Didn’t have a good week. All season I’ve been talking about my gut picks and what do I do this week? Go with my stupid head/heart. (shaking head)
Last Week:
Alabama 37, auburn 33 [Actual Score: 28-27, auburn] x
Kentucky 34, Tennessee 29 [Actual Score: 24-14, Tennessee] x
Arkansas 35, LSU 24 [Actual Score: 31-23 Arkansas]
Florida 31, Florida State 29 [Actual Score: 31-7, Florida State] x
Mississipi State 34, Ole Miss 27 [Actual Score: 31-23, Miss State]
South Carolina 31, Clemson 24 [Actual Score: 29-7, S Carolina]
Vanderbilt 23, Wake Forest 21 [Actual Score: 34-14, Wake Forest] x
Georgia 35, Georgia Tech 18 [Actual Score: 42-34, Georgia]
Week: 4-4
Overall Season: 70-26 (73%)
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Alabama vs auburn
Well, if you would have told me that Alabama would get a 24-7 halftime lead, McElroy would have 330+ passing yards , the Tide defense would hold Cameron Newton to under 100 yards rushing and Alabama would still lose the game, there is no way I would believe that. Ever.
I mean, on what planet would Greg McElroy have over 300 passing and 2 TDs in a half?
Here are the plays that KILLED Alabama:
- Trent Richardson dropped TD pass – this would have put Alabama up 28-0, instead they kick a field goal.
- The 70 yard TD pass to Terrell Zachary that Mark Barron didn’t intercept (or at least bat down) – this would have been about a 20 yard gain even if Barron and Dee Milliner just wrap him up and make the tackle. But Barron decides to play the receiver instead of the ball…a ball that he makes a play on 9 out of 10 times. Now, I’m not going to say that auburn wouldn’t have scored eventually if they had made the stop, because they could have, but at that point in the game, Alabama was still containing the auburn offense.
Obviously there were other plays that changed the game; plays that auburn made and plays that Alabama didn’t, but I feel like these two plays manifested how the little things can get you beat and how you HAVE TO do the little things if you want to knock out your top rival that happens to be ranked #2 in the country.
The bottom line is this: auburn made adjustments in the second half and Alabama didn’t…unless you want to call going into Shula mode and start playing “not-to-lose”.
Alabama dictated what auburn did in the first half. They were throwing some new looks at auburn on offense and because of the score and the way Alabama was playing, were able to make auburn play call a little differently in the first half.
The second half auburn dictated what they wanted to do on offense and made some adjustments on defense. And that’s really the whole story.
Nick Fairley was a force and made such an impact on Alabama’s offense. He’s going to be a rich guy next year (assuming he’s not getting paid now – Ba-Zing!). At least Newton didn’t run rampant over the Alabama defense, but none other than Onterrio McCalebbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb led auburn in rushing with just over 50 yards.
For Alabama, Courtney Upshaw had a whale of a game. He’s the lynch-pin of the Alabama defense. Basically, he was healthy two games this year (Florida and Alabama) and the defense looked like a different animal. Hopefully in 2011, he’ll have 2 good ankles all season. And unless something strange happens, the 2010 Iron Bowl was Julio Jones’s last home game. What a beast. Too bad the prevent offense ran in the 2nd half didn’t really include him.
PLAYER WATCH
AJ McCarron – 0/4, 0 yards
CJ Mosley – 6 tackles, 1PBU
Michael Dyer – 9 rushes, 27 yards
Corey Lemonier – 1 tackle
LOOKING FORWARD
Alabama pulls for South Carolina and waits for their Bowl Game.
auburn faces South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.
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Kentucky @ Tennessee
Tennessee took the opening kickoff 78 yards, only to miss a 28 yard field goal.
Kentucky got on the board first with a Derrick Locke TD run and nearly made it 14-0 when Derrick Locke fumbled the ball on the 1 yard line, into the endzone, where Tennessee recovered it for a touchback.
Tennessee then drove down the field and scored on a TD pass to WR Gerald Jones. After a shanked Kentucky punt, Tennessee scored again in 2 plays, both passes to WR Denarius Moore.
