THE SEC REPORT
The SEC Report: A&M goes to Baton Rouge and The Iron Bowl is back
Nov 26, 2019, 6:27 am
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
LSU hurt Arkansas real bad last weekend winning 56-20 and getting some monster offensive production out of some key guys. A&M fell a little short of their goal of ruining Georgia's season but they played a close game and didn't let Swift get crazy on them as other teams had. Alabama crushed poor Western Carolina and now sits patiently in fifth place nationally, if they take care of business this week and then Georgia plays LSU and loses in a conference championship, it's likely Alabama jumps right back into the playoff picture. How cruel would that be to the rest of College Football?
THE STARS OF LAST WEEKEND
Joe Burrow, Quarterback of LSU. So who exactly is supposed to be his competition for The Heisman at this point? He padded the resume in a blow out throwing for three more touchdowns and putting a mere 327 yards up while completing a mere 82% of his passes.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Runningback of LSU. He must have had a forcefield on or something he was wearing the cleanest jersey I've ever seen a runningback have after a game although I suppose it helped that he only had six carries, but scored three touchdowns and ran for 188 yards. You almost wonder if Arkansas just wanted off the field on some drives.
Mac Jones, Quarterback of Alabama. it isn't so much for the fact that he beat up a cupcake of an opponent, but it's the efficiency and confidence with which he did it. 10-12 for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns. Mac's played a little bit already this year but it was important for the nation and for him to see him come out and perform well this week. Help reassure a certain selection committee they won't make a mistake by putting Alabama back in the dance.
WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
A little Thanksgiving SEC football is always nice, so Thursday night feel free to turn on Ole Miss at Mississippi State. This coming weekend while you're buried in leftovers there are some great games to check out including both South Carolina and Texas A&M taking another shot at upsetting two great seasons as Clemson comes to South Carolina, who earlier upset Georgia (who obviously has recovered) and A&M goes to Baton Rouge and plays LSU, where a loss could derail everything The Tigers have built this year. Alabama goes to Auburn and a win could be rank-busting. If Alabama wins and Clemson loses then Alabama is in the top four without an SEC championship game potentially. If LSU loses and Alabama wins then suddenly, LSU still goes to the SEC championship game and plays Georgia but Alabama may somehow be ranked into all of this at that point, they can't sit still if they beat #15 Auburn and either #1 LSU, #3 Clemson or #4 Georgia loses. The polls would be forced to slide Alabama up somewhere.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kyle Trask, Quarterback of Florida. This is the game he needs to shine in. Playing their in-state rival Florida State at home, a win hopefully puts them into the Top Ten for the season, which would be a great finish for a team that lost a starting quarterback very early and therefore played a lot of ugly football early in the season.
Mac Jones, Quarterback of Alabama. We've talked about it all over this piece today but this is a big game, he's the back up and The Crimson Tide has no margin for error. They need this win like a fish needs water, there's just no getting around the fact that at this instant they are on the outside looking in on the four team playoff potentially.
Bryan Edwards, Wide Receiver of South Carolina. For the Gamecocks to have a chance they need explosive plays and they need to be able to threaten the secondary and have a guy they can go to on long third downs, so a wide out who can get it done. This is the big game for Edwards.
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Expectations
The Texans are favored to win the AFC South for a third straight season with a team led by young stars quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Stroud’s strong first two years helped the Texans turn things around and this year they’ll try to reach the playoffs in three straight seasons for the first time in franchise history. Stroud will be directing a new offense led by first-time offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who took over after Bobby Slowik was fired this offseason following Houston’s loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round. General manager Nick Caserio also beefed up the team’s receiving corps, led by Nico Collins, by adding veteran Christian Kirk and drafting Jayden Higgins in the second round and Jaylin Noel in the third. Coach DeMeco Ryans has vowed the offensive line will be better this season after Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, which was second-most in the league. But it’s difficult to see how his protection will be better after they traded left tackle Laremy Tunsil and didn’t make any big moves to replace him. Defensively, Anderson should take another step forward in his second year playing with veteran Danielle Hunter after the third-overall pick in the 2023 draft had 17 sacks combined in his first two seasons. Cornerback Derek Stingley returns to lead a talented young secondary after earning first team AP All-Pro honors last season when he had five interceptions and defended 18 passes.
New faces
OC Nick Caley, WR Jayden Higgins, WR Christian Kirk, WR Jaylin Noel, LT Cam Robinson, RB Nick Chubb, RT Aireontae Ersery, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Jake Andrews.
Key losses
LT Laremy Tunsil, WR John Metchie III, G Kenyon Green, TE Brevin Jordan, CB Eric Murray, WR Robert Woods, CB Kris Boyd.
Strengths
Stroud and Houston’s stacked receiving group should be the stars of the team this season. The 2023 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has been great in his first two seasons to bring the Texans back into contention after an awful stretch. His interception rate was up last season but he’s looking for improvement this season in Caley’s offense, which he has described as “exciting.” He’ll have plenty of strong targets to throw to, led by Collins, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season last year despite missing five games with injuries. He’ll be joined by Kirk, who should fill in at the slot with Tank Dell likely to miss all season recovering from an injury he suffered in December. Higgins and Noel come to Houston after combining for 2,377 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns last season at Iowa State.
Weaknesses
It’s hard to see how the offensive line will be improved this season with Tunsil gone to Washington. Though he was penalty-prone, he was the team’s most consistent lineman. They completely revamped the line after his trade and return just one starter from last year’s group. They’ll likely rely on rookie Ersery to protect Stroud’s blind side after taking him in the second round of the draft. He started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota. Veteran Tytus Howard returns at right tackle after starting 16 games there last season. The center is Jake Andrews in his first year in Houston and he returns after missing all of last season with an injury before being released by the Patriots. Left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Ed Ingram are also new to the team.
Camp development
Houston’s secondary sustained a big blow in camp when safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a leg injury. The injury isn’t season-ending but he is likely to miss significant time. Gardner-Johnson is in his first year in Houston after he was acquired from the Eagles in March in exchange for left guard Kenyon Green. He was expected to be the team’s starting free safety after the Texans lost Eric Murray in free agency to the Jaguars. The Texans will also be without backup Jimmie Ward indefinitely after he was placed on the commissioner exempt list Tuesday as he faces a felony domestic violence charge after a June arrest.
Fantasy player to watch
Collins should have another big year after finishing with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons. He’s had 15 touchdowns combined in the last two seasons despite missing seven games with injuries.
BetMGM Sportsbook
Win Super Bowl: 35-1.