OK, so this is likely to be less of a Report about the Gators than about college football in general. After all, who really wants to talk about our Gators right now? I know I said I was done for the year, but Mrs. Report took Timmy and Percy down to see her mother for the night and I couldn't stand just sitting around watching the Dirty Noles play Notre Dame. Hopefully you'll indulge me on a few random musings as we see 2011 come to a merciful end-
- Charlie Weis is now the head coach at Kansas. So much for Chuck sticking around for the long haul. While I always liked his interviews, I won't miss his fat ass limping around the sideline or spending some quality time perched on an unfortunate Igloo cooler. It isn't his fault that he didn't have any cards to play with this year. I don't care who was coaching the offense this season, an awful offensive line combined with an average quarterback, undersized running backs and below average receivers was a recipe for disaster. I just wish I could tell you I thought it would be better next year. I always thought that the Weis hire was odd and that he was too big for Gainesville (pun intended). But with the mercenary nature of college football today, I don't blame Muschamp for making the reach. Its just unfortunate that it blew up in his face.
- Urban Meyer apparently had enough with spending time with his family and couldn't resist the urge to get back into big time college football. Personally, I don't begrudge the guy. After all, he's young, is obviously immensely talented, and he brought us two national titles. It is interesting that Spurrier largely gets a free pass for taking a job in the SEC East while there's so much venom directed at Meyer. With that said, I was oddly pleased with the one year bowl ban. At least Urb will be home for the holidays. Note to the Buckeye faithful- Enjoy it while it lasts. He's going to burn out again and when it happens the result isn't pretty. Of course, with the shitstorm that OSU fans have had to endure I can't blame them for being ecstatic. I'd be surprised if Urb didn't bring at least one national title to Columbus.
- With Weis gone the main focus now is on who will replace him. I'm strongly in the Kerwin Bell camp. I know he's never coached D-1 offenses, but he's scored massive points on every level and there's no reason to believe that wouldn't translate to the SEC. This is a player's game, however, and if we can't get our new OC some checkers to play with, it doesn't matter who we hire. For Muschamp's sake, I think Kerwin is the easy hire. He might as well do something that ingratiates himself to the fans. So far, he's been an unmitigated disaster in the media and to the fans at large.
- I guess I'd be remiss if I didn't at least make a pick for what has to be the least anticipated bowl game in Florida history. Seriously, you couldn't give me free tickets to get me to go to this game. With 6-6 records on each side, neither team is even a figment of their former selves and the winner will be the one who actually shows up and wants to play. Given that we couldn't even show up to play FSU, I can't see any reason to believe that we'll play hard on Monday. Maybe we should learn from the FSU game and punt on every first down. Had we done that against the Noles we'd have at least made it to overtime. Sorry Gators, but its finally time to break tradition. Ohio State 24-UF 13.
- The 2012 Florida schedule was released Tuesday and it doesn't look much better than this year. Yes, Alabama is mercifully off but two road trips to A&M and Tennessee in September look like a recipe for early season disaster at this point. The moving of the South Carolina game from late season to the week before the Georgia game basically removes any hope of our representing the East next year. Further, how awful is November? Yes, we get the novelty of hosting Mizzou for the first time, but then we follow that up with two patsies to end the home schedule before traveling to Tally to lose for the third straight time to FSU. I hope I feel differently after a long off season to cool off, but right now I'm hoping we can muster a 7-5 record which will put Muschamp firmly on the hot seat going into his third season. I never thought I'd consider the Zook years as "not that bad" but we stand at the precipice of an abyss, my friends. Hello 1970's.
- In other news, Matt Barkley spurned the NFL and is returning to USC for his senior season. This will be the first year that Kiffie's squad is actually eligible for post season play and I wouldn't be surprised if they are in the top 2 in the preseason polls. Which is disgusting to even consider, I know.
