LCB SEC Picks: Games of the Week

UT v (12) LSU @ 3:30 on CBS
Langston: If Tennessee loses at Baton Rouge today, that’ll mean in a week’s time when the Dawgs and Vols face off we’ll have the first meeting between the two when both carry losing records since 1906. For that not to happen, the Vols will need to score at least 16 points. I know, I know, 16 isn't really that much. But with LSU's terrific defense and the two terrible QBs in this game, 16 points could be considered an offensive explosion. It probably won't happen since Derek Dooley seems determined to torture all of Tennessee while inflicting us with delusional dreams of Tyler Bray by starting Matt Simms, their inability to get a third-down conversion longer than two yards and the inevitable kicks to "the best when hydrated" Patrick Peterson. I'd love to say UT learns from it's mistakes; moves on past the Matt Simms era, punts the ball out of bounds, and improve on third down; but it still wouldn't fix their issue with depth (they have none). They'll keep it close early, only to pay for their 14-man defensive rotation in the second half. It's going to be a long, painful year. LSU 14, UT 10.

Teach: Tigers fans aren't happy. Volunteers fans aren't happy. It's like they're having a karaoke contest and the only song allowed to be sung is "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," with LSU accusing Les Miles of not smoking the same cigarettes as Nick Saban and Tennessee interpreting the song as a euphemism for in the bed impotence, so when these teams meet today, don't be surprised if it goes down like a Rolling Stones show, where Hells Angels perform security by not providing any security at all.  In other words, this game promises to turn into a violent affair of trench warfare: broken bottles, cracked ribs, and bloody facemasks, at least that's what Les Miles and his boys hope to have happen.

Sometimes in life the things we hate are the things that get us by, so while LSU fans might clamor for more offense and loathe the ugliness with which their team wins, they might be happier if they just took a little more satisfaction in the grit and the filth it takes to win ugly--and often--saying to hell with how white their shirts can be. LSU wins 23-17.

(7) UF v (1) Bama @ 8:00 on CBS
Langston: Florida has a very good defense, probably the second best in the SEC after LSU, and they're expected to use their biggest strength to stack the box tonight to slow down Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. The key to this being a successful choice is the play of Florida's secondary, if they can cover one-on-one with decent success, Florida wins. But they won't. Bama can run whenever they want, and Julio Jones one-on-one is a highlight reel waiting to happen. Expect it to be closer than the spread (Bama -9), but also expect Bama to take Florida out of title contention early. Alabama 28, Florida 24.

Teach: There's a song that starts "Oh, a storm is threat'ning/ My very life today," and maybe it's what we all should have been singing a few years ago when Urban Meyer took over at Florida and Nick Saban grabbed the reins at Alabama, because more and more the SEC's future looks like a power struggle between these two coaches, their large stashes of talent, and their playbooks. But this war, this conflict, is not just a shot away. This war is not a Cold one. And it's more than a red coal carpet. It's already burning.

The humidity and heat of the South lasts on into October, clinging to the tombstones of the dead like mossy knuckles.  The war is here, and conference titles and national championships are in the middle of it. Call rape. Call murder. Somebody's going to die today, and it's possible they come walking out of their grave in two months time just to reenact the destruction of a mad bull that lost its way, like today's game was a historical Civil War battle in need of remembrance, and today, that bull's name is Mark Ingram.  Alabama wins 27-21.