Week 3: I don't care for Auburn

By Kyle Magin

Honestly, who predicted the positions Tennessee and Auburn would be in going into week 3? The Vols looks like a potential player on the national stage—forget the suspect SEC LEast. Head Coach Derek Dooley is off the hot seat and playing host to one of the hottest college football tickets in town Saturday when the Gators come on up to Rocky Top. Meanwhile, the moribund Tigers are 0-2 and rudderless, looking a far cry from the team that won the national title just two seasons ago. Suddenly, Head Coach Gene Chizik is on the hot seat because Alabamans have no goddamn sense. He won you a title two years ago. I'm going to turn it over to Early and T-Pain:

To the games!

Louisiana–Monroe @ Auburn -16.5 
War Eagle vs. Warhawk took on a whole new dimension last week when La. Monroe beat Arkansas at home—which would normally be good news for the Tigers, except they're winless heading into the matchup. Auburn is hapless on the offensive side of the ball at first glance—QB Kiehl Frazier is completing a wretched 49 percent of his throws and has tossed four picks. What's worse is his rushing game—accounting for just 135 yards per game and just 3.6 yards per carry. The lone bright spot is when Frazier does throw completions he is averaging 13.3 yards, a stat that'd be encouraging if Louisiana–Monroe wasn't a team that just held the vaunted Razorback passing attack to 11 first downs and a 42 percent completion percentage. On this blog I have a history of supporting the little guy, sometimes to a fault, so let's clear the air: Auburn is a supremely talented team and should roll easily. But, we know very little about where this team's head is right now, and the line fluctuated wildly when it was first released, bouncing from -16 to -19 to its current holding pattern at 16.5.

Alabama -19.5 @ Arkansas
Books are scared to death of this game (there's a Southern illiteracy joke in there I'm not going to touch) and you should be too. A lot of books don't have a line posted yet, and the ones who do waited until today to open with a 19 or 19.5. There are a lot of questions right now and unless you feel really confident about Nick Saban's Tide—there's almost no reason not too—then stand pat. Arkansas had a helluva struggle last week and supposedly all–world QB Tyler Wilson struggled and suffered an apparent concussion. Wilson's status is key to the game and the line, if he is healthy, Arkansas' chances do nothing but improve behind the senior who averaged more than 13 yards per completion last year and tossed 24 TDs. I don't need to tell you who he's lining up against, though. The Tide defense has held opponents to 493 yards of combined offense in two games. 'Bama is averaging 16.3 yards per completion to opponents' 12.2. They've allowed one passing touchdown and exactly zero scores in the first and fourth quarters of either of their games. Wilson had better be ready.

Florida @ Tennessee -3
Tennessee has some absolute monsters on offense, with QB Tyler Bray completing passes at a 73 percent clip and tossing 6 touchdowns so far in the young season. WR Cordarrelle Patterson is a beast, averaging more than 18 yards per catch with longs of 84 yards receiving and 67 yards rushing. The Tennessee machine—which, by the way, is holding opponents to just about 100 yards rushing per game—faces a Florida squad that is also 2-0 but has been unspectacular in two outings. The Gator D has stood tall—allowing less than 16 points per game, but the rushing game has struggled and QB Jeff Driskell is still trying to find his rhythm and has been protected by the coaching staff, throwing only 32 times in his first two games. He'll need to step it up to keep up with Tennessee, especially at Rocky Top.