2012 SEC Bowl Preview

December 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It is believed by most analysts and fans that SEC football has been, and is currently, the premiere conference in the nation.  The combination of size and speed combined with the tactical masterminds of coaches like Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, and Les Miles make it difficult for one to argue otherwise.  After all, the last 6 National Champions hail from the SEC.  With bowl season upon us the SEC has again sent at least one member to the national championship game and another member to a BCS bowl in what is becoming a yearly ritual.  It is a very difficult bowl slate for the conference this year due in large part to the fact that all nine of the teams the SEC faces come from the other AQ conferences (three from the Big 10, two from the ACC, two from the Big East, one from the Big 12, and Notre Dame).  There is no surprise that the conference has nine teams selected to represent in bowls this season.  Yet, it is surprising (at least to me) that teams from the SEC are favored in all nine of their matchups.  Surely the mighty conference will not be 9-0 at the end of the bowl season (last year the SEC went 5-2 with one of those bowl losses coming to another SEC team).  The question is which games will SEC teams come up short in during this year’s bowl campaign?  Listed below are the bowls, with their participants, the spread, a brief description, and whether or not the SEC team will cover their spread.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt -6 1/2
James Franklin has led the Commodores to back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time ever. They are looking to send seniors like Zac Stacy out with a win, and avoid a loss like the one they suffered to Cincinnati in last year’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl.  North Carolina State comes into the game with one of the best secondaries in the nation and must find a way to contain the combination of Jordan Rodgers and Jordan Matthews if they are going to be able to win.  In the end Vanderbilt gets the first bowl win of the Franklin era and covers the spread too.

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Clemson vs. LSU
LSU -4
The organizers of the Chick-fil-A Bowl should really considered renaming this the Lord of the Tigers Bowl.  If LSU is going to win they will have to go through one of the most prolific offenses in the country.  Clemson ranks ninth nationally in total offense and sixth in scoring and are led by star QB Tajh Boyd.  He is one of the most dynamic football players in the nation, and it will be fun to see what tricks Miles, AKA the“Mad Hatter”, will pull out to contain Boyd’s explosiveness.  It will be a battle of strength on strength however, as LSU has one of the best defenses in the nation and is 8th nationally in total defense.  There is a 100 percent chance that the Tigers will win this game.  It just will not be LSU as the Clemson offense will prove too much and they pull off the upset.

TAXSLAYER.com Gator Bowl
Northwestern vs. Mississippi State
Mississippi State -2
This is the closet spread out of all of the SEC bowl games this year and for good reason.  While the Bulldogs started off red-hot winning seven straight games, they went 0-3 against ranked teams, and managed to win just one game in their last five, including a loss to arch rival Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.  Northwestern is entering this contest with one of the best rushing attacks in the nation, averaging 230.9 yards rushing per game.  The Bulldogs have struggled defending the run this year and in their last game allowed the Rebels to rack up 233 yards on the ground. Mississippi State has not beaten a good team all year and Northwestern is a good team.  State loses in a close game and therefore does not cover the spread.

Outback Bowl
Michigan vs. South Carolina
S. Carolina -5
These are two of the best defenses in the nation with Michigan 11th in total defense and 16th in scoring D, while South Carolina is 12th in total D and 13th in scoring D respectively.  The matchup everybody wants to see is Jadeveon Clowney versus Denard Robinson.  Shoelace is one of the fast players in all of college football and is 14th in the nation in rushing yards.  On the other hand, Clowney is a true beast off the edge and one of the main reasons why the Gamecocks rank fifth in the nation in sacks.  He is also more than capable of containing the elusive Robinson.  The Wolverines will be without their tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint so expect Devin Gardner to play quarterback and Robinson to be the primary tailback. This should be a low scoring game as neither team allows more than 21 points per game.  Three of the Wolverines four losses are to the top three teams in the AP poll (Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Alabama), and Michigan is more than capable of pulling off the upset.  South Carolina loses in a hard-fought contest and fails to cover the spread.