Moore had a huge day, catching 7 passes for 205 yards and became only the 2nd Volunteer ever catch at least 200 yards in passes in two different games. With all the great WRs that have come through Knoxville, you would think that had been done a lot, or I would have anyway.
Early in the 3rd quarter, Kentucky QB Mike Hartline tied up the game with a short TD pass.
At the end of the 3rd quarter Tennessee QB Tyler Bray drove the Vols down the field and RB Taruen Poole punched in a TD. UT later added a FG.
Despite Bray throwing 2 red zone interceptions (on the 4 and in the end zone) he had a tremendous day (20/38, 354 yards, 2TDs, 2 INTs).
Kentucky left some points on the field as well. As mentioned earlier, a fumble on the 1 would have put them up 14-0 early. Midway through the 2nd quarter, Randall Cobb fumbled on his own 44 yard line and on the very next play, Tyler Bray was intercepted on the Kentucky 4 yard line. While Cobb’s fumble was essentially a 40 yard loss, Kentucky managed to drive down the field (to the UT 24 yard line) but missed a FG right before the half.
But UT threw in INT in the red zone, so sans the turnovers, this game would have still gone to the Volunteers by 7.
So the streak lives on and is now at 26 consecutive games (or years, but that sounds much worse) and with all that Kentucky loses this year (QB Mike Hartline, RB Derrick Locke, WR Chris Matthews, (presumably) ATH Randall Cobb…and that’s just offense) the streak might lengthen.
Tennessee has a lot of good young talent coming back, but they lose 2 key senior WRs in Gerald Jones and Denerius Moore. Oh, but Justin Hunter is awesome and he’ll be back along with Da’Rick Rodgers, you Tennessee fans might say. True, but Justin Hunter has been completely absent from a few big games (Alabama, 0 catches; S Carolina, 0 catches and Kentucky, 0 catches). Jones and Moore have been there to pick up the slack and make sure there is a passing game (I know, I know, Hunter is just a freshman). It will all be on Hunter and Rodgers in 2011, with the graduation of Moore, Jones and TE Luke Stocker (3 of the 4 leading receivers for UT in 2010.
PLAYER WATCH
Randall Cobb – 5 rushes, 25 yards/13 receptions, 116 yards/1 PR, -4 yards
Taylor Wyndham – 1 QBH
Justin Hunter – played; no stats
Corey Lemonier – played; no stats
LOOKING FORWARD
Both teams are bowl eligible and will await their bowl destination.
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LSU @ Arkansas
Wasn’t this just an exciting little game?
Both teams started out punting to each other and then missing field goals.
And then Arkansas RB Knile Davis took over on the ground (30 rushes, 152 yards and a TD). LSU simply had no answer for him.
Ryan Mallett was also pretty ridiculous against a great pass defense (13/23, 320 yards, 3 TDs and 2INTs). And all 3 TDs were on long pass plays. WR Cobi Hamilton was a beast (3 receptions, 165 yards, 2 TDs), catching an 85 yard pass and an 80 yard bomb down the middle of the field 3 seconds before halftime; gutting the defense (and do the math…his over reception was for a -1 catch). WR Joe Adams also caught at 39 yard TD pass.
As exciting as of a show that the Arkansas offense put on, the LSU offense wasn’t. They grinded up and down the field, catching some breaks in field position by some turnovers and some great returns by Patrick Peterson. Stevan Ridley had a typical Stevan Ridley day (17 rushes, 75 yards and a TD) which is good enough for the 3rd best rusher in the SEC (as a RB) as he eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark in this game.
Jordan Jefferson also had a better than normal game (16/27, 184 yards) but didn’t make enough plays or put his WRs in positions to make enough plays and that’s likely the difference in the ball game. With his corps of WRs, he should be able make a few things happen.
The better offense won this game. But I’m still not sure who the better team is.
PLAYER WATCH
Rueben Randle – 1 reception, 5 yards
Craig Loston – 4 tackles
DJ Williams – 3 receptions, 28 yards
Ronnie Wingo – 1 reception, 3 yards
LOOKING FORWARD
Both teams are bowl eligible and will await their bowl destination. With the victory, Arkansas likely played itself into the Sugar Bowl. LSU will probably go to the next best bowl outside of the BCS bowls…depending on what happens in the SEC Championship Game.
