Randy Smith
With the release of the first poll by the College Football Playoff committee, it becomes more evident than ever that the SEC is the most dominant league in college football. Fans from other leagues can continue to complain about the sports media in this country being "SEC biased" all they want. The bottom line is this; the SEC is clearly where the best football is played, each and every week.
Last week: 5-1
Year to date: 60-14
Alabama and LSU are idle this week.
Old Dominion at Vanderbilt: When James Franklin escaped Nashville for the much greener pastures of "Happy Valley" most Vandy fans expected a let down from the great success that Franklin had built in the Music City.
I don't believe anyone thought the letdown would be this much. The Commodores are still winless in SEC play and will very likely remain that way for the rest of the season. That doesn't mean Vandy can't win again, because Old Dominion is on the card for this week.
Vanderbilt 34 Old Dominion 14.
Louisiana-Monroe at Texas A&M: The Aggies have gone from the penthouse to the outhouse in the SEC, literally. After being so impressive in their season opening win at South Carolina, the Aggies have looked nothing like that team at all for the past several weeks. They won't have to look that good this week to get a win however.
Texas A&M 55 Louisiana-Monroe 20.
Arkansas at Mississippi State: The top-ranked Bulldogs are favored to stay unbeaten another week even though Arkansas is more than capable of pulling off a huge upset. The Hogs are still winless in the SEC but man, have they ever come close to a couple of big wins. Coach Dan Mullen's Bulldogs escaped Kentucky with a 14 point win last week, even though he was not happy at all with the way his team played. Look for Mississippi State to play much better this week. The Bulldogs will stay on top of the College Football Playoff Poll at least one more week.
Mississippi State 44 Arkansas 17.
Auburn at Ole Miss: Is it possible for a team to make the final four with two losses? Yes, simply because of the way things have gone this year in college football. Oxford Mississippi is the scene this week for a battle of two very good teams with one loss each. Auburn survived a scare from South Carolina on the plains last week, while Ole Miss took it on the chin for the first time at LSU. Simple logic tells you that Ole Miss should "right the ship" and stay alive in the hunt for the SEC West title. I don't always believe in simple logic.
Auburn 28 Ole Miss 27.
Florida versus Georgia in Jacksonville, Florida: Georgia is a solid favorite in this big rivalry contest in Jacksonville. The seat under Gator Coach Will Muschamp's behind is as hot as any seat has ever been in the SEC. Even a win over the Bulldogs won't be enough to save him, but it would at least calm the storm in Gainesville for a week or so. For Coach Mark Richt, his Bulldogs have a chance for a really special season; with or without Todd Gurley. While Gurley continues to serve what is now a four-game suspension for receiving money from autograph sales, Nick Chubb will continue to pile up yardage for the "Dawgs." Georgia gets it done to stay alive in the national championship hunt.
Georgia 34 Florida 13.
Kentucky at Missouri: There is no doubt that Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops has gotten the Wildcats to a competitive level in a short period of time. They gave top-ranked Mississippi State all they wanted last week before falling by a couple of touchdowns in Lexington. Missouri on the other hand is a real mystery team. You never know which team is going to show up. The one that blasted Florida in the "Swamp" or the one that was embarrassed at home by Georgia. If you remember the Tigers were this way last year and when the smoke cleared, they had won the SEC East. They're probably not going to win the East this year, but they will win Saturday.
Missouri 38 Kentucky 24.
Tennessee at South Carolina: After falling behind 27-0 at home to powerful Alabama, the young Volunteers outscored the Crimson Tide 20-7 the rest of the way in falling 34-20. The reason? Sophomore quarterback Josh Dobbs. Dobbs was scheduled to be redshirted this year, but an untimely injury to senior quarterback Justin Worley forced Coach Butch Jones to burn that redshirt and now, Tennessee's quarterback of the future is now the quarterback of the present. Dobbs was very impressive in his initial action of the 2014 season, and even though Coach Jones has yet to name a starter for this week's game at South Carolina, you know Dobbs will get the nod, especially if Worley isn't 100%. As for South Carolina, Coach Steve Spurrier was happy with the way his team fought in their seven point loss at Auburn last week. His team is looking at a four game SEC losing streak if the Vols win on Saturday. We've said this for several weeks now; Tennessee needs to win three of these last four "winnable" games to make a bowl game this December. I believe the Volunteers match up pretty well with the Gamecocks. In an upset...
Tennessee 31 South Carolina 28.
-----
Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.
To contact Randy: rsmithsports@epbfi.com