Five or six years ago, Georgia would have never tolerated a split with South Carolina and Arkansas.
Now, they’re praying for it.
Georgia can’t afford to go down 0-2 in the SEC East standings, so playing with a sense of urgency won’t be the problem for the Bulldogs Saturday against visiting Arkansas.
But there are other potential problems:
Will Georgia’s 3-4 defense get the needed pressure on Razorback gunslinger
Ryan Mallett?
Will the Bulldog offensive line step up?
Will the ballyhooed tandem of
Washaun Ealey and
Caleb King run as good as advertised? (Remember, these guys were talking about 1,000-yard seasons each. Ten games to go guys).
And, oh yeah, will
A.J. Green play?
At the time of this post, Green’s eligibility appeal hadn’t been ruled on. But the desperate Dogs will find a way with or without him. Remember, every week is a different season.
Here’s throwing caution to the wind:
Georgia 30, Arkansas 27
More picks …
•Florida at Tennessee: Florida hasn’t been Florida through two games. And it just saw
Chris Rainey get tossed in the slammer for an incident that included a disturbing text message. Still, Tennessee has bigger problems -- at least on the field -- in year one under
Derek Dooley.
Florida 28, Tennessee 10
•Mississippi State at LSU: MSU may be a popular upset pick, but LSU will make a statement in this game.
LSU 30, Mississippi State 14
•GAME OF THE WEEK -- Clemson at Auburn: Clemson and Auburn seem so much alike, aside from the fact that they share a mascot. They’re major universities that carry a small town name. They have similar football histories. They have similar stadiums. Both had a Bowden as a coach once …
Take Auburn at home in a close one.
Auburn 34, Clemson 27
•Georgia Tech at North Carolina: Going outside the SEC … A mad
Paul Johnson will make up for last week’s upset loss at Kansas. Jackets in a rout.
Georgia Tech 35, North Carolina 17
SEC Power ratings
Here are very unofficial SEC power rankings provided by this columnist:
1. Alabama 99.9
2. Florida 93.3
3. South Carolina 91.6
4. Auburn 88.7
5. (tie) Arkansas 83.8
5. (tie) LSU 83.8
7. Georgia 79.8
8. Kentucky 77.3
9. Mississippi State 72.1
10. Tennessee 65.4
11. Ole Miss 63.4
12. Vanderbilt 50.0