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Florida @ Florida State
So looking back at what I wrote last week, I acted like Florida would trounce Florida State but I picked a two point win for Florida.
Turns out, I was wrong on both accounts. Not only did Florida fail to do really move the ball, they couldn’t even score after the first quarter (about 5 minutes into the 1st quarter!). So utter domination by the Seminoles.
I tried to find the last time Florida was shut out for 3 quarters (I got tired of looking) and the most recent game was the 2005 Alabama game that Florida lost 31-3. They kicked a FG in the 2nd quarter.
But Florida scored a TD on their 1st possession in 5 plays around the 10:37 mark of the game and it was all downhill from there:
2nd possession: Fumble on the FLA 45
3rd possession: Fumble on the FLA 14 à led to Florida State TD
4th possession: Turn over on Downs (Fake Punt) on the FLA 36 à led to Florida State TD
5th possession: Punt on 3 and out à led to Florida State TD
6th possession: INT on the FSU 20
7th possession: Punt on 3 and out à led to Florida State TD
8th possession: Punt on 6 and out
9th possession: Fumble on the FSU 14 (negated a 16 play, 81 yard, 7:45 drive)
10th possession: Punt on 3 and out
Ten possessions, 4 punts, 3 fumbles, 1 INT, 1 Turnover on Downs, 1 TD, 0 happy Gator fans.
Yikes.
John Brantley was 6/12, 52 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Anyone still thinks he is the QB next year? My money is on Jordan Reed and/or Burton Reed.
PLAYER WATCH
Mike Gillislee – no stats
Ron Powell – 2 tackles
LOOKING FORWARD
Florida is bowl eligible and will wait for its destination.
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Mississipi State @ Ole Miss
This one got out of hand before Ole Miss scored some 4th quarter TDs to make it look close.
The State defense shut down a pretty lively Ole Miss running game (65 yards on 35 attempts) which was 19th overall in the country with 207.6 yards a game.
Meanwhile, it was the Chris Relf and LaDarius Perkins show for State. Relf did his best Cameron Newton impression going 13/20, 288 yards, 3TDs and 1INT in the passing game and rushing 12 times for 66 yards. Perkins took 13 carries for 98 yards and caught 3 passes for 140 yards and 2 TDs.
It’s like all of a sudden Relf discovered a deft passing touch and Perkins (a freshman) has set himself up for a nice sophomore season (93 carries, 526 yards, 3 TDs).
No one for Ole Miss had a particularly dazzling night. Jeremiah Masoli threw for 261 yards, a TD and an INT on 24/44 passing. Star RB Brandon Bolden took 12 carries for 45 yards and a TD, but it came early in the 4th quarter. WR Ja-Mes Logan added the other Ole Miss TD last in the 4th.
The State defense lived up to the billing and pouring it on with some overwhelming offense.
PLAYER WATCH
Chad Bumphis – 1 reception, 44 yards
James Carmon – 2 tackles
Brandon Bolden – 12 yards, 45 yards, 1 TD/ 6 receptions, 78 yards
DT Shackleford – 9 tackles/ 2 TFL/ 1 Sack
LOOKING FORWARD
Miss State is bowl eligible and
Ole Miss will gear up for 2011 and boo Miss State in their bowl game.
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South Carolina @ Clemson
Much like the Florida-Florida State game, this one was ALL Carolina.
Clemson took the opening kickoff and scored on 4 plays to take an early 7-0 lead…and that was it.
The Carolina defense was so dominant; Clemson ran a total of 11 plays in South Carolina territory, a place they only reached on 4 of their 14 possessions.
1st Quarter: 2 plays: -4 yard run, 45 yard TD pass
2nd Quarter: 3 plays: 1 yard run, Incomplete Pass, Incomplete Pass, Punt
4th Quarter: 5 plays: 16 yard pass, Incomplete Pass, 2 yard run, 0 yard run, -13 yard sack&fumble/ 1 play: -2 yard sack
I’m not saying that Clemson’s offense is dangerous, but, Sonny Jim, 11 plays in an opponent’s territory (and only 4 of those were for positive yards)?!?
