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/VA Games of the Week

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. 

On Friday night, Oregon crushed UCLA 49-31 to win the first ever PAC-12 Championship game, earning a spot in "The Granddaddy of Them All," the Rose Bowl. LaMichael James rushed for 219 yards, helping his team roll and giving himself a leg-up in the Heisman race. But this was all news to me. Tonight, I took my fiancee out to eat, came home, took the dogs on a jog, and then started preparation for my upcoming finals. It was a fruitful night. However, when I logged on to write this preview I noticed update after update of the UCLA-Oregon game. To my surprise, it was tonight. Like most my age, I have a fairly busy schedule. However, I still feel like I'm just as likely to hear about a game of this magnitude through word of mouth as I am to see a commercial (which I didn't, at least until the game was finished). I had no clue this was happening and even though I could care less that I missed it. (The fact that UCLA got in a conference championship with a 6-6 record, just 1 win more than the "sky is falling" Tennessee Vols, and a fired coach is laughable at best.) I do have a lot of questions; What went wrong with their advertising campaign? Was this on TV? ABC, ESPN, VS, Animal Planet? Am I the only one that had no clue this game was happening? I can't be, right? Am I developing an east coast bias? Whatever the answers are, we all know that the PAC-12 Championship Game is another reminder of why we should all be thankful for the SEC.

SEC Championship Game
(12) UGA v (1) LSU @ 4:00 on CBS:
Many are saying if LSU loses they are still a lock for the BCS Title game, which is impressive. Not quite as impressive as who they've beaten and how they've done it, but impressive nonetheless. However, if Georgia wins and locks-up the automatic bid, the SEC could get four teams into BCS games. LSU, Bama, and UGA would be locks; with Arkansas having a pretty good argument towards their inclusion. This has to scare the other conferences, right? If you add USC to the equation, five teams in the SEC are eligible for a BCS game (though, they have no shot at a BCS game). No matter how you feel about the absurdity of not having playoffs is, it's still an impressive accomplishment for a conference.

Did you know Glamour Shots slogan is:
"We Bring Out Your Best ... Then We Take Your Picture"
Aaron Murray does!

To make matters worse for the non-SEC, it's clear the SEC East is suffering through a down year and yet they have two teams (that's more than most conferences) in the top 14 of the BCS rankings. This domination by the SEC is only going to get worse in the next couple of seasons. Florida will get better, Vandy is building something, UT will return, and the new guys (aTm and Missou) should be in a decent spot to contend. The SEC will continue to get better, until the rest of the conferences defect from the BCS and force a playoff; which has to be the only way to slow down this train. I like the Dawgs in the upset. Apart from them playing a seudo-home game and knowing Aaron Murray is the best QB LSU will face this season, I don't have much of a reason to believe this will happen. Just call it an inkling. UGA 28, LSU 24.

VA Games of the Week
ODU v (3) Georgia Southern @ 1:00 & JMU v (2) North Dakota State University @ 4:00 on ESPN3/Game Plan:
While trolling the message boards this week, I saw one question that stood out to me: "Would you rather your school make it to the Final Four or win a FCS Championship?" As you would guess, most of the answers revealed what sport that poster preferred. However, it's a fairly good question. If your team makes it to the Final Four, they gain national notoriety for the school, boost admissions, boost athletic donations (simultaneously helping the non-revenue sports), and you get a month of lifelong memories. But, you don't even win a Championship and your teams' coach is probably going to leave in the near future (See; Larranaga, Jim). However, if you win an FCS national championship, your school wins the most legitimate National Title in college football, gains a possible catalyst towards a jump to the BCS, a boost (albeit smaller) to athletic donations, and you get a month of lifelong memories. But noone that didn't/doesn't attend an FCS school cares/knows and while it may be more legitimate than the BCS Title game, it still doesn't include all of Division 1.

For me, I'd take the championship. Only because ODU is on the verge of announcing a major expansion to Foreman Field and they're "this close" to making the jump. I believe a FCS Title would be all they need to speed up the process.

Once again, no picks, but I am interested in what other "mid-major" fans would rather have; Fourth Place or First? CBS, Sports Illustrated, & ESPN or ESPNU?

LCB Picks: SEC/VA Games of the Week

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. 

