Dawg83

Overall I don’t know that Ole Miss is much different at all from where they were a year ago. Which is still a good team, but they put entirely too much pressure on the offense to be perfect. And look, Corral is probably good enough to carry you to several more wins, including some over decent teams. But until Ole Miss gets the defense fixed, and it hasn’t been in years, this is the ceiling for Ole Miss as a program. And oh by the way, Corral is gone after this year and QB’s with his ability don’t exactly grow on trees for State and Ole Miss. I still have the same long term concerns about Ole Miss that I’ve had for a while. But in the short term you have an elite playmaker at QB, enjoy that guy while you have him.

Arkansas had 676 yards of total offense and lost the game. Sheesh man. But I guess Ole Miss would’ve felt the same way if that two point play had been good. I see both as 8-4ish teams right now. For OM you have a few teams left that run the ball well and that should be a concern. The Egg Bowl is the Egg Bowl and it’s in Starkville so that’s a toss up. You’ll probably crush LSU and Vandy. Arkansas still has to play Bama and they’ll probably lose at least one more somewhere.

Tennessee-Ole Miss next week is probably going to be another track meet. Vols have beaten up on some bad teams so I’m not totally buying that they are majorly improved, but obviously the OM defense still has big issues. Interesting game with letdown potential for OM based on where it is on the schedule.

Great great game. Big win for OM. Both defenses were bad. Arkansas’s situational play calling lost them the game. Love the decision the go for two, brutal play call. Corral is special. Jefferson is a lot better than I thought he was. Two good teams that should both win around 8 games or maybe slightly more.

Both teams very susceptible to the run with the three man fronts they like to run. OM has been a little bit more disciplined at sticking to what has worked, I feel like Arkansas has gotten cute with their play calling at times.

Kiffin again with the 4th down craziness. Your defense gets a stop but Arkansas is able to tie it anyway because of the inexplicable 4th down call at your own 30.

Arkansas controlling the line of scrimmage early. They are basically running the old Relf Coast offense that State ran in Mullen’s first few years.

Off week for State but big game for Ole Miss, and several other interesting league games. OM-Arkansas is one of the more underrated series in the country. It feels like crazy junk happens in this game every year. Both teams appear to be on about the same level so I expect more craziness this year. I actually really like the matchup for Arkansas here. I don’t trust OM’s ability to stop the run and in spite of what happened in Athens, Arkansas is a dynamic running team with multiple guys that can really hurt you. On the other side of the ball, I think everyone remembers what happened with Corral in this game last year. I’m not expecting six more interceptions but I also think Arkansas is built well to contain OM’s offense. And I think OM’s lack of dynamic pass catchers hurts them again in this game. Should be a very good game but for whatever reason I feel fairly confident in my pick. Give me Arkansas, 38-31. I’ll happily be the first to admit I was wrong if Ole Miss wins comfortably. Bama-A&M felt more interesting before the season. Now it feels like a Bama blowout. Georgia-Auburn could MAYBE be close for a while, especially if Daniels is still out. But I am still expecting a double digit UGA win. I think LSU surprises Kentucky and steals a win in Lexington. UK is one of the weirdest 5-0 teams you’ll see, and they still will probably go on to win at least 8 or 9 games. I also am not high on this LSU team and think Orgeron is on his way out. But I think UK’s streak of winning ugly catches up to them and LSU is able to get a win here. Looking around nationally, I like Texas over Oklahoma and Iowa over Penn State. I was 0-3 on my upset picks last week, maybe this week will be better, but give me Nebraska over Michigan and Virginia Tech over Notre Dame.

Is State the toughest remaining challenge on Bama’s schedule? Serious question. Not saying they will be a huge challenge for Bama, but look at Bama’s remaining regular season games. They are cruising to Atlanta and may not play a game within three TD’s before then. I mean I guess the Iron Bowl on the road is what most people would consider the toughest game left, but I just can’t see this version of Auburn being all that competitive with Bama. State runs a weird enough offense and falls in a spot on the schedule where I can be convinced Bama has a letdown and only wins by 14 or 17. But that also has the potential to be 59-0. The division races are a formality. Everyone else is just playing for bowl positioning the next 7-8 games.

Auburn wins in Baton Rouge for the first time since ‘99. Coach O is in deep deep trouble. Today proved that there is a fairly large gap between Bama, Georgia, and everyone else in the league.

Makai Polk has been a game changer for State. Really good find in the transfer portal, his numbers at Cal were nothing to write home about, but he is obviously very talented and having a big year.

Huge win for State. Most would have taken 3-2 at this point, but they sure got there in a weird way. LOL. This was massive in terms of being able to get to six wins. There are a lot of Will Rogers haters that have some crow to eat tonight. He’s by no means perfect but I thought he was excellent in this game. A&M…. Yeesh. Jimbo is making an awful lot of money to produce Kevin Sumlin level results. That is a 6 or 7 win team at best, IMO.

The first one I didn’t mind, they were in no man’s land. Every other attempt I think kicking or punting was the right move. It’s a moot point in this game but it’s a complaint with Kiffin that’s not new. It almost cost him the Egg Bowl last year. OM probably should’ve won that game by 2-3 TD’s but because of failed fourth down attempts instead of short field goals, State had the ball with a chance to tie at the end of the game.

I get that you need touchdowns but you don’t have to go for broke in the first quarter. It’s 35-7 now but could be 24-10 and you’re still kinda in the game, but those 4th down calls just killed any chances.

Ole Miss having to really grind to get yards today. The explosive play has not been there to this point. Just doesn’t seem like the talent at receiver is the same as previous years. Kiffin’s 4th down decision making has been…. Interesting to put it nicely.

