We’re excited about Saturday’s slate of games… so excited that we looked back at the best Les Miles quotes to help us categorize and prioritize each game.
Here’s what Les has to say…
“Two very quality teams take the field and compete like a son of a bitch for victory”
Mississippi State vs Alabama… These sons of bitches will battle it out at 3:30 PM Eastern in what is considered to be the marquee game of the day. Common perception is that Mississippi State is just keeping the No. 1 ranking warm for somebody else, but Dan & Dak will do their best to prove the country wrong. Regardless, it’s not every day that you see the No. 1 team in the land be a seven point underdog, but that’s what you get with Alabama.
Mississippi State’s passing defense is quite suspect giving up an SEC worst 300 yards per game through the air, but some of the yardage has been late in games with Mississippi State up big. Despite giving up all those passing yards, State ranks 5th in the conference in scoring defense with under 20 points per game. The key is State’s red zone defense – 1st in the SEC in opponent scoring percentage inside the red zone.
For me, the matchup of the day is the Alabama passing attack featuring that son of a bitch Amari Cooper going against the Mississippi State defense.
“I’maa tell you right now as an experience, dammit, I’m going to enjoy that one as much as I hate to admit it.”
Georgia vs Auburn… We’re going to enjoy this one, too. Not only is Gurley back off his 4 game vacation, but neither of these teams seems to be interested in stopping opposing offenses. This game might set records with regards to combined rushing yardage.
Auburn gets a fresh legged Gurley with a side of Chubb? I doubt the Auburn defense will enjoy this game as much as we will.
Les Says: “I’m excited about the opportunity of my damn-strong football team to play”
LSU vs Arkansas… If Fournette can take the field after this hit then you do have a damn strong football team, Les. Expect both Arkansas and LSU to slug this one out with some talented power running backs.
If there wasn’t enough testosterone yet for this matchup, Bielema has his team practicing in the cold weather this week to prepare for a possibly cool night at home against LSU.
Could this be Bielema first SEC win as Arkansas head coach? Vegas thinks it might be as they’ve discarded the rankings and installed Arkansas as the favorite.
Les Says: “I don’t think talent in and of itself is the reason why you win championships.”
Missouri vs Texas A&M… You’re right, Les. In fact, I believe that Missouri – like much of the SEC East – is a pretty average football team. Maty Mauk has done his best Jeff Driskel impression in 2014, and yet again, Missouri is poised to win the SEC East if it can basically not completely unravel against some average SEC teams. Yes, Missouri, who lost to Indiana at home, might very well win the SEC East for the second consecutive season.
Texas A&M is sitting as a home favorite in this game – currently favored by roughly 6 points.
“I want to give you one point too, about winning. Winning is a thing that is inherent to how you were raised. It is something you carry with you for a lifetime.”
Thank you, Les… these SEC East teams need to learn a bit about winning right now.
Kentucky vs Tennessee… Butch Jones looks to continue his dominating march through the SEC East against Kentucky this week. Oh, Tennessee only beat South Carolina? Let’s start over… Kentucky looks to continue its dominating march through the SEC East against Tennessee this week. Oh, Kentucky only beat South Carolina and Vandy? South Carolina has lost to both Tennessee and Kentucky? Yikes.
Regardless, this Kentucky-Tennessee game might be the key for bowl eligibility for both teams. Winner will likely get to a bowl game. Yes, I just burst out laughing while I typed that..
South Carolina vs Florida… Spurrier heads back to Gainesville to see if he can finish off Will Muschamp’s career at Florida. Fortunately for Muschamp, his new QB Treon Harris looked pretty decent against Vanderbilt.
Florida opened as a 3.5 point favorite, and the line has since moved up to 6.5. Incredibly, there’s still a path for Florida to win the SEC East, but they’ll need help – most notably a couple losses by Missouri.
Need an extra topic to discuss while you’re watching this game? Ask both Florida and South Carolina fans if they would be for or against Florida and South Carolina switching head coaches for the 2015 season. The answers you will receive are likely pretty amusing.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