Last weekend, around 22:00 EST, for the first time in my life I was joyous due to a UT win over Vandy. Over the years, the game was a mortal lock. The hiring of James Franklin appeared to have ended all of that. Vandy started turning teams over, hitting harder and playing four quarters; they finally started making teams earn a W over them. They thumped Ole Miss, Kentucky and all of their OOC opponents. But more importantly, they took Arkansas, Georgia and Florida down to the wire; inspiring many to claim that Vandy had surpassed the Volunteers. It even led Clay Travis to gather his followers, pitchfork in hand, to come for Derek Dooley's head (a man he claimed just last year would lead the Big Orange back to the promise land), so he could be replaced by Franklin.

This reasoning is clearly idiotic and the reason Tennessee got itself where it is today. The "time is now" attitude is what led UT to fire Phil Fulmer and hire Lane Kiffin. Which, of course, led UT to brash statements, back-alley dealings and even more resentment throughout the SEC. Even worse, that hire jeopardized the very future of the program. It's also why they hired Derek Dooley. Saddled with an uncertain future and a recent history of voluminous player arrests, the program needed cleansing. Derek Dooley has succeeded in that aspect in just under two seasons. They've dropped off the radar of the AP rankers, but, they too, have dropped from the Fulmer Cup standings. Now, that the tarnish is finally starting to dissolve, Clay Travis wants to fire Derek Dooley, who hasn't even finished his second season. To jump the gun and fire him now would be a bigger mistake than hiring Lane Kiffin ever was. It would set a precedent in Knoxville, one Raider and Redskins fans have become accustomed too; win today or you're out. We all know how well that mentality has treated both teams over the past decade.

Mark my words; the Vols will be back. It might not be under Dooley, but he will have a hand in their resurgence. Four years is what he deserves and what he must get. If he doesn't, the gap will continue to shrink between Nashville and Knoxville. And, for someone who is finally glad UT beat Vandy, I can't think of a worse thing. Now that I got that off of my chest, lets get to the picks.

SEC
(3) Arkansas v (1) LSU @ 2:30, Friday on CBS:
As a fan, there are two ways to look at this game. You can root for Arkansas to win, in order to create a three-way tie in the SEC West. This would, I believe, send Alabama to the SEC Championship, thanks to the weird tiebreaker rules in the SEC. This would end with the SEC possibly definitely sending three schools to BCS games, causing the ADs of non-SEC schools into a mode of jealousy driven panic and hopefully it would be the final straw to bring the playoff system we all desire. Or you can root for LSU to win, go to Atlanta, beat the Dawgs, and play Bama in the BCS title game. It all depends on how much chaos you'd like the BCS to deal with. For me, chaos reigns supreme and I'll be pulling for the upset. Arkansas 20, LSU 17.

VA
(6) Virginia Tech v (24) UVA @ 3:30 on ABC/ESPN2:
I spent Thanksgiving with my fiancee's family in Charlottesville. The main topic was, of course, this game. I asked them what they thought were the keys to the game. The answers I got were well thought out, concise and thoroughly pessimistic. The keys according to her family, who have been to every home UVA game this season, are as follows: UVA needs to shorten the field/win the field position battle, protect the ball, score on the few opportunities they will get from Tech, keep it a low scoring affair and find a way to make Logan Thomas uncomfortable. These are of course important to every team (outside of Arkansas and the low scoring aspect), every game. But these keys are even more important when it comes to this game, as UVA is clearly outmatched talent-wise (Directly attributed to the Al Groh era). If they can keep VT on the right side of the 50 and maybe even turn them over, UVA stands a shot. I hope. I'll be pulling for the upset. I'm just not sure how much faith I can put in a team that needed OT to beat Idaho and lost to Southern Miss at home. VT 24, UVA 17.

Elsewhere in the Commonwealth:
The 17th ranked Norfolk State Spartans travel the six miles to play the 9th Old Dominion Monarchs at the Spartans old stomping grounds and ODU's home field (Foreman Field). They'll bring the Legion and 1600 of their fans. The Monarchs will be hosting with 17,500 of their fans and the best mascot in all the land. It's going to be loud. It's going to be fun. It's even being referred to as the "Battle of Norfolk" and is clearly a rivalry in the making. This will be the first FCS playoff game for both teams, though it's taken NSU much longer to make it than it has the 3 y/o Monarchs. The game is sold out and should be a dandy. I'll be there, clad in blue and silver. I won't pick a winner. But I will say this, a MEAC team hasn't won a playoff game since 1999 (knock on wood).

Also, JMU (for some reason) travels to Richmond, Kentucky, to play EKU. The Dukes should roll, but they should also be hosting this game. So, who knows what'll happen? You can watch this one on ESPNU (the rest of the FCS games will be on ESPN3). Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend, everyone.

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.