LCB Picks: SEC & VA Games of the Week

SEC
(3) USC v (9) LSU @ 8:00 on :
LSU is still over-ranked. They have good weapons on offense, a stout defense but horrible leadership at QB. Until that changes, the Tigers will be overmatched against the top of the SEC. With the Tiger offense sputtering, Lattimore will see the ball plenty; a perfect mix for a Gamecock win. USC 24, LSU 10.

The rest of SEC:
There are actually quite a few quality games in the SEC this week. However, they either feature teams with disappointing records or teams that are ranked too high (see: Texas A&M). Alabama rolls over Missou. Florida faces off against the SEC's most disappointing team, Vandy. The Gators should win easily. Auburn v Ole Miss and Kentucky v Arkansas, make two great pillow fights; I'll take the Rebs and Hogs. Tennessee travels to Starkville to play ranked and unbeaten Miss. State. A team who should have lost by now, but have yet to be tested (SEC wins include Arkansas and UK). I like the Vols in the apparent upset. Lastly is (22) Texas A&M and (23) Louisiana Tech, a game that features one of the best offenses in the south (it's also the best in the WAC). I like La. Tech to take the win, as I don't see the Aggies being able to keep pace with the quick hitting offense of the Techsters.

VA
Villanova v (3) ODU @ 3:30 on Monarch Media: 
It's homecoming today in Norfolk. Supposedly, ODU has one of the best homecomings in the country, according to this site I'd never heard of before seeing this ranking. Eh, we'll take it. The ODU defense has struggled mightily this season. However, I believe it's directly related to how quick the ODU offense scores, leaving the defense little time to recover on the sidelines. I don't see this game changing that much. ODU will score early, often and win. However, in the second half, the defense will falter a bit when they hit the wall, making this game closer than it should be. ODU 49, Villanova 38.

The rest of VA:
Both Virginia schools in the ACC have been huge disappointments and until they improve their play, highlighting their games is just a waste of time. VT plays the much-improved Duke Blue Devils. It's a game they should win, but will they? For Beamer's sake, I hope so. This is starting to resemble the Volunteers downfall that ultimately led to the firing of Fulmer. As for UVA, I have made it no secret that I think London took long to start Sims. Instead of taking his lumps against the OOC teams, he's doing it against conference rivals that are clicking on all-cylinders. UVA should start to play better on offense but at this point, the rest of the season should be about preparing for next year. (4) JMU and W&M face off. The Dukes should win this one handily. The rest of VA's FCS squads aren't really worth noting at this point.

LCB Picks: SEC & VA Picks

SEC
Tennessee v (5) UGA @ 3:30 on CBS:
Another bad week of games in the SEC. Tyler Wilson and Arkansas travel to Texas A&M, giving the Aggies their first SEC win. John L. Smith is just an awful substitute for Bobby Petrino, even with all the chaos and lack of loyalty the latter can bring. South Carolina plays Kentucky in Lexington. We all know how this ends and it won't be pretty. LSU plays defending CAA champion Towson. Towson has an extremely talented RB in Terrance West. But they have no chance in Baton Rouge. Ole Miss goes to Alabama, moving their SEC record to 0-1. Missou takes on UCF in Orlando. This could actually be worth watching, but neither team is really good enough to enforce it as a must-watch. I like UCF with the upset.

Now, most of those games aren't much worse than this as UT still hasn't been able to build depth neccessary to push the best of the SEC for four quarters. The saving grace is the rivalry. UT leads the series (21-18-2) but UGA has won the last two. To end the streak, UT will need to get a sizable lead before the 4th. With their complete lack of a running game and a questionable secondary, I don't really see the Vols being able to hold a small lead late in the game. With their receiving corps, the Vols always have a chance to get a jump on the competition. However, with Jarvis Jones coming after Bray and Aaron Murray passing against the aforementioned weak secondary, I like UGA in a close one. UGA 20, UT 14.

