iTunes & App Store

Read Everything That Dunks Must Converge

Read Everything That Dunks Must Converge
by Bryan Harvey

Truth & lies in Pixar's 'The Good Dinosaur'

Truth & lies in Pixar's 'The Good Dinosaur'
by Bryan Harvey

A world of child soldiers & cowboys

A world of child soldiers & cowboys
by Bryan Harvey

To their own devices: Pablo Larrain's 'The Club'

To their own devices: Pablo Larrain's 'The Club'
by Bryan Harvey

LCB SEC Picks: Games of the Week

September 11, 2010


(22) UGA v (24) USC @ 12:00 on ESPN2
Langston: If one was to go to UGA's online store they would find a bunch of replica A.J. Green jersey's on sale. The school will sell thousands of these jerseys, and will probably split the profit with Nike. However, AJ Green sold one of "HIS" game worn jerseys and gets suspended for four games. This is a generally accepted practice, yet it's the equivalent of paying your employees below minimum wage which we all know isn't even a living wage. We all know he knew that what he was doing was wrong and that he is getting paid with room, board, and travel money; but giving someone a scholarship while you try to turn his talents into more millions is unnerving. As for the game, this is one that will make or break both USC's and UGA's season, one Richt needs to keep his job and one Spurrier should need to keep his job (but they won't ever fire him). It'll come down to run defense, something UGA should have issue with considering the 3-4 (a defense made to stop the big play yet sets up for huge running lanes) and something SC will have an edge with UGAs young o-line. Leading me to believe that UGA gets knocked out of the SEC East race to Atlanta early. USC 24, UGA 14.

Teach: This game always feels like the truth of what Georgia's season will be: the harbinger of doom or the fountainhead of hope. Personally, I got off to a good first week of school this past week, so I'm feeling optimistic about the Bulldawgs. What makes me hesitate on the pick is that they will be without A.J. Green.  It's strange to think that if he'd sold anything other than his jersey it would be more akin to a yard sale than anything else.  I don't believe that NCAA athletes are slaves to the university, but to some extent, some of these rules sure do appear to reduce athletes to the level of sharecroppers. And it's not just Georgia, South Carolina has its own fair share of problems. They will get starting cornerback Chris Culliver back for this game, but the verdict is still out on Weslye Saunders and Jarriel King, both starters. What's sad about this game is that no matter what happens on the field it will happen in the shadow of sports agents and hotel parties. We've made a mess of a beautiful game, and it's hard to determine if there are any heroes and villains in it, or just a bunch of people doing the things that make us human. Georgia wins 13-10, relying on the backbone of any successful sharecropper, their stable of pack mules: running backs Washaun Ealey, Carlton Thomas, and Caleb King.


(18) Penn St v (1) Bama @ 7:00 on ESPN
Langston: Is there any other ranked team in the country regretting the 5-year scheduling more than Penn State this week? I doubt it. They're going to get crushed. They couldn't stop the run against Youngstown State last week, and now they get to play one of the best rushing teams in the country. Good luck with that.

Trent Richardson starts his Heisman campaign by running all over LB-U; Bama 45, Penn State 14.

Teach: It really does feel like Paul "Bear" Bryant should still be standing on the sideline opposite Joe Paterno.  It's no knock on current Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, but he just doesn't have that same presence--he's not a legend in the stern, stoic, all-seeing eye sense. At best, he's a trickster god, like Loki. The truly strange thing is that in all the old pictures of Joe Pa and the Bear--Joe Pa doesn't look any older than he did almost thirty years ago, maybe the lack of aging is due to the photos being in black and white, but the man doesn't look any older today than he did when coaching icons roamed the earth like dinosaurs.

Joe Pa's age shows up primarily in his gait, which is measured and brittle, and like their coach, I don't see how the Nittany Lions can keep up with the speed and athleticism of their opponent. In name and appearance this looks like a classic matchup, but let's face it, Joe Pa probably doesn't get Tupac, so it's hard to see how he or is team gets around. Bama wins 31-20.




(7) Oregon v UT @ 7:00 on ESPN2
Langston: It's been a long offseason for us Volunteer fans and yesterdays news that Bruce Pearl is no less slimy than John Calipari doesn't help all that much, even if he managed to bring up tears. It feels as if every time there is some good news for UT, something twice as bad happens within the next two weeks. There was the UGA game, then the Bama game. There was Kiffin leaving, then there was the dirty trail of NCAA violations he left. The hiring of Dooley, Eric Berry going pro. And finally, the decent recruiting class DD pooled together to be followed by the trail of top-flight transfers and decommits. And all while this was going on Oregon was busy trying to keep pace with the SEC in the Fulmer Cup and focusing on this game. Even though they've kept pace in their off-field arrests over the past couple years, they've been boat-raced by SEC teams time-and-time again, which leads to Chip Kelly obsessing over returning the favor--they've been training all offseason to hang as many points as possible on UT. They're salivating over playing my injured puppy of a team, and as much as it hurts to say, it's likely they'll win, easily. If the Vols can run and slow down LaMichael James, they have a shot. But it's a long shot. LaMichael James goes for big yards, David Oku keeps pace, and Matt Simms blows it. Oregon 28, Tennessee 17.

