The only real surprise in the first two weeks of the college football season is the fact that Tennessee is not nearly ready to win enough games to get to a bowl game. After dropping their first two games of the year to a pair of non-power five teams Georgia State and Brigham Young, the Volunteers stand 0-2. The awful start has gotten the dander up among fans in the Big Orange Nation with some calling for head coach Jeremy Pruitt's head, others calling for Phillip Fulmer to return, and others screaming for the Vols to hire Urban Meyer.
It's just a matter of time before Jon Gruden's name pops up.
Arkansas State at Georgia
The Bulldogs are every bit as good as advertised. The very few questions Georgia had in the pre-season have been answered successfully Even though the 'Dawgs have yet to be tested in the first two games of the season, they get a real test on September 21st when they host Notre Dame at Sanford Stadium. This week Georgia will host Arkansas State in a game they are heavily favored to win. Georgia's next SEC test might not be until October 2nd when they take on Florida in Jacksonville.
Georgia 48 Arkansas State 10
Kansas State at Mississippi State
Kansas State has blasted Nichols State and Bowling Green by a combined score of 101-14. Are the Wildcats really this good? We will find out just how good they are when they travel to Starkville to face Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are favored by as many as 12 points which I feel is too high. Both teams are a perfect 2-0 so far and while I believe MSU will get win number three it's not going to be a picnic. Kansas State is a pretty good football team. Wouldn't be surprised at all if the Wildcats pull off the upset. In a close one.......
Mississippi State 27 Kansas State 24
Alabama at South Carolina
Alabama is on a mission, as the Crimson Tide clearly has top ranked Clemson in its sights. But that match up is not coming up until the college football playoffs begin and maybe not until the national championship contest is played. That's a long time to carry a grudge and when a grudge goes on that long, sometimes a team will lose focus and get upset by a lesser opponent. That won't be the case this week as South Carolina hosts second ranked 'Bama. The Gamecocks really had little chance to beat the Tide before starting quarterback Jake Bentley was injured. Since Bentley is out, they have no chance at all.
Alabama 50 South Carolina 14
S.E. Louisiana at Ole Miss
The Lions pulled off an upset in week one as they defeated Jacksonville State 35-14. Ole Miss is 1-1 after a season opening loss at Memphis and a 31-14 win over Arkansas last week. The Johnny Rebs are really not a bad football team but they aren't very good either. They should have enough in the tank to beat S.E. Louisiana before they host California next week in Oxford. The Rebels are favored by 24 points and while they may not cover the spread, they will get the win.
Ole Miss 37 S.E. Louisiana 20
Colorado State at Arkansas
Both teams are 1-1 on the year, with the one loss for the Razorbacks being to Ole Miss in an SEC game.Colorado State has had a hard time holding on to the football, as they've fumbled seven times in the first two games this season. Neither team is considered to be an elite team, in other words they're not very good. This game could be very close and the Rams have a chance to pull the upset but only if they are able to hang on to the football. For the Hogs, quarterback Nick Starkel could be the key. His passing numbers so far, while not fantastic are impressive. Arkansas gets it done as they avenge a loss to the Rams a year ago.
Arkansas 27 Colorado State 23
Kent State at Auburn
The 8th ranked Tigers are off to a 2-0 start with wins over Oregon and Tulane and they are heavily favored this week against Kent State.The most pleasant surprise down on the plains has been the play of freshman Bo Nix at quarterback. He runs well and passes well but his leadership ability is what makes him so valuable. If Coach Gus Malzahn can get his team to take 'em one at a time and not lose focus during the year, this could be a special season at Auburn. There is no way any focus is lost this week.
Auburn 49 Kent State 7
Florida at Kentucky
The Gators are ranked ninth in the polls this week while Kentucky is unranked. Last year if you remember, the Wildcats surprised Florida with a 27-16 win in the Swamp. It came early in the season before the Gators really got going and when the 'Cats were playing well. Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson is out for the season with an injury so Florida is a solid choice to avenge the loss last year at Home. The Wildcats have to play very physical with the Gators and cut down on mistakes if they have a chance.
Florida 31 Kentucky 10
Lamar at Texas A&M
The Aggies may still be reeling from their loss at top-ranked Clemson last week. The defending national champs looked totally dominant in getting past A&M 24-10 last week. The Aggies played well on defense, and not so well on offense. Even though a lot of eyes are on this week's Clemson game at Syracuse, the game with Texas A&M could be the toughest of the season for the Tigers. Quarterback Kellen Mond looked lost last week against the tough Clemson defense, but this week's opponent is not Clemson. It's Lamar and the Aggies are heavily favored to win.
Texas A&M 48 Lamar 10
Northwestern State at LSU
The Bengal Tigers could have their best group since they won a national title under Les Miles in 2007. If you haven't seen LSU play this year, you could be in for a shock. Coach Ed Orgeron hasn't completely abandoned the running game but the Tigers looks more like the Florida Gators when Steve Spurrier was running the "fun 'n gun" offense more than 20 years ago. Quarterback Joe Burrow's name has begun to be mentioned in the latest Heisman Trophy talk as he has passed for 789 yards and nine touchdowns in just two games. I've said all along that Alabama's biggest challenge in the SEC West this season is LSU.
LSU 57 Northwestern State 17
Southeast Missouri at Missouri
After dropping their first game of the year at Wyoming, the Tigers looked impressive in destroying West Virginia 38-7. Transfer quarterback Kelly Bryant has passed for 583 yards in two games and seems to have gotten the hang of offensive coordinator Derek Dooley's offense. It's a shame that Bryant came to Missouri before the NCAA announced sanctions against the Tigers, which keeps them out of the post season. He is a good solid college quarterback who will only get better as the season goes along.
Missouri 54 SE Missouri 20
Chattanooga at Tennessee
The talk around Chattanooga this week has been about pulling the upset at Tennessee on Saturday after the Volunteers have gotten off to an 0-2 start. The Vols are 28-1 all time in the series with the Mocs with the only win coming in 1958. There were arrests of Chattanooga fans and fire hoses had to be turned on the crowd to disperse the rioting that day. The same thing could happen again if the Mocs are able to get the win over the struggling Volunteers. The last time Tennessee started the year 0-2 was 1988 when they lost their first six games before wining their last five in a row. The very next season, Tennessee tied for the SEC Championship under Johnny Majors and won the Cotton Bowl over Arkansas. The Mocs have a pretty good squad under head coach Rusty Wright but they will be no match for a wounded Tennessee team this weekend.
Tennessee 49 Chattanooga 14
Last week: 12-1
Year to date: 21-5
* * *