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Sniff Sniff Sniff can you smell that? That’s right it’s football season. Look I love pre-season football as much as the next guy (not at all) but it’s something about the very first game you see your team playing being for real that just excites me. And this week we have some doozies.

Appetizers:
#2 LSU vs Miss. State

On paper this matchup is a mis-match. I agree. It would be nice to see Coach Sylvester Croom get a signature victory but I just don’t see it. Even with the short comings of the Coach Les Miles the talent level for LSU is too much for the Bulldogs. Matt Flynn(QB) should be able to get his feet wet before the big clash with Virginia Tech next week.
Senior WR Early Doucet takes over as LSU’s “go to” guy at wide receiver due to the departure of Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis. A year ago, Doucet established himself as one of the best in the SEC, catching 59 balls for 772 yards and eight TDs. Doucet capped his junior campaign by leading the Tigers with eight catches for a career-best 115 yards in the Sugar Bowl win over Notre Dame.

Mississippi State is led on defense by senior DL Titus Brown, wh o has played in 31 games with 13 career starts. He was a consensus second-team, all-Southeastern Conference performer last year. Brown had 38 total tackles, but 14.5 of those were for loss (minus 75 yards), seven and one-half of which were quarterback sacks (minus 54 yards). Both of those numbers led State’s defense and ranked third and fifth, respectively, among his SEC ppers.
The Bulldogs are led by senior WR Tony Burks, who caught 35 passes for 850 yards, a 24.3-yard per catch average, and five touchdowns in his first season at State. RB Anthony Dixon rushed 169 times for 668 yards, a 4.0-yard per carry average, and nine touchdowns during his true freshman season. His rushing attempts, yards gained, and touchdowns all marked true freshman records at State. Croom and his staff have the vast majority of their offense returning, including four regulars up front.

DL Glenn Dorsey has been listed on every preseason All-America team and has been rated as the best defensive tackle in the nation by several publications. Last year, Dorsey earned first-team All- America honors after anchoring an LSU defense that ranked among the top five in the nation in yards allowed and scoring. LB Ali Highsmith,w ho has eight career sacks and 17 TFLs also returns. (from SECsports.com)
Prediction: LSU 48 MSU 10

#6 Florida vs Western Kentucky

Yes another mis-match. This is the coming out party for young Tim Tebow(Qb). Everyone wants to know if he can handle the entire team not just certain situations. Also it will be the first look at the young defense with only 2 starters returning. This game gets you ready for the rest of the day.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN WESTERN KENTUCKY HAS THE BALL
Curtis Hamilton, the team’s leading returning receiver who was a third-team All-America selection last fall after catching 52 passes for 841 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing two-and-a-half games due to injury, will be looked at to lead the offense.

The defensive players returning in 2007 have combined for a total of just 36 career starts. SS Tony Joiner leads the way with 15 career starts, while FS Kyle Jackson has made 11 starts, but none in 2006. Derrick Harvey returns as the team’s leader from 2006 in tackles for loss (13.0), sacks (11.0) and fumble recoveries (three).

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN FLORIDA HAS THE BALL
QB Tim Tebow will be the Gators’ top returning passer and rusher in 2007. He finished the 2006 season passing 22-for- 33 with five touchdowns and just one interception, while he rushed 89 times for 469 yards (5.3 avg.) and eight touchdowns. The Florida offense will also lose its top receiver, but returns three of its top five wideouts: Andre Caldwell, Percy Harvin and Cornelius Ingram return and combined those three hauled in 121 catches for 1,384 yards and nine touchdowns in 2006.

Marion Rumph, a three-year starter at free safety who has led the Toppers in tackles each of the last two seasons after racking up 87 stops in 2006 on the way to earning first-team all-Gateway Football Conference accolades for the second year in a row, leads the defense. The linebacking corps boasts three individuals who earned second-team all-league honors last season in Dusty Bear, Blake Boyd — also a member of the conference’s All-Newcomer Team — and Andre Lewis. ( from SECsports.com).

Prediction: Florida 55 W. Kentucky 17

Main Course:

#15 Tennessee vs #12 Cal

Now this one is doozie. Two top 25 teams doing battle in primetime. The Vols may have some trouble with the injury to Erik Ainge(Qb). Cal looks to get revenge for what truly was a horrible trip to Knoxville a year ago.
The presence of Erik Ainge for a final fling puts the Vols one-up on most of the competition going into the 2007 campaign. The most accurate passer in Tennessee history, with his 67-percent completion mark edging out such notables as Peyton Manning and Daryl Dickey, Ainge is masterful at finding the bull’s-eye. He had two games in which his consistency was especially notable, hitting 15 straight against Air Force and 11 against Vanderbilt. Ainge in 2006 had 19 touchdown passes, bringing his career total to 41.

Cal is led on defense by junior linebacker Zack Follett. A Butkus Award candidate, he was All-Pac-10 as a sophomore in 2006 with 12.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He also talied 62 tackles and four forced fumbles. The Golden Bears return four starters in the secondary in 2007. However, three are safeties and only one is a cornerback, as Cal must develop a replacement for consensus All-American Daymeion Hughes at one corner.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CALIFORNIA HAS THE BALL
Nate Longshore stepped into the starting role at quarterback in 2006 and established himself as one of the top signal-callers in the Pac-10, if not the nation. As a sophomore, Longshore connected for 24 touchdowns while directing the Cal offense to a Pac-10 best 32.8 points per game. He became just the second Golden Bear to pass for over 3,000 yards in a single season (3,021). Longshore completed over 60 percent of his passes and ranked second in the Pac- 10 in passing efficiency.

Tennessee is led on defense by senior DB Jonathan Hefney and junior LB Jerod Mayo. Hefney has 226 career tackles, nine interceptions and 16 pass deflections while Mayo had 96 tackles last season with five interceptions, being named secondteam All-America by Rivals.com. Tennessee was fifth in the SEC in pass defense (180.8 ypg) and in turnover margin last season.(fromsecsports.com)

Prediction: Cal 23 Tennessee 20