To close out the year I offer the following bowl picks-
National Title Game- It has to be hard to beat a team twice and LSU's offense has gotten off to slow starts their last 3 games. Still, I don't see Bama's offense being able to score more than 14 points and I love LSU's big play capability on both offense and special teams. I'm rooting hard for the Bayou Bengal Tigers to keep Little Nicky from a third national title. LSU 17-Bama 13.
Cotton Bowl- I watched Kansas State play for all of 5 snaps this year but I like Arky big in this one. They've shown to be a very good team as long as they're not playing LSU or Bama. Hogs 35-KSU 17.
Outback Bowl- Picking bowls is a tricky business because you never know which team will show up. I like the momentum that Georgia was riding and they could very well have upset LSU if their receivers could catch at all. Plus, I have a haunting memory of Michigan State getting clubbed like a fur seal by Bama last year. Dawgs 27-MSU 20.
Capital One Bowl- I still think of this as the Citrus Bowl. Coach Spurrier still probably has nightmares about Nebraska. Unless Marcus Lattimore has an amazing recovery I think Spurrier continues his bowl woes. Huskers 28-USC 17.
Chick Fil A Bowl- Again, this will always be the Peach Bowl to me. Auburn is awful offensively and without their O-Coordinator (who moved on to be the head man at Arky State before people figured out that he was only really good when he had Cam Newton) they won't be any better. Virginia is a goofy team to predict, but they did beat the Noles. Cavaliers 24-War Eagles 16.
Liberty Bowl- If you told me that our signature win of the season would have been over Vandy I'd have sold my season tickets. Still, I'm not picking against my Dores when you can expect at least 1,000 rabid Vandy fans. Heck, that may be more fans than what shows up to support Florida. VU 23-Cincy 21.
Music City Bowl- Mississippi State had high hopes coming into the season, probably unfairly so. They face a feisty Wake Forest team. This would be a bad loss for the SEC. Dirty Dawgs 27-Deamon Deacs 20.
I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's weekend and enjoy what remains of the 2011 football season. Let's all hope that 2012 is kinder to our Gators.
Go Gators!
BS
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
The End
Florida State won their second straight against our beloved Florida Gators by amassing 8 first downs and a total of 92 yards. And it wasn't even close.
Offense
- I don't know who Johnny Brantley wronged in a previous life. Maybe he was Ghengis Khan or a child molester, but his first two picks doomed us. It is a miserable feeling to be down 14 in the first quarter and know that the game is over. In spite of being a the highest rated QB in the country coming out of high school (which speaks further to the inherent stupidity of these predictive ranking services), Brantley has never managed to acquire the skill of looking off receivers. He once again stared them down and made Saturday night a cornerback's dream. The fact that the refs didn't call some kind of penalty when TWO FSU defenders simultaneously speared him in the head was amazing, but had that not occurred I have no doubt that he could have challenged John Reeves' Gator record of 7 interceptions in a single game.
- But alas, #12 was not our biggest problem Saturday night. Our offensive line is putrid. FSU's is equally porous, but the combination of the line's lack of skill, Brantley's dogged determination to stare down his receiver, and the diminutive size of our running backs once again spelled dumpster fire. The problem is that the offensive line can't possibly improve dramatically next year. We might start 3 freshmen next year, and that simply can't win you more than 6-8 games. So settle in for a long rebuilding process. Or just an extended period of sucking.
Defense
- I thought the defense was great. Sure, we could have maybe held on to a pick or two, but if you hold someone to under 100 yards combined for a game you should win every time. I'll never cease to be amazed that we managed to lose by double digits giving up under 100. If we could just be mediocre on offense we would have won 9 games this year.
Special Teams
- We need to recruit another punter.
- If the rumors are true, we'll lose Coach DJ Durkin to Ohio State. No big loss in my opinion. Nor would the loss of our strength coach cause me to lose any sleep. We need a change which hopefully can boost the team's overall toughness. We're soft.
In short, this season was an unmitigated disaster. We beat nobody good. Hell, our signature win was over a 6-6 Vandy team. I hereby pronounce Will Muschamp to be on the hot seat. Another season like this and we have to try something else.
