CFB Week 9

[Dawg83]

State is off this week but big game for Ole Miss in College Station.

 

I have been pretty consistent in my belief that A&M is not a good football team this year. Achane is a very talented RB but is being wasted in a horrible offensive scheme. Some of their young WR’s have shown promise too, but they don’t have a QB who can consistently get them the ball. Defensively I think they’re overrated and can definitely be exploited. Then there’s the historical aspect of A&M just generally struggling with the two MS schools.

 

I realize OM is not a perfect team and it’s not easy to win on the road, but I’m struggling to find something that makes me believe A&M wins this. A&M has yet to score more than 24 points against an FBS opponent, and I feel like they’ll need at least 30+ to beat OM. I have the Rebs winning handily here, 38-17. Maybe I’m way overestimating Ole Miss but I have zero confidence in this A&M team. Their only chance to win in my opinion is if OM turns it over a bunch and their defense has a total no show.

 

Tennessee-Kentucky really interests me for some reason. I suppose it could just be a UT blowout but I feel like UK will try to eat clock and grind it out, and keep UT’s offense off the field. I will pick UT to win but I’m thinking it’s a close game. The Vols are in a look ahead spot with a trip to UGA next week, and playing a good team right before then. It’s a potentially dangerous game for a program like UT who hasn’t been in this position in a long time.

 

Arkansas at Auburn: I mentioned in the other thread but I’m still pretty high on Arkansas. At Auburn I could see this being tight, but I think Arkansas is the better team and I like them to win here.

 

Not going to go into much depth with Georgia-Florida, I don’t think UF is at that level and I expect UGA to win big.

 

Not a huge week nationally, Ohio State at Penn State could maybe be something but probably not. College Gameday at Jackson State is neat, I will have to tune in.

 

 

 

 

[maroontide06]

1 hour ago, Dawg83 said:

State is off this week but big game for Ole Miss in College Station.

 

I have been pretty consistent in my belief that A&M is not a good football team this year. Achane is a very talented RB but is being wasted in a horrible offensive scheme. Some of their young WR’s have shown promise too, but they don’t have a QB who can consistently get them the ball. Defensively I think they’re overrated and can definitely be exploited. Then there’s the historical aspect of A&M just generally struggling with the two MS schools.

 

I realize OM is not a perfect team and it’s not easy to win on the road, but I’m struggling to find something that makes me believe A&M wins this. A&M has yet to score more than 24 points against an FBS opponent, and I feel like they’ll need at least 30+ to beat OM. I have the Rebs winning handily here, 38-17. Maybe I’m way overestimating Ole Miss but I have zero confidence in this A&M team. Their only chance to win in my opinion is if OM turns it over a bunch and their defense has a total no show.

 

Tennessee-Kentucky really interests me for some reason. I suppose it could just be a UT blowout but I feel like UK will try to eat clock and grind it out, and keep UT’s offense off the field. I will pick UT to win but I’m thinking it’s a close game. The Vols are in a look ahead spot with a trip to UGA next week, and playing a good team right before then. It’s a potentially dangerous game for a program like UT who hasn’t been in this position in a long time.

 

Arkansas at Auburn: I mentioned in the other thread but I’m still pretty high on Arkansas. At Auburn I could see this being tight, but I think Arkansas is the better team and I like them to win here.

 

Not going to go into much depth with Georgia-Florida, I don’t think UF is at that level and I expect UGA to win big.

 

Not a huge week nationally, Ohio State at Penn State could maybe be something but probably not. College Gameday at Jackson State is neat, I will have to tune in.

 

 

 

 

I agree with all of this.  Spot on post/thread there Dawg83.

[MSTSatchmo]

2 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

 

A&M has yet to score more than 24 points against an FBS opponent,

 

 

 

 

That stat is insane.   I think they’ll score more than that, but won’t score enough. 

[pancho]

finley and kelly are the only 2 players  in black jerseys and not practicing. the other dozen or so who are not full strength are practicing with light contact and will be game time decisions based on how much they improve from today. Allegedly, Dart won't be running much this weekend due to the physical beating LSU gave him.

[Dawg83]

3 hours ago, MSTSatchmo said:

That stat is insane.   I think they’ll score more than that, but won’t score enough. 

And the one time they broke 24 against Sam Houston State, it was only 31. They are terrible on offense, and that’s even with one of the best RB’s and young WR corps in the league.

Edited October 26, 2022 by Dawg83

[rebmus]

I'll add Louisiana at Southern Miss tomorrow night. It's certainly no national game, but Will Hall is doing a good job of turning around USM. A win tomorrow puts USM at 5-3 which is a nice improvement. I'll take USM.

 

Ole Miss SHOULD win at College Station. I'm picking OM to win, but not with much confidence. OM's schedule is very back loaded and this is (on paper) the easiest game left. Lose this game, and 7-5 is certainly a possibility. 

I like UT to win. 

I like Arkansas to win. 

I like UGA big over UF.

Ohio State over Penn State. 

 

 

 

[Dawg83]

Good catch on USM-ULL, totally forgot about that one. USM is having a sneaky good year, that Tulane win has aged really well and they’ll probably be back in a bowl game this year. 

[Bulldogs4]

Tomorrow nights game is very important for USM. A loss is not devastating but if they can win, I think fan support will get better and it will serve as validation for Will Hall (who I think is an excellent coach) that his rebuild is going well. 
Should be a great atmosphere at the Rock and they may have their biggest crowd since the State game in 2015. I like USM to win a hard fought game, with a low score, 20-16. 
 