VA
Nothing to see here, seriously. VT plays Cincinnati at Fed Ex Field. After losing another early-season game against a supposedly lesser opponent, VTs season capsule should almost mirror 3 of the last 4 seasons (save for 2009). UVA hosts unbeaten Louisiana Tech. This is the second game that could have been a good one. But the QB controversy is still unsettled and until it is, they'll struggle. The winless Tribe of W&M play host to the truly awful Georgia State Panthers. Whoever loses this game will go winless. Lastly, the 4th ranked ODU Monarchs and NCAA record-holder Taylor Heinicke play at UofR. The Spiders sit at 3-1, however they haven't been tested this season and are coming off a season where they went winless in the CAA. Until the Spiders beat someone of note, their games won't be of note. JMU, VMI and Liberty all on the bye.

LCB Picks: SEC and VA Games of the Week

SEC
Missouri v (7) South Carolina @ 3:30 on CBS:
Their is a slew of terrible games in the SEC this weekend. The Vandy-Georgia game could be and was expected to be good, but all signs point to the Dores returning to mediocrity and cruise-control for the Dawgs. Florida hosts the awful Kentucky Wildcats. It's a game they could overlook and lose but they'd have to overlook a ton to lose to this terrible excuse for an SEC team. Tennessee hosts the Akron Zips, moving the Vols to 3-1. This will surely reignite the fans hope for the season, only for them to fall flat on their face in Athens next week. Tyler Wilson returns for the Hogs to face-off against Rutgers, should be a real barnburner. For some reason, Ole Miss travels to Tulane. LSU travels to Alabama to stomp Auburn. FAU gets the treat of traveling to Tuscaloosa to be destroyed by Bama. Mississippi State and Texas A&M host South Alabama (transitioning FCS) and South Carolina State (FCS HBCU). Overall, just an awful slate. That leaves us with Missou traveling to Columbia. The Tigers are a good team. In most conferences, they would push for the conference title. However, they don't have the depth needed to keep pace for four quarters in the SEC. Marcus Lattimore has a big game, Jadaveon Clowney gets a couple sacks and Columbia rejoices. USC-E 31, Missou 17.

VA
(18) New Hampshire v (5) ODU @ 12:00 on CSN:
I don't know much about New Hampshire. The school is in Durham, NH, the mascot is the Wildcat, Dan Kreider played there, they are a perennial playoff team, they run the spread, they have a balanced attack and a decent defense. I also know that their 600-mile trip to Norfolk will be an unpleasant one. Coach Dee has the defense of ODU headed in the right direction, as the once-porous unit has not allowed a single point in either the first or third quarter through the first three games. If they can just keep the Wildcat offense out of the endzone a couple of drives, they'll give the nation's leading passer, Taylor Heinicke, all the space he needs to move the Monarchs to 4-0. I like the Monarchs to create a couple turnovers, win the game and continue Heinicke's Walter Payton campaign. ODU 45, UNH 28.

Elsewhere in the Commonwealth:
Virginia goes to Fort Worth to take on Casey Paschall and the #17 Horned Frogs. While this is a big game for the Cavaliers, Michael Rocco is still starting, turning this game into a must-watch to a probable blow-out. After their upsetting loss to Pitt, VT tries to rebound at Lane against Bowling Green. It should be a slaughter. I say "should be" because they should have beaten Pitt, a team who lost to Youngstown State. JMU makes the trip Kingston to play CAA cellar dweller Rhode Island. Liberty ends their OOC slate with Lehigh, a good team, for the Patriot League. Liberty gets the W, their first of the season. W&M hosts Delaware, a team that should move their record to 0-4. The Tribe troubles come from an inability to score caused by a bad QB and unimaginative play-calling. Lastly, Richmond moves to 3-1 with their trip to the Georgia Dome with a win over the mighty and future-SBC Georgia State Panthers.