Capital One Bowl
Nebraska vs. Georgia
Georgia -10
Yet another intriguing matchup and it is the third SEC vs. Big Ten matchup of the bowl season.  Both teams are division winners and both are coming off of losses in their individual conference championship games.  Georgia lost a close contest to Alabama, while Nebraska was demolished in stunning fashion by Wisconsin.  Georgia appears to have advantages all over the field, but the one area of concern for Mark Richt and Georgia has to be their rushing defense.  The Bulldogs are allowing 177.7 yards per contest, including 350 yards on the ground to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.  Nebraska, led by Taylor Martinez, brings in the number eight rushing attack in the nation which might give the Bulldog defense some issues.  There is a strong chance that this will be Aaron Murray’s last game in a Georgia uniform and in the end he will prove too much for a struggling Cornhusker defense. Georgia wins big and covers the spread with ease.

AllState Sugar Bowl
Louisville vs. Florida
Florida -14
This is the largest spread of this year’s bowl season for the SEC and for good reason.  Even though the Big East is 4-2 in their last six BCS bowl games, Louisville should be underdogs thanks to their struggles late in the season.  They dropped two of their final three games of the regular season and just recently climbed back into the BCS poll.  On the other hand, Florida was one game away from a perfect regular season, a trip to the SEC Championship, and a chance to play for a BCS National Championship. Louisville should not be underestimated though, as they bring in the best red zone offense in the nation. Florida will be the best defense the Cardinals have faced all year so quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is going to have to put together a stellar game and limit turnovers, which is easier said than done against this Gators defense.  The Gators are fifth in the nation in turnover margin, and have 19 interceptions on the year. The two touchdown spread seems right given the circumstances and the talent gap between the two teams.

AT&T Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M
Texas A&M -4 1/2
Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and the Aggies will renew an old Big 12 conference rivalry when they take on the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl.  It is a rivalry that Aggies fans probably looked forward to never playing again as A&M has only won two games in their last ten meetings against Oklahoma.  All of the attention will be on Johnny football, as it should be, but do not forget about the quarterback on the other side of the field.  Landry Jones is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and is more than capable of putting up big numbers of his own. Oklahoma has the number five passing attack in the nation thanks to Jones and is every bit as potent on offense as Manziel and the Aggies.  Defensively both teams have their issues, but in the end expect Oklahoma to get the win in what is sure to be a shoot out and an exciting game.

BBVA Compass Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. Ole Miss
Ole Miss -3 1/2
In his first season as head coach, Hugh Freeze has the Rebels bowling.  Ole Miss is coming off of an emotional win against hated rival Mississippi State and is looking to carry that momentum into their matchup with the Panthers.  Pitt has allowed just one touchdown in their last 10 quarters and is led on the defensive side of the ball by stand out defensive back Jason Hendricks.  Bo Wallace and Dante Moncrief will have to find a way to exploit a secondary that has only allowed 12 touchdown passes all season.  Freeze’s boys certainly have their hands full, but it is nothing that they cannot handle and they should cover the spread with ease.

Discover BCS National Championship
Notre Dame vs. Alabama
Alabama -9 1/2
For the seventh straight year, a SEC team is in the BCS Championship Game.  Saban is looking for his third national title since taking over as the head coach for the Crimson Tide.  Notre Dame is no slouch though, and if you like defense this is going to be the best game on the bowl schedule.  The Irish are number one in the nation in scoring D while Alabama is second.  Both teams rank near the top in every defensive statistical category and points will be hard to come by, especially in the red zone. Alabama and Notre Dame allowed a combined 11 red zone rushing touchdowns all season (9 for the Crimson Tide and two for Notre Dame) and are in the top three defenses in the nation when it comes to red zone defense.  Manti T’eo and the Fighting Irish defense will have their hands full trying to contain the dynamic duo of Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon.  Both of the Alabama tailbacks have over 1,000 yards rushing this year, and are more than capable of exploding for a big game at the same time (ask Richt about them).  With two stellar defenses on the field it is highly unlikely either team jumps out to a comfortable lead. Alabama wins, but does not cover the spread.

CJ Hurt covers college football for MemphiSport.  Follow him @churtj09 for live tweets from different college football games throughout the Mid-South.

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5 Things We Learned From The Grove Bowl

April 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The annual Grove Bowl is always an exciting time for Ole Miss fans.  And this year’s game had plenty of excitement, culminating in a failed two point attempt for the Blue team in overtime to give the Red team a 24-23 victory.  The game was full of highs (like quarterback Barry Brunetti’s 78 yard rush) and lows (like the pressure both teams quarterbacks were under throughout the game).  Here are some things you need to know about the Rebels first spring game under Hugh Freeze.

