3LSU -3 ½ @ 25Mississippi St.
The Bulldog’s head coach Dan Mullen spent some time in Eugene over the off season and thus far it has shown. Miss St.’s team has emulated Oregon’s fast paced, high flying scoring machine they have become known for, scoring 59 and 34 points respectively in the first 2 weeks. And with the surprisingly fleet footed Chris Relf at the helm, prognosticators gave MSU a legitimate shot at contending for the SEC West. But beating Memphis is one thing and losing to “lowly” Auburn in a 41-34 shootout is another. The loss left questions marks for both squads but really left SEC pundits scratching their heads and wondering if they were wrong about the squad from Starkville.
LSU, on the other hand, despite losing key starters, was able to stifle that same offense in a win against the Ducks in the opener and take care of business against Northwestern State. (Who?) But these two teams have a little bit of a history, and who can forget the goal line stand in 2009 when LSU was able to stop MSU 3 times in the final minutes of the game to cling to a 4 point win. So who wins?
Despite the loss at Auburn and despite LSU being the favorite to win the SEC, I like the upset here, and believe that the Bulldogs will win the game out right. The 6’4 245 lbs. Relf can do it all, and by putting the ball in his hands Miss St. has a shot to win every game they play this year.
Scott – Miss State
Sef Sam Holy - LSU
15 Michigan St. +4 ½ @ Notre Dame
Notre Dame has been the best team on the field for 2 consecutive weeks and have begun the season 0-2. With 10 combined turnovers and real question marks about the decision making abilities at quarterback, Irish fans have seen head coach Brian Kelly red faced and spitting more than would have cared to at this early phase in the season. But in Ann Arbor last week, despite the 5 turnovers, the calm and collected Tommy Rees put the Irish in position to win the game, but a defensive collapse when it mattered most allowed Denard Robinson to go all Denard Robinson on ND and once again left the Irish kicking rocks.
MSU hasn’t played anybody yet, but there have been high hopes for the 2-0 Spartans, who are basically still riding their pre season hype. Notre Dame will be the first true test this season for the Spartan Sr. QB Kirk Cousins who is now a 3 year starter and has high hopes of getting into that first ever Big Ten Championship Game.
Well, maybe next year Kirk; Notre Dame takes care of business here and finally gets their act together to beat Michigan State by double digits.
Scott – Notre Dame
Sef Sam Holy – Notre Dame
Tennessee +9 ½ @ 16 Florida
Florida is better than people thought. Yes they played FAU and UAB, but they won both games in convincing fashion and only gave up a combined 3 points. Last year, with the departure of Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer, Florida was going to have to depend on their defense to keep them in games. Quarterback John Brantley was a first year starter, and it showed, as he looked lost more than anything and the Gator’s offense lacked true personality. In waddles the rotund offensive guru Charlie Weiss fresh off of his departure from Kansas City (and it showed last week) and now the Gator’s offense is rolling. In true Patriot fashion, 9 different Gators carried the ball against UAB and 7 different receivers caught a pass.
The Volunteers will not know where the ball is going, and as an added bonus, the Florida defense has been stout. Tennessee’s wins against Montana and Cincinnati were less than impressive even though they scored 42 and 45 points, they are going into the swamp this week, and Florida covers this thing.
Scott – Florida
Sef Sam Holy - Tennessee
1Oklahoma -3 @ 4Florida State
Oklahoma Quarterback Landry Jones is good. Crazy good. I might be ready to cast my Heisman vote now if OU can win at Doak Campbell and can’t wait to see him burning up defenses on Sundays.
FSU’s EJ Manuel, however, might be better. At 6’5 245, it is unbelievable how fast he can move. Manuel can do it all and the Seminole offense will run through him all day and will cause Michael Vick circa 2000 fits for the Sooner defense. And on the other side of the ball, FSU’s defense has not really been tested, but they have looked good (as good as a defense can look against Louisiana-Monroe and Charleston Southern squads).
I picked FSU to win the national title this year, and I am going to hold true to that prediction and give them the slight edge in this win. This is the game of the week, but Manuel and the Seminoles pull it out and take the 3 point gift at home
Scott – FSU
Sef Sam Holy - FSU
No comments:
Post a Comment