Jeff's Journal

The Waiting Game

While we wait for Iron Bowl Friday, let's make a few predictions for the Saturday before the big game.

I'll be surprised if Alabama's first-teamers see the field in the second half against Chattanooga.  I'm looking for Star Jackson to take over in the second quarter for Greg McElroy.  And if Mark Ingram wants to pad his Heisman stats against the Mocs, he'll need to do it on Bama's first three possessions.

Meanwhile, the Auburn Tigers will be watching with the rest of us this Saturday. Auburn took three days off earlier in the week, then practiced three days.  The Tigers will have fresh legs and home-field advantage Friday against Bama, but will it be enough?  That's a subject for next week's Journal!

ALABAMA 49, Chattanooga 7

ARKANSAS 35, Mississippi State 21

FLORIDA 63, Florida International 7

LSU 28, Ole Miss 24

TENNESSEE 21, Vanderbilt 13

GEORGIA 31, Kentucky 21

See you Friday at Jordan-Hare!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

God bless - Jeff

Amen Corner

For the first time since 1991, neither Auburn nor Georgia is ranked the Associated Press top 25, although the Tigers are No. 25 in the coaches' poll.

Meanwhile in Starkville, I'm wondering if Bama might be vulnerable after such an emotionally and physically draining win over LSU last week.

I'm looking for another low-scoring, relatively close game for the Tide, while in Athens, I think the sense of desperation Mark Richt is feeling will be passed on to his Dawgs.  Which would not be good for Auburn.

GEORGIA 34,  Auburn 27

ALABAMA 23, Mississippi State 14

OLE MISS 28, Tennessee 21

VANDERBILT 17, Kentucky 14

FLORIDA 35, South Carolina 21

LSU 42, Louisiana Tech 20

ARKANSAS 35, Troy 28

Enjoy your football Saturday, and we'll talk again next week.

God bless - Jeff

"Grown man's game"

Charles Scott, LSU's bruising running back, put it best.  He said Saturday's clash between Alabama and Louisiana State will be a "grown man's game."

If you love college football, you'll love this one.  Two teams with SEC and national championship aspirations, slugging it out for 60 minutes. 

I think it'll come down to this: a rested Bama defense controls the line of scrimmage,  forcing sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson to make mistakes.  Similar to what we saw against Arkansas in late September.

I'm not expecting too many fireworks from the Tide's offense, either, against a very solid Bengal Tiger defense.  But with Mark Ingram in the backfield, Alabama won't need Greg McElroy to throw for 300 yards.

ALABAMA 20, LSU 13

AUBURN 49, Furman 7

ARKANSAS 34, South Carolina 28

GEORGIA 42, Tennessee Tech 14

KENTUCKY 45, Eastern Kentucky 13

TENNESSEE 38, Memphis 10

FLORIDA 49 Vanderbilt 7

OLE MISS 42, Northern Arizona 14

Enjoy your weekend, and I'll see you next time.

God bless - Jeff 

Trick or treat!

What's wrong with Auburn?  Where would you like me to start? The team that showed so much promise with its "September to remember" is suffering through an October to forget.

Three straight losses, with a visit from No. 24 Ole Miss Saturday morning up next.

Consider this: Alabama coach Nick Saban said his team was "playing on fumes" before the Tide played Tennesssee.  By all accounts, Bama has much more depth on its roster than Auburn, so how much gas do you think the Tigers have in the tank right about now, on the eve of their ninth game in as many week?

Auburn's offense is designed to wear down opposing defenses by making them line up for more plays than they're accustomed.  It worked perfectly against Tennessee.  Problem is, an offense built on quick drives means Auburn's exceedingly thin (talking depth here) defense is the one wearing down now.  And if AU's offense goes "three and out," the problem is magnified.

The ankle injury to Ontario McCalebb is also impactful.  Early on, O-Mc and Ben Tate gave Auburn a powerful one-two rushing punch.   Now, it's just Big Ben doing the punching.