Old Dominion, The Last Domino

Since I last left you Da'Rick and Tyrann failed drug tests, Isaiah Crowell was caught riding dirty. Petrino crashed his motorcycle, Phillip Sims and Lafonte Thoroughgood came home, Gus Malzahn left for Jonesboro, and Urban Meyer decided a year (much of it as a broadcaster) was enough time spent with his family. Sure, there is plenty that I'm forgetting but these are the stories that wrap-up what always makes for an entertaining offseason in the South. However, even with all that news, the biggest story (outside of Happy Valley) of the offseason was conference realignment. It just so happens that my school, Old Dominion University, pulled the plug on the move from FCS to FBS. So, I figured we could take a look at how this happened, the reaction to the news and its future impact on a program just years removed from its rebirth.

The How:
Early on in life we all learn that each action has a equal or bigger reaction. But for some reason, especially when it comes to conference realignment, we often forget this fact. In June 2010, when Colorado jumped ship to the Pac no one thought it would affect the Virginia centric CAA. However, it was the first in a number of dominoes to fall that ultimately ended with VCU moving to the A-10, Georgia State moving to the Sun Belt, Old Dominion moving to CUSA, Rhode Island reversing course and the combo of Albany and Stony Brook switching to the CAA for football only. Don't believe me, just follow the timeline.

Georgia State starts their transition immediately, ending any chance at postseason glory (their chances were already low). Over two seasons of play, the Panthers have lost to Division 2 and NAIA programs. Their most recent loss, a 33 to 6 drubbing at the hands of HBCU and MEAC member South Carolina State. A program that is struggling so bad financially, they are considering dropping down to Division 2. Clearly Georgia State, the program with an all-time record of 9-14 (.375), is ready for FBS football. VCU leaves the CAA for the A-10 immediately, though that won't matter until November.

Credit: Mace and Crown

The move for ODU begins in 2013 when all Olympic sports (the ones sponsored by CUSA anyhow and those haven't left for CUSA already) join the league, with the football team starting the mandatory two-year transition the same season. The delay is in order to allow the football team one last chance at an FCS Championship. This has resulted in all ODU sports being ineligible for all CAA autobids for the various NCAA sports, a decision that has led to plenty of criticism from fans and journalists.

Reaction:
Since May, the response from students, alums, athletes, recruits and fans has been overwhelmingly positive. This cannot be more evident in the fact that between the beginning of the CUSA rumors and the announcement (about 10 days) donors pledged $3 million for the ODAF.

However, it hasn't all been positive and the concerns are legitimate. Old Dominion will leave a Virginia centric league for one with teams as far away as 2,000 miles. That type of travel will increase expenses, put more demand on student-athletes (and band members), and lower the chances for rivalries to exist outside of the eastern division. Increased ticket prices is another concern, which may be inescapable due to increased demand and expenses. However, President John Broderick and AD Wood Selig have promised no increases in student fees and limited gradual increases for ticket prices for season and single-game tickets. The added expense of playing FBS football has been estimated at $2 million per year. This estimation covers the increase in football scholarships, a new women's sport (plus the schollies) to satisfy Title IV, travel increases and expected increase in coaches salaries.

 

Future/Summation:

Wood Selig and John Broderick have everyone in town excited for what this transition will bring to our great institution. Bobby Wilder has recruited his tail off, already landing 21 commitments in the 2013 class with 17 of those players being 3 or 2 star recruits. At the same time last year, they had three, all unranked. They have already won recruiting battles against notable programs Cal, Temple, Purdue and Illinois as well as future conference mates La. Tech, Marshall and ECU. Situated in the middle of one of the richest recruiting grounds in the country with just 2 FBS state schools to compete with (Comparatively, North Carolina has 6 and Ohio has 8) and breaking support records on an annual basis, the future is a bright one for Old Dominion.

LCB Picks: SEC & VA Games of the Week

Who else is happy that Hank Williams Jr. lost his job? I am. Not because of what he said (which was just plain stupid and a very weak analogy)  but because of how much that song could grate on the ears? I couldn't be happier to know that I will never have to hear that song again or have to relate it to football. I feel the same way about his MNF theme as I do about Faith Hill's Sunday Night Football intro and John Mellencamp's "This is our COOUUUNTRRY." All terrible, all horrendous. If I never heard any of these three songs ever again, I think I would stop going gray and live an extra five years.

