College Football Predictions 2011: Predicting Every SEC Game in Week 2
The SEC went 10-2 in the opening week of the college football season and as four SEC teams begin conference play against one another in week two, expect the games to get more competitive.
Mississippi State will take on Auburn and South Carolina will match up with Georgia, but those aren’t the only big games in the conference this week.
Alabama will take on Penn State in a rematch from last year in what is one of the top non-conference games of the year and should be played at a high level.
Here are my predictions for the second week of SEC football as each game starts to get more important.
Northwestern vs. LSU
1 of 10Don’t expect Northwestern State to compete with LSU, but don’t be shocked if the Tigers come out flat following a huge win in Week 1 against Oregon.
The Tigers will start out of the gate lackadaisical on offense, but Jarrett Lee, Spencer Ware and Michael Ford will get things turned around in the second quarter.
LSU eventually pulls away and wins this one convincingly.
Final Score:
Northwestern State 10
LSU 38
Connecticut vs. Vanderbilt
2 of 10Your average person doesn’t keep up with Vanderbilt football closely, but Chris Marve and Casey Hayward are two outstanding defensive players.
However, Vanderbilt is the underdog in this one. Though they will compete with Connecticut, they won’t defeat the Huskies.
Lyle McCombs is coming off of a four rushing touchdown performance against Fordham (Yeah, I know it’s Fordham, but still), and he will add a few more touchdowns in this game.
Final Score:
Connecticut 27
Vanderbilt 17
UAB vs. Florida
3 of 10Chris Rainey led the Gators to a 41-3 victory over Florida Atlantic as he scored three touchdowns in three different ways.
Rainey had a rushing score, receiving touchdown and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. UAB won’t be able to match Florida’s athleticism and the Gators will take full advantage of the mismatches.
John Brantley didn’t impress in the victory as he threw two interceptions, but expect him to show improvement this week as he leads the Gator offense to another blowout victory.
Final Score:
UAB 13
Florida 45
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New Mexico vs. Arkansas
4 of 10Arkansas is probably the most explosive team in the entire SEC, and New Mexico certainly won’t benefit from it this Saturday.
Joe Adams dazzled the crowd against Missouri State, and I expect his fellow wide receivers Greg Childs and Jarius Wright to do the same this week.
Tyler Wilson will have another great performance as Arkansas wins in a blowout.
Final Score:
New Mexico 14
Arkansas 56
Central Michigan vs. Kentucky
5 of 10From an offensive standpoint, Kentucky’s victory over Western Kentucky was not impressive to say the least.
Kentucky is supposed to have one of the best offensive lines in the SEC, and they were held to only 141 yards rushing against the Hilltoppers.
Morgan Newton and the Wildcats will score more points this week, but not that many more.
Final Score:
Central Michigan 9
Kentucky 24
Southern Illinios vs. Ole Miss
6 of 10What a heartbreaking loss the Rebels had against BYU, and the fact that they’ve lost Brandon Bolden for a number of weeks makes it that much worse.
Look for Ole Miss to get Jeff Scott involved in the offense more this week and take out their frustrations on a weaker Southern Illinois team.
Final Score:
Southern Illinois 7
Ole Miss 31
Cincinnati vs. Tennessee
7 of 10Cincinnati scored 72 points last week against Austin Peay, but don’t expect the Bearcats to hang that many points on Tennessee this week.
The Vols will clash with the Bearcats in what will be a great football game.
The lead will go back in forth between these two teams, and in the fourth quarter, Tyler Bray and Tauren Poole will lead the Vols into scoring position to set up a field goal victory. The Vols nail the field goal and improve to 2-0.
Final Score:
Cincinnati 31
Tennessee 34
Alabama vs. Penn State
8 of 10The game last year wasn’t much of a contest, but this year will be different as more scoring will be done on both sides.
The Tide are still looking for a quarterback, but will pound the ball with Trent Richardson repeatedly come Saturday.
The game stays close until Alabama pulls away in the fourth quarter as they ride the backs of Richardson and Eddie Lacy.
Final Score:
Alabama 30
Penn State 17
Mississippi State vs. Auburn
9 of 10The first SEC matchup of the season will be between Mississippi State and Auburn, and it’s almost guaranteed to be a good one.
Auburn came out of the gate slow against Utah State but were able to squeak out a victory. But the Tigers will be ready to play when they face the Bulldogs. Michael Dyer and Onterrio McCalebb will have impressive stats rushing out of the backfield, but Vick Ballard will steal the show in this one.
Auburn’s rush defense looked vulnerable against Utah State, and you can expect Dan Mullen to exploit that vulnerability right away. State wins a close one and starts out 1-0 in conference play.
Final Score:
Mississippi State 34
Auburn 24
South Carolina vs. Georgia
10 of 10This is by far the biggest game this week in the SEC. In my opinion, South Carolina and Georgia are the best teams in the SEC East, and I think the East will come down to these two teams.
That’s why this game taking place in the second week is so huge. Now I know Georgia just lost to Boise State, but I’m not ready to fire Mark Richt and hit the sell button on the Bulldogs just yet.
Aaron Murray is still a great quarterback and will lead the Bulldogs to a successful season. Georgia gives the Gamecocks nearly more than they can handle, but Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery will be the difference maker for South Carolina.
South Carolina wins this high scoring affair and Georgia falls to 0-2.
Final Score:
South Carolina 38
Georgia 28
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