Ole Miss wins at A&M. Even with OM’s defense weakened, the Offense will score enough to beat A&M who has struggled mightily on offense. 31-20. 
 

Tennessee is hosting Kentucky. On paper the Vols should roll but I think they are going to have a WTF game and blow it. Yep, I am calling it. UK pulls the upset. Tennessee is due for a bad game and this is it and it will bite them in the a**. UK 28, UT 27. 
 

Arkansas wins @ Auburn. I kind of agree with 83, that Arkansas could finish strong. Arkansas 38, Auburn 30 in a game not as close as the final score will indicate. 
 

Florida plays a competitive game against Georgia but Georgia pulls out the win 38-28. Florida covers the spread. 
 

Ohio State wins over Pennsylvania State University. OSU 38, PSU 21.

 

Jackson State beats whoever they play and I hope Game Day goes well for them. I am glad for them. Deon has done a good job there. 

[rebmus]

I forgot to comment on Gameday at Jackson State. 

I don't know that JSU is paying Sanders, but it HAS to be worth every penny. The national attention JSU has gotten since hiring Sanders (College Gameday is just one big example) likely won't be matched by any future coach at JSU. 

 

 

[Unionman76]

where will sanders and hall be coaching next year ?

[Dawg83]

37 minutes ago, Unionman76 said:

where will sanders and hall be coaching next year ?

Probably too early for Hall to make a jump up anywhere.

 

I think Prime could absolutely be an option at Auburn. They are desperate and will try anything.

[rebmus]

USM is up 29-11 at the half tonight. 

[rebmus]

USM wins 39-24 to move to 5-3 on the season. 

 

I agree with D83, too early for Will Hall to make a jump up, but he'll get some looks soon... I suspect next year he'll get a bigger offer and leave. 

 

 

[Bulldogs4]

Going back to when he was at UWA, that he was a terrific coach and that it was only matter of time before he made his mark. USM is going to have to give him a nice raise after this year and if he continues the upward trend, he will be gone in the next few years.

 

In fact if Kiffin jumps ship in the next few years (right now I don’t think he will) Hall would be an ideal candidate for the Ole Miss job. And a good fit IMO. 
 

Back to tonight, great win for Southern. Probably the biggest win in over 10 years. Very happy for Coach Hall and the USM program. A year ago nobody would have thought USM could stay on the field with ULL much less beat them. 

[Insideradvantage]

I agree that Hall could be a good fit for OM, but he definitely has more to prove just yet at USM. I know for a fact he wanted the OC job at OM 2 or 3 years ago and he is an OM fan. He'd probably be better than Charlie Weis, Jr. right now. 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Insideradvantage

[Bulldogs4]

Definitely agree that he has more work to do at USM but so far so good. He has got something good going and I think it will continue. Plus the move to the Sunbelt was absolutely the right decision. Much better fit for them overall. 

[Dawg83]

Ole Miss escapes with a win at A&M. Not super smooth but hard to argue with an 8-1 start.

 

Elsewhere, Tennessee murdered Kentucky. Next week is setting up to be a huge week with UT/UGA and Bama/LSU.

 

Arkansas took care of Auburn today, which is only the second most interesting news to come from The Plains at the moment…

 

Surprise of the day was Mizzou winning handily at South Carolina.

 

 

[Bulldogs4]

I blew the UK-UT score but other wise, I was pretty close on my picks. 
83, for Ole Miss hard to argue with an 8-1 record. Very impressive regardless of the perceived schedule. 
South Carolina losing was not surprising as they have been playing over heads this year. 
 

[rebmus]

8-1 is certainly nice for OM and OM deserves credit for that start. 

At the same time, an 8-4 finish isn't off the table... at all. 

 

I'm not taking anything away from A&M, but honestly- @ A&M (while tough) is probably the "easiest" game left this year for OM when you look at hosting Bama and MSU while traveling to Arkansas. 

 

 

[Dawg83]

8 minutes ago, rebmus said:

8-1 is certainly nice for OM and OM deserves credit for that start. 

At the same time, an 8-4 finish isn't off the table... at all. 

 

I'm not taking anything away from A&M, but honestly- @ A&M (while tough) is probably the "easiest" game left this year for OM when you look at hosting Bama and MSU while traveling to Arkansas. 

 

 

Hard to disagree with any of that. Bama and Arkansas seem to be bad matchups for the Ole Miss defense. We’ll see what happens in the Egg Bowl, OM is likely going to be favored, but it’s not crazy to think State could win.

 

A&M’s best case scenario is 6-6, I frankly would have viewed this as a bad loss for Ole Miss. Still some concerning things defensively and while the running game is very impressive, I think you need more out of your passing game to win any of these next three games.

 

Judkins is a star though, hard to believe he was only a 3 star. That guy looks like a future NFL RB if he can stay healthy.

 

 

[Insideradvantage]

I'll take OM at 9-3 and feel just fine about it. Just as long as that includes a win against Mississippi State. Just get than done and all is well. 9-3 in a season where we've replaced our OC, DC. strength coach, all three RBs, QB, DE, all LBs, and best WRs. Think about that. 

[MSTSatchmo]

Another impressive rushing performance from OM.  A&M is a team with all kinds of issues, so the game was closer than I expected, but an SEC road win is an SEC road win.  
 

As for State, they had the week off, but some fans say they lost on a bye week and some say they won.  It will take a while to see who was right, but Cohen leaving was a shock to everyone.