LCB SEC Picks: Game of the Week

Georgia v (2) Auburn @ 3:30 on CBS
Langston:
The Cam Newton story feels too Salem Witchy for my tastes, as I have a hard time believing a college kid would call a coach (someone acted on his behalf, or without his knowledge) and demand pay-for-play and an even harder time believing this story would have gained any steam if Auburn was 8-2 and out of the BCS and SEC race. I don't know if he's getting or gotten money, but if he is/has, he is one of many elite athletes getting ducats for playing the game.

If you don't think is a witch-hunt, think again. Why the delay of all this information coming out? Mississippi State supposedly reported this to the SEC last January, most likely after they found out their bid was too low. ESPN learned of this in August, and yet nothing hits the wire until Auburn gets the number one spot in the BCS rankings. Acting on this breaking information, every reporter bolts to be the first to break the next Cam controversy, whether it was speeding tickets, stolen laptops or Florida leaking private educational information illegally two years after he left. It's all inconsequential and petty, that is until they show us proof that he knowingly took cash, and it's just making everyone involved look just as dirty as the allegations.

Now, this game is important because every Auburn game for the rest of the season has a huge effect on the rest of the country, and more-so than just the effects on the BCS title game. If War Eagle loses, the SEC, NCAA, and BCS will be bailed out from a potentially embarrassing situation. If they continue to win and Cam does get suspended or found to be taking the cash, everyone involved looks terrible. The SEC has had this information since last January, if they let him play this season knowing he was trying to get paid, they look like they don't care and are probably looking at some legal repercussions themselves. If he gets suspended after the SEC title game, your talking about a Newton-less Auburn team in the national title game against Oregon, in what would sure to be a blowout. Could there be a bigger nightmare scenario for the BCS, when there are teams like Boise and TCU that are still undefeated? I don't think so. As for the NCAA, I doubt they want to make stripping a team of a National Title an annual rite of passage.

As for the winner of this game, I can see it going either way, basically because Cam's playing status is still up in the air. If he plays, I see this being a close one, with Auburn winning by four to seven. If he doesn't, Auburn probably goes into a depression and Georgia rolls.