Alshon Jeffery had another ridiculous game (5 receptions, 141 yards, TD). He’s gone over 100 yards receiving in 7 games, in 2 games he’s come within at least 3 yards of 100 (Furman – 97, Arkansas – 99), and against Tennessee he was held to 3 catches for 87 yards. Only Kentucky (6-65) and Florida (6-53) have really kept him in check.
Marcus Lattimore got 23 carries (48 yards), so I have to think they weren’t resting him. So I’m wondering if Clemson shut him down or…what?
PLAYER WATCH
Marcus Lattimore – 23 rushes, 48 yards/5 receptions, 41 yards
DeVonte Holloman – 4 tackles
LOOKING FORWARD
South Carolina takes on the auburn Tigers Saturday in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. The Gamecocks look to bring home their 1st ever SEC trophy in their 1st ever appearance in the game. A win would send them to the Sugar Bowl.
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Wake Forest @ Vanderbilt
I can’t believe I picked Vanderbilt. That was obviously stupid.
In bigger news HC Robbie Caldwell resigned, effective immediately following the game.
Odd.
I totally called Jordan Matthews with the TD catch…and it was basically all the Vandy offense of the day.
PLAYER WATCH
Jordan Matthews – 7 receptions, 74 yards, TD
LOOKING FORWARD
Vanderbilt will look for a coach and do whatever it is they do after their last game.
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Georgia Tech @ Georgia
This was a little higher scoring than I anticipated…by Georgia Tech, not Georgia. And Aaron Murray and AJ Green didn’t prove to be quite the scoring tandem I thought either.
I imagine that it’s tough to prepare for the Georgia Tech Triple Option in a week, but the Bulldogs were coming off a Bye week and it looks like it was a good thing.
Tech never led in this game, but was always nipping at the Bulldogs heels, scoring 5 rushing TDs in the game. Six different Yellowjackets ran the ball, 4 different scored a TD and 4 different ones averaged at least 5.7 yards a carry. And that is without the starting QB!
Turnovers were a big theme in this game:
Georgia fumbled the opening KO. On the ensuing possession, GT turned the ball over on downs on the UGA 20. Georgia goes 3 plays and punts. GT drives down to the UGA 5 and fumbles. (That is the first 3 possessions of the football game!)
In the second quarter with Georgia leading 14-7, Georgia turns the ball over on downs on the GT 5 on 4th and 1…GT drives 95 yards to tie the game at 14.
Midway through the 3rd quarter, as Georgia has just tied the game at 21, Caleb King fumbles on the GT 9. On the ensuing possession, GT runs 5 plays and punts, but UGA PR Branden Smith fumbles the return and GT recovers on the UGA 34. Five plays later GT fumbles on the UGA 13 yard line and Georgia drives down the field in 8 plays to take a 28-21 lead. After the ensuing kickoff, the GT QB fumbles on the second play of the drive and Georgia LB Justin Houston returns it for a TD and puts UGA up 35-21.
We’re not done yet…
With about 5 minutes left in the game and Georgia leading 35-34 (GT had just missed the XP), the Bulldogs receive the GT kick off and fumble it…and recover it…only to fumble it again 6 plays later on 4th and 1 on the GT 23 coming out of a time out. GT now has the ball on their own 24 yard line. After losing 6 yards on 2 plays, it’s now 3rd and 16 on the GT 18. Two incomplete passes later GT turns it over on downs, and it’s Georgia’s ball with about 2 minutes to play and 18 yards separates them from going up by 8 points. Two plays later, RB Washaun Ealey runs in for a TD and a 42-34 UGA lead.
With a 1:22 remaining, GT drives down to the UGA 46 and Tech QB Tevin Washington throws in INT to Justin Houston on the UGA 33 to end the game.
WOW! That sounds like an awesome rivalry game! I find it funny that UGA’s starting TE is Orson Charles and Georgia Tech’s RB is Orwin Smith.
Well, the Bulldogs outlasted the turnover fest and now Dawg fans get to watch one more game in 2010 as they became bowl eligible with the win.
PLAYER WATCH
Orson Charles – 2 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD
Branden Smith – 1 rush, 2 yards/ 1 reception, 14 yards/1 PR -2 yards/4 tackles/ PBU
LOOKING FORWARD
The win made Georgia bowl eligible…
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