Teach: Despite its geography and its mascot, doesn't it feel like Oregon should be an honorary member of the SEC because of the off-the-field trouble that seems to constantly arm wrestle with some of its most talented players?  Was anyone surprised that Jeremiah Masoli, after being exorcised from the Ducks' program, found a home in the heart of the SEC?  Or maybe the fact that Ole Miss welcomed him home demonstrates the differences between the great Northwest and the Bible Belt: we'll forgive anyone for anything if they can help win football games.  And it's this kind of juxtaposition that makes Oregon's match-up with Tennessee so intriguing.  All the talk of Oregon running back LaMichael James coming back from suspension, for publicly harassing his girlfriend, sounds like a preview for any SEC team, say UGA vs. USC.  The game is in Knoxville, which will lend even more of an in-conference feel to the game, despite the fact that these two teams have never faced one another. Oregon, welcome to the SEC. I think you'll finish this year's conference schedule 1-0, with a 35-21 victory, and if you do lose, then maybe you'll learn the virtues of how to better coexist with the devil.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

A couple notes on the early games:

Marcus Lattimore is going to break a lot of records.

Aaron Murray could be the next fantastic SEC QB. If he just works on his timing, he could great.

Chris DeMarco's nephew starts for USC. This anecdote will be said approximately 110 times this season.

JMU 7- VT 10. I hope VT loses again.

September 11, 2010 at 2:31 PM
Unknown said...

Lattimore is a freight train.

September 11, 2010 at 5:12 PM
Unknown said...

He literally beat the Georgia defense into submission.

September 11, 2010 at 5:13 PM
Unknown said...

another thing about the AJ Green situation...he gets 4 games for selling a jersey but washaun ealey only gets one game for a hit and run...this doesn't even make sense

September 11, 2010 at 10:04 PM
Russ said...

Drew Dudzig for Heisman.

Bryan explain the Cox situation.

I saw alot of bad tackling in the games I watched. Seems like a lost art like the midrange jumper and bunting the runner over.

September 12, 2010 at 12:16 AM
Russ said...

Dudzik. I knew that.

September 12, 2010 at 12:17 AM
Unknown said...

Cox Cable is trying to charge us over 50 dollars a month than the deal we signed up for, and we've got the print off receipt etc to prove it. Cable companies are ridiculous.

I agree about the tackling, but the death of the midrange jumper is a myth.

During the UGA game, the announcers Bob Davies blamed a lack of tackling skills on the fact that UGA didn't hit as much during spring camp this year, but that doesn't account for the fact they couldn't tackle last year and for the fact that Marcus Lattimore is just good.

September 12, 2010 at 10:20 AM
Russ said...

Nobody wraps up anymore. I saw so many players just throwing shoulders into players and bounce right off. That's how JMU scored their first touchdown. I know this is NFL related, but that is why Patrick Willis is so good. He rarely misses tackles. If he gets to you, you are going down right there.

September 12, 2010 at 11:21 AM
Unknown said...

Could we blame video games and the emphasis they put on the big hit a few years ago?

September 12, 2010 at 11:33 AM
Unknown said...

No, I think you see this in college, bc the guys hitting like this have become accustomed to making that knockout hit in high school. But those big hits that gave them their big name to sign at their respective D1 school, weren't against D1 athletes.

September 12, 2010 at 11:45 AM
Russ said...

Langston: Fuck the Dodgers for laying down against the Padres this week, because I know this next series against the Giants will be their season and they will take 2 of 3 crushing my spirits.

September 12, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Unknown said...

Um, there not laying down, they just stink right now.

September 12, 2010 at 12:16 PM
Unknown said...

Also, if your team backs into the playoffs, they don't really deserve to be there.

September 12, 2010 at 12:17 PM
Russ said...

I'm a Giants fan, I expect the worst.

Hopefully the Padres back out of race entirely.

September 12, 2010 at 12:29 PM
Unknown said...

Yeah, somehow the Rockies will end up winning and we'll all lose.

September 12, 2010 at 12:46 PM

Post a Comment

 

© 2008-2010 ·The Lawn Chair Boys by TNB