College Week 10

LAST WEEK- 7-7***1-2 in Upset specials

Season Totals- 32-27

Week 10--

ACC- Virgina o Miami

BIG EAST- UConn o West Virginia

BIG 10- Northwestern o Minnesota

PAC 10- USC o Washington

Big 12- Kansas o Kansas State

UPSET SPECIAL

1) Texas Tech O Texas

SEC PROJECTIONS-

1) Georgia O Florida- This is a BIG matchup…at the beginning of the season I projected Georgia in the National Title, and so they need this game to get there….GEORGIA…

2) Mississippi o Auburn- Auburn is just a bad team this year with no offense what so ever…a 4^th straight loss might lose Tuberville his job and OLE MISS just has more talent…OLE MISS

3) Arkansas o Tulsa- Tulsa comes in ranked and looking to sneak into the BCS picture, BUT ARKANSAS will not be embarrassed here….Arkansas will save face and win this game…ARK

4) Alabama o Arkansas State- In a tune up before the showdown with LSU, lets just hope no one gets injured….BAMA

5) LSU o Tulane- A tune up game…they need to get an offense established before heading into Tuscaloosa

6) Tennessee o South Carolina- The Vols keep getting closer and closer to a w and this week they pull the upset to salvage a little bit of the season…TENNESSEE

Keys to a Kentucky Victory

KEYS TO WILDCAT VICTORY-

1) Randall Cobb performs- It is hard to put A LOT of faith in a TRUE FRESHMAN quarterback…but in the opportunities he has been given this season, he has seemed to lend a spark to the offense. Saturday, he must be COMPOSED and mistake free.

2) Defense needs to BOUNCE back- The defense is coming off their WORST defensive showing in the past 2 years. This week needs to be a confidence builder as they play the worst defense in the SEC.

If the offense can get a little momentum and the defense finds its groove, the Wildcats can get a WIN and reach bowl eligibility. CONSISTANCY is KEY for the Cats, as they have struggled all season long in providing solid play for an entire game.

---Kentucky outmatches the Mississippi State Bulldogs in each statistical category and is in NEED of a win…Desperation tends to lead to better play and that is why I think the Wildcats win…and win BIG!

PREDICTION---

Kentucky 24

Mississippi State 3

Kentucky Heading Down to Mississippi State

Coming off the EMBARRASSING loss to Flordia, which the Cats lost 65-3, Coach Rich Brooks approached the podium Sunday and said BIG CHANGES were going to be made, and on Monday he anointed Randall Cobb the starting quarterback and opened up competition at every position.

A desperation move? Maybe. But with the Wildcats winnable games dwindling down the schedule, the BIG changes are a must in order to jump start this team and get to bowl eligibility.

Moans, groans, and rumblings have been occurring ever since the second game of the season for Coach Rich Brooks to switch to Randall Cobb as full time starter. However, Coach Brooks has stayed loyal to the sophomore, Mike Hartline, as he continually made costly mistakes.

But after such an embarrassing loss, 63-5 to SEC foe Florida, Coach Brooks gave made the change people have been yearning for as he annointed the highly touted freshman Randall Cobb the starter for Saturday’s game in a hostile Mississippi State.

Brooks is hoping that Cobb can create a spark to an anemic offense. In limited play time, Cobb has already shown strokes of brilliance and has given an added boost to the offense. He must lead this team successfully Saturday, if the Cats are wanting to reach a bowl for the 3^rd straight season.

Freshman quarterback Randall Cobb will have little room for error as the Cats are the walking wounded at this point in the season. Several players on both offense and defense have been unable to practice due to various ailments.

The injuries seemed to play a huge role in last weeks loss to the Gators, as the defense gave up more yardage and points than they had all season.

Rich Brooks said on Thursday however that all his players will be available but didn’t have much confidence in their health,

“It doesn’t mean that they’re all 100 percent healthy, but at least they’re back in the starting lineup together,” Brooks said. “That’s a pretty good thing and gives us better depth and rotation as well.”

With a reeling defense, the Cats must stop the WORST SEC offense. A task that might be harder as it seems as the Bulldogs have played well in recent weeks.

