aubiefifty 18,231 Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 al.com Dawgs QB room a mess, but will that help Auburn? By Charles Hollis 7-8 minutes Saturday’s Auburn-Georgia game -- the one we refer to as the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry -- is as big as it gets for these two outside of Georgia-Florida and Auburn-Alabama. It’s just going to take a while to get used to Auburn-Georgia being a big deal on Oct. 3. The game hasn’t been played before November since an Oct. 24 game in 1936. This is the earliest meeting since the first time they played in 1892. That game was played in February. And we thought the pandemic was nuts. If this weekend’s game doesn’t have that November feel to it, blame it on Georgia. No. 4 Georgia looked god-awful at Arkansas, trailing the three-touchdown underdog Razorbacks 7-5 at the half. In came Stetson Bennett, some quarterback most of us have never heard of. He rallied Georgia to a 37-10 victory. Before he took over in the second quarter for freshman starter D’Wan Mathis, the Dawgs offense, the offense that was going to go all Air Raid under new coordinator Todd Monken, had about 50 yards against a Hog team that has not won an SEC game since October 2017. Bennett finished 20 of 29 for 229 yards and two touchdowns. With the quarterback room a mess after one game, last year’s backup to Jake Fromm would ordinarily be in line to start against No. 7 Auburn, a 6 1/2-point underdog. But coach Kirby Smart isn’t ready to name his man, which isn’t good for Georgia. It’s hard to imagine Smart playing three quarterbacks, Bennett, Mathis and USC transfer J.T. Daniels. That’s a recipe for disaster against Kevin Steele’s defense. But how can you not play Bennett, last week’s hero, or Mathis, whose dual-threat upside lines up with Monk’s Air Raid attack? Against Auburn, Bennett might start but Daniels is the quarterback Smart wants on the field. Did we say he ran the Air Raid at USC? Daniels is a redshirt sophomore who really and truly might be the steadiest QB1 of all with his Pac-12 experience. He is coming off an early 2019 right knee injury and has been cleared to play against Auburn. Besides starting for USC as a freshman — only the second true freshman to do that — and the 2019 opener before his injury, he brings in a 2018 quarterback class resume that’s dadgum spiffy. The No. 1 quarterback that year, according to 247 Sports Composite, was Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. No. 2 was Justin Fields, a Georgia signee who has become a superstar at Ohio State. The No. 3 QB was Daniels. Dialing up the starting quarterback for Auburn might not be the same as figuring out your long-term starter. Just know Steele’s defense, which had a bang-up day in the Tigers' 29-13 win over Kentucky, is going to do its best to disrupt the man behind center. This week’s picks: Auburn vs. Georgia If you’re fact checking Gus Malzahn, give him an A when he says his Tigers are facing the best defense they’ll see this year. Georgia is loaded. The secondary is led by safety Richard LeCounte, one of the nation’s best and bank it, a first round pick in next year’s draft. Without a running game, and it would seem Auburn doesn’t have a running game for the third straight year, the Tigers will lean heavily on quarterback Bo Nix and his receivers, Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove. If Williams doesn’t have a big day, expect Auburn to have a lousy day. Auburn must deliver a running game that is much more productive than the 91 yards it gained against Kentucky or the 84 yards it gained against UGA in last November’s 21-14 loss. Nix was the top rusher in both games, with 34 and 42 yards, respectively. If the Tigers can put up 20 points, Georgia could be in trouble without an SEC-tested quarterback and a running game that has yet to get on track. Hanging 20 on Smart’s defense is the trick. Georgia 20, Auburn 17 Texas A&M vs. Alabama For all the experience the 13th-ranked Aggies bring to Tuscaloosa Saturday night they’re getting little national love. That’s what happens when your three-year starting quarterback, Kellen Mond, and an offense that’s supposed to be dangerous struggle mightily in a 17-12 win at home against Vanderbilt, which went 1-7 in the SEC last season. In this 10-game all-SEC schedule, playing Vandy before No. 2 Alabama was destined to be a snoozer for the Aggies. Against the 17-point favored Crimson Tide, Jimbo Fisher will go deeper into his playbook. But Mond, who should be one of the SEC’s most dangerous quarterbacks, has to show up. If he does, what looks to be an improved Alabama defense will get a major test. The Tide played stifling defense in the first half at Missouri, but the second half