I think for both Mizzou and UGA, the thing you have to remember with these types of computer projections is that they're not picking each game individually. If you were picking Georgia's schedule game by game, I don't think there is any way you pick two losses, but if, say, there's a oly 25% chance of them losing each game, the math would still indicate that there is a decent chance of them dropping two before it's said and done. That said, if I had to bet my life on it I think the Dawgs go 11-1 again.

It's very common for guys to get distracted or for everyone not to be on the same page/pulling in the same direction. Or for some players to be listless on gameday. That happens, sometimes even to well-coached teams. Actively trying to fail/sandbag? That's not common. Most athletes could never bring themselves to think in those terms, even if they were, say, 2-9 and playing for literally nothing. It's why NFL teams that, for draft reasons, should be trying to tank, so often win games late in the year when it runs counter to their own interest. Most athletes have an ingrained desire to not want to fail, or, at worst, be able to say at the end that they went down swinging.

Wow. That really makes me angry. My team would scratch and claw to have a bowl spot in 2019. As a former athlete, to want your team to fail, and to not want to have a chance to go to battle one more time with your teammates is about as bad of a betrayal as you can get. Reading this, you have to imagine that if V. Tech crumbles in 2019, you'd have a hard time being shocked. This isn't something that happens in healthy programs (and there have been a lot of other red flags for the Hokies recently besides this, in terms of lack of discipline and turnover).

No. Any team that's building from 4-8 and 5-7 to hoping to win division titles is generally going to have to stop by 8-5sville on the way there.

This probably is pretty close to right. Tennessee should be better. I'm not a big Jeremy Pruitt fan, but he's a real coach, unlike what UT has mostly had since Fulmer. I assume they'll get to a bowl this year, they may even find a way to get past Vandy. The question for them is what's next going forward. For a few coaches now, we've seen them get past the first stage to bowl eligibility. I don't really doubt that Pruitt has that in him. But can he take the next step? That will absolutely be "believe it when I see it" for UT until further notice.

I don't think he ever coached against PFM.

He's a special talent for sure. I'm glad my team doesn't have to go up against either him or Tua this year. Side note, but I can't remember the last time three NFL prospects as good as Tua, TL, and Fromm were all playing CFB at the same time.

To answer your latter question, I've been to Tennessee, LSU, Florida, Texas A&M, and Arkansas.

There is a lot more to the game experience than how big the stadium is. Frankly, opposing fans being easier going/less rude and confrontational than at LSU/Tennessee (to name a couple SEC road trips I've been on) made it a much better experience. This isn't an indictment on anything remotely close to the entirety of those team's fanbases, just a select few...but I'm really not exaggerating that when, say, my girlfriend and I were walking out of Tennessee's stadium after Mizzou's 4 OT win in 2012, it was to the point where we didn't really feel all that safe. That doesn't happen at Vandy. There is a level of over the top intensity with some SEC schools that, while it's fun in the right context, can absolutely go wrong.

Agree to disagree on that.

I do not care. Nashville is just better than the other towns in the SEC. That is literally not arguable.

to be fair, their writers seem to need an edit button just as much as the commentariate. But yeah, it's annoying.

LOL. I think it's hilarious how everyone (besides UT) in the SEC seems united in wanting UT to lose as many games as possible, despite the fact that, at least compared to most SEC teams, they've basically done literally nothign to deserve it. Can't put my finger on it, but there is just something visceral when I see that shade of orange where I just want to see them lose 50-17.

I think that guy directly yelled at me more times than my mom has over the course of my life. It was an intentional schtick, I think. The jig was up when he started doing a column just totally devoted to the people he pissed off. The column was "I hate John Crist" or something very similar.

Adam and Conner are exceptions, I'll grant you that, and have improved the quality of the site (for everyone except the few blue bloods) where it's still worth coming here. It has gotten better, especially compared to when Jon Crist would just trot out here and call us Rutgers once per week to get as many angry comments as possible. But there does seem to be a singling out of the schools perceived to be less traditional powers here, even if they are playing in games that could be really exciting. Ole Miss/Vandy is a mega-exciting shootout almost every year. The exact opposite of unwatchable. Mizzou/Vandy was a fun shootout last year, even.

