Will have a lot more Thursday with predictions.
Liked what I saw out of A.J. McCarron. 19-of-31 for 163 yards and one TD. Thought he was pretty exceptional. Once Tide gets Darius Hanks back this weekend and have him in the game next weekend against Arkansas, McCarron should have a good arsenal to throw to with Marquis Maze, DeAndrew White, Kevin Norwood, Brandon Gibson and the emerging Michael Williams. I liked Williams, the tight end, last year when I saw him make a beautiful touchdown grab against Florida on a reverse pass from Maze. Think the guy is highly underrated and could really help 'Bama in the passing game. He's about 270 pounds and there's no doubt he can block. But I also think he can be a weapon in the passing game. Maze is a mix of Tyrone Prothro and Javy Arenas. He's the total package. His punt return against Penn State from deep in Tide territory for something like 40 yards was the turning point of the game according to S. Maze is a game changer and is going to keep doing this all year. It looks like the Duron Carter situation is not going to get any better. I just don't think the guy is going to play this year. It's too bad. He probably would have helped a lot. But I think they might try to redshirt him and have him next year. Would have been nice this year. I guess it's not totally over, but it's looking slimmer and slimmer that he'll play.
Trent and Eddie solid, defense, especially back eight, are phenomenal. Need to keep improving on the front three. Will have time to develop in practice this week and in game against North Texas. North Texas 0-2. Should be a walk in the park.
Auburn game was unbelievable. Couldn't tell who made the play at the goal line until I found out later it was backup Ryan White. Wow, what a tackle. Gave Chris Relf no chance to score. Thought Relf should have passed, but it did look like AU had everything covered. Great stop by the defense at the end of the game. The defense is a work in progress, but the material is there. There are a lot of good but inexperienced athletes, and I don't care what anybody says, there is no substitute for experience. It's just a basically new set of defensive players. A leader needs to step up. I think T'Sharvin Bell or Jake Holland could be that guy. Both of them could do it. Jonathan Evans looks like he's a real effort player and Eltoro Freeman made some plays on Saturday. Demetruce McNeal made that beautiful pick six for a touchdown against Relf in the first quarter that put Tigers up 14-0. I like the potential of these guys. If they can keep scrapping, it could be a very interesting, exciting season. I think this team is a fun team to watch. I believe Chiz is having fun with this group. They're young, but they're hungry. A lot of them were members of last year's team, so they know how to win. That is a pretty big thing. Barrett Trotter threw one bad pass that was intercepted for a TD, but I think he's doing very well so far. I like him. Offensive line was much more physical last week. Mike Dyer had a big day with 150 yards and two tds. He's really blossoming into a superstar. Emory Blake, what can you say. The guy's a winner. He wins games for you and he's a big play guy. Like Maze at Alabama he can change games for his team. Really think this guy is tremendous. Lutzenkirchen just keeps getting it done. Caught another touchdown last week. Reminds me of Jason Witten of Dallas Cowboys. I think Lutz can be that good. Blake and Lutz have futures in the game after college.
All in all, I like this team a lot. Defense needs to shore up, but the sky's not falling. Nobody predicted this team to beat Ms. State, me included, and they did. I think they're going to beat Clemson and move to 3-0, then host Florida Atlantic before a huge trip to South Carolina on Oct. 1. This is a very interesting team. I love the way they play offense, and I'm certainly not giving up on the defense.
South Carolina and Georgia was wild. Wow. Spurrier pulled out all the tricks and the phenomenal Marcus Lattimore led his team to victory running for 176 yards on 27 carries and one score in SC's 45-42 victory. Didn't see the fake punt as I was either watching 'Bama or Vandy game, but a defensive tackle running what something like 70 yards. That's incredible. Georgia is actually pretty good. Their defense needs some work, but Aaron Murray is great and Isiah Crowell looks like he'll be a very good back this year. I don't think he's Marcus Lattimore as a freshman yet, but there is plenty of season left. Looking forward to Oct. 1 when Lattimore and Dyer square off. That could be a track meet. It will be a classic. Gamecocks play Navy and Vandy before AU, so they can't look ahead. Neither can Auburn. Clemson will be tough.
State-LSU would have been bigger Thursday Night if State had beaten Auburn, but it's still an important game. Just don't know if the State defense can stop the Bengal Tigers and LSU can really play some defense. Chris Relf and Vick Ballard better be ready to get hit a lot. State could win, but like LSU a little better. Think the defense is stellar and offense is good enough with a great running game featuring Spencer Ware and Michael Ford, who both scored two touchdowns against Northwestern State last Saturday and had big games against Oregon in the opener. Excellent running backs. Jarrett Lee will do enough to manage this team. I think he's pretty good actually. Don't think Jordan Jefferson would have been that much better. Lee is probably more consistent than Jefferson. So things are setting up for LSU, Arkansas and Alabama to have big years. Somebody out of that three will be playing for the national title. Like Alabama because they host both Arkansas and LSU at home, but we'll see how things develop over the weekend. It's week to week in the SEC. Auburn could be interesting. They're going to be better than people thought.
Tennessee at Florida should be a good game. Florida and Tennessee are both starting to interest me. They look like pretty good squads. East not as bad as people thought. Pretty decent teams in the East. Not the West, but solid.
Also, remember No.1 OU at Florida State Saturday Night at 7 on ABC. Still doing research and development on games. Predictions on Thursday.
This week's SEC matchups (All times Central):
Thursday: No.3 LSU @ No.25 Miss. State 7 PM ESPN
Saturday:
No.21 Auburn @Clemson, 11 AM, ABC
Ole Miss @ Vandy, 11:21 AM, SEC Network
Coastal Carolina @Georgia, noon, ESPN Game Plan
Tennessee @No.16 Florida, 2:30 PM, CBS
Navy @No.10 South Carolina, 5 PM, ESPN2
Louisville @Kentucky, 6 PM, ESPNU
North Texas @No.2 Alabama, 6:30 PM, ESPN Game Plan (we can get it on some channel)
Troy @No.14 Arkansas, 6:30 PM, ESPN Game Plan
Gamechangers: Emory Blake (left) and Marquis Maze.