Larry’s Losers in the SEC – Week Eight

By: Larry Burton

Well Folks, last week we almost predicted a perfect playbook of losers, but LSU found their growl again and knocked off South Carolina which we didn’t think would happen.

With both Bacardi and I starting different vacations, the next three weeks will be done from sites all over this side of the planet, from Florida, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal and a slow of Caribbean Islands.

This is the wife’s idea of a birthday present, so while Bacardi will do the Florida Keys to spend some time with our son, the Panama City Beach prognostication place will just be manned by a house sitter  who knows about as much about college football as my swimming pool.

So Bacardi will be emailing me his picks and we’ll collaborate like always and we’ll come up with some good lists while taking some time away from the normal.

So here we go!

South Carolina at Florida – Boys, this could be the clash of Titans as far as the SEC East goes. Will Muschamp takes the short legged lizards and leads them up North but to a Southern location, South Carolina that is.  And he’s wishing a win for these Gators that had such a hard time with the Vandy boys last week.

But the Old Ball Coach and had these Hens this happy this close to Halloween ever and he’s aiming on extending that winning streak all the way through the regular season. He’s figuring if can gig these Gators that it’s all down hill from here.

This could be a good one if both offenses are firing on all cylinders, but this is the SEC where defense matters and one team clearly has a better defense than the other and that’s going to be the deciding factor here.

Larry’s loser – Florida

 

Georgia at Kentucky – Joker Phillips knows nothing could cool his seat more than a big win at home against one of the SEC’s top teams and that’s just what he’s going to try and talk these tabbies into doing.

But Mark Richt ain’t riding all the way to Kentucky to have these Mildcats give him reason to raise the heat on his own seat, so he’ll have these Bulldogs hungrier than an elephant on a desert island. He’s hoping that way they’ll take some big bites of these kitties early and often and leave the blue grass country with full tummies and another win.

This one could get ugly given how ugly Kentucky has played at times this season.

Larry’s loser – Kentucky

 

Missouri – After the Bama beat down, these tired Tigers get an extra week to lick their wounds.

 

Alabama at Tennessee – With Derek Dooley trying to  face the fan base with the plea that things are getting better at Tennessee, here come Nick Saban and his traveling wrecking crew to cause Vol fans to cry and cringe.

But Nick Saban knows that these Vols aren’t going to roll over and play dead like some of the others they’ve encountered so far this year and with the way they put points up, this ain’t a team to take for granted.

This is the game that both me and the pigskin picking pooch have said all here could be the trap game for the Tide. That is, if they have one at all. But we  think they’ll avoid that pitfall this weekend and keep that number one rating for at least another week.

Larry’s loser – Tennessee

 

Auburn at Vanderbilt – Last week we said the Auburn – Ole Miss clash would determine just who was the bottom feeder in the SEC West. We may have been mistaken. Gene Chizik took his cat show on the road and proved they may in fact be the worst team in the WHOLE SEC.

Last week, Vandy had the Florida Gators worried for a long time and if they can do that to a team that good, you can imagine what they’ll do a team that re-defines pitiful.

The question here isn’t who will lose, but simply how bad Auburn will look in doing it. If the whole team shows up the their shoes on the right feet, Bacardi and I will be more impressed by that than what we’ve seen them do so far this year.

Larry’s loser – Auburn

 

Arkansas – Can take a week off to celebrate an SEC win, even if it was over Kentucky.

 

LSU at Texas A&M – The Bayou Bengals could have turned into the Bayou bunglers after dropping yet another loss to an SEC East team, but this week they’re taking on the newest member of the SEC West, and Les intends for these Tigers to show these dirt farmers that they’re still one of the best in the West.

But Aggie coach Kevin Sumlin has had an extra week to work out a way to waylay these Tigers and he’s hoping that the old saying about kicking a dog while he’s down can also apply to a Bengal Tiger.

Now usually Bacardi and I both like to ride to ride a team on a hot streak if they’re playing a team that’s as down on their luck as Les’ boys are, but and while it may be true that you can’t always keep a good man down, the same can be said about a good Bengal.

Larry’s loser – Texas A&M

 

Ole Miss – Can take another week to savor their first win against Auburn in a long time by taking an extra week off the get ready for the rival Hogs.

 

Middle Tennessee State at Mississippi State – For those that don’t know, Middle Tennessee has won three out of five this season and aren’t such a bad team, and head coach Rick Stockstill is hoping he can catch these canines looking past them while celebrating their heretofore undefeated season.

But Mullen’s Bulldogs aren’t sleeping with one eye open in this one and they remember from the past how a team like this can steal your best bone if you don’t have both eyes on the prize.

It’s been a long time since Mississippi State started a season seven and oh so wonderful and it’s going to happen after this game.

Larry’s loser – Middle Tennessee

And that’s it for this week folks. We’re taking a few weeks off from the normal grind and I’ll be sending next weeks lists of losers from the Royal Caribbean ship Vision of the Seas. Bacardi will be vacationing down in the Florida Keys while we’re gone and takes it as a great insult that the ship won’t let him board with us.

So while next week’s batch of smart cookies won’t be home cooked, we hope the results will be just as good.

Till then may the list of losers not include your favorite team and enjoy the season while it lasts, it’s going away in a hurry.