The Tide should take care of business tomorrow. Auburn, on the other hand, has their work cut out for them. Other SEC action. Some key national games. Here we go.
Last week: 7-1; Overall: 49-18

Tennessee @ No.2 Alabama; 6:15, ESPN2

Tide will be focused for this one. S won’t have it any other way. He is tired of the LSU talk. He has emphasized the importance of this rivalry and says the team can’t afford to focus on anything other than Tennessee. That being said, Tide should handle business even without Anthony Steen (starting o guard) and kicker Cade Foster, who are both out with concussions most likely. Barrett Jones been a little bit hurt, but he should be OK. Trent tries to improve his Heisman numbers. UT without starting quarterback Tyler Bray will have a tough time scoring against Dont’a, Mark and Courtney. Tide should be fine in this one if they are ready to play.

Alabama 35, Tennessee 10

No.20 Auburn @ No.1 LSU; 2:30 PM, CBS

This is going to be tough for Chiz, Clint Moseley and AU even with LSU not having the services of their All American corner Tyrann Mathieu, star running back Spencer Ware and backup corner Tharold Simon. Just don’t think AU Tigers can generate much offense against the remaining guys on the stout LSU defense, and LSU can do enough on offense with the highly capable Michael Ford and Alfred Blue at running back and Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson at qb. It’s in Death Valley, also, which makes it even tougher for the AU Tigers. Turnovers would help a lot along with a heavy dose of Michael Dyer. Emory Blake would help also. I think AU should throw it to Lutz as much as possible and get it to Benton, Carr on the outside on some deeper patterns and work Tre Mason on some power sweeps. Moseley needs to play within himself and avoid mistakes and maybe get the ball downfield. Kiehl Frazier could help the cause as well with his running ability. Just don’t think the AU Tigers can get it done in this one. Might keep it close for a while, and if they do keep it close going into the fourth quarter, you never know. Just don’t believe they can pull this one off though.

LSU 28, Auburn 17

N0.9 Arkansas @ Ole Miss; 11:21 AM, SEC Network:

The Hogs should have their way with the Rebels. Ryan Wilson will have a field day and Jarius Wright and the wrs will annihilate the Ole Miss secondary. Hogs not mathematically out of it in West. A lot left to play for.

Hogs 42, Ole Miss 14

Jacksonville State @Kentucky; 11 AM, ESPNU

Jax State has a real shot in this one. Kentucky is reeling. I’m going to go with the upset as Washaun Ealey and Jax State get it done.

Jax State 31, Ky 28

Army @ Vandy; 6 PM, ESPNU

The ‘Dores going with Jordan Rodgers this week at quarterback. That’s a good move. Army the number one rushing team in the country averaging 361 yards per game. Their quarterback, Steelman, is a good runner. Vandy will have to be ready to play. Army beat the ‘Dores two years ago at West Point. Vandy needs this to keep their bowl hopes alive. As a matter of fact, they have to have this for their program to keep taking steps forward under James Franklin who is recruiting exceptionally. I think the Rodgers move will pay off for Vandy.

VU 28, Army 17

Off: Florida, South Carolina, Georgia  and Mississippi State

National look:

No.4 Oklahoma State @Missouri, 11 AM. FX

The Cowboys better be careful in this one. I haven’t seen Mo. play, but I’ve read and seen some highlights and they’re pretty decent. Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon need to step up for their team. James Franklin a good quarterback for the Tigers. Mo. at home could cause Ok. State some problems, but the Cowboys will pull it out at the end behind their stellar qb and wr, Weeden and Blackmon, respectively.

Ok. State 42, Mo.35

USC @ Notre Dame; 6:30 PM, NBC

Not the national implication game that these two programs used to play in, but always a big rivalry. Notre Dame has the better team. Tommy Reas a solid quarterback. USC has been hampered by the NCAA penalties. Matt Barkely is a very good quarterback for the Trojans, but outstanding linebacker Manti Te’o and the Notre Dame defense will do enough to lead the Fighting Irish to victory. The ND offense should be pretty good, too, but expecting a fairly competitive game for a while at least.