In other action on the weekend-
- The best team in the country is LSU, and they proved it again Saturday with an impressive come back over a good Arkansas team. It is astounding to me that LSU needed a lucky bounce on a fake field goal to beat us last year. To think how far our two teams are now apart after only 14 months is simply baffling. But I'll be rooting for LSU to bring home another title for the conference. Think about this, if Arky played in any other conference they'd be getting ready to face LSU for the national title game. Instead they got pounded twice by two teams in their own division.
- Speaking of that division, what must Texas A&M be thinking? They finally seem to have the upper hand on their hated rival, but rather than stick around and enjoy it, they're bolting for the SEC West where they can count on getting blistered on at least 3 weekends a year.
- Going into halftime down 3-0 at half, I saw a stat that Derek Dooley is 0-13 at Tennessee when they were tied or trailed going into halftime. Make that 0-14. I will be surprised if Dooley is the UT head man to start the 2013 season. To miss a bowl because they lost to Kentucky, a team they'd beaten 26 straight, will make for a long off season on RockyTop. As a result of their loss, Florida now has the longest winning streak over a single opponent (also Kentucky) in the country. Here's hoping it lasts beyond 2012, but it might be doubtful.
- The SEC East did well over the ACC this weekend, with the obvious exception of Florida. Georgia, South Carolina and Vandy all rolled. Congrats to my Dores, who will be going bowling. It will be interesting to see who gets the better bowl between Vandy and Florida. I suspect it will be us, but I wouldn't want to have to play the Dores again. And that pretty much sums up the state of Florida football.
The best thing about the coming weekend is that it won't involve Florida.
- SEC Title- LSU is going to pound Georgia. LSU 45-UGA 13.
- Big 10 Title- I like Wisconsin to win the title over Michigan State in Indy this weekend. Badgers 33-Sparty 20.
- ACC Title- Virginia Tech hammered Virginia to once again earn a spot to play for the ACC Title. Is there a more under-appreciated coach than Frank Beamer? Hokies 31-Clemson 17.
- Pac 12 Title- Because of probation for USC, UCLA finds its way to the Pac 12 Title game to face Oregon. This is not good news for either program in Los Angeles. Ducks 38-Bruins 13.
- Oklahoma State Title- The State Championship of Oklahoma will also crown the Big 12 champ. I think this is a toss up, but I'll go with the 28 year old QB and the best receiver in college football to get it done at home. Cowboys 30-Sooners 20.
This may do it for The Gator Report this year. It has been a brutal season and I'm not sure I've got any interest in a bowl game. I predict our team's effort in the bowl game will mirror the same sentiment. I hope you all have a great holiday season and off season. Hopefully I'm wrong and next year will bring some marked improvement for our Gators.
But I'm not betting on it.
BS
Offense
- I don't know who Johnny Brantley wronged in a previous life. Maybe he was Ghengis Khan or a child molester, but his first two picks doomed us. It is a miserable feeling to be down 14 in the first quarter and know that the game is over. In spite of being a the highest rated QB in the country coming out of high school (which speaks further to the inherent stupidity of these predictive ranking services), Brantley has never managed to acquire the skill of looking off receivers. He once again stared them down and made Saturday night a cornerback's dream. The fact that the refs didn't call some kind of penalty when TWO FSU defenders simultaneously speared him in the head was amazing, but had that not occurred I have no doubt that he could have challenged John Reeves' Gator record of 7 interceptions in a single game.
- But alas, #12 was not our biggest problem Saturday night. Our offensive line is putrid. FSU's is equally porous, but the combination of the line's lack of skill, Brantley's dogged determination to stare down his receiver, and the diminutive size of our running backs once again spelled dumpster fire. The problem is that the offensive line can't possibly improve dramatically next year. We might start 3 freshmen next year, and that simply can't win you more than 6-8 games. So settle in for a long rebuilding process. Or just an extended period of sucking.
