Curator Sam Burnham
​Game of the Week
Arkansas @ Texas A&M

Football, particularly college football, is a game of intangibles. Sure talent factors in, as does strategy. But often a game is won or lost in the mind. That’s why I’m choosing this game this week.

The Aggies come in as two touchdown favorites. On paper that makes sense. But Arkansas isn’t going to sit quietly while that happens. The Razorbacks sit at 2-2. With solid wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State and a game they probably really won at Auburn, Arkansas is proving itself resilient in the face of the toughest schedule in the country. Honestly, they got hosed with their schedule. They pull their typical SEC West opponents and then draw Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida. They;ve got every reason to complain about this schedule. Frankly, they don’t care. That’s the attitude I see from this team and that’s why they’re in this fight even before kickoff. Every week they have been in the ballgame. That is the new culture being built in Fayetteville. 

​The Aggies have squeaked past Vandy as well as a suspect Florida team. They were blasted by Alabama. Their victories have been far from impressive. They have one solid win vs Mississippi State. This team continues to be mired in mediocrity under Jimbo Fisher. That’s not the way to beat Sam Pittman’s Razorbacks. A&M better bring their best.

So the question is, will we see the execution that A&M needs to have in order to compete? Will they justify their status as favorite in this contest?

​Time will tell.

Curator Sam Burnham
Game of the Week:
Georgia @ Alabama

Like the Bernie Sanders meme: “I am coming to you once again to write about Georgia Bulldog Football.”

​For the third week in a row UGA is playing a potential top tier SEC program. But this is the big one. This is the monkey on their backs. A win this week is bigger than just a Saban disciple beating the master for the first time.

The keys to this game will be similar to last week’s. Georgia’s defense, Bama’s legacy, and Stetson Bennett IV.

​Georgia’s defense will be tasked with stopping Mac Jones and an offense that is averaging 45 points a game. Jones has completed 35 of 51 passes for 684 yards with 6 touchdowns and only one interception. He will be counting on RB Najee Harris to keep the Dawgs honest while they try to shut down Jaylen Waddle, John Metchie III, and DeVonta Smith. This offense survived a shootout against lane Kiffin’s flying circus last week. The Dawgs can’t let that happen.

​Don’t think for a second that the Dawgs aren’t up to the task. Georgia is only giving up 248 yards and 8 points a game. They will need to shut down Jones, Harris, and the Tide. The defense needs to give Bennett time and opportunities to deliver. The benefit in this scenario is that Bennett doesn’t realize he’s supposed to be nervous or afraid going into this game. If “The Mailman” goes to work as he has so far, he’s gonna make a boom in Tuscaloosa tomorrow. He has the potential to make a lot of Dawg fans very happy.

Regardless of how this one turns out, there’s a high probability of a rematch in Atlanta at season’s end.

Coach Drew Burnham
​Game of the Week
​Texas A&M @ Mississippi State

​I dug, searched, thought creatively, turned over rocks and looked in all nooks and crannies to try to keep from writing up these 2 again. Outside of UGA and Bama (already claimed in the name of the Curator) there just isn’t much excitement this week.

The Pirates, I mean Bulldogs, have had a tough couple weeks following their impressive opening day showing. LSU has proved since to not be QUITE what they were a season ago, though that offensive performance is still impressive. It showed that despite what we’ve seen from the offense in Starkville, the potential for explosiveness is there and could be summoned at any moment. What’s been the difference between the fully engulfed week 1 and the other 2 outings? Turnovers. Plain and simple. Ball security is of the utmost importance in any system, but is at an added premium any time the goal is to put the ball in the air 50+ times a week. In the last 2 weeks, MSU has had 9 interceptions. I don’t care what your system is, who your coach is, how rejuvenated you feel or who you’re playing...4-5 turnovers will get you beat every day of the week. The potential is still there. This offense is a firework that is trying to be ignited by a lighter in the wind. If they can take care of the ball this one should be a rout.

On the other sideline, you may be saying “Coach, are you ready to take back all those mean things you said about Jimbo now that they beat Florida?” I could go into great pain staking detail about my answer but I believe a simple “nope” will suffice. The facts are the Florida went to sleep with a lead and choked. It happens. In my career I have been the one who falls asleep as well as the one who sneaks in the backdoor and steals a win while the better team snoozes. W’s and L’s are the only things shown on the record, so good for the Aggies, but I still hold strong to my position. Jimbo is overpaid and overhyped, Kellen Mond is ho hum, and A&M is not as good as anyone (including myself) had hoped this year.

I think this one has beat down written all over it. Leech gets the raid kick started this week and despite scoring 30+ the Aggies lose by 3 touchdowns.

Curator Sam Burnham
​Game of the Week
​Tennessee @ Georgia

At the risk of sounding like a homer I’m going with a Georgia game this week. I’m picking this match up because of three factors: 1) Georgia’s outstanding defense 2) Tennessee’s opportunity to prove they are indeed “back” 3) The Prince of Pierce, Stetson Bennett IV.

​Georgia’s defense is giving up 8 points per game while posting 5 sacks and 4 interceptions. They’re giving up only 58 rushing yards per game. The effort on the defensive side of the ball has allowed the Dawgs to out-gain their opponents almost 2-1. This defense kept them in the game at Arkansas until the correct call was made to put Bennett in at quarterback. More on that later.

