Mississippi Drivel, Issue 16: Spooky Season
Here's hoping that Mac Jones starts seeing ghosts Saturday night about 6 pm
It is the week of Halloween, and college football still remains afloat. There have been some problems in the Big Ten, with the Wisconsin program experiencing a rash of positive tests after their first game against Nebraska last weekend—and being placed on a 21-day program-wide suspension as a result. There are a lot of games this weekend, and a lot of interesting matchups, but first, some breaking news, as of last night:
Even though Boston College is unranked, they are 4-2 on the season, with their only two losses to ranked teams—Virginia Tech and North Carolina. So they are a marginal threat, especially with the nation’s top quarterback in quarantine. It also possibly puts in jeopardy Lawrence’s status against top-5 Notre Dame next weekend—and that is a marquee matchup that could have ACC Championship implications, as well as College Football Playoff implications.
Of course, Clemson does have this to back up Lawrence:
His name is D.J. Uiagaleilei, and he is certainly scary-looking on a trap draw. I haven’t seen him throw, but I’d say it’s certainly fair that as a former five-star recruit he’s got a cannon on him.
Pictured above: Dabo Swinney basking in the knowledge that he can quarantine a Heisman candidate QB for a 5-star Cam Newton clone and fear the wrath of no earthly soul
Now that we’ve covered that news, let’s move on to this week’s SEC picks:
SEC PICKS OF THE WEEK
Last week’s picks did not go so well; of course there were only 4 games, but I went 2-2 with the picks as published. Bama and Auburn won; South Carolina and Kentucky did not. This brings my record to 18-12 on the year. I didn’t actually pick LSU in the preseason, which would technically make me 19-11, but I didn’t publish that, so I’m not claiming it. So 18-12 it is.
Without further ado, this week’s picks:
Mississippi State @ Alabama (Bama)
Texas A&M @ Arkansas (A&M)
LSU @ Auburn (Auburn)
Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt (Ole Miss)
Georgia @ Kentucky (Georgia)
Missouri @ Florida (Florida)
I am sticking with all of these preseason picks—and I see literally nothing that can go wrong here.
CUSTOMER DISAPPOINTMENT GUARANTEED PARLAY
Last week’s parlay was a two-out-of-four affair once again, with Coastal Carolina covering and Alabama blowing Tennessee out despite losing star wideout Jaylen Waddle for the season on the opening kickoff. However, LSU blew out South Carolina and the SMU-Cincinnati game turned out at 55, when I advised a 55.5 over. Absolutely brutal.
Anyway, on to this week’s agenda:
GAME 1: #20 Coastal Carolina (-2.5) @ Georgia State
Yes, we are betting on the Chanticleers again. They covered reliably last week and a two and a half point line is tasty bait. Georgia State’s two losses, to Louisiana and Arkansas State, have been high-scoring and by one possession or less, and I expect this one to be a fun showdown as well—with the ultimately better team, Coastal Carolina, taking the W at the end. I mean, how can you not love these guys?
GAME 2: Memphis @ #7 Cincinnati (-6.5)
The Bearcats are coming off a 42-13 throttling of SMU, their biggest win over a ranked opponent in program history, and now turn their attention to another high-powered offense. The Bearcat defense stopped SMU in its tracks on fourth-down conversions in their own territory, and they’re only allowing 12.5 points per game overall—one of the best scoring defenses in all of college football.
GAME 3: Hawaii @ Wyoming OVER 59
I have a friend who always bets Hawaii overs—of course this was a better investment when they ran a faster-paced offense. However, the concept holds, as Wyoming has a very leaky defense and a pretty good offense themselves. The Hawaii over did not hit in their game against Fresno State last week; however, Wyoming and Nevada played to a standstill in a 37-34 overtime matchup that Nevada won last weekend. I think it’s safe to say this one will hit 59 or more.
Evergreen tweet from Big Cat there.
GAME 4: East Carolina @ Tulsa (-17)
Tulsa has shown themselves to be a very underrated team this year, with a victory over (at the time) #11 UCF and going toe to toe with now #6 Oklahoma State. In their last meeting with East Carolina, last November, they won 49-24. The Golden Hurricanes have a great defense and East Carolina is, well, just okay. Look for the home team to cover, going away.
BIRD OF THE WEEK
The Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) can be a rather hard bird to photograph, as it usually is hiding up amongst undergrowth and bushes, using its legs to scratch through leaf-litter and search for food. During the nesting season, male towhees become more bold and move to higher branches in the shrubs and trees, singing from those higher perches to attract females’ attention.
The Eastern Towhee is a subspecies of the Rufous-Sided Towhee, and it inhabits the eastern United States, from the Gulf Coast to southern Canada and Maine. The other subspecies of towhee is the Spotted Towhee, and its range is throughout the western United States.
CLASSIC COUNTRY SONG OF THE WEEK
He stopped loving her today/ They placed a wreath upon his door/ And soon they’ll carry him away/ He stopped loving her today
George Jones, or the Possum, as many called him, is another of country music’s legends, and this song is his finest and most enduring to this day. Jones grew up in Saratoga, Texas, the son of a shipyard worker (also named George) who would come in at night roaring drunk and force young George to either sing or take a beating. Young George chose the latter almost exclusively, and grew to love singing despite having it thrust on him in such a terrible and abusive way. He was especially partial to Hank Williams.
Of course, it’s well-known that George Jones is famously perhaps the most hard-drinking and hard-living country artist of his time. best known for the time he was so hard up for some liquor that he drove a riding lawn mower to a bar in Beaumont, Texas just for a late-night drink. He was also known for his penchant for getting so drunk that he would blow numerous takes recording (he was so drunk recording the #1 hit “White Lightning” in 1959 that it took him over 80 tries to get the vocals right) and not show up to concerts, earning the additional nickname “No-Show Jones” and piling up lawsuits and ill will from promoters.
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” was released in 1980, and marked the beginning of a massive career comeback for Jones—he had spent the last few years recovering emotionally from a nasty, very public 1976 divorce with Tammy Wynette and even been homeless for a while, living in his car, relying on financial help from some of his fellow entertainers and living off junk food. The song won a slew of awards, despite Jones’ intense personal distaste for it (“Nobody will buy this morbid son of a bitch,” he reportedly said of it at one point while recording) and was #1 on the country charts for a remarkable 18 weeks.
It’s hard to say where exactly the Possum himself fits in the landscape of country music history, but country music certainly doesn’t get any more soulful and beautifully poetic than that simple four-line refrain. A man and his heartbreak, three chords and the truth, and that’s all you need for arguably the greatest country music song of all time.
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That’s all for this week! Please like, comment, and subscribe if you’re new to the column! And please don’t forget to vote if you haven’t already. Have a great weekend, everyone!