Randy Smith: SEC Picks Week Two

  • Thursday, September 8, 2016
Randy Smith
Randy Smith
Never have I ever had a week as inaccurate as last week.....the opening week of college football. Thirteen games on the card and I missed five of them. Granted that I got eight correct, but it was a weird week. teams that we thought were strong turned out to be weaklings. (LSU) While others struggled more than they should have (Tennessee) For college football fans in general however, it was a great opening weekend.

Western Kentucky at Alabama
Is Alabama really as good as they showed in their total destruction of Southern Cal last week? Probably not, but the Crimson Tide showed us why they're ranked number one.
The defending national champs looked post season perfect in their big win over the Trojans. This week Alabama plays its home opener in Tuscaloosa against a pretty darn good Western Kentucky team, from Conference USA. The Hilltopper were 12-2 a year ago and are picked to repeat as league champion. Alabama finds itself in a position like Tennessee was in last week when they needed overtime to beat Appalachian State. 'Bama will not need overtime.
Alabama 34 Western Kentucky 17

Arkansas at TCU
The Razorbacks were forced to come from behind to beat Louisiana Tech last week 21-20. Texas Christian is not LaTech. The Horned Frogs are a very solid football team from the Big 12 with plenty of firepower. Unless Arkansas makes a lot of improvement from game one to game two this one could turn into a rout.
TCU 35 Arkansas 13

Arkansas State at Auburn
The Auburn Tigers took second ranked Clemson to the wire in a 19-13 loss last week on the plains. That's the good news. The bad news is this; Coach Gus Malzahn needs to settle on one quarterback and not three as he used last week against Clemson. Auburn's defense is good enough to help his team win several games this season, but the offense simply must play better. Arkansas State is picked to win the Sunbelt Conference Title. Remember, that's the same conference Appalachian State plays in.
Auburn 24 Arkansas State 20

Kentucky at Florida
The Gators survived a tough battle with UMass last week and they play their SEC opener this week hosting Kentucky in the "Swamp". Transfer quarterback Luke Del Rio was not impressive in week one, but maybe he had a case of the jitters. The Wildcats poor defense should help him get rid of those jitters this week. Kentucky lost at home to a mediocre Southern Miss team, driving another nail in Coach Mark Stoops coffin. The Gators should be 3-0 when they play   their first SEC road game on September 24th at Tennessee.
Florida 40 Kentucky 20

Nicholls State at Georgia
Bulldog fans are excited about freshman quarterback Jacob Eason and they should be. While Grayson Lambert started in Georgia's opening win over North Carolina, it was Eason who provided a big spark to the offense. Nick Chubb ran wild as expected and while the defense is still suspect, Georgia may be better than everyone thought. A much easier win is in store for the Bulldogs this week in Athens.
Georgia 52 Nicholls State 7

Jacksonville State at LSU
Even though Coach Les Miles talked a lot about how much better and more exciting the Bengal Tigers offense would be in 2016, it looked like the same old LSU in their 16-14 loss to Wisconsin. Once you get past Leonard Fournette that's about it. LSU can certainly turn things around this season but they need to come up with something that resembles an SEC offense. Jacksonville State won't be a pushover but a loss to the Gamecocks could send Les Miles packing.
LSU 23 Jacksonville State 14

Wofford at Ole Miss
The Rebels looked like an NFL team in the first half of their game against 4th ranked Florida State but looked more like a middle school squad in the second half of their 45-34 loss to the Seminoles. Chad Kelly is a good quarterback but the Rebs running game is woeful to say the least. Despite an opening loss, Ole Miss should still contend in the SEC West this season.
Ole Miss 44 Wofford 14

South Carolina at Mississippi State
Replacing Dak Prescott turned out to be a lot tougher than we all thought at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs were beaten 21-20 by South Alabama last week and South Carolina invades Starkville this week. If I were faced with righting the ship after a loss like last week, I would much rather face South Carolina than the Bulldogs opponent next week; LSU. The Gamecocks pulled out a tough one at Vanderbilt last week and currently sit in first place in the SEC East. Gamecock fans may be excited now, but things should return to normal this week.
Mississippi State 20 South Carolina 17

Eastern Michigan at Missouri
The Tigers lost 26-11 at West Virginia last week, and there is a big red flag on the Tigers offense. We all knew it would be there because Missouri averaged just 13 points per game a year ago. In all fairness though, Missouri is rebuilding its program in Coach Barry Odom's first season.  Eastern Michigan should provide a chance to make a lot of week two improvement.
Missouri 24 Eastern Michigan 10

Prairie View A&M at Texas A&M
The Aggies are rolling following their overtime win over UCLA last weekend. Quarterback Trevor Knight is proving he can run the fast paced Aggie offense. And even though Texas A&M was picked somewhere in the middle of the pack in the SEC West, a true test will be next when the Aggies go to Auburn. This week won't be much of a test.
Texas A&M 49 Prairie View A&M 14

Middle Tennessee at Vanderbilt
Coach Derek Mason's seat in Nashville got a bit warmer as the Commodores lost to South Carolina; a game Vandy should have won. This week's contest with rival Middle Tennessee will not be a picnic in the park for Mason. Blue Raiders quarterback Brent Stockstill is the real deal. MTSU's offense is outstanding, while the defense struggles. I'm not sure it will struggle enough to help Vanderbilt. In an upset......I'm picking my alma mater.
Middle Tennessee 24 Vanderbilt 23

Virginia Tech vs Tennessee in Bristol
This game has been talked about for more than a year. The Bristol Motor Speedway will be transformed into the largest football stadium in the world and close to 150,000 fans are expected for the game between the Hokies and the Volunteers. This will be the largest crowd to ever witness a college football game. Both teams are 1-0, with Tennessee being very lucky to have escaped Appalachian State 20-13 in overtime last week. I truly believe the Vols were holding some things back on offense and that philosophy almost cost them the ball game. Things should be different this time. While Va. Tech is still a good football team, I think we'll see the real Tennessee squad this week. Gentlemen start your engines!
Tennessee 38 Virginia Tech 20  
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.

His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.

He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.

In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.
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