Honestly, you're going to call Kentucky bottonm tier right now? Believe me, I get that losing to Kentucky sucks, but you gotta beat 'em before you can say that.

Also, they clearly hate Mizzou just as much. Just listen to SDS, and you'll think that any team besides Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and maybe Florida is abject trash and perhaps hazardous to your health to watch.

The author clearly has never gone to a game in Nashville. No, it's not Death Valley in terms of the game atmosphere, but given the town, it's the most fun road trip in the SEC my a mile. Let's be real: in terms of SEC towns, it's Nashville and then a 13-way tie for last.

"If you’re looking for a good way out of your current relationship, try explaining to your significant other that you can’t go out on Friday night because North Carolina is playing at Wake Forest. " I actually think I'd rather stay in a bad relationship than watch ACC football.

There is nothing offensive or wrong about it. It's just very humorous that someone is basically attempting to combine a plan to date up to 6-7 different women over the course of a football season and also getting them to basically buy football tickets from him. If someone is actually into that, more power to him.

So let's go to the tape here. First off, we have a pretty interesting combination of desperation and confidence here that you don't usually see. On one hand, we have a guy so desperate for a date he's literally posting on Craig's List, but on the other hand, he feels confident ruling out all other fanbases, and demanding she pay for the ticket. Though my favorite part is the line "I'm open to going with a different person each game." Now, I'm not a math major, but the list of eligible bachelorettes in Knoxville willing to go on a date with someone who; A. holds open tryouts on Craig's List; B. Clearly can't afford a ticket to a football game; and C. clearly wants to date up to 6 different women over the fall season seems like it would be a pretty short one. So the only correct answer to the final line "Tell me why I should pick you?" is "Holy god, I can't believe someone actually responded to this!"

LOL, we're in the same boat. Every year, we think "no way we lose to Kentucky" and then, well....

That's about how I would pick it. The schedule is alarming, but I just think SC is too good to lose 7 games. They'll get bowl eligible somehow.

Strongly agree with this commentary on your posts.

I think it's our toughest non-conference game, including West Virginia. For me, I'm viewing this basically the same way I'd view a game against a mid-tier power conference team. The team had better do the same, or it could be a long day in Columbia. You never know with a new coaching staff, but my default is absolutely to assume this is a 4 quarter game. If Odom and the team overlooks you guys, they haven't learned their lesson from previous years.

I'd rather win games consistently than mostly be bad and occasionally pull a stunner. I'm very happy with what we have now, and moreso, what I think we're building. No need to pine for the past, we have what we need right now to beat ranked teams, and not even have it be much of an upset.

Wyoming is just not better than Memphis. Based on last year's results, what they return, and computer projections, right now that is not a defensible argument. You are trying to apply The Transitive Property of College Football here. That's not a thing.

Georgia Southern won't beat LSU (barring LSU being monumentally worse than I expected, or just having an AWFUL evening in Death Valley) but they are legitimately a tough out. If they were playing, say, Ole Miss, it would be high-key upset alert.

Very incompetent administration. Jim Sterk just oversaw Mizzou rising from the depths of 2015/16 in football, hired away a successful power conference basketball coach that got our team from 8-24 to the NCAA tournament in one year, and oversaw successful rebuilds of the softball and baseball programs, while building an awesome new endzone and raising the profile of the athletic department after one of the darkest times in history. Total incompetence. We really need someone to come in there and fix all these pesky trends like actually winning games and rebuilding our rep.

Yep. If we know one thing from recent years, there will be one win we absolutely don't expect, and at least one "WTF". Really, the only true upset this year would be @UGA, and that's not happening, but if you told me we lost at Wyoming, beat Florida and South Carolina, and went 6-2 in SEC play, I'd tell you that would be an extremely Missouri thing to happen and not be surprised at all.