East

Florida beats Miami 26-3. This is not an ACC post, but props to the Hurricanes, it was closer than the score suggests and they will be a powerhouse again soon. Florida is off this week.

Georgia cruises to a victory over Central Michigan. The team is preparing to start Conference play this week in Columbia against the old ball coach and the Gamecocks. Last year South Carolina came to Athens and beat us, so expect a strong show this week.

Kentucky beats Norfolk State 38-3. Kentucky is playing good defense. A bright spot appeared when freshman quarterback Randall Cobb came in to play. He ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. Could we be seeing the first of the next generation of SEC quarterbacks? This week the Wildcats face Middle Tennessee.

South Carolina is upset by the Commodores 24-17. With an injury to receiver Kenny McKinley and poor play at quarterback the Gamecocks were beat by the wily, physical play of Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks welcome the Bulldogs to Columbia this weekend and will try to upset Georgia as they did last year.

Tennessee had the week off. The Volunteers host UAB this week and look for Coach Fulmer to show that what happened in LA was a fluke by destroying the Blazers.

Vanderbilt beats South Carolina. Chris Nickson had another good game, this time against a legit SEC defense (even if they had an off night). Tough running back Jared Hawkins helps deflect attention from the running quarterback and with good coaching these Commodores will be a tough team to beat this season. They face Rice this week.

West

Alabama did not keep the pace after beating Clemson in Week 1, but still beats Tulane. Tulane played well and The Tide did not, scoring most of their 20 points on special teams. The kicking game was a weak point with a missed PAT and 37 yard FG attempt. Alabama hosts Western Kentucky Saturday night.

Arkansas rallies again to avoid defeat, winning as Louisiana Monroe misses a last second field goal. Coach Petrino is doing well with what has has been left with at Arkansas, but I suspect once Conference play begins they will have a very difficult time keeping this winning streak alive. Their game against Texas has been postponed until September 27th due to Hurricane Ike.

Auburn plays a strong game against Southern Miss. You get the feeling Tuberville has these lads just stretching their legs. This week the Tigers visit Mississippi State to start conference play. Expect Coach Croom to make them earn a W in Starkville.

LSU had their game against Troy postponed. They host North Texas this week after a week of rest… watch out.

Ole Miss loses to Wake Forest on a last second field goal. Jevan Snead played well and the Rebles look like they are taking o this new coach of theirs, the Reverend. This week Samford comes to Oxford.

Mississippi State beats Southeastern Louisiana 34-10. Quarterback Wesley Carroll showed up for the Bulldogs, throwing for two touchdowns. This week will be a big game at Scott Field, looking for a huge upset against Auburn.

Here is a recap of the action in Week 1.

East

Florida dominates. This team is well coached and will be a contender.

Georgia dominates. This is my team, and what a year we have in front of us. I am looking forward to our watching Richt coach this talented team.

Kentucky beats Louisville. Kentucky loved playing outside the SEC to open, this will definitely be a rebuilding year for the Wildcats after losing play makers to the NFL this year.

South Carolina beats up on NC State. Spurrier finds himself with a question mark at QB heading into next week at Vanderbilt. The starter Beecher did not play well and his replacement, Smelley, did an excellent job- I’d like to see the Smelley get the start.

Tennessee loses to UCLA. I love watching Tennessee come across the country to start their season. I really enjoyed this game. Tennessee should have blown out UCLA after 4 first half interceptions, but UCLA hung around and won a thriller in overtime. I am excited to see Neuheisel coach the Bruins; watch out USC. Fulmer got beat again in the state of California to start the season. Don’t think this isn’t a tough Vol team, winning in Neyland Stadium is not going to be an easy thing to do.

Vanderbilt beats Miami of Ohio. QB Nickson runs for 2 TD’s and 166 yards; it will be fun to see if he can run on the defenses of Vanderbilt’s SEC opponents starting with the visiting Gamecocks next week.

West

Alabama surprises Clemson- winning 34-10. Everyone had Clemson in this one, but I knew the Tide would roll. Saban’s turnaround of Alabama is realized and senior QB John Parker Wilson has apparently found himself. An impressive but inconsistent performer last year, Wilson, was solid against the Tigers.

Arkansas sneaks by Western Illinois. A close call for the Razorback’s new coach Bobby Petrino. I expect Arkansas to be one of the weaker teams in the west this year.

Auburn blanks Louisiana-Monroe 34-0. Tuberville’s team is looking good this year, as always, and I think their game with LSU should be an early highlight considering what happened last year.

LSU destroys Appalachian State. The Tigers are strong again this year. This despite some serious issues with the QB position as former star-to-be Ryan Perrilloux was dismissed by Coach Miles in May. LSU RB Charles Scott will be the center of a strong rushing attack this year and the defense will be a force to be reckoned with.

Ole Miss beats Memphis. The Houston Nutt era begins with a win. I am excited to see what effect Nutt has on a team that went 3-9 last year.

Mississippi State loses to Louisiana Tech. Three 3rd quarter turnovers kill the Bulldogs-tough start for Coach Croomer.

That’s been the problem that no one has solved yet this year. Tebow runs the spread option to perfection each week and it will be the mission of defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and the Georgia defense to disrupt, confuse and stop the complicated, multi-faceted, dangerous offense of Florida. Urban Meyer is one of my favorite coaches and he will have a strong game plan. Georgia is hurting in the backfield as senior Thomas Brown will miss the the remainder of the season with an injury which will send most of the carries to freshman Knowshon Moreno. Moreno has a bright future and this could be a big game for him if he can help keep the Florida offense off the field by giving the Dawgs some quality carries. I see a great game coming this weekend in Jacksonville.

