Ad Disclosure
With a brutal Week 1 of the season behind us, it’s time to check up on those Week 2 SEC non-conference opponents. With two conference games, here’s a quick rundown on those 10 SEC foes — and a ranking of who is taking a big challenge, and who might as well be taking a week off.
Again, the ranking here is of the opponents, not of the chance of victory.
Tough matchup
TCU (vs. Arkansas): Arkansas will have its hands full with the No. 15 Horned Frogs, who moved to the Big 12 in 2012 and won 23 games over the past two seasons. With offenses that averaged north of 40 points and 500 yards per game, TCU and coach Gary Patterson have become one of the best shows in college football. They did struggle in a 59-41 opening win over FCS South Dakota State, but former Texas A&M QB Kenny Hill (below) passed for 439 yards in his debut for his new school. Vegas has TCU favored on Saturday by around a touchdown.
Challenging, But Not Impossible
Virginia Tech (vs. Tennessee, Bristol Motor Speedway): Tennessee and Tech will tangle in the “last great Colosseum,” the Bristol Motor Speedway, in a spectacle that promises to either be a bizarre one-off or the first in a tradition. More fans than could have ever been believed will see the Hokies and Vols.
Tech is an ACC member, and Frank Beamer led the Hokies from also rans to national title contenders. They have gone 7-6 in three of the past four seasons, and new coach Justin Fuente has a built of retooling to do. Tech beat FCS foe Liberty 36-13 in their opener, led by JUCO QB Jerod Evans, who can throw or run. Tech and UT are truly must-see TV this Saturday, or must-see-live for 160,000 or so fans.
Western Kentucky (at Alabama): For a lesser squad than Alabama, Western Kentucky would be a real upset possibility. The Hilltoppers have been an FBS program since just 2008, and went 4-32 in their first three seasons. Since then, WKU has won seven, seven, eight, eight, and 12 games per season.
Last year, Western averaged 44.3 points and 526 yards per game. They beat Vandy and lost to then No. 5 LSU 48-20. South Florida transfer QB Mike White passed for 517 yards in a 46-14 week one win against Rice.
Again, anybody but Bama would have a real possibility of stumbling in this game.
Middle Tennessee State (at Vanderbilt): The Blue Raiders joined Conference USA in 2013 and are a solid program, appearing in five bowls in the past decade under coach Rick Stockstill. Power conference competition is nothing new; the Blue Raiders won at Georgia Tech in 2012 as a 26.5-point underdog. MTSU opened with a 55-0 win over Alabama A&M, with coach’s son/QB Brent Stockstill passing for 329 yards in the first half.
Ole Miss transfer I’Tavius Mathers is another familiar face, and he starts at running back. Vandy is only a slight favorite Saturday, and given the geographic proximity of the teams, this figures to be a battle.
Light, But Not Embarrassing
Arkansas State (at Auburn): 10 win seasons under coaches Hugh Freeze (2011) and Gus Malzahn (2012) launched the Red Wolves into a run of five consecutive bowl games. The prohibitive favorite of the Sun Belt Conference, Arkansas State isn’t afraid of power conference competition, as they were rolled 55-6 by No. 8 Southern Cal and hung with Missouri in a 27-20 loss to open last season. They struggled in a 31-10 loss to Toledo to open 2016, and shouldn’t provide too much competition for Auburn.
Jacksonville State (at LSU): The Gamecocks are an FCS team from the Ohio Valley Conference. JSU won 23 games over the past two seasons, and lost the FCS championship game last year to North Dakota State and QB Carson Wentz.
The Gamecocks are No. 5 in FCS (and received a first-place vote), and won their opener 31-12 against North Alabama. There are some familiar faces here, including former Auburn RB Roc Thomas and former South Carolina WR Shaq Davidson.
All-American QB Eli Jenkins passed for 230 yards and ran for another 101 yards in the win. JSU went to overtime with Auburn early last season before losing, and could be an unwelcome challenge for LSU.
Cupcake City
Wofford (at Ole Miss): The Terriers have gone 6-5 and 5-6 over the past two years in the FCS Southern Conference. Wofford lost convincingly to Georgia Tech and Clemson to open the past two years, and should offer little resistance to Ole Miss. Wofford beat Tennessee Tech 21-7 in Week 1, and uses a run-heavy offense that passed for just 42 yards in Week 1. It will be a bit different than Florida State for the Rebels.
Eastern Michigan (at Mizzou): The Eagles are generally at the bottom of the MAC, and have not had a winning season since 1995. They have won a total of seven games over the past four seasons, and went 1-11 in 2015. They did open their season with a 61-14 win over FCS opponent Mississippi Valley State, but will pose little threat to Missouri this weekend.
Prairie View A&M (at Texas A&M): Once famous for an 80-game losing streak in the late 1980s and 1990s, the Panthers went 8-2 last year in the FCS Southwestern Conference under new coach Willie Simmons. They picked up a 29-25 win over Texas Southern to open 2016, led by QB Trey Green. The University is excited by a new 15,000 seat stadium. A&M is excited by an opponent that should be the football equivalent of cannon fodder.
Nicholls State (at Georgia): In the past two years, the Colonels from Thibodaux, La., have gone 3-20, and last year, they lost to Louisiana-Monroe and Colorado by a combined 95-0 count. Calorie-counting Bulldog fans should beware of this matchup, which is the Colonels’ season-opener.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
