Games of the Week
Season Record (22-8)
#16 Florida Gators at #9 LSU Tigers
The foundations of these two programs are built the same. They both want to play great defense and run the ball. We'll see a lot of that this Saturday between these rivals. With that said, this game will come down to whose quarterback will make the most plays through the air. Florida QB Tyler Murphy has sparked the Gator offense and just threw for 277 yards against Arkansas. While LSU's Zach Mettenberger has been a new man under offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Florida has a very stout run defense, so LSU really needs a big game from Mettenberger if they want to win. But add in that the Gators have two of the best cornerbacks in the nation and it gets even harder. Expect a slugfest, but LSU has more play makers.
Prediction: Florida 10 LSU 20
#2 Oregon Ducks at #17 Washington Huskies
If you want to watch a high scoring game, this is where your eyes should be. We all know Oregon is uptempo and averaging over 50 points per game. But Washington has also upped their tempo and we saw last week they put up 28 points on one the elite defenses in the country. But will they be able to keep up with Oregon? Or will the Ducks just have too many answers for the Husky defense? And don't think that Oregon's improved defense won't be able to slow Washington down any. I think this might get out of hand.
Prediction: Oregon 44 Washington 28
Missouri Tigers at #5 Georgia Bulldogs
Expect a shoot out here. Offensively the Bulldogs have been on fire, but go into this game with their top two running backs out. Defensively Georgia is still young on defense and has given 32.2 points per game. Not a good sign when Missouri's 8th ranked (46.6) scoring attack comes to town. But are the Tigers for real? Or have they beat up on teams that are not as good as we think? I personally don't trust the Tigers yet. They have some good pieces but Georgia has enough athletes to slow them down. And I don't see them being able to slow a red hot Aaron Murray
Prediction: Missouri 30 Georgia 41
#11 Texas A&M Aggies at Mississippi Rebels
This could have been an even bigger game, but with Mississippi's loss to Auburn was a big blow. But don't count them out. The Rebels are still talented and going to give A&M everything they can handle. Maybe even a little too much. In what is becoming a trend, this should be a high scoring affair. A&M's defense is bad. They allowed Arkansas to stay in the game two weeks ago and Ole Miss is a better team. The Aggies are going to need a huge game out of Johnny Manziel, but will he be able to do it week in and week out? Especially on the road? I really think A&M is an overrated team this year and suffer the first big upset of the year here.
Prediction: Texas A&M 38 Mississippi 41
#14 Oklahoma Sooners vs Texas Longhorns
Oklahoma is looking to win their fourth straight Red River Shootout and doing so could put the final nail in Mack Brown's coffin. As bad as Texas has been, a win here could take some of the heat off the Longhorns coach and give Texas a lot of momentum going forward. On paper the Sooners look like they will roll Texas. But the Sooners offense hasn't really been as explosive as previous years. But like last year, they could have their coming out party at the Longhorns expenses. Texas needs the defense to step up, but that may be easier said that done.
Prediction: Oklahoma 38 Texas 20
Matchup to Watch
WR Odell Beckham & Jarvis Landry vs CB Louchiez Purifoy & Marcus Roberson
Player Profiles
With the emergence of QB Zach Metteneberger the Tiger receivers have benefited the most. Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry are the two leading receivers for LSU. Both receivers are similar players. They both are around 6'1 190 lbs and use their speed and quickness to get open. LSU looks to get them the ball in the open field and allow their play making ability to get extra yards.
Marcus Roberson and Louchiez Purifoy are two of the best corners in college football, and both could go in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Both corners use their athletic ability to stick to receivers, but also use their size and strength to bully receivers at the line. Roberson is the more polished of the two using his quickness and ball skills to break up passes and limit the catches his receiver gets. Purifoy is more athletic and a better play maker, but is still a little raw. This can lead to Purifoy getting beat at times.
How Will it Go
This will be a fun match up to watch. You have two speed receivers match up on two cover corners. Look for Roberson and Purifoy to try and get physical with the Tiger receivers to redirect them and get them off their routes. LSU runs a timing route offense and having their receivers not in the spots they need to be on time. Look for the Tigers to try and move their two receivers around or put them into motion to try and minimize the contact at the line of scrimmage. I see LSU winning this game, but they'll do it on the ground. The Florida corner duo is going to have their way with the Tiger receivers and make it hard on Mettenberger to get them the ball.
Keep an Eye On
Missouri Tigers
It's safe to say there wasn't a whole lot of expectations for the Tigers entering this season. They had developed into a contender while in the Big 12, but were completely over matched when they moved into the SEC. Last year they only won five games and their only conference wins came against horribly bad Tennessee and Kentucky. This was going to be (still is) a make or break year for head coach Gary Pinkel. With the school wanting to be a player in the new conference, if he didn't get things turned around could be out of a job.
Well if their first five games are any indication, they might be on the right track. The Tigers are undefeated and have wins over a tough Vanderbilt team and Big 10 riser Indiana. Missouri's offense has gotten back on track and their averaging 46.6 points per game. But what's even more impressive is that this pass happy team of old is actually running the ball effectively. They are currently 15th in the nation and averaging 258 yards per game. I've seen previous teams not even run the ball more than ten times a game.
The big question is whether they can keep it up. History tells us no. They face Georgia this week and then have Florida and South Carolina the next two weeks. Add in Texas A&M and Mississippi and that's five games they could easily lose. But this seems to be a different team. They can score, and as we've seen in the SEC so far this year. It's turned into the Southern Pac 12 and their shootouts.
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