TV Lineup and Lines Below

Time Out
by Dan Rutledge

Anytime the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Arkansas Razorbacks get together, it’s going to be interesting. Bama fans know of what I speak.

Even when the Tide wins, it is never, never easy. Arkansas at Alabama (Line: Alabama by 17) headlines a quartet of league games on the Week 4 SEC football season. There are also four non-conference games on this week’s slate, none of them overly interesting.

Alabama enters the weekend ranked No. 3 in the land after USC’s upset loss. And right now, the league can boast of “owning” the top 5 with No. 1 Florida, and No. 4 Ole Miss up there, too. LSU is ranked No. 7 and Georgia moved back up a few spaces to No. 17 with its win over Arkansas last week.

Something will have to give when Bama and the Hogs collide in Tuscaloosa Saturday – the Tide is ranked third in defense in the county, while the Razorbacks currently have the nation’s third best offense, having rolled up over 500 yards in each of its first two games.

Of course, what will bend early and break wide open later is the Arkansas defense. Against Georgia, the Hogs generated over 500 yards and still lost. You can bet Alabama’s defense will not let them get anywhere close to that amount of yardage. Look for Alabama to use its, although young, offense line to let its stable of running backs ramble. Quarterback Greg McEroy will hang up some more impressive numbers.

By the way, wideout Julio Jones will be back as well. He probably could have played last week – buy why take chances against someone like North Texas?

Another Saturday conference match-up that will be more interesting than some think it will be is when Steve Spurrier’s Gators venture from the warm climes (Florida by 21½). A lot of fans would glance at the schedule and figure it would be another blowout win for the Gators. Right?

After all, Florida is No. 1 and 3-0. They’ve got Tim Tebow. How could there be a problem? The problem could be Kentucky’s defense in general and a fellow named Trevard Lindsey, who plays cornerback for the Cats and is considered a future first-round NFL draft. Kentucky’s special teams are also a threat. Derrick Locke returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD last week – his second of the year, in two games mind you. And then there’s the matter of the opponents . The team that Kentucky dispatched last week was no slouch – the Louisville Cardinals.

Also, Florida did win last week, but it was a very un-Gator-like win, scoring only 23 points. They did not dominate as usual –- against Tennessee!! –- and many fans left The Swamp feeling like they’d lost, not won.

The statistics for Saturday’s meeting with Kentucky all lie in Florida’s favor, or so it seems. The Gators have won 13 games in a row going back to last year –- which is the longest win streak in the nation. Florida has also posted 22 consecutive wins over Kentucky (the Gators lead the series 42-17). But if you’ve dealt with numbers, statistics, long enough, you find out that they always even out in the end.

As my dad, Cotton Rutledge, always used to say –- dad was a professional baseball player before his career was cut short by an injury –- when a .125 batter would come up and I’d say, “No sweat, he can’t hit.” Dad always pointed out, “His average only makes him more dangerous. He’s a better hitter that that. He’s due.” So, streaks always come to an end. Is it time for Florida’s?

This week’s other two league games are big because they are league games. But LSU should have no trouble with Mississippi State (Florida by 21½) and the other game will have already been played by the time this is read (more on it below).

There are four non-conference games on this week’s slate –- none of them interesting unless you are an alum. Vanderbilt ventures west to take on winless (0-3) Rice (Vandy by 7), Tennessee entertains Ohio (Tennessee by 22½), Arizona (2-0) comes east to put it’s unbeaten record on the line in Athens against Georgia (Georgia by 12½), and lastly, Auburn fans will be dancing for joy down on The Plains after Auburn, a 32-point favorite in this one –- and the score could be more, dispatches Ball State. Ball State is 0-3 … and lost to North Texas. ‘Nuff said!

WEEKEND TV LINEUP

The grid slate for this weekend began on Thursday with the aforementioned SEC battle that pits two veteran, probably future hall-of-famers, coaches out to prove their new teams have what it takes to battle for the Southeastern Conference crown. The game pitted Steve Spurrier’s (formerly the Florida Gators’ head man) South Carolina, still trying to show it has become one of the “big boys” on the SEC map, hosting Houston Nutt’s (formerly the Arkansas Razorback’s head man) Ole Miss, which was a preseason Top 10 pick after its successful ’08 campaign. We only know that Spurrier’s team always plays tough at home and the ‘Ol Ball Coach loves to win as the underdog. And with Nutt, you never know what will happen.

9:15 p.m.
Washington St. at USC (FSN South)

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razerbacks

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