My prediction:
Florida 24
Georgia 14

My prediction:
Tennessee 31
South Carolina 17

My prediction:
Auburn 34
Mississippi 17

My Prediction:
Kentucky 28
Mississippi State 20

It all starts with a big game Thursday between Kentucky and
South Carolina and keeps going Saturday with a number of
good matchups.

Here’s a look at three big SEC games this week:

Kentucky vs South Carolina

This was once a game that had little to no impact on the rest of
the SEC, but times have changed. Kentucky has not lost yet and
the Gamecocks are ranked 11th. To me this is a classic SEC
matchup. The Heisman hopeful Andre Woodson will come out
for the Wildcats, after throwing for five touchdowns last week,
and lead one of the highest powered offenses in college
football. He will do this against the highest ranked pass
defense in the SEC. We should see some difficulty with the
passing game early on, but I see Kentucky making adjustments
and finding ways to beat the Gamecocks secondary. The
offense for South Carolina is where the outcome will be
decided. If they can keep up with the Wildcats through three
quarters I think they have a chance to pull the upset on their
home field. This looks to be a great game.

My Pick: Kentucky

Georgia vs Tennessee

This game has a fantastic history and a great venue. Neyland
Stadium will be packed to watch the Volunteers try to knock off
12th ranked Georgia. The Bulldogs have come back after
suffering an early loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks and
have won three in a row including two conference games
against Alabama and Mississippi. The Volunteers will be facing
a Georgia team that excels in opponents stadium led by a
young and talented quarterback in Matthew Stafford. Stafford
has proved to be lethal if left undisturbed in the pocket, but
when the young offensive line has been penetrated he has
made some poor decisions under pressure. This will be a key
for Tennessee. Expect to see senior Thomas Brown and
freshman phenom Knowshon Moreno team up on a Volunteer
defense that has been weak against the run this year. On the
other side of the ball the Volunteers will be looking to senior
quarterback Erik Ainge to lead the team to the tune of “Rocky
Top”. Ainge has had a difficult time throwing with an injured
thumb on his throwing hand, but that has reportedly healed
and he is a seasoned SEC quarterback that can make things
happen for Tennessee. Georgia has a stout defense. I expect to
see the Volunteers try to spread the field and use their talented
young receivers to test the Georgia secondary. Overall this
looks to be a fantastic game between two good teams with
very smart coaches, this is what SEC rivalry is all about.

My Pick: Georgia

Florida vs LSU

This game is what many are calling the Game of the Week. I
agree. If Oklahoma and Texas had not lost last week I would see
that game as just as important, but with the current standings
this is the game. The defending champs roll into Baton Rouge
mad after a tough loss last week to face the team ranked #1 in
the AP poll, the LSU Tigers. The Tigers are a very talented team
both on offense and on defense. On offense they are led by
senior quarterback Matt Flynn. Flynn has proven to be tough,
consistent leader on this high powered offense. Wide receiver
Early Doucet is expected to return to action after missing three
game to injury and that is good news for the Tigers. Doucet is a
6-1 senior who will make the Gator defense earn the win. On
the Florida offense it will take not only sophomore Tim Tebow
having a career game passing and rushing, but some help form
the backfield as well. The rushing game has been a weakness
for the Gators thus far, and for them to beat the Tigers they will
need production out of Kestahn Moore coming out of the
backfield. The implications of this game across the college
football world are huge and the nation will be watching as they
two powerhouses face off on Saturday.

My Pick: LSU

A quick run down:

To me the biggest game was Auburn beating Florida. The Gators made early mistakes and it hurt them. I did see them drive the ball the way they can in the third quarter, but they have got a big piece of work to do if they are going to try and make a run at a repeat- more on their game next week soon.

Oklahoma losing to Colorado shoots some holes in the sails of the Sooner’s BCS hopes. The Sooners will need to reload their high scoring guns to get back in the hunt.

Texas was the game mentioned so far that was not close. The wildcats made Texas look very bad. The Longhorns did not play like the team we have seen go out and dominate other teams.

You may wonder why I mention the Alabama game. Sure they are ranked, but only 22nd and they were beat by a talented Florida State team. As many others have, I have been following the story of Nick Saban at Alabama. I have watched him coach for some time and have been interested to see him enter the SEC again, especially the way he did. After losing to Georgia last week and to Florida State this week I am eager to see the response of the Tide. Have the players “bought in” to Saban’s philosophy? Will they stick to the program and message after a rough couple weeks? I think their role turns to spoiler and could be very interesting. They play Houston next week then they head to Mississippi and then host the Tennessee Volunteers. Those last two game will have a big impact in the SEC and will say a lot about the Tide. Then watch out for the LSU Tigers on November 3rd as Saban meets his old team at Bear Bryant Stadium for what could be a huge game on the national stage.

A quick word about the other two game I mentioned above.

California over Oregon. These are good football teams playing at a very high level. I am a SEC man myself, but the Pac Ten can hang. The Bears and the Ducks can play some ball, just ask Tennessee or Michigan.

Washington flirting with an upset of the USC Trojans was a big statement to me. Tyrone Willingham is the future of Huskie football. Jake Locker is letting Huskie fans down. It is great to see him scrambling and gaining yards with his legs, but his passing is killing the Dawgs and any advantage the mobility gives evaporates when you can’t hit open receivers. I look forward to the program tightening up and turn some hot dog high schoolers onto U-Dub.

The times they are a changing- and so will the rankings. Come back soon for a preview of next week’s SEC match-ups.