1.  The race for the starting quarterback position is still wide open after the spring
Both Bo Wallace and Barry Brunetti played well in the spring game.  Wallace is certainly the more polished quarterback of the two, throwing for 240 yards on 16-26 passing.  “Off the top of my head I thought Bo (Wallace) had the best day… he kept us on schedule for the most part,” Coach Freeze said about Wallace’s performance.  However, Brunetti is certainly the more athletic of the two and capable of breaking a big play at any point of the game, a fact Coach Freeze acknowledged.  “Barry (Brunetti) had some explosive plays too,” and while he only threw for 62 yards, Brunetti rushed for 136 yards with 78 of those yards coming on a long run to set up a touchdown to force overtime.  Coach Freeze would not give the starting job to either of the two quarterbacks after the spring game, and when asked if he saw a scenario where he would play them both come the fall he said, “That is a good question… if I had to say today we would probably play them both.”

2.  The front seven (especially the defensive line) look like the strength of this years Rebel team
Every time a quarterback (whether Wallace, Brunetti, Maikhail Miller, or even Evan Ingram) went back to throw the football he was getting pressured.  The defensive line was relentless in the Grove Bowl, especially CJ Johnson.  “CJ (Johnson) is a handful to block.  He has some explosion and a quick twitch off the edge, and we struggled with that all spring,” Coach Freeze said about his standout defensive lineman.  If the Rebels are going to be able to compete in the SEC this season they must get stellar play out of their front seven and pressure out of their defensive linemen.

3.  The lack of depth on the offensive line is going to be a serious issue for the Rebels this year
On the flip side of the stellar defensive line play is the poor play of the offensive line.  Both the Red and the Blue team struggled all game to give their quarterbacks time to throw the football, and that is not good news for the team that finished second to last in the SEC (ahead of just Kentucky) with 33 sacks allowed last season .  “That has been the story all spring,” Coach Freeze said, “Whenever we do any of our drop back stuff we get pressured.”  It is going to take more than the spring to get the offensive line up to speed, but hopefully they get their problems solved before the start of the conference schedule.  Otherwise, it could be a long year for whoever the quarterback is, and Ole Miss fans everywhere.

4.  The receiving core is extremely talented
And if the quarterback (whoever he may be) is given enough time to hit the open man expect the wideouts to make big catches and plays in space.  Vincent Sanders had five receptions for 89 yards, Ja-Mes Logan caught three balls for 88 yards, and Dante Moncrief snagged two touchdowns including one that put the Red team up in overtime.  “I asked for it the first play, but we were trying to run some other plays,” Moncrief said, “Then it came down to a play we needed.  So I said ‘coach give me a chance and believe in me’ and he gave me a chance and I made a play.”  This is the type of attitude this receiving core is going to need if they are going to make a bowl game this season.

5.  This program still has a long way to go
As good as some things went for the Rebels this spring, fans need to remember that this team is still trying to learn the ins and outs of Coach Freeze’s system.  “No I do not think we got everything in that we wanted to, but we made the most out of the days we had,” Freeze said.  There is only so much you can do during the spring, and if your team is learning a completely new system it is going to take longer than one spring to do so.  Add to the new system road games against Georgia, LSU, Alabama, and South Carolina and this might not be the best season for Ole Miss.  Rebel fans need to be patient this season, except the fact that the team is going to take some lumps, and understand that it is going to be a process to get the program where it needs to be.  After all, if Rome was not built in a day, why would you think Ole Miss football can be built in a spring?

CJ Hurt covers college football for MemphiSport.  Follow him @churtj09 for insightful tweets about college football.

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Harsh Reality of SEC Football: 2012 Schedule Breakdown

January 1, 2012 by 4 Comments

Watching reality TV is becoming one of America’s favorite pastimes.  We all do it.  From Jersey Shore to American Idol, everybody has at least one reality TV show that they enjoy watching.  So needless to say I was actually watching my favorite reality show (Billy the Exterminator) when news broke that the SEC had released its 2012 conference football schedule.  Immediately questions began racing through my mind like “Who has the toughest conference schedule?”, and “Which poor teams get to travel to Missouri to play in November?” just to name a few.  However, the question that made me laugh was “Which reality TV shows would I use to describe our TAM teams SEC schedule?”, and that got me to thinking.  Here are the results from that burning question.