So picking Auburn Saturday means going out on a limb.  But hey, that's where you find the best fruit, right?

AUBURN 34, Ole Miss 31

FLORIDA 33, Georgia 21

ARKANSAS 56, Eastern Michigan 7

KENTUCKY 28, Mississippi State 17

GEORGIA TECH 31, Vanderbilt 13

TENNESSEE 20, South Carolina 17

LSU 42, Tulane 10

Paul Finebaum and I will be at Momma Goldberg's Saturday morning for "Tide and Tigers Today" at 11 a.m. on WSFA 12 News.

Hope you'll stop by and say hello on your way to the game.

See you next week!

God bless - Jeff 

Rivalry week

You can't beat Alabama/Tennessee and Auburn/LSU.  Makes for a fun Saturday.

My dear friend Phil Snow, enjoying retirement and recently relocated to the greater Knoxville area, thinks the Volunteers are physical enough to match up with the Tide.  He's picking Big Orange to shock the top-ranked Crimson Tide by two points.

I'm not so sure.  I've seen that Bama defense in person twice this season.  They simply shut down Virgina Tech and Arkansas in the games I covered.

ALABAMA 23, Tennessee 9

Meanwhile, will it be another nail-biter between Auburn and LSU? The past five have gone down to the wire.  I'm not convinced the thin Tiger defense can withstand four quarters of pounding by Charles Scott.

LSU 24, Auburn 17

OLE MISS 24, Arkansas 21

KENTUCKY 35, Louisiana Monroe 14

SOUTH CAROLINA 31, Vanderbilt 14

FLORIDA 38, Mississippi State 17

Enjoy "Showdown Saturday" - and we'll talk again next week.

God bless - Jeff

Hey, it's good to be back home again!

I always liked that John Denver song.  One of many of the former Montgomery resident's tunes I enjoy.

But in this context, the Journal title refers to Alabama and Auburn playing their first home games this month.

I'm looking for another Bama blowout, and an Auburn rebound after last week's loss at Arkansas.

Can't see South Carolina's offense doing much against Bama's dominating D.  I'm expecting the Tide's balanced offensive attack to wear down the Gamecocks.

On the plains, Auburn's fast-paced offense wore down Tennessee two weeks ago, but when you're going "three and out" (like the Tigers di in the first half against Arkansas last week), your defense spends too much time on the field.  A scary proposition for an Auburn unit that lacks depth.

AUBURN 35, Kentucky 24

ALABAMA 31,  South Carolina 10

GEORGIA 28, Vanderbilt 14

MISSISSIPPI STATE 31, Middle Tennessee 21

FLORIDA 42, Arkansas 21

OLE MISS 42, UAB 17

See you next week!

God bless - Jeff

Aerial Circus

You know how sometimes teams with high-powered offenses get together and everyone's expecting a shootout - and you get a 14-10 game?

This will not be one of those times. First one to 50, maybe, is going to be more like it in Fayetteville.  Auburn's offense quickly exhausted Tennessee's defense last week.  With Auburn's depth issues on d, Arkansas could attempt that strategy, as well.  I'm looking for 80 points when it's all said and done.

AUBURN 42, Arkansas 38

Regarding the Tide, Greg McElroy bristled like his head coach this week when reporters asked him about Julio Jones' limited role so far this season.  McElroy says he's frustrated about repeatedly being asked why Julio isn't getting more looks.  G-Mac says he's looking Julio's way every time the play calls for it.  It's just that, because Jones is frequently double-teamed, Bama's other receivers often make for more effective targets.

I'm deferring to McElroy on this one.  You can't argue with the results he's producing.

ALABAMA 37, Ole Miss 17

On to the rest of the SEC picks:

VANDERBILT 28, Army 21

GEORGIA 33, Tennessee 24

HOUSTON 35, Mississippi State 20

SOUTH CAROLINA 24, Kentucky 21

FLORIDA 31, LSU 21

With or without Tim Tebow, I think this one goes to the Gators.

See you next week!

God bless - Jeff

Watch that birdie!