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 Game of the Week 
UGA v Tennessee @ 7:00 on ESPN 2:
I imagine many of you are asking why this would be the "game of the week" when their are two top-25 SEC match-ups this week (LSU-Florida and Auburn-Arkansas).  But after the beating Florida took last week from Alabama, can anyone see Florida beating LSU a week later? Didn't think so. Also, the Auburn-Arkansas is a game for third place behind Bama and LSU in the SEC West. As for UT/UGA, the winner will take a share of the lead in the East with South Carolina (who just benched their QB) and have a chance at their first SEC Championship birth since UT played in 2007, which is ages in this new era of college football.

David Pollack said that Georgia has rebounded nicely and are creeping up on teams since the loss to Boise State. But with a loss to USC (included two TDs by DE Melvin Ingram), a bye week against Coastal Carolina, and sputtering wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State; I wouldn't start planning a trip to Atlanta in December just yet. Georgia's last two trips to Knoxville ended badly, with losses of 21 and 26. Another loss like that for Richt could spell "pink slip." Aaron Murray will need to rebound after a terrible game against Miss. State where he threw 3 picks, completed just 52% of his 25 passes and failed to reach 200 yards.

As I mentioned earlier, the Vols have dominated the Dawgs in K-town in the last two games. However, both were before Kiffin tore the team apart and Derek Dooley came to town. Now, his pants are magical but he'll need to get his teams' running game going to win this game. Tauren Poole leads the team in yards, but is averaging just 76.2 yards per game. If they can't find room for their backs to run, they'll be leaning heavily on the arm on Tyler Bray. Which is nothing new, but without Justin Hunter, he'll need to find another threat to fill the void. Last week it was De'Anthony Arnett grabbing two touchdowns against powderpuff Buffalo.

Expect big games out of Isaiah Crowell, Tyler Bray, and D'aRick Rogers. Expect Bacarri Rambo and Austin Johnson to be everywhere. Expect a close game. Expect a loss for Georgia. Both teams are evenly matched-up, but Georgia lacks the receiving threats that Tennessee has in Da'Rick Rogers and De'Anthony Arnett. UT 38, UGA 35.

VA Games of the Week
(12) Maine v (6) James Madison @ 3:30:
What a shocker? Another week, another top-25 game for James Madison. Now, FCS is a new thing to me, but I can't imagine a tougher stretch for a team than the one JMU is currently playing. Four straight weeks against ranked opponents and that's leaving out their opening game against UNC. If this is a normal thing for an FCS team, I apologize, but it seems like an incredibly difficult run for any team. What makes this game even harder, they'll be without WR Kerby Long (concussed), S Jakarie Jackson (hammy) and  QB Justin Thorpe (sticky-icky), while RB Dae'Quan Scott (shoulder) is expected to see little to no action.

Freshman QB Jace Edwards gets his second start but as long he doesn't turn it over, he will be successful. What JMU needs is a repeat performance from Jauan Latney and Jordan Anderson who combined for 261 yards last week against a talented, but down, Richmond squad. Without that, JMU could be in trouble.

This game will come down to the match-up of the CAAs best run defense and running back. JMU has shut down the run all season long, but face their toughest test of the season with Pushaun Brown coming to town. Whoever wins this battle, wins this game.

I'll take JMU for the win, as JMU's defense has been an immovable force. I, also, think the new backfield could end up being the start of something beautiful in Harrisonburg. JMU 20, Maine 10.

LCB Picks: SEC & VA Games of the Week

There is only one game of the week for this weekend. It has everything every 80's movies purported to us as rivalries; north v south, rich v middle/upper-middle class, white v tanned skin, and mountain men v city boys. It is of course, Florida v Bama JMU v Richmond. JMU, the capital of New Jersey, resting in the Shenandoah Valley.  Richmond, sitting on the banks of the James River. JMU, full of Jersey Shore misfits waiting for the ending of "The Sopranos" and the next Arturo Gatti fight, both which will never come. Richmond, a campus full of aristocratic southern gentlemen from the banks of the Baltimore Harbor. It's gametime fellas, and these two, wholly Southern institutions are ready to brawl. It may be over a spilled Sam Adams or a Cape Cod, but it's still a rivalry damn naggit.

