Can Texas A&M upset Alabama? SEC game previews

It’s been a helluva week in college football. Spurrier’s out, Sark’s out, Grier’s out (for a year) and Tunsil’s out (until next week). Oh, and it’s one of the biggest weeks for games, too. In the SEC we’ve got our fair share of ’em. Some of them look less than they might have (Georgia vs Missouri), and some of them look far bigger than Preseasoners like us would have predicted (LSU vs Florida). And some games are and were always going to be pretty monstrous (Alabama vs Texas A&M). And some are pretty big now, because the HBC is gone golfing (South Carolina vs Vanderbilt). So here are our game predictions (and rankings) for the games out there this weekend

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Texas A&M and Arkansas match-up highlights Week 5 SEC plate: Preview

We’ll be honest. This SEC schedule on paper looked pretty strong when the season started, but right now, it’s actually pretty week. Look, we get that the match-up Texas A&M and a suddenly-reborn Arkansas in JerryWorld is pretty cool. South Carolina’s got College Gameday coming to its doors for the visit of Maty Mauk and Missouri, and if Tennessee trip to Georgia’s as good as it was last season, the game’s going to be a treat. But otherwise? Kentucky’s actually got a GOOD CHANCE to get its first SEC victory, when it hosts Vanderbilt. Could be your sleeper SEC game of the week. Anyway, here are our previews for Saturday. For the record, I’m tipping Oklahoma State to beat Texas Tech

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2014 SEC Preview: Is now the time to take Mississippi State seriously?

Everyone seems to be pretty confident in Starkville right now. It must happen when your team expands its stadium, wins their bowl game by 37 (losing me money in the process) and beats Ole Miss in The Egg Bowl. Anyway, Dan Mullen’s chest was very puffed when he walked into SEC Media Days. We’re glad he didn’t come in wearing a visor. Only Steve Spurrier looks cool in one of those. LAST SEASON Is the fact that people are referring to Mississippi State as some sort of SEC dark horse because the Bulldogs beat their biggest rival? Or because they finish the season on a three-game winning streak? Or only lost to Alabama by 13, and Auburn by 4? Or

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2014 SEC Preview: Where is Texas A&M going to be without Johnny Football?

The last two years in Texas A&M history haven’t been the most successful, but hell, they’ve been the most fun. That’s because Johnny Manziel was there, tearing up the SEC, stealing the headlines, winning a Heisman, and giving heart attacks to every head coach and defensive co-ordinator he faced. He made head coach Kevin Sumlin into a God and himself into a NFL first-rounder. Well, he’s gone now, and we see what A&M’s going to do in 2014 without him. LAST SEASON While the Johnny Football offense continued to be fun (5th in the country in scoring) and tight, the defense really wasn’t. We’d dare to say that if it wasn’t for Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans’ heroics, Texas A&M probably

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2014 SEC PREVIEW: Can Missouri shock the SEC East AGAIN?

As we’re in the swing of doing our SEC previews, we thought that as the SEC Conference 2013 winners were first up on The SEC Football Blog SEC Preview, then the 2013 SEC Conference runners-up (aka ‘Winners of the SEC East) should be second on the list. Then we can go with 2013’s also-rans.  So we start with Missouri. I can’t wait to see Maty Mauk. I was really, really excited to see Maty Mauk link up with Dorial Green-Beckham, until Gary Pinkel booted him out of Columbia. But I’m still excited to see Maty Mauk. Oh, and there was some stuff about a guy called Michael Sam, too.  LAST SEASON Missouri shocked the WORLD in 2013 when they won

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Johnny Manziel’s Pro Day impresses

Johnny Manziel’s NFL Pro Day impressed, according to reports. According to an ESPN report, all NFL teams but the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears were represented as they watched the 2012 Heisman Winner go through his reps. According to another report, Manziel didn’t have a perfect throwing day, but a couple of those misses should be blamed on Mike Evans (bobbling one out of bounds) and Travis Labhart (dropping one). He ended up hitting 61 of 64 passes, with NFL.com Charean Williams saying: “One bad pass” (she also said “Boom!” in the same tweet). Manziel said: “I felt like it was good…(I) was obviously going for perfection. So had a couple balls hit the ground. One was on me. One

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Johnny Manziel Goes Pro: Thanks For The Memories

Johnny Manziel, now you’re going to the NFL, thank you for the memories. You drove defensive co-ordinators mad. Nick Saban called you the (basically) the greatest thing to happen to college football since the dawn of time (nearly). You electrified a fanbase that weren’t really expecting a BCS Bowl (or ‘Players’ Championship Bowl’) in 2013. You beat Alabama on their own turf in 2012 in a performance from the Gods. And nearly beat ’em in 2013. You won a Heisman. Gig ’em indeed. You signed some autographs, got busted, got suspended meaninglessly, and in your comeback in the second half, you taunted in one of the greatest ways college football has ever seen. You’re right, they can’t have your autograph. And

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Johnny Football & Co light up Day 2 at the SEC Media Days

Well, it was over early – unlike a lot of Johnny Manziel’s evenings this off-season. The Heisman-winning quarterback buzzed into the SEC Media Days, faced the media, and buzzed out. We would go in-depth about his riveting and enchanting interviews, but instead, we’ll pick out the best bits from everybody on the podium in Hoover, AL. JOHNNY MANZIEL On getting booted out of the Manning Camp: “I simply overslept. There’s nothing more to talk, and the rumors about the other things weren’t really true….Hearing Eli and Peyton afterward and the key thing was they wanted me to come back next year, that was great because I had such a great time working with the kids I had and doing some things we do at A&M.

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SEC Presason preview: Can Hugh Freeze turn around Ole Miss?

In the days of Eli Manning it might have been a truism to talk about the Rebels and say: “Ole Miss by damn!”, but last season, there was only one ‘damn’ to describe this team: Damn awful. But can they improve and at least break their SEC losing streak – and give hope to Rebels fans who haven’t had a decent team since 2009? LAST SEASON Ole Miss went 2-10 last year under Houston Nutt, who was summarily given his marching orders a month before the season ended – a move that sparked some outrage. And it was no bad thing. The Rebels didn’t lose many close heartbreakers – they were generally laughers (bar BYU (loss by 1) and Arkansas,

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SEC Prediction: Will Arkansas ‘Hog’ The SEC West?

Between Bobby Petrino and Houston Nutt, the Arkansas Razorbacks have put together winning seasons for seven years out of the last 10, including a pretty wonderful 11-2 run in 2011. This year, many people are expecting nothing to change except the fact that Bobby Petrino’s out (penalized for his philandering ways), and beloved John L. Smith’s in with a 10-month contract. If Arkansas is half as a good as Smith is as a soundbite, they might make a run for the title! In fact, the AP and USA Today like the Hogs so much that they have a Top 10 ranking to start the 2012 season. But can they be better than that, or will the John L. Smith roadshow fall by

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