What a great weekend we have in store for us in this first week of October. With the SEC West in incredible shape, every game will be extremely important for the teams that wants to make it to Atlanta. Saturday’s games will not only tell who has the talent to make the SEC Championship Game, but also win it and earn a berth in the final four. The games will be big and my predictions read as follows:
SEC West Showdowns Highlight Wild Weekend
No. 6 Texas A&M at No. 12 Mississippi State
This game has a lot riding on it because it will answer two questions: is Mississippi State for real and can Texas A&M can handle the pressure of staying unbeaten? There will be a lot of publicity due to the fact that there are two Heisman candidates playing in this one: quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Kenny Hill.
Mississippi State heads into this showdown with a lot of attention due to the fact that this is looking to be a breakout season for Dan Mullen and his crew. Texas A&M is coming off arguably the best game of the season last week when they came storming back to beat Arkansas in overtime. The Aggies won that game because they came together in the fourth quarter and played like the great team that they are, dominating the final 15 minutes of play.
People are saying that Texas A&M got lucky last week and they will have no chance against the rest of the SEC West as the season progresses. I have to disagree with that. Texas A&M played really bad last week and still ended up winning. They left over thirty points off the board which led to an extremely close game. Not only was the offense bad but the defense just couldn’t stop one of the best running games in the country.
Arkansas is a vastly underrated team and I truly believe they will rattle off some wins. Texas A&M actually did do a great job against Arkansas because they had to force the Razorbacks to do trick plays to nearly beat them. A fake punt for a touchdown would have fooled anybody. Another score was when Arkansas (a running team) performed a play action fake to perfection as the tight-end was acting as a blocker then released out to a wide open field in front of him giving Arkansas a score. To make things even more difficult for A&M to recognize that it was a play action pass, the quarterback Brandon Allen hid the ball behind his thigh giving the assumption to the rushing defensive ends that the running back had the ball when in reality the quarterback was just waiting for his tight-end to get open.
Texas A&M gave up a lot of bonehead mistakes on defense but did manage to win the game. It doesn’t matter if you win by a hundred or by one point, a win is a win.
Mississippi State is coming off of their biggest win in the Dan Mullen era when they went in and knocked off LSU in Death Valley. They were destroying the Tigers at one point 34-10 and it was looking to be all over. LSU made an incredible comeback in the final two minutes to cut the lead to five and had the ball to win the game at the last second. LSU ended up throwing an interception on the final play and Mississippi State escaped Baton Rouge alive.
I predict A&M to come away the victors in this game because of who they have beaten. They went in and destroyed South Carolina who has lost two games this season. The Aggies should come out and take this game because of how they can play when they are on.
Final score 41-24, Texas A&M.
No. 3 Alabama at No. 11 Ole Miss
Oxford, Mississippi. The site of College Gameday and home to the number one game on Saturday. The Crimson Tide and the Rebels square in an enormous Saturday showdown. Alabama has had no trouble so far this season with the exception of the closer than expected West Virginia game. The Tide showed great poise against Florida in the second half, but it was a tough ride in the first. Everyone is expecting this game between Alabama and Ole Miss to be close when in reality this game should be no less than 20 points… in Alabama’s favor.
Ole Miss has done terrible this season in my eyes. They may be unbeaten but look at the scores heading into the fourth quarter against Boise State and Memphis, 7-3 in both games. They did end up winning both; however they looked terrible in the first three quarters against both teams. I know this isn’t what most people expect however it should come as no surprise for the Rebels to get beat up on.
Final score 34-20, Alabama.
LSU at No. 5 Auburn
The Tigers are set to face off this year in Auburn and it will be a shootout for sure. In my eyes Auburn is the most overrated team in college football and doesn’t deserve to be a top five team. They are unbeaten and dominated Arkansas in the second half, however it was a tie game heading into halftime. Auburn also escaped Kansas State a few weeks ago and if it wasn’t for missed field goals, four to be precise, Auburn would not only be 3-1 but most likely not even in the Top 15.
LSU on the other hand looked completely lost against Mississippi State. They could not do anything on defense or move the ball on offense until virtually the end of the game. I expect this game to be an easy win for Auburn just because of how pathetic LSU looked at home against the Bulldogs. Auburn may be overrated but they are a much better team than Mississippi State. The Tigers from the plains of Alabama should cakewalk through this game against the Bayou Bengals.
Final score 32-13, Auburn.
It’s going to be a crazy weekend for college football, both in the SEC and elsewhere. This will for sure be one of the most hectic weekends of the season.
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