An October day in the SEC

"We'll play some old ones, but with a new twist. You can't play it the same way twice."

South Carolina visits Missouri with a familiar yet unrecognizable playlist.

The above photo has invited jokes comparing Steve Spurrier to a veteran blues singer. He also stated this week that he does not listen to rap music. None of this has much to do with football, but neither does discussion of the Gamecocks status these days. In fact, everything about the Gamecocks currently has to do with the age of the ol’ ball coach. Does anyone remember a time when he was simply the ball coach? Did such a time ever exist?

SEC Week 13

Seriously, this is what runs the SEC East?

The last week or so has been busy for both Langston and I. He did last week's previews. I did the week before. We're doing our best to create an LCB renaissance, but we also have jobs, tailgating, and grad. classes that, at times, make for some rather lackadaisical blogging.

Anyway, this week's SEC schedule is rather light, so this should take too long and life will roll on as it always does.

SEC Week 5 Preview

We're still a week away from a really good SEC slate. But SEC football is still better than any alternative*.

College Football Week One: Sound and Fury That Signifies Nothing?

The beginning of the first season of the rest of our lives where we have an actual playoff to settle everything "on the field" leaves me slightly confused. What I mean is, how much weight does what happens in week one carry? I guess it's the same as every year, with wins by Texas A&M and Georgia looking pretty swell right now. But what happens if South Carolina and Clemson just simply aren't that good? It seems as though entrance into the college football version of the "Final Four" is mostly going to be determined by the conference championship games (or whoever emerges as the Big 12 regular season champs). Even so, right now is all about winning games and trying to jostle for position to be in the running at the end. As a former cross-country runner, I can appreciate that. On to the first week superlatives, with some observations from a game I covered for Stats Inc.                                        

LCB Picks: SEC and VA Games of the Week

There are a lot of interesting and possibly great match-ups this weekend. I wish I could cover them all, but I'm running a little late on time. So, for this week, my picks are going to be slightly abbreviated. And yes, I do know I have all week to write this piece. Time management has always been an issue of mine. Just know that I'm working on it.

Editors Note: This season, on top of the usual SEC picks, we will be picking the best games on the Virginia D-1 slate. We, as in the LCB, all spent our formative years in Virginia. So, we probably should have been doing this all along.

SEC Games of the Week
(14) Arkansas v (3) Alabama @ 3:30 on CBS:
After a quick perusal on the google machine, it appears that Arkansas has turned into a fashionable upset pick for this game. I would guess it's due to the youth of Alabama's defensive front and the awesomeness of QB Tyler Wilson, which to me is always a funny reason (the youth, not the awesome QB) for a team to be favored. Aren't all of these guys young and inexperienced?  Sure, the freshman need to adapt to the speed of play in the SEC and realize they can't just touch a guy to insure a tackle (Fun-da-men-tals kids, WRAP HIM UP!). But that's why each FBS team has so many roster spots, to provide the depth needed to avoid starting a bunch of underclassmen. To be honest, the only teams that can use "youth" and "inexperience" as an excuse are the ones dealing with coaching turnover or a high amount of attrition. Alabama doesn't fit that bill. But it doesn't even matter, I could never pick Arkansas over Bama. Not, at least, with Trent Richardson playing for the Tide. Alabama 31, Arkansas 27.

(2) LSU v (16) WVU @ 8:00 on ABC:
This game, to me at least, holds more intrigue in the stands than it does on the field. Two of the more notoriously rowdy fanbases coming together for a night game in Morgantown. Couldn't these AD's just think of those poor couches for once? LSU 24, WVU 17.

VA Game of the Week
(8) James Madison v (16) William & Mary @ 7:00 on PPV:
If you read last week, you would know that I thought Liberty was the better team. I was clearly wrong as the Dukes overcame the challenge of playing in Lynchburg. What do they get for it? A trip to Williamsburg to play a ranked opponent that plays much better at home than anywhere else.