In honor of the LPGA Navistar Classic in Prattville this weekend, I'm utilizing a golf theme for this week's picks.

The weather at Capitol Hill has been spectacular - like the quality of golf - and the golfers are some of the the most "fan friendly" I've ever been around.  Should make for an exciting weekend with 14-year-old phenom Alexis Thompson, a home-schooled 9th-grader from Florida, giving the big names like Lorena Ochoa and Michelle Wie a run for their money.

Except if Alexis wins, she won't be collecting any cash.  She's still an amateur.  But then again, when it comes to forecasting football games, so am I! On to the SEC picks:

An early start for the Crimson Tide in Lexington.  I don't see the Wildcats hanging with Alabama for very long.  One concern for the Tide: Kentucky return specialist Derek Locke.  If there's one area where Bama has been vulnerable, it's covering kickoffs.

ALABAMA 35, Kentucky 14

We've been callilng it a "September to remember" for the Auburn Tigers.  A perfect 4-0 start to the Gene Chizik era.  Now the road trips begin.  First Tennessee, then Arkansas.  I'll take the Tigers in a close one.

AUBURN 28, Tennesse 24

GEORGIA 24, LSU 20

OLE MISS 29, Vanderbilt 17

SOUTH CAROLINA 42, South Carolina State 7

TEXAS A&M 31, Arkansas 24

MISSISSIPPI STATE 17, Georgia Tech 14 - My upset special.

Talk to you next week!

God bless - Jeff

SEC Predictions

I'm heading up to Tuscaloosa Saturday for No. 3 Alabama against Arkansas.  The Razorbacks have had success at Bryant-Denny before, winning four of their previous eight trips. 

Should be a great "chess match" - Bobby Petrino's offense vs. Nick Saban's defense.  The difference, I believe, is that the Crimson Tide can play offense as well.  Arkansas does not play defense.  At least they didn't last week against Georgia.

ALABAMA 35, Arkansas 21

AUBURN 56, Ball State 7

LSU 31, Mississippi State 14

FLORIDA 49, Kentucky 21

GEORGIA 24, Arizona State 21

TENNESSEE 28, Ohio 10

VANDERBILT 24, Rice 21

See you next week!

God bless - Jeff

Test time!

Three weeks into the season, it's time for some "testers" - for the teams, and the prognosticators.

Hit five of six last week, missing only the Tennessee/UCLA game.

Let's see if we can maintain that percentage this week, with some "toss-ups" in the mix.

KENTUCKY 28, Louisville 24

FLORIDA 42, Tennessee 17 - Shocked at how large the point spread is for this one - more than four touchdowns.  Three reasons why the Gators are so heavily favored: UF's explosive offense, Florida's dominant defense against a shaky UT offense, and Urban Meyer's hunger for revenge.  If Meyer wants to teach Lane Kiffin a lesson for Kiffin's ill-advised and inaccurate recruiting jabs, this is the time to do it.  I'm guessing he'll come down on the side of restraint, which might be a stretch for a hyper-competitive Type-A individual like Meyer.

LSU 35, Louisiana Lafayette 7

VANDERBILT 17, Mississippi State 14

South Carolina 28, Florida Atlantic 13

OLE MISS 31, SE Louisiana 10

ARKANSAS 28, Georgia 17 - If it goes down this way, the anti-Richt whispers in Athens will start to get loud.

ALABAMA  49, North Texas 7 - Why take a chance with Julio Jones and Roy Upchurch nursing injuries? Let 'em rest up for next week, when Arkansas comes to town for the SEC Opener. Bama won't need them Saturday against the (not so) Mean Green.

AUBURN 38, W. Virginia 28 - After two ultra-productive offensive outputs, I'm sold. The Mountaineers will be the Tigers' toughest test yet.

Paul Finebaum and I are heading back to Samford Hall Saturday morning for "Tide and Tigers Today" - live from the plains. Hope you'll join us at 11 a.m. on WSFA 12 News.

See you next week!

God bless - Jeff