Mississippi State calls Kentucky BIG game

The 3-5 Mississippi Bulldogs host Kentucky this week in a must-win game. To emphasis the must-win attitude, in his weekly news conference Sylveter Croom described the game with Kentucky.

“Big, a big ball game for us this week. I hope we have a great crowd out there and our fans come out. We need as much help as we can get in our home environment.” The Dogs see the winnable games on their schedule dwindling and need to take down Kentucky in order to maintain its bowl aspirations this year.

The season had bright hopes for the Mississippi State Bulldogs in 2008 as they were coming off an eight win season and bowl victory. They had a top noche defense which was returning and the offense was bound to be much improved with talent at running back and a more experience at the quarterback position.

However, this season, spirts have been severely dampened as the Bulldogs have been a large disappointment. The offense has struggled to gain any identity as their hopeful standout returnee quarterback Wesley Carrol regressed and was benched the fourth week of the season in favor of Tyson Lee.

Lee has faired a little better BUT the offense has still struggled as they are DEAD LAST in the SEC in total offense. The lack of an offense has cost this team in close efforts against Auburn and Vanderbilt, which they had more yardage but not enough points to win.

The Dogs are hoping to get back-to-back wins for the first time this season, as they prepare to take on Kentucky. Mississippi State played well last week as, beat writer Rusty Hampton called the performance against Middle Tennessee as “their most complete game” In this game, the offense found a rhythm, the special teams flourished; and the defense continued its decent play. With hopes high Mississippi State hopes to continue on their momentum and claw one win closer to bowl eligibility.

Hartline's Demotion Leads to venting of frustration

Hartline Apologizes…

Mike Hartline has been threw the ringer as the starting quarterback for the Kentucky Wildcats. In just his first start in front of the Kentucky faithful, he struggled early and was replaced by true freshman Randall Cobb for the remainder of the opening half. Then when he re-entered as the starter the opening series of the 2^nd half, he was welcomed with boos and disapproval.

The scrutiny of every poor throw, dropped snap, and wrong decision in crucial game time situations, led to the continuance of uncertainty that Hartline was the right decision at quarterback.

All the talk and scurutiny finally came to a change following the blow out loss to the Florida Gators 63-5. Ih that game, Hartline completed just 7 of 16 for 33 yards and an interception. Prompted by another poor performance in SEC play and facing a must-win in Mississippi State this Saturday, Coach Rich Brooks pulled the trigger and has made a change to Randall Cobb.

In a candid interview following his demotion he expressed his frustrations and threw teammates under the bus. The comments which he spouted off included how it “stunk” to lose the starting position.

"No one ever expects to win the starting job and then lose it because guys around him aren't performing the way they should. But it's best for the team and I'm a team player, and that's just the way it has to be."

The comment that the supporting cast was not doing their job was a CRUCIAL misstep and Wednesday he stood in front of his teammates and apologized for his harsh words about their play.

Following the apology to teammates, he came to the media to and explained how the players understood his frustrations and “still had his back.”

He explained that “He did not know what he said and that it was misunderstood what he meant.”

Although the comments might resonate in the team with some resentment, it was crucial for him to apologize, because in all likelihood, the Cats will call on him again at quarterback and he will need his team to rally around him. But as for now, it is Randall Cobb at quarterback, Mike Hartline as the backup and today he said he was fine with that.

Must-Win Looms and Cats name a NEW Starting Quarterback to provide spark

Coming off the beat down from the Floirida Gators Saturday, it was pertinent to make changes. Off the loss, Rich Brooks called the coming game verse Mississippi State a “Must-Win.” And so Monday, in a move Kentucky fans and players have been wanting all season, Coach Brooks announced that freshman Randall Cobb will start at quarterback for the first time in his career.

The motion to turn to Cobb at quarterback began early in the year when sophomore Mike Hartline led an unproductive opening quarter against the lowly Norfolk State Spartans. Hartline was replaced in the second quarter of the game by Cobb who performed well in his only quarter of action by throwing for a touchdown and rushing for two other scores. After the initial spark Cobb delivered to the Cats offense, Hartline was again inserted at quarterback in the second half and was welcomed by boo-birded home fans.

