Ole Miss in prickly SEC Opener

After sailing by S.E. Louisiana 52-6 last Saturday, Mississippi has to start living up to preseason hype and opens conference schedule on the road at South Carolina.

These are heady times at The Grove. Ole Miss (2-0, 1-0 ATS) is ranked 4th in the AP, their highest position in the polls since 1970, when the father of Peyton and Eli Manning was taking snaps in Oxford. The Rebels have won eight games in a row (6-1 ATS) for the first time in almost 37 years.

Coach Houston Nutt hopes the offensive line plays better, as quarterback Jevan Snead hasn’t looked as sharp as expected. Nutt has stated the O-Line has to do a better job sustaining blocks, especially at the tackle positions. The Rebels defense has been good and the secondary has come around faster than expected, however they will be tested by a Steve Spurrier offense rounding into shape under quarterback Stephen Garcia.

South Carolina (2-1, 3-0 ATS) is turning into the “ameba” of college football, taking on whatever shape needed to be competitive in a contest. In the opener, the defense led to a 7-3 victory and the offense scored 37 points in just coming up short at Georgia 41-37, as a touchdown underdog. Last week they handled Florida Atlantic at home 38-16, which means all options are available for this matchup. Garcia looks to be on the come, with a pair of very good performances. Spurrier has graded his team “OK” in all facets.

“We’re trying to get better in every area. We haven’t dominated in any particular phase. We haven’t been terrible but the whole team’s trying to get better. - Spurrier stated. The Gamecocks are 7-3 with ordinary 5-5 ATS record against the SEC West.

Bookmaker.com has Ole Miss as four-point favorites with total of 53. Though it’s only the first conference game of the year, the high ranking and expectations are from a bygone era and take getting used to. The Rebels are 4-8 ATS as a road favorite since 2001 and a loss means playing uphill all season with Alabama and LSU yet to come. Too many in-game hiccups could spell doom for Mississippi, who is 2-14 SU and ATS in SEC openers since 1993 and has lost five in a row and failed to cover 11(that is correct) straight.

In the last five meetings between these schools, the home team is 0-5 ATS, with the favorite covering the number only one time. Coach Nutt believes the defense is the strength of the team, which translates into South Carolina having a manageable running game for down and distance purposes. If not, Garcia could face stern Ole Miss pass rush, which in turn might lead to turnovers.

For fans of scoring trends, the Rebels are 9-0 ATS after scoring 40 or more points and South Carolina is 5-2 ATS off a 20-point or greater victory.

On ESPN, the Rebels lofty ranking will be challenged and something has to give on the total, with Mississippi 5-2 OVER on Thursday’s and the home team 6-2-1 UNDER on the same day of the week.

Sunday Football Double Dip

Unless you live in the area, most people wouldn’t make the connection that both Sunday college football games are intense local meetings. Ole Miss and Memphis are separated by just 85 miles, while fans from Boulder and Fort Collins get their dander up when these Colorado universities collide. There is a clear morganatic relationship in these heated get-togethers, with the non-BCS schools always feeling they have something to prove. This should be good entertaining football action on Sunday of a long holiday weekend.

Ole Miss at Memphis

This will be the sixth straight time these teams will start a new campaign matched against one another. Ole Miss is sexy SEC West pick, led by QB Jevan Snead, who is legit Heisman candidate, with large groups of NFL scouts hanging around the Oxford campus.

Going from trendy underdog to flashy front-runner has sidetracked more than one team in the past and the Rebels know it according coach Houston Nutt, who is trying to downplay public expectations. “It’s the same attitude we had last year when nobody had us ranked,” Nutt said of his approach to Mississippi being ranked No.8.

Bookmaker.com has Ole Miss as 17.5-point favorites with total of 55. The Rebels are 46-10-2 SU against Memphis but just 3-8-1 ATS as road chalk since 2000. Mississippi is 29-11 ATS in non-SEC action.

Coach Tommy West has found success in Memphis, but wants to play in C-USA title game this season. That might be easier said than done with only 12 returning starters. Quarterback Arkelon Hall has targets to throw to in Carlos Singleton and Duke Calhoun, who matchup well with Rebels secondary. Memphis doesn’t have the strength or power to go toe-to-toe with the offensive or defensive lines with their neighbor to the South, however the underdog is 4-2 ATS and the home team is 6-2-1 ATS.

Pulling a massive upset would get people talking about a Memphis team that is 17-9 ATS as a home dog and 18-12-1 ATS vs. the SEC. ESPN will telecast this contest at 3:30 Eastern.

Colorado State at Colorado

Even if you include last year’s 38-17 drubbing by Colorado, the last seven meetings in this in-state rivalry have been decided by 6.5 points per game. It just turns out to be fun to watch these teams get after one another.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins believes his team could compete for Big 12 North, if injured players return and offense gels. This is meaningful year for coach Hawkins, who is 13-24 (14-21 ATS) at Boulder and has talked about his team achieving 10 wins this campaign. The coach knows this is swing season for him and his club is 10.5-point favorite, with his son Cody needing big season to ease the pressure. If big time sophomore running Darrell Scott hits his stride, the Buffalos move to 15-7 ATS as double digit favorites.

Colorado State had surprising 7-6 campaign with a bowl victory and looks to build on solid season. That could be easier said than done without established quarterback and only five starters back on defense. If senior QB Grant Stucker can gain early confidence, he’ll be able to throw to some of the best wide receivers in the Mountain West Conference. Dating back to 1986, The Rams are 5-14 SU in this Rocky Mountain confrontation with a 12-7 ATS mark

This rivalry returns back to campus just for a year with Buffs 17-4 in home openers (0-7 ATS run). FSN will broadcast starting at 7 Eastern.