Alabama: The defense did not give up their third first down until the 4th quarter when all the freshmen and walk-ons were in the game. The offense should improve once Duron Carter debuts this week and Darius Hanks next week. Superfrosh Cyrus Kouandjio is a starter by Week 4.

Arkansas: Joe Adams had two electric punt returns for touchdowns. However, part of the credit goes a lame undisciplined Missouri State team. Tyler Wilson looked pretty good at QB but Ark had 102 rushing yards.

Auburn: Last year, they made a lot of daring escapes. This year, there is no Cam Newton to help out. Auburn may have already used up this season’s allotment of luck.

Florida: Urban Meyer leaving Florida was a good thing for them. Will Muschamp will turn the program around but don’t expect them back in the top 2 any time soon. The Gators are my dark horse pick for the SEC East title.

Georgia: Everything about this match-up was bad news for the Bulldogs – the uniforms were stupid and distracting to the players; UGA was looking ahead to South Carolina; UGA did not respect their opponent;  heaping all their hopes on Isiah Crowell was a big mistake; Richt’s recruiting did not address needs. Richt has lost his edge and is not fully dedicated to the program. Time to go.

Kentucky: Rich Brooks had 4 straight winning seasons and bowl games. Last season, UK went 6-7 & a bowl game. Could that have been due to leftovers from the Brooks era? Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke and Mike Hartline are all gone. Joker Phillips’ cupboard is bare.

LSU: I fully expected LSU to beat Oregon but that was due to my lack of faith in Oregon. I fully agree that they are highly overrated despite the way Brent Musberger was gushing over them. No disrespect to the Tigers. They are a legitimate candidate for the big game. The quarterfinals begin November 5 in Tuscaloosa.

Ole Miss: I blame this on the curse of the Rebel Bear. It is so pathetic that Ole Miss gave into the politically correct crybabies and did away with the Colonel. The real curse is Houston Nutt. He can’t coach, he can’t recruit and he is finding it harder to find anyone left to believe his BS. Let the next coach speculation begin.

Mississippi State: The other Dawgs did what you’re supposed to by beating their cupcake du jour. Vick Ballard had a good game. Dan Mullen is doing good things in StarkVegas. He’ll never win big at MSU but 8-9 wins ever year might be enough.

South Carolina: I have been saying all summer that this is Spurrier’s swan song. He is putting it all on the line to win this season before he retires to the golf course. This should be evident in the fact that he has no solution at QB after Garcia finished his seventh year of eligibility. The Gamecocks are good for a couple of trap games. They may win the East but after they are trounced again in the SECCG, it’s tee time.

Tennessee: UT has some rocky roads ahead but step one is beating the teams you are supposed to beat. Tyler Bray will be a beacon of light but not much else after that. If Dooley wants to stick around in Knoxville, he needs to find his “Herschel Walker”.

Vanderbilt: They have excellent academics.

Below are recruits from Georgia with a Rivals.com rating of 4-stars or higher (updated 2/7/11):

The Bulldogs ends up with eleven of the Top 22 players in the state of Georgia. Only time will tell if the “Dream” pans out.

On that note, Michigan State has overachieved and congratulations to them. Iowa puts an end to this silliness in Iowa City.

ESPN has never met a hyperbole they did not like. I understand they are in the business of getting eyeballs to their network but they are trying so hard to blow up the Southern Cal vs. Oregon game into something it isn’t. Matt Barkley is NOT Carson Palmer. He is closer to John David Booty. Oregon romps. Again.

UGA and their unrealistic fans just cannot except that they are not an elite team. Georgia has two National Championships, 1942 and 1980. They are still living off the fumes of the latter even though none of the current players were alive at the time and Mark Richt was backing up Jim Kelly at Miami (Fla). Long story short, UGA fans are insane. After losing four in a row, the Dawgs have won three in a row against the SEC bottom feeders and now they think they are hot sh*t. Florida is working on a surprising three game losing streak of their own. Coming off a bye week, I have a feeling the Gators will arrive in Jacksonville ready.

Gators fans thought they had righted the ship with the second coming of Jesus… oops, I mean Tebow in Trey Burton. Wrong. After scoring 6 TD vs. Kentucky, Burton was 0-1 passing with an end zone INT, 4 rushes for 5 yards, 0 catches, 0 TDs. #1 Alabama 31 #7 Florida 6.

Oblivious UGA fans who thought the absence of AJ Green was the reason for all their losses. Colorado wins 29-27 and the stupid fans storm the field. For beating a 1-4 team???

What did I say about #9 Stanford? Every year they make a little noise that the media wants to make into a big noise and they fall flat on their faces (52-31 loss to Oregon). No disrespect to the Ducks – who I now see as the co-number one team with Alabama – but I see a bumpy road ahead for the Cardinal.

#11 Wisconsin – same as above. They will always be a second tier. Michigan State wins 34-24.

#21 Texas – has gone from BCS runner-up to dropped from rankings in a few short months. Oklahoma 28-20.  †

It took an extra week, but now there are no more undefeated teams in the ACC. Va Tech over #23 NC State 41-30.

Haha on Charles Barkley and his best friend Turner Gill who wasn’t hired at Auburn – according to Chuck – because he is black. Kansas loses to li’l ol’ Baylor 55-7. #10 Auburn is 5-0.

Rutgers loses at home to Tulane 17-14. How’s that career move working out for you, Greg Schiano? Still think he is heir apparent in State College, PA?

Tommy Tuberville is 2-2 at Texas Tech losing to Iowa State(?!) 52-38.

†  The above rankings represent pre-game positions.

#10 Arkansas – Bill Clinton was there. So were John Daly and Jerry Jones. Some students camped out since Monday to get a good seat (I guess going to class at Ark is optional). Others stood on a hill outside the stadium. Alabama had other ideas, 24-20. Good try. Back to second tier with you.

#7 Tex-ass – LAME. Lost at home by 21 to a mediocre UCLA team. Looking ahead to the Oklahoma game, Longhorns?

#12 South Carolina and Spurrier – it’s just NOT gonna happen. Ever. Auburn 35, South Carolina 27. Lattimore 14 rushes for 33 yards.

UGA and Richt – see above. The Dawgs (1-3) lose at Mississippi State 24-12 AND had another arrest on Sunday night (DUI). Their tenth since March.

Georgia Tech – Coach Johnson, I think teams are figuring out that silly little offense. NC State wins in Atlanta 45-28.

Minnesota – first they lose to South Dakota and now to Northern Illinois (quick, team colors and mascot?) at home 34-23.

Boise – You’re saying “why do they get a haha? They beat Oregon State.” Yes, but they did not really impress anyone in either of their high profile games (the other being Va Tech). Even the wonks who were pushing them are now backing off.

Notre Dame – ahh, this never gets old HAHAHAHA! Another loss for the Dames. This time the beneficiary was Stanford 37-14.

Preview of Week 5: every year it seems Stanford has a player who gets overhyped or they win a few games and everyone goes into a tizzy. But now they travel to Eugene Oregon to see what they are REALLY made of.