#12 LSU at #7 Auburn 3:30 PM CBS- The Battle of the SEC West Tigers

LSU is 2-0 with a beatdown of Miami in the season opener while Auburn is 2-0 with a hard fought win over Washington. A win by LSU would go a long way in securing Ed Orgeron’s job status. These two teams are very good defensively and the offenses were sloppy when facing a quality opponent so expect a defensive slog. LSU QB Joe Burrow will need to ramp up his game significantly for the Bayou Bengals to have a shot. LSU prospects to watch1. Greedy Williams 6’1 182 CB RS Sophomore- Williams has the speed and athleticism thing down pat along with the height. Lateral agility is a major plus. Can keep up with any receiver in the nation. Has consistency issues that pops up every now and then. Among the best corners in the nation. 2. Devin White 6’0 240 LB Junior- Next man up to take the star linebacker turn in Baton Rouge before going pro. White has flashed a bunch over his first two years. He’s now the leader of the defense. Height may be an issue at the next level but the athleticism isn’t. Plus character and work ethic. Somewhere between Duke Riley and Kendall Beckwith. 3. Nick Brossette 6’0 221 RB Senior- The heir apparent to current Washington Mascot That Shall Not Be Named RB Derrius Guice. He played really well in the season opener against Miami. A different type of back than Guice. More of a thunder type of back. Auburn prospects to watch1. Jarrett Stidham 6’2 214 QB RS Junior- Stidham is one of the top ranked quarterbacks in a class in which the perception is generally down. He has a lot of arm talent and can make virtually any throw asked of him. Physically looks the part. The biggest flaw is the program that he chose. Auburn’s offensive system is very poor in terms of development for the next level. Fundamentally poor as the reads are so simple that a high school QB can thrive in Auburn’s system. Will need a ton of development time as a backup before he can start. Oblivious to pressure and will give up unnecessary sacks to elite defenses.2. Derrick Brown 6’5 325 DL Junior- He was in the Washington backfield so much that he owns property there now. One of the best interior linemen in the SEC. Academics are on point as he’s been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year. Could be one of the more underrated DL prospects due to the talent in the class. BYU at #6 Wisconsin 3:30 PM ABC- Madtown gets a visitor from out west in the form of the Cougars’ stingy defense. BYU is 1-1 with an impressive win over Arizona and a hard fought loss to Cal. Wisky is 2-0 after ho hum victories over UNLV and New Mexico. RB Johnathan Taylor is once again a Heisman candidate after a sensational freshman year. Not the most entertaining matchup but it should be fun to watch the BYU defense try to out wit the powerful Wisconsin offensive line. Wisconsin in a laugher. BYU prospect to watch1. Sione Takitaki 6’2 231 LB Senior- It could be argued that Takitaki was the best defender on BYU’s team last year. From what I’ve seen of him Youth Jonnu Smith Jersey , he’s very good at reading and reacting to the play. Versatile athlete in that he’s been played both as a defensive end and outside linebacker. Lined up everywhere. Very good athlete. Due to size, he gets lost in the wash rather easily.Wisconsin prospects to watch1. The entire OL- Collectively, they are the best offensive line in the nation. Like clockwork, this year’s edition is back to being Wisconsin OL of famous lore. #1 Alabama at Ole Miss 7 PM ESPN- The top ranked Tide visit the Grove to take in the lovely atmosphere there and also to play some football. Can the Ole Miss defense make enough stops to give its high powered offense a chance? Can the inexperienced Tide secondary hold up against the Rebels’ outstanding receiving corps? Tua is easily the Heisman favorite as of right now. Can he keep it up for the duration of the season? Also, will Jalen Hurts play or is he going to stick to his reported plan of redshirting? Alabama prospects to watch1. Damien Harris 5’10 216 RB Senior- He’s very instinctive as a runner and knows where and how to attack a defense. Takes what he can get and goes down. Knows what he is and doesn’t deviate from that much. A power back. It will be interesting to see if he raises his stock high enough to warrant not going to any of the postseason all star events. Off to a good start in 2018.2. Raekwon Davis 6’7 303 DL Junior- The latest in a long line of standout defensive linemen for the Tide who patiently waited his turn to shine. He was a terror to guard against as a sophomore and has carried his play over to the 2018 season thus far. Could be one of the better DL that the Tide has produced before its all said and done. 3. Mack Wilson 6’0 231 LB Junior- Ho hum. Another year, another standout linebacker for the Tide. Wilson is just #good as advertised. The medical history bears watching though. Ole Miss prospects to watch1. D.K Metcalf 6’3 225 WR RS Sophomore- Physically looks the part. A deep ball specialist that can also run routes like a technician. Is considered one of the best receivers in the country. He’s WR2 on my board. A major weapon for the Rebels. 2. A.J. Brown 6’1 225 WR Junior- Excellent slot weapon at the next level. Knows how to run all the routes and vary his speed and footwork in each. Has the measureables to make an impact in the NFL. Could use another year of college. Bonus games to watch#5 Oklahoma at Iowa State Noon ABC#17 Boise State at #24 Oklahoma state 3:30 PM ESPN#4 Ohio State vs. #15 TCU 8 PM ABCHouston at Texas Tech 4:15 PM FoxWhere are the Titans scouts?Titans-Dolphins preview with The Phinsider: How good will the Miami defensive line be without Ndamukong Suh? Kevin Nogle of The Phinsider was nice enough to answer 5 questions about his Miami Dolphins ahead of the opener.1. The Dolphins defensive line has been a problem for the Titans the last 2 times these teams have faced off. Will they be able to create the same type of pressure with Ndamukong Suh being gone?I think the defensive line is probably the strength of the defense, which sounds funny when you add in Ndamukong Suh not being on the team, but it is probably true. Cameron Wake is still Cameron Wake and will disrupt the offensive line. Robert Quinn being added this year looks like a great move as he returns to being a true hand-in-the-dirt pass rusher. Behind them, Charles Harris, Andre Branch, and William Hayes should all see plenty of playing time, keeping everyone fresh throughout the game.