This makes the third week in a row that JMU partakes in the picks of the week, which is just by chance but also shows just how tough their schedule has been. First Liberty, then W&M, and now Richmond. All three ranked at kick-off, all three with talented offenses. JMU has overtaken the first two, but now it has to overcome the loss of QB Justin Thorpe (5-game suspension for substance abuse) and overcome the Spiders. The wacky-tobaccky gets em everytime.

I visited both teams message boards to get a feel for the game that Teach and his fiancee will be taking in. What I found was a lot of hate. What I learned is that Richmond fans typically wear sweater vests. Unbeknownst to me, this is the staple for the average Spider alumnus. What I learned for JMU is that they are all backward hicks who like to fornicate with their sisters. JMU also has a big stadium, which is easy to fill up since all of their alumni is young and lives in DC. Whereas UR has trouble filling an 8.5k field with their tiny "select" population of undergrads and sweatervest wearing alumni.

The game goes down at JMU, the crowd should be pumped, the stadium should be full, and the jerseys will be a color most commonly referred to as "a mix of last nights dinner from Tacos El Primo and jungle juice" also known as "Barney Juice." Da'Quan Scott is still running the ball, JMU wins by a hair, but makes it look easy. JMU 21, UR 18.

Elsewhere in the South:
Florida takes on Bama, and if they have any chance of winning, they'll need a big game out of QB John Brantley. Or in other words, Bama wins big, 34-17.

ODU hosts future D-1 opponent UMass, in a "blackout" game. I'll be there to take pictures and recap the first CAA home game of my favorite FCS squad. I hope they win. But I also hope they can win by a minimum of 14 points, all in the name of John Calipari. 

LCB Picks: SEC & VA Games of the Week

I had plans. Plans that consisted of previews for the SEC, NFL, and all of the D-1 college football teams that call Virginia home. These plans weren't that lofty. To be honest, with one dedicated afternoon, these could have become a reality. But life continued to get in the way and now all of these squads are foreign to me. Meaning all of the season previews would have been my crib notes of another writers' work and essentially useless. But now that we're one week deep, I am finally confident enough to tell you that Oregon can't match the speed and size of a top tier SEC team and that Virginia Tech could be in position to go the BCS National Championship the same season their most well known dog fighting alumnus will fall just short of the Super Bowl (just as long as they can get past those pesky Pirates of East Carolina).

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 Game of the Week
(3) Alabama v (23) Penn State @ 3:30 on ABC:
This game was picked for obvious reasons; it's Bama versus Penn State. It also happens to be the only SEC game with two ranked teams this week. I had the chance to watch a decent amount of both teams' games last week, enough to tell me Alabama will make it back-to-back seasons with wins over the Nittany Lions. Both teams played lesser opponents, Kent State for Alabama and Indiana State for Penn State. Both teams showed some weaknesses, most notably, behind center. Alabama's QBs combined for four interceptions, which would be a huge concern if they didn't have Trent Richardson and a top three defense. However, State's QBs struggled to recognize the defensive fronts and blitzes of Indiana State, a huge concern considering there not even considered an FCS power. Bama 33, PSU 20.

VA Game of the Week
Old Dominion v Georgia State @ Noon:
This really isn't that great of a match-up. Both teams are still in their infancy and building on their successes slowly but surely. However, I had to make this the pick game for a couple of reasons. First, Georgia State is coached by none other than Bill Curry. Yes, that Bill Curry. Secondly, Georgia State was forced to use a punter to fill their starting QB vacancy last week and their keeping with him. Thirdly, Georgia State plays in the Georgia Dome. Lastly, I go to Old Dominion. Now, let's expand on everything but my choice of college.

