Below is the opening week schedule for all the conference teams. A mixture
of good opponents and not so good opponents. I favor the SEC straight up
at 13-1 with Tennessee being the loser. LSU and Ole Miss could be considered
toss ups but I believe they win. Welcome your thoughts.................
Alabama vs Louisville (Orlando)
Auburn vs Washington (Atlanta)
LSU vs Miami (Arlington)
Tennessee vs West Virginia (Charlotte)
Ole Miss vs Texas Tech (Houston)
Arkansas host Eastern Illinois
Georgia host Austin Peay
Kentucky host Central Michigan
South Carolina host Coastal Carolina
Florida host Charleston Southern
Texas AM host Northwestern State
Missouri host UT Martin
Mississippi St. host Stephen F. Austin
Vanderbilt host Middle Tenn St.
I haven't seen the lines for all these games. If you find them...please share.
The SEC could go 13 and 1 but I'm leaning toward a few more losses. We all know making predictions this time of the year is like driving blind, but here is my best guess as of today.
Washington over Auburn - I may be an AU alum but I'm not on the Gus Bus at this time. Malzahn has done an absolutely horrible job preparing his team for openers. The nightmare of watching 5 different players take snaps in the first 2 possessions against Clemson 2 years ago will forever be etched in my memory. There are also some major match-up issues in this game that favor Washington. Auburn will start a completely revamped OL and unproven running back against a veteran Washington D. AU will be very stout against the run, but with 3 new starters in the secondary I expect Browning to throw the ball all over the place - with success.
The home field edge should favor Auburn but benz stadium has not been very kind to them. Not sure how much of an advantage it will be.
Miami over LSU - It is not often a mark richt coached team holds a coaching advantage but this is one of those cases. There is no way in the world I could pick an ed orgeron coached team to win a game when he is playing a team with similar talent. LSU's fall from relevance continues in 2018.
West Virginia over Tennessee - Too many question marks at this time to have a good feel for this game, but on the surface I just can't see Tennessee scoring enough points to win.
Texas Tech vs Ole Miss - You couldn't make me bet this game if you put a gun to my head. Texas Tech has to score points to win but they have to replace almost everybody on O. On the flip side, this Ole Miss program is in complete disarray. They played hard for Luke last year and may play with maximum effort again this year, but it is hard to believe they have enough talent to be competitive. If this game was being played in October TT would be an easy choice, but being the first game of the season I rate it almost dead even. TT by 1.
Middle Tenn over Vandy - In my opinion Vandy has become stale under Mason and I don't expect him to improve things in Music City anytime soon. On the flip side, I really like this MTSU team. Injuries at the QB position completely derailed their season last year, but with Stockstill back under center and a roster loaded with experience I expect a much improved product on the field in 2018. Vandy no doubt will be the favorite and receive a lot of love from SEC backers at the betting window, but (depending on the early line) my money will be on MTSU to both win and cover. I would also recommend you keep an eye out on early futures on this team - conference win and team totals could offer value.