Defense
- I thought the defense was great. Sure, we could have maybe held on to a pick or two, but if you hold someone to under 100 yards combined for a game you should win every time. I'll never cease to be amazed that we managed to lose by double digits giving up under 100. If we could just be mediocre on offense we would have won 9 games this year.
Special Teams
- We need to recruit another punter.
- If the rumors are true, we'll lose Coach DJ Durkin to Ohio State. No big loss in my opinion. Nor would the loss of our strength coach cause me to lose any sleep. We need a change which hopefully can boost the team's overall toughness. We're soft.
In short, this season was an unmitigated disaster. We beat nobody good. Hell, our signature win was over a 6-6 Vandy team. I hereby pronounce Will Muschamp to be on the hot seat. Another season like this and we have to try something else.
In other action on the weekend-
- The best team in the country is LSU, and they proved it again Saturday with an impressive come back over a good Arkansas team. It is astounding to me that LSU needed a lucky bounce on a fake field goal to beat us last year. To think how far our two teams are now apart after only 14 months is simply baffling. But I'll be rooting for LSU to bring home another title for the conference. Think about this, if Arky played in any other conference they'd be getting ready to face LSU for the national title game. Instead they got pounded twice by two teams in their own division.
- Speaking of that division, what must Texas A&M be thinking? They finally seem to have the upper hand on their hated rival, but rather than stick around and enjoy it, they're bolting for the SEC West where they can count on getting blistered on at least 3 weekends a year.
- Going into halftime down 3-0 at half, I saw a stat that Derek Dooley is 0-13 at Tennessee when they were tied or trailed going into halftime. Make that 0-14. I will be surprised if Dooley is the UT head man to start the 2013 season. To miss a bowl because they lost to Kentucky, a team they'd beaten 26 straight, will make for a long off season on RockyTop. As a result of their loss, Florida now has the longest winning streak over a single opponent (also Kentucky) in the country. Here's hoping it lasts beyond 2012, but it might be doubtful.
- The SEC East did well over the ACC this weekend, with the obvious exception of Florida. Georgia, South Carolina and Vandy all rolled. Congrats to my Dores, who will be going bowling. It will be interesting to see who gets the better bowl between Vandy and Florida. I suspect it will be us, but I wouldn't want to have to play the Dores again. And that pretty much sums up the state of Florida football.
The best thing about the coming weekend is that it won't involve Florida.
- SEC Title- LSU is going to pound Georgia. LSU 45-UGA 13.
- Big 10 Title- I like Wisconsin to win the title over Michigan State in Indy this weekend. Badgers 33-Sparty 20.
- ACC Title- Virginia Tech hammered Virginia to once again earn a spot to play for the ACC Title. Is there a more under-appreciated coach than Frank Beamer? Hokies 31-Clemson 17.
- Pac 12 Title- Because of probation for USC, UCLA finds its way to the Pac 12 Title game to face Oregon. This is not good news for either program in Los Angeles. Ducks 38-Bruins 13.
- Oklahoma State Title- The State Championship of Oklahoma will also crown the Big 12 champ. I think this is a toss up, but I'll go with the 28 year old QB and the best receiver in college football to get it done at home. Cowboys 30-Sooners 20.
This may do it for The Gator Report this year. It has been a brutal season and I'm not sure I've got any interest in a bowl game. I predict our team's effort in the bowl game will mirror the same sentiment. I hope you all have a great holiday season and off season. Hopefully I'm wrong and next year will bring some marked improvement for our Gators.
But I'm not betting on it.
BS
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Week 12: The Tale of Two Seasons
Hello, Gators. We all knew we weren't a very good football team. We've lost to every above average team on our schedule. But now we've seen what it looks like when a bad football team doesn't even want to play. We were simply awful Saturday. Some random notes below before we move on to the interesting items on the weekend-
- John Brantley had a career day, throwing 4 TD's. In his two seasons as the starting QB he has amassed 19 touchdown passes. Pathetic. Terry Dean threw 39 while splitting time with Danny Wuerffel (who threw 22 TD's his freshman year). Thank goodness the Furman corners were atrocious.