With lots of rain in the forecast, the weather is likely to be less than ideal. Add that to the fact that both teams have fantastic defenses and questions surrounding the quarterback position, and you get the most important ingredients to an ugly football game. Speaking of quarterbacks, JMU doesn't know which Justin Thorpe they're going to get, the one who almost blew the game against woeful CCSU or the one who helped lead them to victory over a ranked Liberty squad on the road. As for the Tribe, they just handed the reins from Michael Paulus to Michael Graham. This was a non-decision, as Paulus just couldn't seem to return to his pre-inury form and was hurting more than he was helping.  However,  if Graham's not the answer they're looking for and they can't find a way to move the ball with any consistency, it will be a long year in Williamsburg. Anyways, I like JMU to win, because they have Dae'Quan Scott and W&M doesn't. JMU 17, W&M 14.

LCB SEC Picks: Game of the Week

(13) Arkansas v (22) Mississippi State @ 7:00 on ESPN:
Langston: Not a whole lot on the SEC front this week in important match-ups. The Vols have a chance to continue their surprising push to become bowl eligible behind true freshman Tyler Bray, and the way they've played of late they should have no problem with Vanderbilt and their horrendous secondary. Bama already played, it was a gimme against a first-year program that my current school (and two-year old program) beat to a pulp earlier this season. South Carolina plays Troy, a decent non-AQ team who's been on the wrong end of some close games, most notably a three-point loss to Oklahoma State; making this a tougher than average "auto" win game. LSU plays conference ragdoll Ole Miss. And Florida plays everyone's favorite FCS team, Appalachian State. Since their upset win over Michigan in 2007, the pride of Boone has played two FBS teams and lost both times, a blowout to LSU in 2008 and a barnburner against East Carolina in 2009. Florida should get more than it bargained for when scheduling a FCS team, but even with their idiotic three-QB system they will roll thanks to the talent disparity and Big Blue's oversight (Appy St isn't sneaking up on anyone ever again) in scouting. Now let's get to the game of the week.

Arkansas has a chance for something special, a spot in the Sugar Bowl. Say what you want about bowls and playoffs, but that would be a program changing invite. It would also return them to the level of success they enjoyed before Houston Nutt's departure. They would first need to win their last two (this game and next week versus LSU) and Auburn needs to win the Iron Bowl, but it's in their peripheral. On the other hand, Mississippi State has a chance to do something they haven't done in a long time, win 9 games. This could set up a berth in the Cotton Bowl, which would be their biggest game in a decade and their first appearance in the Dallas bowl game since 1998. If they do that and win the Jerry Jones bowl, bringing them to 10 wins on the year, they will have won almost half as many games this season as they did during the entire Sylvester Croom era (W/L record of 21-38) of 2004-2008. It would also mark one of the most impressive turnarounds for a program in recent memory, and remove the label of auto-win cupcake on the SEC schedule.

The high-octane offense of Arkansas should make it tough for Mississippi State to keep up. The Bulldogs haven't been able to score over thirty against an SEC team all year, relying on their terrific running game and Vick Ballard to keep pace. As for the Hogs, they make scoring look rather rudimentary, scoring thirty in all but two games. If the Bulldogs can pound the ball and shorten the game, they may have a chance to pull this one out. But that won't happen. Ryan Mallet and the boys from Fayetteville have the offense rolling, and the Hog defense has begun to show life late in the year. I think the Bulldogs put up a good fight, but in the end, they will not be able to keep up with their paltry 106th ranked passing offense. Hogs 45, Dogs 28.

LCB SEC Picks: Games Of The Week

(6) Alabama v (10) LSU @ 3:30 on CBS
Teach:These teams don't like each other, but what they may both share is a hatred for Auburn.  Auburn is currently undefeated and poised to win the SEC West; however, Auburn's whole season now lies in the shadows of how they recruited Cam Newton, which makes this game something more than a battle over Nick Saban's reputation as either a devil or an angel: these two teams are now playing for the right to say, "It should have been us.  It would have been us."