Through the remainder of September and half way through conference play, Coach Brooks stood by Hartline as the quarterback of the team. Hartline produced less than satisfactory numbers completing only 54% of his throws this season and consistently made costly errors in crucial game situations.

Cobb, however, electrified the Wildcat fan base and has sparked the offense each time he headed the offense. With less snaps and opportunities Cobb has a better passer rating and completion percentage than Hartline. Also, Randall Cobb’s mere presence in games has lent to a more efficient offense.

Hoping for a change of momentum, the Wildcats are going to a true freshman at quarterback, and as Rich Brooks put it in his weekly press conference, “ This is a game Kentucky cannot afford to lose,” and to maintain hopes for a bowl and a winning season Brooks see’s no better time than now to make a change at the quarterback position.

SEC Round-up

In another CRUCIAL week in the SEC, there has been KEY separations with in each conference. Auburn, Tennessee, and Arkansas all have lost more than just thier games this week, but also SEC respect. Each of these three teams had high hopes heading into the season, but offensive struggles and MISTAKES have cost these teams severely.
Alabama continued to win, although unimpressive, as they are STILL undefeated and have a 2 game edge in the Western division. Both FLORIDA and GEORGIA had commanding performances to make statements to one another before their showdown next week in Jacksonville.

Here is the SEC Standings after Week 9_

EAST

Georgia 4-1 (7-1)

Florida 4-1 (6-1)

Vanderbilt 3-2 (5-3)

South Carolina 2-3 (5-3)

Kentucky 1-3 (5-3)

Tennessee 1-4 (3-5)

WEST

Alabama 5-0 (8-0)

LSU 3-2 5(-2)

Mississippi 2-3 (4-4)

Auburn 2-3 (4-4)

Mississippi State 1-3 (3-5)

Arkansas1-4 (3-5)

SEC Game of the Week Final--Georgia Wins

(7)Georgia @ LSU(13)- Georgia 52, LSU 38

LSU—The defending national champions hopes to repeat took a severe hit as they have lost their 2^nd straight game at home. For to back weeks, the Tigers have struggled offensively and defensively. Tigers defenders have struggled at stopping the two most potent offenses in the league, as it has been two straight weeks that the LSU defense has given up more than 50 points. The quarterback rotation also struggled to get any momentum as Jarrett Lee threw 3 interceptions. To switch things up, the Tigers put in Andrew Hatch. Hatch is a running quarterback, but was unable to run or fool the Georgia defense as he rushed for six carries and -5 yards. Following their second straight SEC loss, the Tigers will face a Tulane team at home. Les Miles hopes this win can get his Tigers back on track as a showdown with Alabama is looming.

Georgia- The Dogs needed to make a statement going into the World’s Largest Cocktail Party against fierce and hated rival Florida and that is exactly what they did. Georgia led the Tigers all game. Baton Rogue has traditionally given the Georgia Bulldogs as they have were 1-3 in in the last four…BUT, those stats didn’t mean anything in this one, as Georgia was clearly the better team. Quarterback Matt Stafford led the charge for the Dawgs as he was near perfect with 249 yards and 3 touchdown scores. To add to the potent offensive attack, running back Knowshon Moreno had an amazing day by rushing for 163 and a touchdown. Defensive plays also added to the route as UGA was able to force 3 turnovers and cause havoc in the quarterback rotation of Hatch and Lee. Now, the Georgia Bulldogs title hopes ride on the showdown in Jacksonville against the Gators. Georgia has lost 15 of 18 in the series but did take down Florida last year 42-30.