- If you were one of the few who actually showed up Saturday you witnessed the longest TD run of any Division II running back in the modern history of Florida Field.
- I can't explain the lack of effort. These guys had to know that they were playing for bowl eligibility on Saturday. I defy any of you to point out the definitive leader on this team. We have none.
That's about it. We were gross and, but not for FSU's equally gross effort Saturday, I'd hold no hope of this coming weekend's game being even somewhat competitive.
Thankfully, there were some interesting outcomes for the weekend.
- I guess all it took for Okie State to finally lose was The Gator Report to stop picking them to lose. That performance at Iowa State was legendary in terms of sucking, but it was compounded by the plane crash which took the lives of the Okie State women's head basketball coach and one of his assistants. The most puzzling part of that story was that the pilots of the plane were a married couple ages 82 and 79. Bizarre.
- The big news out of Ohio State was that they are officially in hot pursuit of the Big Urb. I know that the Buckeyes would sell their souls for another national title, but they better be real careful about this hire. We all see what kind of disaster can ensue when you have a coach who can't give maximum effort. They'd better put together a serious battery of medical testing before they pull the trigger on Urban's return to the big time.
- There was obviously something going on this weekend with the favorites. In addition to Florida trying its best to lose to Furman and OSU blowing a chance to play for the national title, Oklahoma, Clemson and Oregon also collapsed. Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina also looked shaky in wins against awful opponents. Just 6 weeks ago we were all speculating that we could have as many as 5 undefeated teams from BCS conferences. Now it seems like nobody but LSU wants to win the title.
- The two best performances on the weekend probably came from LSU and Arky. How amazing is it that the BCS top 3 going into the weekend will all not only be from one conference, but one division. For those of you rooting for a college football playoff, you'll have it in the coming weeks. LSU must survive against #3 Arkansas before getting a rematch against #2 Bama. The good news is that the sixth straight national title for the SEC appears to be just about locked down. The bad news is that it will be a very long time before Florida could conceivably compete for the title.
- How gross was the state of Florida this Saturday? FSU lost their homecoming game against an offensively challenged Virginia (a team they beat on the road 34-14 last year). Miami limped to victory over South Florida. Florida sucked in their win, and FAU continued its winless campaign. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
I titled this week's report in honor of the UF/FSU matchup this weekend. FSU came into the season ranked in the top 10 and assured that this was the year they'd be back in the national title hunt. Florida came in hoping that a star studded new coaching staff could resurrect a program from an awful last season under Urban Meyer. Things started well before falling apart when October rolled around. Neither team can boast of a quality win and they have combined for 13 wins against 9 losses. On the line Saturday is the ability to somehow find a way to end the season on a high note.
Prior to watching the FSU game, I was certain that we'd suffer a loss similar to last year's 31-7 pasting at Doak. I'm still fairly certain that we can't beat anyone with similar talent, but at least I expect our guys to show up with some intensity. On offense, FSU has a solid group of receivers and running backs. Their quarterback is significantly better than ours, but their offensive line may only be slightly better than the sieve that we roll out there. On defense, they are very stout against the run and play with a fire that is remnant of the old FSU defenses. They have a dangerous return man in Greg Reid and, his most recent miss and annoying gold shoes notwithstanding, have a good kicker.
I think the only way we win this game is to somehow finally win the turnover margin in a game. Put simply, we're going to need a cheap score. I suspect we'll keep trying to run our undersized backs and I fully expect for Johnny Brantley to get creamed on several occasions. If I didn't have the stupid rule about picking against Florida I'd tell you FSU was going to win by 8, but if Iowa State can beat Okie State, then maybe we can pull out a shocker and actually end the season on a winning streak. Florida 20-FSU 17.
