This Weekend

1. Word is this weekend we will see the offense open up a little bit. No idea if this is due to the fact that Brantley's bruised ribs have the staff hesitant to run the option with him, or that Demps is still hampered by the foot injury or that Gillislee ankle is worse than originally expected, but this week we should see a lot more of Frankie Hammond and Andre Debose. Debose should get some carries this week, signally the official return of the Percy Position.

2. For some reason, this staff is overly protective of the offensive line. Addiveo's comments about Pouncey after last week's debacle were comical. There is no doubt that Pouncey is an excellent lineman and an all-american guard, however he is not a center and will not play a down there at the next level. Yesterday Meyer reiterated that the line played well against Alabama and got a push against them. If you say so coach. Let's put it this way, if the line played so well why was Xavier Nixon pulled at halftime? Why did the Marcel Dareus only lineup against the right side of our OL?

3. This week. On offense I think we open it up and yes I do see the irony of a team playing conservative against a team with a weak secondary (Alabama) and a team opening it up against a team where the secondary is its strength (LSU). On defense I expect us to be in the 5-2 package more often than not. LSU is a trainwreck on offense (this will be Gary Crowton's last year in Baton Rouge in my opinion). If Jefferson is at QB they will run a lot of zone read options and the Gator D will dare him to throw the ball. When Lee is at QB, yes I expect to see both play in this game, the offense will resemble a pro-style offense - I formation, play-action pass, etc. Lee is much improved from a year ago and quite frankly a much better QB than Jefferson.

4. This weekend is without a doubt the biggest recruiting weekend of the year. Now we only have 2 official visitors - Todd Barr (#6 DT from California) and Quinta Funderburk (#18 WR from Virginia), but there are going to be a ton of un-official visitors there to take in the game. Here is a sampling of the players that should be there:

Verbal Commits - Jeff Driskel (#2 QB)
Chase Hounsell (OL)
Javares McRoy (WR)
Chris Johnson (S)
Pop Saunders (DB)
Nick Waisome (CB)
Hunter Joyer (FB)
Latroy Pittman (2012 WR)

Uncommitted Players - Stephone Anthony (#3 OLB from NC)
Lamar Dawson (#7 MLB from KY)
Mike Bellamy (#5 RB from Punta Gorda, FL)
Kelvin Benjamin (#11 WR from Belle Glade, FL)
Matt Goudis (K from California)
Tim Jernigan (#1 DT from Lake City, FL)

The staff is also expecting a ton of 2012 players and a couple of 2013 players to be attending the game.

Pick 6

UF v. LSU - The Swamp at night against a top 25 team will be just the atmosphere to get the team back on track. While LSU is an excellent defensive team, their struggles on offense will be too much to overcome (sound familiar?). I think we win 27-10.

Alabama v. South Carolina - This game sets up perfectly for South Carolina. But I just don't see a team with that big of a question mark at QB beating the #1 team in the land. In the end Bama wins easily 31-17.

Georgia v. Tennessee - Those people in Vegas must know something about the Bulldogs that no one else does. How else can you explain Georgia opening up as a double digit favorite? I think Georgia wins in a close one 23-17. Mark Richt better hope he beats Derek Dooley....

FSU v. Miami - Florida State was absolutely embarrassed the last time they played a team with any skill, so there is no reason to think that Jacory Harris won't light them up this weekend. Unfortunately for Miami fans Harris also likes to throw the ball to the other team a couple of times a game, which should keep Seminoles in the game longer than they should be. In the end Miami wins 41-28.

USC v. Stanford - Stanford's style has the potential to ruin USC's season. Not just because they can beat USC, but b/c they are so physical that the Cardinal can beat up a depleted USC roster. Luck will have a great game and any hope USC has of winning the PAC 10 title will be after the game. 41-24.

I can't even find another game to pick the schedule is so bad this week.

I will go with ND over Pitt. Brian Kelly is a good coach and the only hope that those of us who want ND to continue to be bad have is for the ND fans to grow restless with Kelly. This one should not be close.