Bill Curry, seriously? The man has won a National Championship, coached in Super Bowls, and has whatever cache being an ESPN announcer brings. It boggles the mind that he isn't coaching somewhere on the FBS level, especially when this guy is still employed.

The punter/QB situation brings up even more questions. Does he still get to punt? Does he still wear a soccer cleat on his kicking foot? What are the chances in a third-and-long/shotgun formation situation that he accidentally punts the ball? I hope the answer to all these are yes, yes and 100%. As for the Georgia Dome. I'm not amazed they play there, after-all, they need somewhere to play. But I can't help but think how depressing this stadium must look with under 20,000 fans in the stands. It has to resemble a Marlins home game, right? Anyways, Old Dominion wins 28-17.

James Madison University Takes Maryland to OT

James Madison took Maryland to OT and lost by a field goal. First, as an alum of JMU, the results of this game bring up a swirl of emotions: it's thrilling that they were in this game to the wire but devastating that they lost. The fact that the Dukes played a competitive game against a school in a BCS conference that's been to three straight Bowl games says a lot about how far the Dukes have come and how far they can still go as a program. I still remember my freshman year at JMU when the Dukettes were the highlight of going to Bridgeforth Stadium, but, when they won the 2004 National Title, that perception changed and JMU became a lightweight football school.

On a grander scale, this game raises some important questions about the state of college football:

1) How much parity is there in college football if a BCS conference, like the ACC, can have two of its teams lose to CAA schools and another one taken to OT at home? The CAA isn't even a Division I conference. It's also worth mentioning that another CAA team only lost by four at Kansas St., a Big 12 school, last week.

2) How can the NCAA legitimately tell the Mountain West and the WAC that they are not worthy of being BCS conferences and that the ACC is worthy? The Mountain West is clearly better than the ACC, and it might also trump the Big 10. BYU, Colorado St., Utah, and TCU are all poised to have fantastic seasons, and that list does not include Boise St., who is a member of the WAC. There aren't that many good teams combined in the ACC and the Big 10, and it's unclear if the best teams in those conferences would go through a season in the Mountain West or the WAC and wind up as the conference champ.

3) Will schools from the CAA join Division I as a group, individually, or remain in college football's Cul De Sac Division?

4) When do the Davids of college football decide to stick it to the NCAA and its Goliaths? The system deprives these schools at a chance for a big payday come bowl season as well as a shot to compete for national titles they clearly deserve a chance at winning. In fact, the Davids are making their case so well that Goliath may soon avoid anyone with a slingshot and just quit scheduling these teams altogether.

William & Mary Defeats UVA

William and Mary, a school known more for its calculators and pocket protectors than its football, defeated perennial CAA power Virginia tonight 26 to 14. The team with the waste management logo upended the favorites in the CAA by forcing seven Cavalier turnovers, including 3 interceptions by defensive back B.W. Webb. This game could sway the balance of power in the CAA title race, as well as the recruiting battle that occurs every year between these two bitter in-state rivals. To say the least, Virginia faces an uphill struggle this season, playing in a conference that already boasts the 2004 (James Madison) and 2008 (Richmond) national champions in addition to the up and coming William & Mary squad.

After Saturday's events, the current CAA standings appear as follows:

North Division..............W/L

Hofstra...........................1-0 Defeated Stony Brook 17-10

New Hampshire............1-0 Defeated St. Francis 24-14

Maine............................1-0 Defeated St. Cloud St 34-27 (OT)

Rhode Island..................1-0 Defeated Fordham 41-28

Northeastern.................0-1 Lost to Boston College 54-0

Massachusetts...............0-1 Lost to Kansas St 21-17

South Division.............W/L

Delaware........................1-0 Defeated West Chester 35-0

Richmond.......................1-0 Defeated Duke 24-16*

William & Mary...............1-0 Defeated Virginia 26-14

Villanova........................1-0 Defeated Temple 27-24

James Madison.............0-0 Next Sat. @ Maryland

Towson.........................0-1 Lost to Northwestern 47-14

Virginia.........................0-1 Lost to William & Mary 26-14

*Duke is Division III in football.