Georgia destroying Arkansas. This game feels almost identical to State’s trip to Athens in 2017. Still think Arkansas is a good team but UGA is playoff caliber, and might win the whole thing.

Lol At me picking Maryland.

Biggest week of the season to this point in terms of interesting games, especially in the SEC. Bama/Ole Miss is the big one and I expect a highly entertaining game. Corral and Young have been the two best QBs in the country to this point. This was a very competitive game last year (unless you are a fan of defense, lol) and I expect something similar this year. Last week I was ready to pull the trigger on an Ole Miss win, I think I have backed off on that a little. I’ll take Bama 48-38. But I think there is a path to an Ole Miss win, and if it happens, it probably looks similar to how they did it in ‘14 and ‘15 (force turnovers, take advantage of opportunities). State-A&M has low scoring rock fight potential. I had this pegged as a sure loss for State before the year, but I think this may be more winnable than I initially thought. A&M has big issues on offense right now, although they are still very good on defense. I don’t think I can pick State to win, I am still in prove it mode in terms of winning some of these games. But I could see this going like the Georgia game last year. I’ll take A&M 21-14 but it wouldn’t totally shock me if State stole a win on the road. Leach’s record against A&M historically is very good. Quick hits on some other games: Arkansas/Georgia - I think Georgia wins by 2-3 TD’s but if Arkansas somehow wins again, go ahead and give Pittman the Coach of the Year award. Florida/Kentucky - I like Florida in this game, think Kentucky’s record is a bit inflated. Really impressed with what Mullen has done with this group, he is maybe the best in the country at adapting to his personnel. Auburn/LSU - don’t love either of these teams, but Auburn hasn’t won in Baton Rouge in forever, so I’ll take LSU at home. Cincinnati /Notre Dame - Huge game with playoff implications, I’ll take the Bearcats. I’ve got three upset picks as well. Kansas State over Oklahoma, Maryland over Iowa, and Wisconsin over Michigan. Should be a really fun weekend of games, will be hard to leave the recliner.

Yeah next week should be really juicy. Probably the most interesting week on the schedule to this point, at least in the SEC. Both MS teams go into the week playing with house money, albeit with different stakes involved. A loss is expected for both, but a win is not totally out of the question. Ole Miss has more to gain with a win but State probably needs their win more.

My feelings exactly. State could go 3-9 or 6-6 and neither would shock me.

That was eerily similar to Memphis, minus the big ref screw up. This is a text book example of a not very good team finding ways to lose. I lean toward thinking these are the two worst teams in the West and both will have to scratch and claw to get to six wins, and both might not. I walked away totally underwhelmed by LSU. Maaaybe State has an upset in them somewhere if they put it all together, but it feels like everything has to go right for this team to win. If any one play goes wrong on a drive they are toast most of the time.

Leach is not remotely on the hot seat this year. Orgeron could be out by Monday if he loses this game. I firmly believe both of those things.

Such a weird spot for State right now. Everything seems like it’s going terrible but if you beat a not great LSU team on your home field, suddenly you’d somehow find yourself at 3-1. I think most would have taken that before the season. But at this point you definitely feel like the most realistic path to 6 wins for State involves winning this game. Otherwise you’re gonna have to steal a road win somewhere or win the Egg Bowl, and the odds would probably not be in your favor.

State-LSU… where the heck do you even start with this game? Two teams that have not looked good, two bad offenses to this point, two frustrated fanbases…. This has big time train wreck potential. Last year’s game is infamous now, with KJ Costello being the one hit wonder and Bo Pelini refusing to make any adjustments whatsoever. I cannot for the life of me fathom that LSU will be that stupid about their defense again this year. But I do like State’s defense a lot and expect them to keep State in the game. I don’t have a ton of faith in Johnson or Rogers, but whoever has the better game probably wins the game. I think this is a super ugly game, and I’ll stick to my guns and give State a close win at home that would all but guarantee Orgeron is done after this year. And for old time’s sake I’ll say it’s the same score as another infamous Coach O loss in Starkville. State wins 17-14. A&M-Arkansas is the SEC game of the week and I’m fascinated to see how this goes. I like A&M a lot at every position outside QB, and that’s not a great position to have question marks. I don’t think Arkansas is quite as good as their ranking indicates but it’s obvious that Pittman has total buy in and they have really improved over the last couple of years. I think A&M should be the better all around team so I’ll take the Aggies by a TD, but this should be a competitive game and the Hogs could win it. Not a big week of games in general but these weeks seem to be when upsets happen, so I guess we will keep our eyes and ears open.

State-LSU… where the heck do you even start with this game? Two teams that have not looked good, two bad offenses to this point, two frustrated fanbases…. This has big time train wreck potential. Last year’s game is infamous now, with KJ Costello being the one hit wonder and Bo Pelini refusing to make any adjustments whatsoever. I cannot for the life of me fathom that LSU will be that stupid about their defense again this year. But I do like State’s defense a lot and expect them to keep State in the game. I don’t have a ton of faith in Johnson or Rogers, but whoever has the better game probably wins the game. I think this is a super ugly game, and I’ll stick to my guns and give State a close win at home that would all but guarantee Orgeron is done after this year. And for old time’s sake I’ll say it’s the same score as another infamous Coach O loss in Starkville. State wins 17-14. A&M-Arkansas is the SEC game of the week and I’m fascinated to see how this goes. I like A&M a lot at every position outside QB, and that’s not a great position to have question marks. I don’t think Arkansas is quite as good as their ranking indicates but it’s obvious that Pittman has total buy in and they have really improved over the last couple of years. I think A&M should be the better all around team so I’ll take the Aggies by a TD, but this should be a competitive game and the Hogs could win it. Not a big week of games in general but these weeks seem to be when upsets happen, so I guess we will keep our eyes and ears open.