Friday, October 21, 2016

Football 2016: Week Eight

The unbeaten Aggies return to action after their open date, and tomorrow they play one of the most important games of the Kevin Sumlin era at unbeaten Alabama. The Tide is favored by 17 points (and as many as 19 in some places). Both teams are coming off wins over Tennessee. The Aggies squeaked by the Vols two weeks ago, winning on a pass interception in the second overtime. Alabama demolished the Vols 49-10 last week, and held the Tennessee offense to 163 total yards after the Vols ran up 700 yards and 38 points on the A&M defense.

This is the CBS showcase game at 2:30, and if the Aggies could pull off a win on the road, it would make this a special season. I don't expect that to happen. College Football News predicts Alabama will pull away in the 4th quarter to win 37-24. If A&M can keep it that close, it might be considered a moral victory. I'll watch this one as long as A&M is ahead, tied, or no more than 14 points behind.

UPDATE 4:16 PM 22 OCTOBER: Alabama has looked like the vastly superior team for most of the first half, but Texas A&M has somehow made just enough good plays to stay in the game at 13-7, respectable but not good enough to win.

SECOND UPDATE 5:38 PM: A&M scored on their first possession in the third quarter to lead 14-13. Since then, it's been all Alabama, and with 12:27 left in the game, the Tide now leads by three scores at 33-14. Since A&M is behind more more than 14 points, I'm free to get on with my life.

FINAL UPDATE 7:31 PM: Alabama was content to run out the clock, and 33-14 was the final score. This game confirmed what we already knew: The Aggies must play flawless football to have any chance of beating teams like Alabama. Turnovers and penalties like those we saw in this game will get them stomped by 19 points.

Other semi-interesting SEC games and CFN score predictions:
  • Arkansas (5-2) at Auburn (4-2), with Auburn favored by ten points. Prediction: Auburn wins 30-26. On ESPN at 5:00 PM. UPDATE: Auburn thrashed Arkansas 56-3. Whoa.
  • Mississippi State (2-4) at Kentucky (3-3), with MSU favored by a field goal. Prediction: The Bulldogs win 23-17. On SEC at 6:30 PM. UPDATE: Mississippi State has fallen back into the lower end of the SEC after its 40-38 loss to Kentucky.
  • Ole Miss (3-3) at LSU (4-2), with LSU favored by 5.5 points. Prediction: LSU wins 34-23. On ESPN at 8:00 PM. UPDATE: Good news, bad news. The good news is that Ole Miss is probably not as strong as I thought, but the bad news is that LSU is stronger. My gut feeling today is that Texas A&M will lose to one of these teams. LSU won 38-21.

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