Its a great weekend for college football-
LSU vs. Arkansas- This matchup Friday afternoon is must see TV. It would be interesting to see what West team got the nod to go to Atlanta should Arky pull the shocker, but I distinctly remember how bad Alabama's defense made the Hogs look. LSU's defense is world class, and although I expect Arky to put up a good fight, I just don't see them beating LSU in Baton Rouge with this much on the line. LSU 38-Arky 23.
South Carolina vs. Clemson- Both teams' best players on offense are sidelined and the mental edge has to go to South Carolina. Clemson looked simply terrible in their loss at NC State, and I can't get too caught up on Clemson's early season run because of the conference in which they play. Still, Spurrier always seems to struggle against in state rivals. Clemson 24-South Carolina 17.
Georgia Tech vs. Georgia- We'll see if Georgia has any running backs to play with this weekend. They looked pedestrian against a bad Kentucky team with Isaiah Crowell sidelined with an injury, and the triple option isn't something that's easy to prepare for with just a week of practice. If Tech won, its likely that Georgia will lose 3 games this season in the city of Atlanta. And that's just enough to make me smile. Rambling Wreck 24-Dawgs 23.
Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt- My beloved Dores found a way to lose to the hapless Vols in overtime this weekend. Now they need a win to get to bowl eligibility. Better luck next year, Vandy. Demon Deacs 31-Vandy 28. Wait, did I just pick the ACC in three games over the SEC? Oh, that's right, none of the SEC teams are from the West.
Auburn vs. Alabama- The Iron Bowl finds Alabama looking to stay alive in both the SEC West and National Title race (they are one in the same this season, after all) as well as hunting revenge after Auburn's come from behind win in Tuscaloosa last year. Unfortunately for Auburn, Cam Newton now plays in the NFL but Trent Richardson still has a few games left in college. Bama 28-Auburn 13.
I hope everyone has a tremendous Thanksgiving. I'm particularly thankful that this season is almost over.
Go Gators!
BS
- John Brantley had a career day, throwing 4 TD's. In his two seasons as the starting QB he has amassed 19 touchdown passes. Pathetic. Terry Dean threw 39 while splitting time with Danny Wuerffel (who threw 22 TD's his freshman year). Thank goodness the Furman corners were atrocious.
- If you were one of the few who actually showed up Saturday you witnessed the longest TD run of any Division II running back in the modern history of Florida Field.
- I can't explain the lack of effort. These guys had to know that they were playing for bowl eligibility on Saturday. I defy any of you to point out the definitive leader on this team. We have none.
That's about it. We were gross and, but not for FSU's equally gross effort Saturday, I'd hold no hope of this coming weekend's game being even somewhat competitive.
Thankfully, there were some interesting outcomes for the weekend.
- I guess all it took for Okie State to finally lose was The Gator Report to stop picking them to lose. That performance at Iowa State was legendary in terms of sucking, but it was compounded by the plane crash which took the lives of the Okie State women's head basketball coach and one of his assistants. The most puzzling part of that story was that the pilots of the plane were a married couple ages 82 and 79. Bizarre.
- The big news out of Ohio State was that they are officially in hot pursuit of the Big Urb. I know that the Buckeyes would sell their souls for another national title, but they better be real careful about this hire. We all see what kind of disaster can ensue when you have a coach who can't give maximum effort. They'd better put together a serious battery of medical testing before they pull the trigger on Urban's return to the big time.
- There was obviously something going on this weekend with the favorites. In addition to Florida trying its best to lose to Furman and OSU blowing a chance to play for the national title, Oklahoma, Clemson and Oregon also collapsed. Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina also looked shaky in wins against awful opponents. Just 6 weeks ago we were all speculating that we could have as many as 5 undefeated teams from BCS conferences. Now it seems like nobody but LSU wants to win the title.
