THE SEC REPORT

​Texas A&M survives a battle, Alabama's defense looks vulnerable and Florida seems to have fixed its problems

Tua Alabama
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Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!

LAST WEEKEND


THE SEC wasn't too busy this week although A&M and Arkansas had themselves a slug fest in Jerry World. Alabama's defense continues to let inferior teams score points in bunches which is going to be a concern come SEC championship time and playoff weekends. Florida seems to have righted the ship completely and is sitting pretty in the top 10 for the first time in a while.

THE THREE STARS OF LAST WEEKEND

Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback, Alabama, had 7 total touchdowns last weekend. I'd say that's a good game, it's incredible the numbers some of these quarterbacks are putting up these days.

Kellen Mond, quarterback, Texas A&M, the offense felt inconsistent but he was able to overcome that and finish the game the right way and win a hard fought game, excellent job.

Ke'Shawn Vaughn, running back, Vanderbilt, got himself 138 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and Vandy needed all of them to pull out a tight win against Northern Illinois.

THIS WEEKEND

On the upcoming slate of games there's a couple things to watch but most notably Auburn coming to Florida for a battle of the top tens, is this where Nix's run of magic ends? Missouri hosts Troy in what should be a nice undercard fight and Vanderbilt comes to Ole Miss for a great game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND

Joe Burrow, quarterback, LSU, if you're playing college fantasy football Burrow is the points generator you dream of in the middle rounds and this week will probably be a three quarter example of why.

Larry Rountree III, running back, Missouri, the recipe for hard wins is run the ball and play defense so expect big numbers from Rountree.

D'Andre Swift, running back, Georgia, the bulldogs are on the road to Knoxville and Swift has to be hoping for about 15 great carries because the Volunteers aren't exactly stopping people these days.

Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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