At defensive tackle, Suh not being in the middle will definitely be noticed, but Akeem Spence, Jordan Phillips, Davon Godchaux, and Vincent Taylor have all been really solid this summer. They may not have the greatest individual performances to equal what Suh can do on any play, but together, they should be able to make up for him no longer being there.That was a long way of saying, yes, I think the defensive line can give the Titans, and every team Womens Brian Orakpo Jersey , fits this year. They do, however, have to play up to their potential and be there on every single snap.2. Everyone seems to point to the Dolphins’ linebackers as being a matchup the Titans can take advantage of with Delanie Walker and Dion Lewis. Can you tell us about that group and if you think that is true?While I really like the defensive line, the linebackers are definitely among the top concerns. Kiko Alonso is healthy and, I hope, will look more like 2016 Alonso than 2017 Alonso, where he was slowed by various injuries and was having to spend more time trying to cover for others’ mistakes than just being able to play his game. The Dolphins also did not do him any favors in coverage, asking him too often to be in man coverage on players he should not be trying to cover. Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker are basically rookies (McMillan missed all of 2017 after tearing his ACL on the opening kickoff of the preseason and Bake is truly a rookie), so there will be plenty of mistakes out there as the two of them grow into their roles. The saving grace may be Minkah Fitzpatrick who will primarily play nickel cornerback or free safety, but can definitely be asked to cover Walker and Lewis, playing more of a linebacker role at times. Linebacker will be a question mark early this season, and the Titans should definitely attack the group and see what happens.3. What is the workload distribution going to be like between Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore?There has been a lot of talk this offseason about how the Dolphins are trying to replace Jay Ajayi with Gore, and that could not be further from the truth. Drake is the starter for this offense, and he will get carries as if he is the starter. That said, Adam Gase likes running back by committee systems, so Gore will still see plenty of playing time, as will rookie Kalen Ballage. I would expect Drake to see the majority of the playing time, with Gore second at about half of that, then Ballage come in for mismatches. That will change as the season wears on, but early I would not expect to see Gore as much, just so the coaches know his legs will be ready later in the year.4. How much are you going to miss Jay Cutler? Just kidding. How much better will this offense be this year with Ryan Tannehill back under center?Jay who? Oh, was he the guy the Dolphins signed for $10 million to play in the longest preseason ever? I mean Womens Brett Kern Jersey , it feels like the Dolphins have played 24 preseason games since they lost in the 2016 playoffs. Someone should look into that.Okay, other than trying to pretend the 2017 season did not happen, Tannehill coming back should be huge for the team. Just on a quarterback comparison, Tannehill has to be two to three games better than Cutler and Matt Moore, which would push Miami to the 8-8 or 9-7 range, which feels about right for this team. Tannehill has a confidence level this summer that we have not seen from him previously. The offense seems to be clicking with him in there, and they have shown some of the uptempo offensive scheme that Gase has wanted for the past two years. Everything is not perfect, including Tannehill still making some throws that show he has some rust to work through, but it definitely feels like the offense is in a much better place with 17 behind center.5. Looking at this roster, they seem to be solid at every position but maybe not great anywhere. What are you honest expectations for the Dolphins this season? Can they be a playoff contender?Like I said about Tannehill, 8-8 to 9-7 feels about right. That said, they could go on a run somewhere and pull off a double-digit win total, but they could also get smacked in the mouth early and struggle for several weeks, dropping back down to 6-10 of 5-11. I think your assessment of solid all over, but nothing great (other than Cameron Wake and safety Reshad Jones) is pretty accurate right now. There are several players who could break out, including Tannehill, Drake, and Fitzpatrick, but we will have to see how the seasons unfolds. I think they are pushing for that final Wildcard spot this year, and they could end up claiming it, but I am definitely not ready to say they are going to unseat the Patriots atop the division or make a deep run into the playoffs.Thanks again to Kevin for taking the time!