Beginning of the End

OK, the beginning of the end has already started for Tennessee, when they only went into halftime with a 7-3 lead against UCLA despite intercepting 4 Kevin Craft passes.

However, things are about to get much, much worse for Tennessee. Fresh off an embarrassing home loss to Florida, Tennessee heads off to Auburn to face what must be a very pissed-off Tiger team. Losing a last-minute thriller to a top five team (on your home turf no less) should have these guys fired up and ready to prove themselves. But which Auburn team will show up? The team that took a 14-3 halftime lead against LSU? Or the one that was outscored 23-7 in the second half of that same game? Will it be the defense that shut out Mississippi State? Or the offense that could manage one measly field goal?

Oddsmakers don't appear to be to sure, since Auburn is currently only a 6.5 point favorite. For reference, Georgia is also a 6.5 point favorite over Alabama, and no one is writing off the Tide at this point. Tennessee has been down this road before, and they always seem to win one game that no one expects them to. Sure, they lose a lot more games they "should" win, but this looks like one of those times when they could surprise people. They were in this same position last year when they were 2-2 and ambushed a ranked Georgia team 35-14. Even in that ill-fated 5-6 2005 season the Vols managed to give LSU their only regular season loss. Maybe I'm giving myself false hope, but Auburn seems ripe for an upset.

In other big games, of course all eyes will be on Alabama-Georgia. Well, everyone who doesn't actually have plans to go out. What's with all these 8:00 kickoffs? Arkansas travels to Texas in what would have been a great game last year, but instead should be a slaughter this time around. A couple of Big Ten games could help shape the upcoming season. Rising star Penn State will hope to keep their momentum going against Illinois, while Wisconsin heads to Michigan. If either of those teams loses (especially Penn State), it will be a dark day for the Big Ten. That conference is at the end of its rope. They NEED Penn State to do well. OSU has already been embarrassed on the national stage. Michigan State always seems to be a dark horse, but the opening loss to Cal will ultimately hold them back. With Michigan in re-building mode and the rest of the teams worthless (Northwestern, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue) the Big Ten cannot afford for Penn State to slip up.

Small-conference fans (and SEC fans) will be cheering for TCU as they face Oklahoma. I can't claim to know much about TCU, but they're ranked in the top 25 for some reason so I guess they must be decent. Apparently going undefeated against three teams with a combined 4-9 record and a DII school is all it takes to get ranked these days.

Oh yeah, USC lost. Can't say I'm surprised. At least we don't have to hear any more talk about how this is the greatest team in the history of USC.

Well, since I'm planning to watch the Tennessee game anyway, I'll jot down some of my thoughts about it. However, if it's too painful, you may only get highlights from the first half. Go Vols...