ND 35, USC 24

No.6 Wisconsin @No.16 Michigan State; 7 PM, ESPN

Huge game for the Badgers as they try to stay in the national title hunt. MSU defensive end William Gholston is suspended for this game after punching a Michigan offensive lineman last week. That hurts the Spartans’ cause, though their defense is a top five defense and controlled Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson last week. Just think with the offensive weapons the Badgers have, qb Russell Wilson, running backs Montee Ball and James White and wr Nick Toon, and an offensive line that is stellar, will  be too much for the Spartans. The Badgers keep moving forward in their quest for a possible BCS bowl berth and a chance at playing for the national title though they’ll need some help.

Wisconsin 35, MSU 28

No.25 Washington @ No.8 Stanford; 7 PM, ABC:

Another good matchup here. Huskies qb Keith Price is a player. Stanford’s defense is playing well, but hasn’t really been tested yet. Price and Huskies’ offense will do that. But like Andrew Luck to keep Stanford’s hopes of a Rose Bowl appearance, or even better, alive. Washington will give them a tough game, though. Luck will keep working on putting up Heisman numbers.

Stanford 42, Washington 38

Great win for the UAB Blazers last night. Get it done over a pretty good Central Florida team, 26-24. Congratulations to AD Brian Mackin and Coach Neal Callaway. Blazers play at Marshall at 11 AM central next week.  (Tide needs Barrett Jones healthy for this week and in two weeks; Clint Moseley will have to give a herculean effort against Bengal Tigers.)

It doesn’t get any bigger than this as No.4 Mountain Brook hosts No.2 Hoover tonight at Spartan Stadium at 7. This is the game of this century in Alabama high school football. Chris Yeager’s Mountain Brook Spartans and Josh Niblett’s Hoover Bucs have steamrolled through the competition this year and while Daphne and Clay Chalkville have been just as good, one of these two teams have a good shot at being at the Super Six in December in Tuscaloosa. They have to go through each other and possibly Clay in the playoffs. This is for the region crown and will give us a good gauge of who, at least, is one of the best teams if not the best team in the state. Ten to 12,000 are expected to attend this colossal showdown. The Hoover fans want to get there at 5:15 as do the Mountain Brook fans. This will be a classic, no doubt, with many of the best players this state has to offer.
I caught up with Mountain Brook Coach Chris Yeager and got his thoughts on the game. Coach Yeager is not downplaying the importance of this game. He embraces it as do his players. Josh Niblett feels the same way. Hoover has been the standard bearers for football in Alabama this century. Mountain Brook has its work cut out. But so do the Bucs. This Mountain Brook team could be their best in Chris Yeager’s six years at the helm and  they’ve had some very good football teams.Here’s my conversation with Coach Yeager:

DW: Coach, I know there is major anticipation heading into this game. How has your practice gone this week?

CY: “It’s been good. When you have a chance to play a game like this you kind of have a little more spring in your step. That’s the way it’s been this week.”

DW: How are the kids feeling about this week?

CY: “They’ve been really excited. A game like this here, we’ve talked about it a lot. When you’re a little boy playing touch football in your backyard you can just imagine playing in a game like this. In our region, there are six teams that don’t get to play in this. We consider ourselves real blessed to play in this game. And on the other end of this thing, it’s going to be a game you remember the rest of your life. Nobody wants to play in a game where nobody is going to attend. So we’re really excited about this opportunity.

DW: Coach, what are your concerns about Hoover?