Alabama stays unbeaten

(2)Alabama @ Tennessee- Alabama 29, Tennessee 9

Tennessee- Tennessee has struggled all year on the offensive side of the ball and against the #2 team in the land the Vols had to play mistake free in order to compete. BUT, the Vols offense continuously made errors to cost them the game. Early in the game the Vols recovered a Bama fumble and placed the ball deep in Crimson Tide territory. The offense couldn’t capitalize and was forced to settle for three. Then, with under a minute left in the half, Tennessee drove the field and had the ball deep inside the redzone. BUT AGAIN, the Vols made 2 costly penalties and were unable to come up with any points before the half. The second half continued to show an anemic offense, as the Vols could only gain 173 total yards in the game. A positive however, is that in quarterback Nick Stephens 4^th career start, he made NO MISTAKES against one of the best SEC defenses. BUT, a loss is a loss and MORAL victories don’t count for anything in the standings. Tennessee is now 3-5(1-4 in SEC) and hosts a South Carolina Gamecock team coming off a bye.

Alabama- In another UNIMPRESSIVE game, the Alabama Crimson Tide were able to keep their record unblemished. Quarterback John Parker Wilson bounced back from two mediocre performances to lead the offense in production as he threw for 17/24 for 188 yards. Alabama held onto the ball for over 35 minutes and were able to make plays when they needed to win. With LSU’s second loss in conference, the Tide is in the driver’s seat to get to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. Alabama gets a tune up game with Arkansas State before hosting LSU in a CHAMPIONSHIP-like game.

Ole Miss hands Arkansas ANOTHER crippling loss

Ole Miss @ Arkansas- Mississippi 23, Arkansas 21

Arkansas- Facing the coach that deserted them after last season, the Razorbacks had this game circled on the calendar all season. Wanting to make a statement to Houston Nutt and needing a win to correct their dismal season, Arkansas could not put enough points on the board to win and now fall to the bottom of the SEC West. The Razorbacks trailed 10-0 before putting up any sort of offensive production. A key to the loss for the Razorbacks was their lack of conversions on third down, they had just a 21% conversion rate. Also, the 2^nd worst rushing defense in the conference continued to struggle as they gave up a total of 160 yards on the ground. With the loss the Razorbacks fall to 3-5(1-4 in SEC). Next week the schedule gets easier as they will host the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes.

Ole Miss- The Rebels jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Transfer quarterback Jevan Snead looked great as he threw for 209 yards and a touchdown. Houston Nutt’s wild rebel offense caused several problems against Arkansas as the Rebels had 7 players rush the ball to gain a total of 163 yards. A efficient running game allowed the Rebels to hold onto the ball for more than half the game and get the eventual victory. The Rebel victory puts them at .500 with a 4-4 record and hold down third place in a rugged western division. Next week the Rebels will attempt to give Auburn an unprecedented 4^th straight loss and get themselves one step closer to bowl eligibility.

Vandy Letdown and still seeks bowl eligibility

Duke @ Vanderbilt- Duke 10, Vandy 7

Vanderbilt- How EMBARRASSING! Homecoming, two straight losses and in NEED of a win and the Vanderbilt Commodores laid an egg against the Duke Blue Devils. With the big wins that came at the beginning of the season over South Carolina and Auburn, the Dores were able to get turnovers and play it safe on offense…the last few weeks they haven’t been able to do either. This week quarterback Mackenzi Adams threw two costly interceptions, the running back fumbled the ball, and senior field goal kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt missed crucial kicks. The mistakes were all the Blue Devils needed in order to win and upset the Vanderbilt homecoming. Whatever has gotten in to this team must be resolved if they still aspire to reach a bowl. They will now head into a BYE week before facing Florida at home. Vandy has not beaten the Gators in 17 tries and have lost 8 straight at home…The bye must be used to make changes and solve their offensive issues in order to keep bowl hopes alive.

Mississippi State Wins on Homecoming

Middle Tennessee @ Mississippi State- Mississippi State 31, Middle Tennessee 22

Mississippi State- In a homecoming showing, Sylvester Croom and his Bulldogs never trailed as they beat a battle tested Middle Tennessee team. Running back Anthony Dixon led the charge for Mississippi State as he rushed through a porous defense and gained 126 yards for 3 touchdowns. This was a needed dominant offensive showing as the Bulldogs now have four consecutive SEC contests. Next week, Mississippi State faces a reeling and embarrassed Kentucky team that is searching for a win and an identity.