SEC REPORT - WEEK 7 Preview
by David Waters
Posted October 15, 2009
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SEC Standings
East
- Florida 5-0 (3-0)
- South Carolina 5-1 (2-1)
- Georgia 3-3 (2-2)
- Tennessee 3-3 (1-2)
- Kentucky 2-3 (0-3)
- Vanderbilt 2-4 (0-3)
West
- Alabama 6-0 (3-0)
- LSU 5-1 (3-1)
- Auburn 5-1 (2-1)
- Arkansas 3-2 (1-2)
- Ole Miss 3-2 (1-2)
- Mississippi State 2-4 (1-2)
Week 7 Preview
Arkansas at Florida
This will be the best offense the Florida Gators will face all regular season. The Gators rank at or near he top of every defensive category in the nation, and Arkansas will try and come into The Swamp and sling the ball all over the field. The Razorbacks had a ton of trouble when they faced a legit defense in Alabama a couple of weeks ago, and the Gators' defense is just as good and a tad bit faster. If the Gators can get in the backfield and pressure Ryan Mallet and make him dink and dunk the ball instead of standing back there and picking and choosing, they will get a comfortable win.
Florida comes in second in the nation running the ball, but Arkansas' secondary is horrendous. This will be a good chance for Florida to drop the conservative play-calling and get the young receivers on the team some SEC experience.
Georgia at Vanderbilt
Just the game Georgia needed. After an embarrassing showing last week in Knoxville, the Bulldogs will travel back to Tennessee and take out all their frustrations on a offensive inept Vanderbilt squad. There will not be wholesale changes for the Georgia Bulldogs, but something must happen in the Vanderbilt game that shows fans that this is not going to be the same play game after game. The defense does not attack, it just sits back in a zone. Against Vandy will be a chance to input some new schemes on both sides of the ball. The whole team is conservative, and that lays on coaching.
Vanderbilt will get a new look UGA team, if not look for a closer than should be game.
Vanderbilt doesn't have much of an offense, but it's defense will keep the game close if Georgia fails to make adjustments.
South Carolina at Alabama
Can the South Carolina offense score more than two touchdowns on the Alabama defense? That is, at least, how many points the Gamecocks will have to score to beat Alabama. The South Carolina defense is good enough to keep the game close behind the play of Eric Norwood. The game will be won for both teams when the Alabama offensive line goes against the South Carolina defensive line. If the South Carolina defense can hold Alabama to two touchdowns, Steve Spurrier may have something up his sleeve to get the upset of the Crimson Tide.
Alabama's defense has been elite all season, but have played opposing offenses that rank an average of 64th. Some of the young talent in Columbia is starting to surface and quarterback Stephen Garcia is starting to progress nicely. Alabama's defense will cause a late turnover to seal the victory.
Kentucky at Auburn
Kentucky received some bad news when they lost quarterback Mike Hartline for at least four weeks due to a left knee injury. That's good news for an Auburn defense that has been struggling to stop anyone of late. Coming off of their first loss of the season, Auburn returns home and hopes to play a cleaner game than last week against Arkansas. The Tigers offense was fine when the special teams wasn't fumbling the ball. Kentucky has had trouble stopping offenses with a pulse this season and as long as Auburn is not hanging its head after the first loss of the season, this could be a pretty convincing win.
UAB at Ole Miss
Well Ole Miss is definitely not the team we thought they would be, and that starts with Jevan Snead not being the quarterback we though he would be. This is the perfect game for the Rebels to have after getting embarrassed by Alabama last week. This team needs to work out some kinks against UAB, mainly figuring out how to get Snead into making better decisions and getting Dexter McCluster the ball more. The defense is just fine, and UAB will pose no threat to make the game close… unless Snead decides to go on an interception clinic again.
Mississippi St. at Middle Tennessee St.
At Middle Tennessee State?
Really?
A SEC team should never go on the road to play at a Sun Belt team's place.
Dan Mullen is really making the Bulldogs a legit threat in the SEC. Heck, they maybe the best Bulldogs in the SEC… OK that's too much, but they are not that far behind. The game last week against a better Houston squad, showed that Mississippi State is a danger to maybe pull some upsets this season. First they have to prove they can win games they are supposed to win.
Middle Tennessee State has beat Maryland this year and have a pretty good passing attack. It will be a close game, but the Mississippi State physical running attack and defensive front seven will prove to be too much.
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