CY: “They lost their quarterback, Sam Gilliken (broken collar bone), and the new quarterback actually compliments the team more. Sam was the guy who sort of carried everything on his shoulders. He carried the ball and threw the ball, so there was one guy and you could sort of  focus on him. He was the focal point for the defense. Now you have a guy (Connor Short, 6’0″, 184) whose forte is throwing the ball. He gets the ball out of his hands and now your focal point is 11 guys. They’re spreading the ball around more. The last game they had six different receivers catch passes. Their running back (Caleb Sims, 5’10”, 180) ran for 80 yards . They have balance now and it’s harder to defend. They have a fast defense that does an awesome job. They have great corners ( Nigel Cribbs, 5’11”, 175 and Marlon Humphrey, 6’1″, 172). Whoever they’re guarding,  you’re playing with nine offensive players now. That presents problems . Humphrey is a sophomore and he may be the best corner in the state. He’s a different kind of player. He can fly. He’s one of the best track runners in the state. Cribbs and Humphrey are dominant players.”

DW: So what are the keys to victory?

CY:”We can’t turn the ball over and we can’t have penalties. We feel like if we do those two things and we put a hat on hat and we’re in the right place on defense and withstand the Hoover surge. That’s what Hoover does, they come at you in waves. We know there will be one coming. We’re going to have to be mature and handle the highs and lows of the game. If we do those things we have a chance to win. That being said, I feel good about our kids being able to do that.”

DW: Coach, your quarterback, Edward Aldag, has been tremendous. Talk about what he brings to the table.

CY: “Last year, Edward threw for 26 touchdowns, 2,600 yards and only four interceptions. This year, he’s had the same kind of year (13 touchdowns, 1,400 yards and three ints-the Spartans run the ball more this year with outstanding tailback Mark Rector). He’s an unbelievable competitor. He has may have one of the best football IQ’s I’ve ever seen under center. He’s a Drew Brees kind of guy (Edward is six feet, 165). He elevates the play of everybody around him. It’s a lot of fun to watch him play.”

DW: Is he being courted by colleges?

CY:”There is a lot of interest. He threw 26 touchdown passes last year and I believe 14 or 15 of them were for 50 yards or more. The question these college recruiters have is about the intermediate ball. If he can throw the deep ball like that, he can throw the intermediate passes. If he isn’t taken by a Division One school, it would be the biggest miss in high school football history. Everybody talks about the Drew Brees factor based on his performance. He could probably have some opportunities  and if there were just two of them, they could be good offers. “

DW: Coach, some of your other key players on offense like Mark Rector (running back, 5’10, 155), Coates Doss (tight end, 6’3″, 175) and Gavin Golsan (wide receiver, 5’8″, 140) gives you a lot of versatility on offense don’t they?

CY: “All those guys are productive players. We feel like Reagan Alexander (tight end, 6’3″, 190) and Patrick Sullivan (wide receiver, 5’9″, 150) are excellent players, too.We try to have balance. A lot of our guys are productive and efficient.”

DW: Coach, how big is the home field advantage?

CY: “It’s awesome. We’ve played four out of the last five times at the Met. The lights at the Met are tough because some of them are in the end zone. And their turf is grass and we have artificial turf here. There should be 10,000 fans at the game maybe more. This game is going to be unbelievable. We played them twice at their place last year and twice in ’08 there. We played one and one in 2009. This game would mean a lot to us. We don’t worry about the history of the matchup (the Spartans haven’t won since 1984)–it means a lot more to the coaches as far as the history goes. For the kids it’s only the now that matters. They have a sophomore group of boys at their school that is bigger than our whole school. Their budget is five times ours, but that doesn’t matter right now. We’re excited to get this opportunity.”

Mountain Brook’s key defensive players are linebacker Hatton Smith (5’10, 165), noseguard Harry Reich (5’11, 215), linebacker Reeves Favrot (5’9″,160), linebacker Zach Gillen (5’11”, 150) and linebacker Win Cowden (5’11, 180). The Spartans run five linebacker sets.

Should be terrific. If you’re going, you should probably leave your work or house at 4:45 or five if you can get away at that time. This really is the game of the century. Can’t wait.

(Chris Yeager is preparing his kids for the game of their lives.)