More Cowbell!

(St. Petersburg, Florida)- Last time I attempted to predict college football games from the Sunshine State (two weeks ago) - the Journal had its least effective effort of the season.

Of course, we rebounded nicely last week with another batch of perfect picks: 10-0 (80-11 for the season: 88%).

Now, let's see if the Journal can handle "St. Petersburg: The Sequel."

AUBURN 24, West Virginia 21 - Give the Mountaineers the big edge at quarterback: Mobile's Pat White over Kodi Burns.  But the Tigers defense should  be rejuvenated from the extra time off, and perhaps Auburn's "back to basics" offense can execute enough plays to make it close.

FLORIDA 35, Kentucky 21 - The Gators look like a team that could be headed to Atlanta in December for the SEC Championship.

VANDERBILT 28, Duke 14 - Commodores regain their winning ways after back-to-back losses.

GEORGIA 21, LSU 20 - I'm going with the Bulldogs and their abundance of weapons over the Bengal Tigers and home-field advantage.

ARKANSAS 23, Ole Miss 21 - Both teams have identical records (3-4, 1-3 in SEC). Makes it tough to call.  When in doubt, take the home team.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 24, Middle Tennessee 13 - SEC over Sun Belt.

ALABAMA 28, Tennessee 21 - Vols would LOVE to spoil Bama's perfect season.  Won't happen.  But not having the Big Fella (Cody) to clog up the middle diminishes the Tide's prowess on defense.

HUNTINGDON 34, Westminster 25 - Hawks stay perfect, but it's a much stiffer challenge than the past two St. Louis Conference opponents.

ALABAMA A&M 29, Alabama State 20 - Both teams are struggling this season.  The Hornets are struggling a little more.  Bama State's Magic City Classic troubles continue.

TROY 35, North Texas 13 - Trojans keep on cruising.  Eufaula's Jerrel Jernigan may be the Sun Belt's most explosive player.

KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN 14, Faulkner 7 - Will this be the week the Eagles earn that elusive "W?"  The Journal says, "Not yet."

TUSKEGEE 49, Kentucky State 13 - 24 straight and counting for the Golden Tigers.

Now to the World Series.

Game 2 is about 90 minutes away as I blog from the media workroom at Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay's playoff rotation includes three former Montgomery Biscuits (Scott Kazmir, Game 2 starter James Shields, and Game 4 starter Andy Sonnanstine).  Shields, at the tender age of 26, is the oldest in the bunch.

Throw in ALCS MVP Matt Garza, (and Super Rookie David Price), and you have a rotation that should be a force for years to come.

Injuries and free agency are always factors, but it's going to be fun to see how good the Rays can be, and for how long.

Derek Steyer and I bumped into the son of Roger Maris last night at the Rays Tank. (If you're watching the Series on Fox, you've probably seen this aquarium, featuring cownose rays).

After Derek interviewed two young sisters for his story on the Tank, their dad said, "Tell them who your grandpa is."  "Roger Maris," they replied.

Kevin Maris, the spitting image of his famous father, coaches high school baseball in Gainesville.

If you're a big fan of the national pastime, you'll recall Kevin (and the rest of the Maris kids) from 1998, when they were on hand when Mark McGwire broke their dad's single-season homerun record.

I'm picking Rays in seven, just like in the ALCS.  

See you next week!

God bless - Jeff 

Comments

[linda king]

The UGA Dawgs did not have the home field advantage, the game was played in Baton Rouge. The real Dawgs showed up and played hard. I would love to see a re-match between UGA and Bama in the SEC conference title.
signed:

Dawg lover down in LA.......

[linda king]

UGA did not have the home field advantage, the game was played in Baton Rouge. AND the dawgs tore 'em up!!!!
I'm a big Dawg fan and it's very difficult to get any good news on the Dawgs down here in LA.........