Georgia faces a tough test to "get well" against a road opponent this weekend. Lucky for them, Colorado still isn't very good. Oh, they're not as bad as they were, but the Dan Hawkins experiment is still under review as well. It'd be tempting to pick Georgia to lose this, but in the end they still have better athletes and that should be enough to make the difference.
Georgia 24, Colorado 21
Vanderbilt (1-2; 1-1) vs. Connecticut (2-2; 0-0 Big East)
Starting the season, I really thought Vanderbilt was a one win team and maybe even a zero win team. Well, the 'Dores have played very well in every game and the win against Ole Miss was impressive. UConn hasn't been very impressive so far (No Big East team has). Vandy's best chance is to establish the running game with Warren Norman and give Larry Smith time to throw. UConn is going to attack Vanderbilt with their power run game and try to wear out the defense. Vanderbilt will play with a ton of heart, but that fortitude, will only keep this a close game. UConn will wear them out late and get the win.
Connecticut 23, Vanderbilt 21
Ole Miss (2-2; 0-1) vs. Kentucky (3-1; 0-1)
I'm as surprised as anyone that Ole Miss shellacked Fresno State to the tune of 55 points Saturday night. That was an impressive turnaround. Where they go from here remains to be seen.
Kentucky looked impressive up until last week in the Swamp. Now both teams are looking for that first conference win. Kentucky's defense struggled against the running QB from Florida last week. Conventional thinking says Jeremiah Masoli will be asked to do a lot on the ground to try and exploit that again this week. However, as good as he is, Masoli doesn't have the line in front of him. Trey Burton does.
Last week's win notwithstanding, the Ole Miss defense hasn't been very special. Derek Locke ran through Florida's defense. If given time, Mike Hartline can get the ball to Randall Cobb enough to keep him involved. Home field advantage makes this one close, but Kentucky simply has more playmakers.
Kentucky 31, Ole Miss 24
LSU (4-0; 2-0) vs. Tennessee (2-2; 0-1)
LSU's offense hasn't had anything to resemble a passing game so far. If there was ever a week to sort it out, it's this week against Tennessee, as the Vols gave up 429 yards passing to UAB. Yeah. Let that soak in for a minute. Tennessee needed double overtime to beat a team yearly rumored to be folding the program. Tennessee has struggled to get the running game going in the last two outings and if they want to have any chance, balance is important. Too bad they have to play the best rush defense in the conference this week.
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