- The two best performances on the weekend probably came from LSU and Arky. How amazing is it that the BCS top 3 going into the weekend will all not only be from one conference, but one division. For those of you rooting for a college football playoff, you'll have it in the coming weeks. LSU must survive against #3 Arkansas before getting a rematch against #2 Bama. The good news is that the sixth straight national title for the SEC appears to be just about locked down. The bad news is that it will be a very long time before Florida could conceivably compete for the title.
- How gross was the state of Florida this Saturday? FSU lost their homecoming game against an offensively challenged Virginia (a team they beat on the road 34-14 last year). Miami limped to victory over South Florida. Florida sucked in their win, and FAU continued its winless campaign. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
I titled this week's report in honor of the UF/FSU matchup this weekend. FSU came into the season ranked in the top 10 and assured that this was the year they'd be back in the national title hunt. Florida came in hoping that a star studded new coaching staff could resurrect a program from an awful last season under Urban Meyer. Things started well before falling apart when October rolled around. Neither team can boast of a quality win and they have combined for 13 wins against 9 losses. On the line Saturday is the ability to somehow find a way to end the season on a high note.
Prior to watching the FSU game, I was certain that we'd suffer a loss similar to last year's 31-7 pasting at Doak. I'm still fairly certain that we can't beat anyone with similar talent, but at least I expect our guys to show up with some intensity. On offense, FSU has a solid group of receivers and running backs. Their quarterback is significantly better than ours, but their offensive line may only be slightly better than the sieve that we roll out there. On defense, they are very stout against the run and play with a fire that is remnant of the old FSU defenses. They have a dangerous return man in Greg Reid and, his most recent miss and annoying gold shoes notwithstanding, have a good kicker.
I think the only way we win this game is to somehow finally win the turnover margin in a game. Put simply, we're going to need a cheap score. I suspect we'll keep trying to run our undersized backs and I fully expect for Johnny Brantley to get creamed on several occasions. If I didn't have the stupid rule about picking against Florida I'd tell you FSU was going to win by 8, but if Iowa State can beat Okie State, then maybe we can pull out a shocker and actually end the season on a winning streak. Florida 20-FSU 17.
Its a great weekend for college football-
LSU vs. Arkansas- This matchup Friday afternoon is must see TV. It would be interesting to see what West team got the nod to go to Atlanta should Arky pull the shocker, but I distinctly remember how bad Alabama's defense made the Hogs look. LSU's defense is world class, and although I expect Arky to put up a good fight, I just don't see them beating LSU in Baton Rouge with this much on the line. LSU 38-Arky 23.
South Carolina vs. Clemson- Both teams' best players on offense are sidelined and the mental edge has to go to South Carolina. Clemson looked simply terrible in their loss at NC State, and I can't get too caught up on Clemson's early season run because of the conference in which they play. Still, Spurrier always seems to struggle against in state rivals. Clemson 24-South Carolina 17.
Georgia Tech vs. Georgia- We'll see if Georgia has any running backs to play with this weekend. They looked pedestrian against a bad Kentucky team with Isaiah Crowell sidelined with an injury, and the triple option isn't something that's easy to prepare for with just a week of practice. If Tech won, its likely that Georgia will lose 3 games this season in the city of Atlanta. And that's just enough to make me smile. Rambling Wreck 24-Dawgs 23.
Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt- My beloved Dores found a way to lose to the hapless Vols in overtime this weekend. Now they need a win to get to bowl eligibility. Better luck next year, Vandy. Demon Deacs 31-Vandy 28. Wait, did I just pick the ACC in three games over the SEC? Oh, that's right, none of the SEC teams are from the West.
Auburn vs. Alabama- The Iron Bowl finds Alabama looking to stay alive in both the SEC West and National Title race (they are one in the same this season, after all) as well as hunting revenge after Auburn's come from behind win in Tuscaloosa last year. Unfortunately for Auburn, Cam Newton now plays in the NFL but Trent Richardson still has a few games left in college. Bama 28-Auburn 13.
I hope everyone has a tremendous Thanksgiving. I'm particularly thankful that this season is almost over.
Go Gators!
BS
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