Ole Miss: Tabatha’s Hair Salon Takeover
Here is a brief breakdown of this reality TV show for those of you who have never had to sit through an episode.  Basically there is a hair salon on the brink of going out of business and Tabatha Coffey comes in, gives the owners new rules and guidelines to follow and saves the salon.  If Ole Miss football was a hair salon, it would no doubt be on the verge of shutting down.  The Rebels have missed a bowl for two straight years, and they are riding a 14 game SEC losing streak.  However, here comes Tabatha in the form of new head coach Hugh Freeze.  Coach Freeze turned a struggling Arkansas State program around this past season, and he is looking forward to doing the same thing at Ole Miss.  The schedule is anything but easy for the Rebels.  They play all four of the best teams in the SEC on the road with trips to Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, and LSU.  Fans are going to have to be patient in Coach Freeze’s first year as conference wins are going to be hard to come by.   Yet you can expect Coach Freeze to save Ole Miss football, just like Tabatha saves salons.

Tennessee: The First 48
We all know about this particular reality show because it was based out of Memphis for a while. The show’s premise stems from the fact that if detectives do not get a lead on a murder case in the first 48 hours (or two days) their chances of solving the case gets cut in half.  IfTennessee wants to return to a place of prominence in the SEC then they better win their first two conference games on the schedule.  Otherwise, the Volunteers’ case of the missing SEC championship will remain open for another year.  They play two important eastern division games against Florida and Georgia right off the bat, and if they do not show up in their first two Saturdays of SEC play, their chances for an SEC east championship will too be cut in half.  After the season the Vols had last year, starting 0-2 in conference play will place Coach Dooley squarely on the hot seat.

Vanderbilt: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
This is one of those feel good reality TV shows that helps less fortunate families and communities by renovating their house or school, turning it into a splendid spectacle for all to behold.  No school in SEC football has been less fortunate than Vanderbilt, as the Commodores have only gone to five bowls (including this year’s Liberty Bowl) in their 121 year history.  However, the Commodores fortunes appear to be changing.  They have a very manageable conference schedule in 2012 with no games against Texas A&M, LSU, Alabama, or Arkansas.  So Vandy might get a chance to go to back to back bowls for the first time ever.  Thanks to Coach Franklin and a favorable conference schedule, the house of Vanderbilt is getting some serious renovations and is beginning to look like a solid program.

Arkansas: Big Brother
The Razorback’s schedule reminds me of the TV show where contestants are confined to house with cameras everywhere, facing random evictions, and the winner gets a fabulous prize.  No prize is more precious than an SEC championship and a trip to a BCS bowl forArkansas.  Cameras will be all around the Razorbacks next season, who will face lofty expectations after coming off of a 10-2 season and finishing the regular season ranked in the top 10 of the BCS.  The schedule shapes up nicely for the Razorbacks who avoid the best teams in the east (Florida,Georgia, andSouth Carolina), while playing their most difficult divisional games at home (Texas A&M, LSU, andAlabama).  They should also bring back the best quarterback in the SEC (and the TAM player of the year) Tyler Wilson to lead yet another explosive offense under Coach Petrino. Arkansas must avoid being eliminated from the BCS house early on when they faceAlabama, but the Razorbacks should be position for an SEC west championship by the end of the year.

Mississippi State: Punk’d
This MTV hit takes me back to my younger days, when watching pranks being pulled on unsuspecting people made me happy (wait it still does!). The recipe for a great prank is to get the person being pranked to believe that everything is going better than it should, and then you pull the rug from under them, crushing their world with a series of mishaps and traumatic experiences. Mississippi State has an easy first three games in conference play facing off againstAuburn,Tennessee, andKentucky.  The Bulldogs could very well be 3-0 in conference play, and feel comfortable talking about an SEC West championship.  However, be warned Bulldog fans, Ashton Kutcher might not be in his van waiting to hop out and laugh at you for being foolish enough to believe that Mississippi State can win a SEC championship next year, but I am. After a relatively easy first three games in SEC play, the Bulldogs next four games will be against some of the best teams in the SEC, when they take on Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, and Texas A&M.  I warn Mississippi State fans now do not believe the hype until after their October 27 game against Alabama when we should see what the Bulldogs are really made of.  If you choose not to heed this warning Bulldog fans, you should get prepared to sit on a metaphorical whoopee cushion by the end of the season.

Click here for the 2011 College Football TAMs Awards

The Mid-South is full of fans with allegiances to different area college football programs. Which FBS program in the three states surrounding the Memphis area is the best? To help end some arguments and start others, every week MemphiSport ranks all the college football teams in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi . We call it the TAMs Rankings.

