We have finally made it to week 4, where the season starts to heat up. There are some important games this week inside and outside the SEC. The majority of SEC games are early this week, and we’ve got enough TVs for you to be able to watch them all while enjoying one of our awesome brunch specials. Our Frittata for the week is roasted tomatillo with onions and other great things. We figured we needed to incorporate bacon into something good to celebrate the first week of really good football. Our kitchen rose to the challenge and will be serving up Baconcake strips served with syrup. That’s right folks, we have wrapped bacon with pancakes like a safety wraps up the football after stripping it from the QB.
Last week was disappointing in more than one way. Miss State lost at home to a Big-12 school, Kentucky had a heart-breaking loss against Florida, and Tennessee finally won a game. Week 4 has some of the most exciting match-ups we’ve seen so far this season. So, if you’re anything like me your Saturday will be filled with non-stop college football action. Speaking of people like me, this week’s blog includes a special guest who will offer perspective on the biggest out-of-conference game. Let me introduce you to Brandon Schlapbach, but I call him Schloppy. He’s a Wisconsin native and fan, but don’t hold that against him; Schloppy does know football. I’ve known him for well over a decade and we’ve enjoyed fighting over college football the entire time. He’s witty and can list stats far better than me, and I’m excited for him to become an addition to this blog. Come in and join us for all the college insanity on Saturday!
Alabama vs Southern Miss (ESPN2 11:00): Guess we can thank SC for giving us practice against the inevitable Auburn trickery later in the season. Lesson learned from the South Carolina game is that our secondary needs work. LSU looks a lot scarier with our secondary playing the way they did against South Carolina. Thankfully our offense is on fire. The amount of talent on our offense should be illegal. This game is obviously a cupcake, and if you’re anything like me you are not going to go down to Tuscaloosa to sit in this heat for what promises to be a blowout game. Thankfully the brunch specials this week sound amazing so I can enjoy great food, football, and air conditioning. Roll Tide.
Auburn vs Texas A&M (CBS 2:30): This is the SEC match-up of the week hands down. Texas A&M was unremarkable against Clemson, but Clemson is #1 for good reason. From my point of view Texas A&M has the edge here for a few reasons. First Auburn has a whole bunch of injuries on their already weak O-line. All season Auburn has relied heavily on their run game, because their O-line hasn’t been able to allow enough time to fall into rhythm with the pass. Both of these things are great news for the Aggies as defending the run is one of their strong suits. Finally, this game is at College Station, which gives another advantage to the Aggies. I think this will be a true test for both programs. This game could honestly go either way, especially since Auburn is the luckiest damn football program in the country. I’m thinking that A&M will beat them though.
UAB vs South Alabama (NFLN 2:30): UAB is having a fantastic season so far on paper. They’ve had a week to prepare because of their bye week, so I think that coupled with home field advantage will lead the Blazers to another victory.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Georgia vs Notre Dame (CBS 7:00): I am a proper Alabama fan. Which means I HATE Notre Dame. Setting my Bama bias aside, no team has been more overrated more often than Notre Dame. Their 120th ranked rush defense doesn’t stand a chance against Georgia’s very strong run game. I also doubt Notre Dame’s offense has the gumption to stand up against a strong SEC defense. I predict the Dogs will wear out the Irish defense by running them over for a victory. At least that will knock Notre Dame out of the conversation for playoffs, which is great because they don’t belong there. This should be a good game, but considering Notre Dame’s history I’m not sure. Remember the time we all thought a certain National Championship in Miami was going to be a “great” game; only to have Notre Dame get annihilated by Bama? I do, I was there until the very end. The Irish fans who were so confident in days prior, and drove the ticket prices to insane levels were gone at halftime. I will be a Georgia fan for this game without a doubt.
Schloppy’s Seconds: Not so fast on this one kids. No team more overrated more often than ND? Try Georgia. It’s been even longer for a National Championship for the bulldogs (1980) and they are ranked high simply by being the runner up every year in the SEC. ND sells out to stop the run, Campbell is questionable in the bulldog secondary, and the better QB and wideouts run rampant. Fans spray roundup on the hedges, finally admitting without Bama being in the SEC they wouldn’t be top ten every year.
OUT OF CONFERENCE GAME OF THE WEEK by Schloppy
Wisconsin vs Michigan (Fox 11:00): If you are looking for a great game to watch outside your conference look no further. Both are top 15 and Wico boasts the best running back in NCAA history. Most yards as a freshman. Most yards as a sophomore. Could break the NCAA record for rushing yards in 3 years. He has only played 4 quarters this season and leads the nation in touchdowns at an amazing TD per 5 touches clip. Meanwhile, Michigan looks to bounce back after a horrendous win against Army. They have never won as an underdog under Jim Harbaugh. And like we say up here, Ann Arbor is a whore.
LSU vs Vanderbilt (SECN 11:00): Poor Vandy. I bet they are collectively wondering why they couldn’t be playing Arkansas or Ole Miss this year for their west match-up. Instead they get LSU on a big upswing. If you’re an LSU fan and find yourself at brunch wondering why there isn’t a TV already tuned into this game, please let your bartender know you want to watch it. I doubt it will be on as this won’t be a real contest, but we’ll happily accommodate as many fans as we can.
Mississippi State vs Kentucky (SECN 3:00): Both of these teams had tough losses last week and will likely be eager to prove themselves in this match. This game is in Starkville giving State the advantage again; though it didn’t seem to help them very much against Kansas State. Kentucky had a lot of injuries last week against Florida, which is going to be an issue for both their offense and defense. I truly hate it for that team, as they played their hearts out against Florida last week. I’m hoping they can bounce back. I’ve certainly been far more impressed with what I’ve seen from Kentucky this year than what I’ve seen out of State. I’m afraid the injuries Kentucky suffered last week in combination with playing in Starkville might be enough to win the day for the Bulldogs.
Ole Miss vs Cal (ESPNU 11:00): I’ve given up on Ole Miss in general this year. I doubt they’ll win against a team that is ranked, even if they are a Pac-10 school. We’ll still have it on though.
Arkansas vs San Jose State Spartans (SECN 6:30): Both of these teams seem to be just awful. Don’t watch this game.
South Carolina vs Mizzou (SECN 3:00): Alabama rolled over South Caroline last week, but I thought they put up a decent fight more than once. I’m not sure why so many people have Mizzou winning this game; their defense didn’t show up against Wyoming and they haven’t played anyone since. I’m going with South Carolina on this one, but I really haven’t watched Mizzou enough for that to be reliable at all.
Florida vs Tennessee (ESPN 11:00): Ugh, I dislike both of these teams. Florida is quite possibly the most overrated team in the top ten. They should have lost to Kentucky last week. Florida will lose a couple of games this season, but it sure as hell won’t be to Tennessee. Tennessee might have won their only game for the year last week, cause at this point I believe UAB has a good chance later in the season. There are too many real football games on at this time plus would you get any real satisfaction from watching Florida win? You shouldn’t. Just watch highlights later.
I look forward to seeing everyone at GM on Sat for some sweet football action! If you read the blog, I’d love to meet you. I’m always sporting Bama gear, and I’m usually the loudest fan in the bar no matter who is playing.
-Tina Turner