Epic games for both our teams this weekend
VU @ Ole Miss
We’re 5-4 and one game away from a bowl game. They’re 5-4 and going for a bowl game. Pretty amazing what Hugh Freeze has done in his first year with the Rebs. I watched their spring game and it looked to me they’d win two games. But they’ve exceeded expectations and have played well this year. After a tough early season schedule, we’ve come alive. James has us playing as good or better ball than last year at this time. We’ve got a lot of momentum heading into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Both teams should be very amped up for this one. Game time is 7 PM ET/ 6 CT on ESPNU.
We have to get it done on both sides of the ball. I know James has been talking about turnovers all year; we just haven’t gotten as many. We definitely have the players in the secondary to get interceptions. Trey Wilson, Kenny Ladler and Andre Hal are exceptional athletes who are all playmakers. Archibald Barnes is a playmaker at linebacker. We need some turnovers from our defense tomorrow. Offensive line will also be critical. Ole Miss has 27 sacks on the season. Linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche, who is the older brother of Robert, the number one player in the country in this year’s high school senior class who decommitted from Clemson yesterday, is a player himself. We’ll have to be aware of him and be able to block him. They had five sacks against Georgia last week. So Wesley Johnson, Ryan Seymour and company will have to be ready. They need to get Zac some holes too. Need Zac to have a good game. Jordan to Jordan and Jordan to Chris Boyd will have to be on.
This is a huge one in Oxford. I say we get it done.
Us 28, Hotty Toddy 24
Texans at Bears
Huge tilt at Soldier Field at 8:20 PM ET/ 7:20 CT on NBC with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth on the call for Sunday Night football. The big question this week was whether Charles Tillman was going to play, as his fourth child was due on Sunday. That was a little bit nerve wrecking for Bears’ fans. Tillman said he’d be with his wife if the baby came on Sunday and would miss the game. Faith and family come first for sure, but football has got to be 1A. It turns out that Tillman and his wife will have their baby on Monday thank the Lord. We need the man to get us some turnovers against a pretty good offensive attack. Solid running game led by Arian Foster and pretty good passing game led by Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. Tight end Owen Dainiel, who is having an excellent season for the Texans, is questionable with a hip injury.Their defensive line is tough on quarterbacks. Defensive end J.J. Watt has 10.5 sacks. The Texans have 25 sacks as a team. But ARodge and the Packers threw all over them three weeks ago on Sunday Night, so if Jay can get protection, he can find Brandon, Earl and Hester for some big plays. Would love to see Hester return a punt for a score. He’s overdue. We need all three phases to be clicking in this one. Line will be critical. They have to prove they can get the job done if this team has a shot at a Super Bowl title this year. Left tackle J’Marcus Webb will be under the gun again this week blocking Watt. He’s gotta get the job done. The line has been better, but they’ve got a lot to prove this Sunday Night. But the defense and enough offense will get it done for the guys this time. The Soldier Field crowd doesn’t hurt either.
