The second week of our local ESPN College Football Pick ‘Em contest has also come and gone, and here’s the Top 10 from last Saturday’s slate of games.
Jeremy Matheny and I were tied for first place overall. Hunter Norris was in third place, and Preston Albritton was in fourth place. Aaron Albritton and Rod Sims were in fifth place.
Mike Dailey and Ricky Taylor were tied for seventh place. Joey Matheny, Chris Garner and Peter Burmeister were tied for ninth place. Ian Smith was in twelfth place.
If you’re playing and didn’t finish in the Top 10, don’t sweat it. This contest will run for 13 more weeks, and it’s a marathon not a sprint. You’ll find that the Top 10 will change a lot over the next few months.
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Anyone who was in Brooks Memorial Stadium Friday night for Hillcrest’s football game against UMS-Wright will know just how close head coach Larry Boykin is to making things happen for Hillcrest. UMS, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 4A and the defending 4A state champions, won the game, 31-7, but the final score doesn’t tell the full tale.
In the opening two quarters, Hillcrest gave UMS all they wanted, and the Jags looked about as good as any high school team you’d want to watch. They gouged the Bulldog defense again and again, making huge gains in the running game play after play. UMS fielded a team that looked like the New England Patriots, but in the first half, Hillcrest more than held their own against one of the top programs in the state.
Hillcrest let what would have been the biggest upset in school history slip away in the second half, but those of you who were at the game got a glimpse of what Hillcrest is capable of doing. If the Jags can ever figure out how to limit their mistakes, stop the penalties and turnovers and step up the passing game, they’ll be well on their way to being one of the most successful football programs in the state.
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If you’re a fan of college football, you’ve got a lot of great games to look forward to this coming Saturday, including the Alabama-Texas A&M game and Auburn’s game against Mississippi State. Here are my picks for those two games and the rest of this week’s round of SEC games. I like Alabama over Texas A&M, Auburn over Mississippi State, Louisville over Kentucky, Arkansas over Southern Miss, Oregon over Tennessee, LSU over Kent State, South Carolina over Vanderbilt and Texas over Ole Miss. (Florida, Georgia and Missouri do not play this week.) Last week: 10-2. So far this season: 21-4.
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Also this week, the NFL regular season moves into Week Two, and action will start tonight (Thursday) with a game between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots. That game will kick off at 7:25 p.m. in Foxboro, Mass. Fourteen games will follow on Sunday, and the Monday night game will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tonight, I look for New England to beat the New York Jets. On Sunday, I like Philadelphia over San Diego, Baltimore over Cleveland, Houston over Tennessee, Miami over Indianapolis, Carolina over Buffalo, Atlanta over St. Louis, Green Bay over Washington, Kansas City over Dallas, Chicago over Minnesota, New Orleans over Tampa Bay, Arizona over Detroit, Oakland over Jacksonville, Denver over the New York Giants and Seattle over San Francisco. On Monday night, I look for Cincinnati to beat Pittsburgh. Last week: 12-4. So far this season: 12-4.
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