SDS Mailbag: Culture shock matchups, turnover chains SEC style, potential upsets and more
This is one of the best times of the year for sports fans. College football is in full swing, the NFL is just getting started, baseball is in its stretch run and basketball and hockey are getting ready to start.
Plus, eventually, the weather will hopefully start to cool down a bit, leading to those beautiful fall Saturdays we all know and love.
Yes, there’s a lot of turmoil in the world, but simply sitting back and appreciating a nice fall day with a great offering of sports on TV is one of the little joys that make life worthwhile. So sit back and enjoy, even if this weekend’s slate of college football games isn’t exactly a great one.
Here are your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:
@SChinni12:
Turnover chains and pencils are now becoming a thing. What are some turnover items you’d like to see in the SEC?
First of all, the turnover pencil is stupid. It is already a disaster. One Akron player nearly poked out another player’s eye in Week 2.
As far as the SEC, Georgia’ road warrior-style turnover shoulder pads are awesome, and I think that’s the best-case scenario for any turnover prop this side of the Miami turnover chain. For the record, I do think the turnover chain is cool. However, it would be much cooler if a better team than the Hurricanes had come up with it — you know, maybe a team that actually deserved to have some swagger these days?
Here are a few other items I wish SEC sidelines would incorporate after turnovers:
- Arkansas turnover pork belly — They’re the Hogs, right? How about when a defender forces a turnover, he gets a whole slab of fatty pork belly or some prime bacon or something? I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
- Florida turnover Gatorade bath — The Gators invented Gatorade, right? So why not douse whoever forces a turnover with some sticky sports drink? Will it affect their game moving forward? Probably, but is it worth it for CJ Henderson to never finish a game with a dry uniform? Yes.
- Texas A&M dog snuggles — When the Aggies get a turnover, they should get to pet the A&M mascot, Reveille. Reveille is a very good dog, and good dogs deserve to get treats and get belly rubs.
These are also all pretty simple to execute and won’t cost nearly as much as that blinged-out turnover chain in Miami.
Robert:
With no matchups between ranked teams this weekend, which upsets do you think will happen? Last time there were no ranked matchups, 7 ranked teams lost.
I’ll start this answer by saying I don’t think 7 ranked teams will lose this weekend, but I could see a few upsets taking place. I like Iowa State’s chances against No. 19 Iowa coming out of an off week.
I also like BYU’s chances of beating No. 24 USC at home, as the Trojans are without starting QB J.T. Daniels. Those aren’t my favorite matchups of the weekend, though.
That honor goes to Hawai’i. The Rainbow Warriors leave their island for the first time this season to take on a Washington team that is ranked No. 23 in the country. The Huskies just lost at home to Cal, so they’re vulnerable. The Rainbow Warriors, meanwhile, are 2-0 against the Pac-12 this year, with wins over Arizona and Oregon State.
Even if Hawai’i doesn’t win, I’m all about this game. I expect some offensive fireworks and a close game down the stretch. That’s all you can ask for from an underdog.
@JhypenM65:
What are some of the top matchups you would like to see purely for the culture shock of the fan base that was doing the traveling? (Example: BYU at Cal.)
That’s not a bad example, but I think we’ve already had the perfect matchup of culture shock and it happened in 2017, when hard-drinking Wisconsin fans visited BYU in Provo, a city with only 2 bars. Total. That’s it.
One of my favorite pieces of journalism ever came from SB Nation’s Matt Brown, who wrote a piece wondering if Wisconsin fans could drink the town of Provo dry. As someone who lived in Utah for 4 years and had a number of friends in the area who were from Wisconsin, I’m not surprised that they nearly did just that.
Here are some other culture shock matchups I’d love to see:
- LSU vs. Boston College — No matter who the home team is in this matchup, no one is going to be able to understand anyone from the other fan base.
- Hawai’i vs. Temple — I’d love to see the chill Hawaiians make their way to the mean streets of Philadelphia (another place I lived for a couple of years).
- Florida vs. Stanford — Well-dressed tech bros vs. jorts-wearing Gator fans. Talk about a culture clash.
I’m sure there are plenty more culture shock matchups out there, but those are 3 I’d love to see.
@Dobbe8:
Could you jump out of a 3rd-story window, land on your feet and be OK?
That depends on your definition of “OK.” Could I survive? Sure. No problem. Would I be able to get up and walk away? Probably not.
That’s 30 feet. If it was a 2nd-story window, I could absolutely land on my feet, roll and then get up with minor aches and bruises. That 10 extra feet makes a huge difference.
Back in high school and college, when I was younger and more spry, I would have liked my chances of avoiding injury better, but at age 29, I think I break both of my ankles and probably a few foot bones, too.
Let it be noted that I don’t recommend jumping out of any window, no matter what story, unless you absolutely have to.
BONUS: Dobbe’s Locks of the Week went an impressive 0-4 last week (hey, it’s just as hard to go winless as it is to go undefeated when it comes to betting against spreads and over/unders). Is it time to fade his picks? You decide what you think of this week’s best bets:
- Southern Miss at Troy (-2.5) — Troy is pumped for this game. They’re breaking out some throwback uniforms honoring their 1984 Division II championship.
- Florida at Kentucky (+8) — I have confidence in Troy transfer and Dollar General Bowl MVP Sawyer Smith under the lights. I also like that Lynn Bowden is wearing Terry Wilson’s No. 3 jersey. There’s magic in that.
- Duke at Middle Tennessee (+6.5) — Night blackout game against a hated opponent (I assume Middle Tennessee hates Duke as much as the rest of us, right?). The 6.5-point spread makes me think Vegas is onto the Blue Raiders.
Dobbe’s Locks of the Week season record: 3-6.
Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.