#4 Ole Miss went into their game with South Carolina yesterday expecting to leave with a win. Instead, the Gamecocks' defense shined in the Rebels' 16-10 defeat Thursday night.
A national television audience watched Ole Miss lose their sixth straight SEC opener. Quarterback Jevan Snead was held to only seven completions and 107 yards, while the Rebel running game was held to just 65 yards. The loss continued the streak of at least one top-five team losing in each week of the season this year. Here are the others:
Week 1: Oklahoma lost to BYU
Week 2: Oklahoma State lost to Houston
Week 3: USC lost to Washington
It's now time for the Georgia vs. Arizona State game in Athens on Saturday night. The 21st-ranked Dawgs are playing in their easiest game of the year so far, expecting to win big time. Mark Bradley's prediction put the Bulldogs as 31-10 winners.
In the first-ever meeting between UGA and ASU last year, Georgia left Tempe with a 27-10 victory. Georgia's defense will need to step up in this game, as shown by the following stats:
Offense: scores 34.3 points per game
Defense: allows 34.0 points per game
As I stated in my Week 3 SEC rankings: "The offense can score at will. Anyone can score on the defense at will." The second part of that needs to change if the Dawgs want to have a good season.