C.J. Hurt covers college football for MemphiSport. Follow him @churtj09 for live tweets from games.

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Who should replace Houston Nutt at Ole Miss?

November 21, 2011 by 5 Comments

Ole Miss made the decision to fire Houston Nutt after his fourth year as head coach, a decision that surprised no one. Nutt was successful early on in is tenure at Ole Miss, but his performance these last two years have been abysmal. He is only 10-20 in SEC play during his four year tenure at Ole Miss, and he is currently riding a 12 game conference losing streak. Combine that with the fact that he has lost his last two meetings with arch rival Mississippi State and you have a situation where he has to be replaced as the Rebel’s head coach. Ole Miss fans are on pins and needles in anticipation, and cannot wait to see who the next football coach for Ole Miss will be. Here are 5 coaching candidates that the Rebels should pursue:

1. Mike Leach
With an overall record of 84-43 in is ten years with Texas Tech, Mike Leach is a no brainer and should be at the top of any Rebel fan’s wish list. He has never had a losing season and has a bowl record of 5-4. Mike Leach’s air raid offense is exciting, and his teams are always able to post huge numbers while out scoring opponents. Add to his already impressive resume a 19-11 record against his top three rivals (Texas, Baylor, and Texas A&M) and you have a coach who is established and ready for the bright lights of SEC football.

2. Rich Rodriguez
While Rich Rod’s last coaching gig did not end particularly well he is still a good coach and a good fit for Ole Miss. In his ten years as head coach of a FBS team (West Virginia and Michigan) Rich Rod has four conference championships, a record of 75-48, and his teams have gone to two BCS bowls with wins over Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl and a win over Oklahoma in the 2008 Fiesta bowl (although Coach Rodriguez left to coach Michigan before the Fiesta bowl game). He has proven that he can win with his spread offense and should be near the top of anybody’s list of coaches.

3. Gus Malzahn
Malzahn is being touted as the greatest offensive mind in college football today.  He has no head coaching experience, but he is being highly sought after because his explosive offense helped lead Auburn to a national title last season.  There are two problems with trying to land Malzhan, the first of which is his salary.  He makes over $1.3 million as an assistant at Auburn, so he is very comfortable financially and he can wait for the best coaching job to open up.  The second problem with landing Malzahn is that he is becoming an extremely hot commodity.  His name is already coming up in the North Carolina search, and will continue to come up when the caching carousal begins to turn full speed at the end of the season.  However, landing Malzahn will certainly rejuvenate a fan base that needs some excitement after the past two seasons.

4. Hugh Freeze
Coach Freeze is currently leading Arkansas State to their best season ever and is another top notch coach that Ole Miss should try to land. While he does not have the head coaching experience of a Leach or Rodriguez, he has proven that he knows his way around a football field with this year’s Arkansas State team.  His quick paced offense is currently 25th in the nation in passing yards and averages more than 30 points per contest.  Contrary to Malzahn, Freeze is not as financially well off, and he is in fact the lowest paid football coach in the FB.  even though he is a head coach he makes nearly 800K less than Malzahn who is only an assistant coach.  Luring Freeze away from Arkansas State should be easy to do for Ole Miss, but he lacks the big name that they need to excite and rejuvenate their fans.

5. Charlie Strong
Charlie Strong has been itching for a chance to be a head coach in the SEC for years now, and Ole Miss would be lucky to land a coach with his defensive prowess.  He is currently the head coach at Louisville, where his defense ranks 23rd in total defense and is giving up a mere 18.6 points per game.  Coach Strong is very familiar with the SEC having been a defensive coordinator for ten years in the conference, and he knows exactly what it takes to win in the nation’s toughest conference.  Also, he has two national titles under his belt from his years at Florida, where his defenses ranked amongst the best in the nation.  Perhaps the best attribute that Coach Strong has is the fact that he is African American.  The Rebels have always struggled with the public perception involving the university an its race relations.  Hiring an African American football coach be a way to move beyond the school’s controversial past.

Click here to read 5 Reasons Why Memphis Should and Should Not Hire Houston Nutt.

Click here to see where Ole Miss ranks in MemphiSport’s latest TAMs Rankings.

CJ Hurt covers college football for MemphiSport.  Follow him @churtj09 for live tweets from different college football games throughout the Mid-South.

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