TSIB Pick ‘em

Last week was not a good week for three of us. Double Dogs, Ghost of Neyland, and myself all posted 4-5-1 records (Alabama was a push), while Gobble Thunder and Boomtown went 6-3-1 in their predictions. Pushes will not be included in the Overall Standings.

Overall Standings

1.  Tie: Gobble Thunder & Double Dogs  (14-6)

3.  Ghost of Neyland  (12-8)

4.  Tie: Boomtown Madman & Crimson Daddy  (11-9)

This Week’s Picks (As always, we are picking against the spread)

Double Dogs
Georgia @ Alabama (-3) - Alabama
Kentucky @ Arkansas (-7) - Kentucky
Florida (-23.5) @ Ole Miss - Florida
New Mexico St. @ Auburn (-17)  - Auburn
South Carolina @ LSU (-16.5) - LSU
Arkansas State @ Tennessee (-19.5) - Arkansas St.
Penn St. (-3) @ Michigan - Penn State
Michigan State (-12.5) @ Notre Dame - Notre Dame
Georgia Tech (-3.5) @ Virginia - Georgia Tech

Gobble Thunder
Georgia @ Alabama (-3) - Alabama
Kentucky @ Arkansas (-7) - Arkansas
Florida (-23.5) @ Ole Miss - Florida
New Mexico St. @ Auburn (-17) - New Mexico State
South Carolina @ LSU (-16.5) - South Carolina
Arkansas State @ Tennessee (-19.5) - Tennessee
Penn St. (-3) @ Michigan - Penn State
Michigan State (-12.5) @ Notre Dame - Michigan St.
Georgia Tech (-3.5) @ Virginia - Georgia Tech

Ghost of Neyland
Georgia @ Alabama (-3) - Georgia
Kentucky @ Arkansas (-7) - Kentucky
Florida (-23.5) @ Ole Miss - Florida
New Mexico St. @ Auburn (-17) - New Mexico State
South Carolina @ LSU (-16.5) - South Carolina
Arkansas State @ Tennessee (-19.5) - Arkansas State
Penn St. (-3) @ Michigan - Penn State
Michigan State (-12.5) @ Notre Dame - Michigan St.
Georgia Tech (-3.5) @ Virginia - Georgia Tech

Boomtown Madman
Georgia @ Alabama (-3) - Bama
Kentucky @ Arkansas (-7) - Kentucky
Florida (-23.5) @ Ole Miss - Florida
New Mexico St. @ Auburn (-17) - New Mexico St.
South Carolina @ LSU (-16.5) - South Carolina
Arkansas State @ Tennessee (-19.5) - Arkansas St.
Penn St. (-3) @ Michigan - Penn St.
Michigan State (-12.5) @ Notre Dame - Notre Dame
Georgia Tech (-3.5) @ Virginia - Tech

Crimson Daddy
Georgia @ Alabama (-3) - Alabama
Kentucky @ Arkansas (-7) - Kentucky
Florida (-23.5) @ Ole Miss - Florida
New Mexico St. @ Auburn (-17) - New Mexico St.
South Carolina @ LSU (-16.5) - LSU
Arkansas State @ Tennessee (-19.5) - Tennessee
Penn St. (-3) @ Michigan - Penn State
Michigan State (-12.5) @ Notre Dame - Michigan St.
Georgia Tech (-3.5) @ Virginia - Tech

Are the Stars Aligned for Bama?

Things just keep getting easier for the Tide. I know y’all are worried about this week’s tilt with Georgia now, but next week should be a heckuva lot easier without FSU linebacker Geno Hayes breathing down Bammer necks.

Seems ol’ buddy Geno was arrested. That’s cool. I seem to recall that guys named “Geno” normally struggle against the Tide, anyway.

Ghost of Neyland 

The Numbers on Fulmer Don’t Lie

As much as we’ve been preaching and griping all week here at TSIB about the Vols and their need to finally get rid of head coach/albatross Phillip Fulmer, nothing can do it like statistics.

In his fact-driven story in today’s Chattanooga Times Free Press, UT beat writer Wesley Rucker examines just how far the program has fallen and compares Fulmer and former coach Johnny Majors.

The numbers are staggering.  Take the story’s nut graph, and you realize that Fulmer was worse than Majors before Majors was forced out of Knoxville.

“The Tennessee football program has a lower winning percentage, lower Southeastern Conference winning percentage and three fewer league championships in coach Phillip Fulmer’s past eight-plus seasons than it did in the eight seasons before Johnny Majors stepped down in 1992.” 

Excellent work, and the most damning evidence against Fulmer yet. Read the story.

 Ghost of Neyland

Weekend Preview 4.2

Kentucky @ Arkansas

Viewer rating (1-5): 4 * Like Crimson Daddy said, it’s a slim week. But this is a good time to see if UK is a pretender and if Arkansas will carry on the age-old tradition of the loser of the UA-UA game crumbling.

What to watch: Any UK game will be entertaining as heck because the Cats can put up points on anyone. Arkansas proved to the nation last week that it can’t play much defense. D.J. Hall and Co. wore them out in front of the country by zipping up and down the field in a game that featured very little defense in a last-second loss to Bama. It’ll be a run-first, run-second, run-forever offense of the Hogs against a surprisingly effective balanced offense of the Cats. With two high-powered weapons like that going against each other, you nearly have to tune in. If UK wins this game, it can play with anybody in the league not named Florida or LSU. We already know Arkansas can.

Who to watch: We could talk about defenses, but nobody would care. How many times in your life do you remember hearing that the Wildcats — ranked for the first time since Noah built the Ark — have as many offensive weapons as almost anybody in the country? Well, this may be that year. I mean, a stable of Rafael Little, Keenan Burton, Dicky Lyons, Jacob Tamme and Steve Johnson would make anybody proud. Plus, Andre Woodson is one of the top-five quarterbacks in the country. (That’s right, folks, UT recruited him, but not as a QB. That Fulmer …) On the flipside, Arkansas has College Football Terminator Version 3.0, or as the nation calls him “Darren McFadden.” With all due respect to Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Emmitt Smith and the stable of other amazing tailbacks the SEC has put out, only Version 1.0 Herschel Walker and Version 2.0 Bo Jackson were in McFadden’s class. Oh yeah, and backup Felix Jones may be the Heisman favorite next year.

Plus, watch Woodson and the fruity way he holds up his hand when he’s passing. It’s high comedy.

My manicure sure is pretty

Who will win: This game is in Arkansas, and those people are crazy. The only thing they have to do in that state is watch the Pigs. So, that’s a huge, huge edge to Houston Nutt’s players. Any game in the Nutt House should favor the Razorbacks, and the oddsmakers are picking them by seven.

If Woodson looks up in the crowd Saturday, he CAN’T win. He’ll be peeing his pants looking at guys like this.

But Kentucky won a shootout against an offensive force in rival Louisville last week, and the Cats believe they can play with anyone. This one will be high-scoring and close, but I think UK pulls it out.

Against the spread: My pick is a shaky one, but the line isn’t. If the Hogs do win, it’ll be by less than the seven they’re favored. I’d take the ‘Cats in a codlock.

Ghost of Neyland