Tennessee has had several rough years with include Derek Dooley’s orange pants, Lane Kiffin daydreaming about singing Rocky Top, and a bizarre trash can ritual. Jeremy Pruitt is working on a renaissance in Knoxville. They ride the nation’s longest win streak into Athens this week. But they aren’t playing Missouri or South Carolina. If they are to prove themselves, beating Georgia would be a way to make a statement.

Stetson Bennett IV trotted into the field in Fayetteville and took over the UGA offense. This guy is a man of the people. Straight out of Blackshear he laid a thumping on rival Auburn and then may or may not have enjoyed a bit of Red Man to celebrate the win. Listed at 5-11, 190, Bennett is too short, too small, and not athletic enough to play quarterback at Georgia. But the former walk-on is doing it anyway how could I not pick that this week?

Coach Drew Burnham
​Game of the Week
Alabama @ Ole Miss

​I bet y’all thought I was going to go with the flash of the top team in the Nation against a rejuvenated and trending Miami squad. Or maybe you thought I’d lean towards the Battle of the Saban assistants between the Dawgs and Vols? Those are the obvious candidates, but they’re not why I love college football with every ounce of my being. My infatuation with this beautiful level of the greatest sport in the world is much more personal than that. It’s about relationships, people, connections and passion. That’s why I love it and, trust me, nowhere...and I mean nowhere in the country will you find a more quirky relationship between two more opposite people with a connection loathed by one and so dearly loved by the other than in Oxford on Saturday.

Nick Saban wakes up every morning and sips his coffee on the deck of the lake house in Tuscaloosa. Then he spills a little down his front to punish himself for another day of secretly loving Lane Kiffin. I believe he genuinely hates how much he loves the guy. He goes against everything Saban stands for. Their styles could not be more different. As Saban hits the pants with a Tide pen, less than 3 hours up the road Kiffin is scheming a solid tweet to poke fun at the man who took him in when many others had written him off as a troubled genius. I love this relationship more than any other in the country right now, and you should too.

However, much to Kiffin's dismay, those two will not be the ones going toe to toe between the lines on Saturday. On paper, there shouldn’t be much to this one. Alabama is the far superior team. Saban is 20-0 against former assistants in his career, averaging a 42-15 score in those games. This one should be same ole same ole for the Tide….BUT, the Rebs can SCORE. Kiffin has never found trouble collecting points. As quirky as he may be, he’s a certified mastermind. Nowhere in the sport, on any level, will you find a play caller more versed in moving his stars into position to create mismatches against defenders and capitalizing on them. WR Elijah Moore will line up all over the field and will undoubtedly cause some problems for the Bama defense. I think the Tide wins, but they may have to score 50 to do it.

Curator Sam Burnham
​Game of the Week - Auburn @ Georgia

The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The schedule says "Week 5" and both teams are coming into the game undefeated - 1-0.

Weird.

​This one is usually late in the season and the game usually means something even beyond the rivalry. In this shortened and rearranged season, it all matters more. A loss could prove to doom a season, even this early on.

Auburn’s Bo Nix had a pretty strong game last week against Kentucky. He’ll need a strong showing in Athens when he faces a strong defense in red and black. The Tigers need to perform on offense and the sooner, the better.

Georgia will need to get moving earlier than they did last week at Arkansas. Kirby Smart has expressed a desire to develop all of his quarterbacks. That’s a great idea but this Saturday is not a time for personnel experiments. Blackshear’s Stetson Bennett came in for freshman D’Wan Mathis who struggled to get the offense moving. Transfer J.T. Daniels will also be available but if Georgia gets indecisive in a QB controversy, they’re bound to have a bad day.

If this is Georgia’s year, they need to prove it against Auburn. Faltering this week will have the Dawgs looking forward to next year...yet again.

Coach Drew Burnham
​Game of the week - Texas A&M @ Alabama

After picking a winner last week, lets try to ID another one in the opposite direction. 

If you're looking for face value "should be a good game" matchups, your attention may be drawn to Tuscaloosa Saturday. On paper, it should be one of the most exciting games of the week. it is one of only two matchups between 2 ranked teams. It showcases 2 traditional names and 2 of the highest funded programs in the country. While I believe that Alabama may be keep status quo this year, I just cant help but be unimpressed with Texas A&M. 

Jimbo got his ring and escaped the ensuing flames in Talahassee only to have that disaster blamed on Willie Taggert. Meanwhile he has been hauling in $20,000 a day in College Station (no that's not a typo) to do, well, extremely average things. ​QB Kellen Mond looked extraordinarily lackluster last week in a squeaker against mighty Vandy. The offense sputtered and again failed to live up to the Jimbo hype. 

620 Miles east of the Aggies, the Tide sit prepped to make yet another CFP run with an experienced QB and a talent rich defense. They say "Stars fell on Alabama" and they did....5 of them...5 stars everywhere. I picked this game not because I believe it will be a great game to watch, but because I dont want to hear any "Alabama should be in the NFL" cries after they beat A&M like a drum. Tide by 28.