“The Week Ahead” is our weekly Monday piece, covering any relevant news from the weekend and taking a first look at all the games coming up this weekend.
Week 2 News
Hogs are back in the top 10! Arkansas hadn’t been in the top 10 since the 2011 season, but they’ve now made it back in consecutive seasons. The Razorbacks are 10th in the newest AP poll after several teams in front of them lost. The AP poll never makes any sense, but I’m curious as to why Cincinnati is still unranked: they played an almost-even game on the road against the #10 team. Isn’t that worthy of top-25 consideration?
Razorbacks open as 39.5-point favorites. This line seems enormous to me. Missouri State is ranked 5th in the FCS, and their quarterback is up for the FCS version of the Heisman trophy. My initial thought was that this is a 49-17 kind of game at best. I’ll be keeping an eye out for other lines and line movement.
SEC Shorts: The college football ER was very busy this weekend. SEC Shorts are usually a bit too cringey for me, but they are always clever, and this one is especially clever:
Speaking of cringe, let’s talk Texas A&M. Texas A&M University is a cult. It’s not even a cool cult. It’s a weird, dumb cult. Its fans and alumni are truly strange. One of its many odd traditions – Midnight Yell – is pretty dumb anyway. I’ve been to a couple of them (2010 at Jerryworld and 2014 at Har-Ber High) and I felt secondhand embarrassment for everyone participating. In 2010, we left right before it ended, and rode around the parking lot in my buddy’s truck blasting “Hog Wild” by Hank Jr. as Aggie fans poured out of the stadium. In 2014, in the parking lot in Springdale, we snuck behind the little stage they had set up to the generator, debating the legal ramifications of shutting off the power in a parking lot with no streetlights. We ultimately decided against it, but it probably would have been better for everyone’s dignity had we gone through with it.
Anyway, a video of last Friday’s Midnight Yell before the Appalachian State game managed to leak onto Twitter. The cringe is so overwhelming that it’s difficult to watch the entire thing, but there’s something about dudes in overalls calling Appalachian State “hillbillies” that’s… over the top. The Aggies must have realized that the video was not exactly a ringing endorsement of their precious traditions, so they managed to use copyright claims to get all the Twitter videos taken down. Unfortunately, they livestream this embarrassing procession, so they can’t exactly cover it up. Watch, if you dare:
Appalachian State held the ball for 42 minutes and beat the Aggies, 17-14. Since Jimbo Fisher’s contract is fully guaranteed, the poor Yell Leaders won’t be able to afford new uniforms – or a proper female cheerleading team – anytime soon.
Week 3 in the SEC
Youngstown State at Kentucky, Abilene Christian at Mizzou, UL Monroe at Alabama, Akron at Tennessee. These should all be blowouts. Mizzou is searching for some life on offense, while Alabama needs to find a star receiver among all their five-stars. Tennessee and Kentucky are just hoping to avoid letdowns after big Week 2 wins. If you want a player to cheer for, Jalen’s brother Kendall Catalon is Abilene’s leading receiver.
Vanderbilt at Northern Illinois. I thought this would be the last game this year where Vandy is favored, but I was wrong: the Huskies opened as 1-point favorites. A 2-10 record is on the table if the Commodores can’t pull this one out.
South Florida at Florida. The Gators have tumbled back to Earth after a loss to Kentucky, and South Florida is really bad. Offensive analyst Chad Morris is doing all he can to help the Bulls, but for some reason, they are still terrible.
Georgia at South Carolina. This should be a blowout, though it will be a nice surprise if the Gamecocks can put up a fight. I’m particularly interested in watching Spencer Rattler face an elite defense. If he can move the ball well, then I’ll feel much better about the Hogs’ own defense.
Ole Miss at Georgia Tech. The Yellowjackets are coming off a 3-9 season and haven’t really shown that they’re improved so far this year. The Rebels are getting 14.5 points, which seems a bit low. Jaxson Dart has looked pretty good so far, but not Matt Corral-good, and if Ole Miss wants to go 10-2 again, they need him to be Matt Corral-good.
Watch These
Missouri State at Arkansas (6 pm, SECN+). As mentioned above, the Hogs opened as 39.5-point favorites, which seems extremely high. We’ll have a closer look at the Bears as the week progresses.
Penn State at Auburn (2:30 pm, CBS). Okay, Bryan Harsin, whatcha got? Boosters tried and failed to have him fired in the offseason, then they succeeded in firing the AD earlier this year, setting the stage for Harsin to be replaced after the season. Auburn’s recruiting is understandably down amid the chaos. The Tigers don’t have a proven QB or an established receiver. But they still have a ton of 4-star talent, so if Harsin is going to save his job, it starts today. James Franklin is under plenty of pressure himself, as Penn State has been mediocre for the last few seasons. The loser of this one will have to deal with a really upset fanbase.
Mississippi State at LSU (5 pm, ESPN). Brian Kelly got off to an inauspicious start at LSU with that loss to Florida State, and now he has to take on a veteran Mississippi State team that just went to the desert and easily beat Arizona. This game will give us a good idea of how competitive the Tigers will be in the SEC this season.
Miami at Texas A&M (8 pm, ESPN). Texas A&M considers itself a military school, so let’s go with a military term: DEFCON 2. That’s where the Aggies are right now. In case you are wondering, the university owes Jimbo Fisher $86 million if they fire him after this season. Fisher is, clearly, not a championship coach. He’s merely a good coach who took advantage of a power vacuum and a generational quarterback to win the 2013 national title. He has a worse record through his first 50 games than Kevin Sumlin. Sure, he’s recruiting better, and he didn’t peak in his first year like Sumlin, but the Aggies are 7-5 in their last 12 games against FBS teams. Their quarterback play is poor and their overall offensive scheme is outdated and puts them at a disadvantage. Their defense is still really good but couldn’t get off the field against Appalachian State. Miami is a somewhat iffy top-25 team – they went 7-5 last season and much of their ranking is due to hype around new coach Mario Cristobal – but if the Aggies lose, it will be DEFCON 1 by the time A&M arrives in Arlington for their showdown with the Hogs.
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