Vanderbilt 3-0 (1-0)
We all know what happened last week, so I’ll just skip ahead. Vanderbilt will see its first real test of the season (yeah, we’re in cupcake country right now) against South Carolina. The Dores’ defense was impressive against the Rebels, though no one knows what that actually means. We’ll know Saturday whether or not Vandy’s front seven are the real deal when they try to shut down USC’s Marcus Lattimore. Vanderbilts DBs will be watching for Stephen Garcia as he has put up some of his best numbers against the Commodores.
The Gamecocks escaped a tough game to the Midshipmen of the Naval Academy Saturday. Marcus Lattimore is making a push for, at least, the Doak Walker award as he racked up 246 yards on the grown (sic). That pushed his average to over 170 yards per game and 6.6 ypc. To put this into perspective:Lattimore's effort on Saturday was the most yards a running back under Steve Spurrier has EVER produced. The kid is special. South Carolina takes on Vanderbilt Saturday at 6 on ESPN2.
Florida 3-0 (1-0)
The new-look Gators were impressive in their SEC opener last week, defeating UT 33-23, though Florida controlled the game from the outset. Chris "What, I just love my girlfriend?" Rainey racked up over 200 all purpose yards. Though Florida’s defense gave up 288 yards and three touchdowns to Tyler Bray, the UT quarterback threw nearly 50 passes and was picked off twice. One aspect the Gators will have to improve on is penalties; UF totaled 150 penalty yards. The Gators head to Lexington to take on Joker Phillips and Co. this Saturday at 6 on ESPN.
Kentucky 2-1
The Wildcats dropped a 24-17 contest to in-state rival Louisville last Saturday. Despite quarterback Morgan Newton having a solid outing (27/44 for 255 yards, 2 TDS, 0 int), UK was able to rush for just 35 yards. Kentucky was down 24-10 in the fourth quarter before bringing the game back to a one possession contest with 4:56 in the game remaining. Kentucky will host the Florida Gators Saturday and we may find out whether or not Ole Miss is indeed the worst team in the SEC.
Tennessee 2-1 (0-1)
The Vols dropped their first game of the season Saturday to the Gators. With the loss, UT is now 6-16 since the SEC began the Conference championship game in 1992. While Tyler Bray threw for nearly 300 yards, the Gators held Tennessee to -9 yards rushing. Tennessee’s weakness was exposed when starting wide-receiver Justin Hunter went down with a knee injury. Hunter had been half of the best pass-catching duo in the nation (with Darrick Rogers) and prevented Florida from being able to lock down on Rogers or stack the box. Tennessee has the week off as they try to regroup to take on Buffalo next Saturday. As an aside, the game on October 1 against Buffalo will be UT’s third home game…out of eight on their schedule. That just surprised me. I can’t remember the last time any team had 8 home games in one season.
Georgia 1-2 (0-1)
The Bulldogs shelled out a significant sum of money to Coastal Carolina to pick up a 59-0 win. UGA seems to be putting things together while tailback Isaiah Crowell appears to be settling into the starting role. Aaron Murray was 18/26 for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns in the rout. However, the Bulldogs will have to adjust to more changes as two starting lineman will likely be out against Ole Miss. Starting right guard Chris Burnette went down with a knee injury in practice earlier this week while Kolton Houston is out with "eligibility issues". Houston didn’t start, but was UGA’s 6th man on the line and was competing for time at guard and tackle. The Bulldogs head to Oxford to take on the Rebels at 11ish. The only prediction I have is that there will be more attractive women in Oxford this Saturday than any other college town in the nation.