had a 2019 feel and that’s nowhere close to championship caliber. Alabama’s offense is a force with quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith. The passing game looks NFL, but the running game should produce more than the 111 yards the Tide got at Missouri behind its top tier line. Alabama 36, Texas A&M 17 Texas-San Antonio vs. UAB The 2-1 Blazers are 20-point favorites over the 3-0 Roadrunners in Saturday’s 11:30 a.m. Conference USA opener at Legion Field. It’s also homecoming, but not just any homecoming game. UAB players will wear the last names of Children’s Harbor patients on the back of their jerseys, honoring children with serious illnesses. They, along with their families, receive no-cost services in a similar way that St. Jude operates. UTSA has one of its best offensive teams in years. But a knee sprain last week against Middle Tennessee has dynamic quarterback Frank Harris a game-time decision. Two weeks ago he was the league’s player of the week after accounting for 373 yards and three touchdowns against Stephen F. Austin. UAB has won a league record 19 straight home games. It is coming off a dominating 42-10 victory at South Alabama. With starter Tyler Johnston out indefinitely, UAB turned to backup quarterback Bryson Lucero (18-for-28 for 328 yards), receiver Austin Watkins (7 catches for 128 yards) and running back Spencer Brown (105 rushing, 3 touchdowns) to hang 509 yards on the Jaguars. UAB 36, UTSA 24 SEC Florida 28, South Carolina 17 Tennessee 30, Missouri 17 Mississippi State 31, Arkansas 20 LSU 27, Vanderbilt 17 Upset alert 12-point underdog TCU 38, No. 9 Texas 35 7-point underdog Iowa State 40, No. 18 Oklahoma 36 7-point underdog Ole Miss 35, Kentucky 31 3-point underdog West Virginia 31, Baylor 27 3-point underdog SMU 36, Memphis 30 Other games BYU 36, Louisiana Tech 27 (Friday) Pittsburgh 27, NC State 21 North Carolina 24, Boston College 20 Clemson 35, Virginia 14 Kansas State 28, Texas Tech 24 Virginia Tech 37, Duke 20 Central Florida 45, Tulsa 28 Cincinnati 30, South Florida 14 Last week: 16-5 Season: 35-15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr82b4au 5,576 Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Get used to it. You won't find anyone pick Au this weekend, and why should they? We are like Vandy to Uga in Athens. Actually Vandy may have a better record in Athens over the last 15 years, not sure. It has to end some day. All bad things come to an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr82be 14,910 Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 So the Dawgs QB room is a mess but he'll still pick them to win...this is what has happens when a team loses 12 of the last 15. Time to put an end to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDUBB4AU 5,287 Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Stop the run and get two turnovers . That will win this game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskanFAN 1,666 Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Look the backup QB coming off the bench and looking great to save the day happens all the time. But the next week when he is the starter he usually shows why he is the backup QB. So let them play Bennett. He won’t be as good as he was last week guaranteed. If they start JTD, he has not played in a year and is a pocket passer with limited mobility. If the start their original starter he will do about as well as he did against Arkansas because he will be looking over his shoulder for Kirby to pull him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randman5000 4,271 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Our Oline is a mess so.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samau 110 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 3 hours ago, Randman5000 said: Our Oline is a mess so.. Georgia Oline is a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Eagle 5,269 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 19 hours ago, gr82be said: So the Dawgs QB room is a mess but he'll still pick them to win...this is what has happens when a team loses 12 of the last 15. Time to put an end to this. If you’re waiting on Charles Hollis to beef up your AU esteem, you’re in dire straits, my friend. He’s been on the Crimson Caravan for as long as I can remember. Gotta keep that web hit count high for the updykes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Eagle 5,269 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 18 hours ago, JDUBB4AU said: Stop the run and get two turnovers . That will win this game...or, generate the run game and zero turnovers. Take your pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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