield a little more to give future teams something to think about. What will happen: It'll be a miracle of the ULM offense gets any points on the board. CFN Prediction: Auburn 56 ... UL Monroe 6 Louisiana Tech (4-4) at LSU (7-1) - 8 pm EST GamePlan Why to watch: Oh boy does this scream danger for the Tigers. LSU is playing as well as anyone in America with tremendous line play and a defense that leads the nation in scoring D giving up a mere 9.5 per game. It's coming off a dominating performance against Auburn and is primed and ready to continue its run and win the SEC West with a road date at Alabama next week. That's what might make this interesting as the in-state Louisiana Tech Bulldogs would love nothing more than to get the win over the big boy. Tech already pulled off a shocker this year beating Michigan State and could make this a great game. Why Louisiana Tech might win: There's just no way the Tigers can have the same intensity after the games against South Carolina and Auburn. The LSU defense might be amazing, but it does give up a few passing yards and it hasn't faced a passing quarterback of substance yet other than David Greene, and he threw for 314 yards against the Tigers. Tech quarterback Luke McCown should have a big day. Why LSU might win: Louisiana Tech is dead last in the nation against the pass allowing 315 yards per game. LSU's Michael Clayton and Devery Henderson should be able to put up huge numbers and control the game with big plays. Who to watch: McCown might be the headliner for the Bulldogs, but it's the running game and Ryan Moats that has taken center stage lately. The sophomore ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns against UTEP, 267 yards and two scores against Hawaii and 199 yards and three touchdowns against Nevada. In the last four game he carried the ball 95 times for 683 yards and eight touchdowns averaging 7.2 yards per carry. What will happen: LSU will have a few problems getting started, and then will turn on the defense to pull away in the second half. CFN Prediction: LSU 38 ... Louisiana Tech 10 South Carolina at Ole Miss (6-2) - 12:30 pm EST GamePlan Why to watch: Ole Miss is still the only unbeaten team in SEC play flying under the radar while higher profile teams like LSU, Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee are still getting love from the pollsters. This game marks the middle of the critical five-game stretch for the Rebels having already beaten Alabama and Arkansas and with Auburn and LSU ahead. South Carolina is looking for a good conference win. The Gamecocks have beaten Kentucky and Vandy but were throttled by LSU and Georgia. A win here would seal a bowl bid and give the relatively young team a ton of confidence. Why South Carolina might win: How exactly is Ole Miss winning games? The defense gives up a ton of yards and the pass defense, helped by a big game by Texas Tech, is the worst in the SEC. Offense. Ole Miss leads the conference in total offense, passing offense and scoring offense after finally getting a balance with the running game. That's where USC comes in. The Gamecocks have a solid enough defense and are good enough against the pass to keep Eli Manning in check. If this can somehow turn into a defensive battle, South Carolina should be O.K. However ... Why Ole Miss might win: ... the Gamecock offense might not be able to keep up if Ole Miss gets up by two scores. This isn't a high-octane USC attack needing to pound the ball with the running game rather than hitting teams with the quick strike. Who to watch: Is it a strange coincidence that Ole Miss actually might be better against good teams when it isn't getting a big performance out of its superstar? Eli Manning has blown up horrible defenses like Texas Tech's and UL Monroe's, but he was just above-average against Alabama, Arkansas and Florida. The Rebel offense is at its best when Manning gets in a rhythm working with the running game and not needing to bomb away. However, it's nice for Ole Miss to know that in a game like this, it has the quarterback who can make the big passing play. What will happen: Ole Miss is on too much of a roll right now to think it'll give one away at home. CFN Prediction: Ole Miss 31 ... South Carolina 23 Duke (2-6) at Tennessee (5-2) - 4 pm EST GamePlan Why to watch: Duke and Tennessee get a week off from their respective conference races for a bit of a breather. Duke, on a five-game losing streak, could really use a great performance and would see its world completely turn around with a monster upset. The Vols just want to get through a breather win after the five overtime classic against Alabama and two losses against Georgia and Auburn. Why Duke might win: Tennessee might have wobbly legs after playing such a long, gut-wrenching game against the Tide. With Miami coming up next week, there's no way the Vols will have their heads in this game. Duke has just enough of a running game to keep the Tennessee defense on its heels. Why Tennessee might win: Duke is having a tough time scoring lately when the outcome is still in doubt. It scored some oh-by-the-way points against NC State making it close late, but it'll be far tougher to try and come back on Tennessee at Tennessee. The Blue Devils are averaging a mere 15.88 points per game. Who to watch: It took a little while, but Tennessee receiver James Banks has turned into a reliable, and very clutch, receiver. He leads the Volunteers with 30 catches for 412 yards and six touchdowns,. With the Volunteer backfield having a few problems, Banks needs to become even more of a star over the final few games. What will happen: Tennessee won't play its crispest game of the year, but it'll still come away with an easy win against a Duke team that'll struggle to move the ball. CFN Prediction: Tennessee 31 ... Duke 10 ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
