The Wild Wild West of 2008 - Three "Must See" Games

[crawfish]

July 8, 2008 1:36 PM Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Here are the top three games to watch in the West. A few that didn't make the cut but will still factor heavily into the race are LSU at Florida on Oct. 11, Georgia at LSU on Oct. 25 and Auburn at Alabama on Nov. 29:

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1. LSU at Auburn, Sept. 20
If you were picking the most compelling SEC games from the last decade, more than a few of the Auburn-LSU clashes would be on the list. Those clashes always seems to go down to the final minutes, and almost always there's some sort of strange twist. A year ago, LSU threw a touchdown pass on the final play (when all it needed to win was a field goal) and had all of one second to spare. Still don't know about that clock management, Coach Miles. The game is at Auburn this season, and the home team has won eight in a row. Both teams will be breaking in new quarterbacks, so there's bound to be some mistakes. This one will come down to defense, and LSU is a little bit better on that side of the ball.

2. Georgia at Auburn, Nov. 15
Stepping outside the division late in the season, Auburn will probably be in a position where it needs to win this game to get to Atlanta. The Bulldogs have given the scoreboard a workout against the Tigers each of the last two years, scoring a combined 82 points. The other reason this game is so big for Auburn is that the Iron Bowl showdown with Alabama comes two weeks later in Tuscaloosa, so it shapes up as a tough close to the season. The Tigers could play their way into or out of the West championship those last few weeks.

3. Alabama at LSU, Nov. 8
Nick Saban's assistants have already joked that they have no plans to be anywhere near the same bus he's on when the Crimson Tide rolls onto LSU's campus in November. The game last season was certainly intriguing. But this will be Saban's first trip back to LSU as the coach of Alabama. He'll feel about as welcome as Michael Vick at a PETA rally. Alabama played well enough to win against LSU for three quarters last season, but couldn't finish the game. We'll find out what this Alabama team has learned after another year with Saban.

[UAdan]

This certainly gets me fired up. Here are a few thoughts:

The Auburn/LSU game seems to be a complete tossup. Both teams are gonna be good and both have a lot of talent, but both will also be breaking in new QB's and new coordinators. The article said that LSU has the upper-hand defensively, but I'm not so sure about that. In fact, I'd say on paper, LSU and Auburn probably have the two best defenses in the conference coming into the season, so it's difficult to say that one is gonna have an advantage over the other in that department.

If there is any advantage for either side, it's that the game is in Auburn. Auburn doesn't lose many big games in Jordan-Hare. But either way, this game is always an instant-classic. With two stingy defenses and two green QB's, I'd expect a final score along the lines of 17-14. Close, and low-scoring.

As for the significance this game has on the SEC West race, I'd say it's certainly big. Heck, 5 of the last 7 years, the winner of this game has won the Western Division Title. But I'm not sure it's as monumental in 2008, simply because I think the West is a little more wide open this year than in years past.

Case in point: Even if LSU beats Auburn, they STILL have a three-game stretch against the likes of Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. It's a tall order for the Bayou Bengals to make it out of that stretch unscaved.

And for Auburn, I agree with the article. Even if they beat LSU, their SEC Title hopes will probably come down to the final two games of the season: Georgia and Alabama.

As for Alabama, the matchup with LSU is big for a number of reasons, particularly the Saban storyline. But there's always the outside possibility that the Iron Bowl could serve as the SEC West Championship game this year, if LSU is out of the running...you never know.

You never know anything in this conference. The West is gonna be crazy this year.

[crawfish]

This certainly gets me fired up. Here are a few thoughts:

The Auburn/LSU game seems to be a complete tossup. Both teams are gonna be good and both have a lot of talent, but both will also be breaking in new QB's and new coordinators. The article said that LSU has the upper-hand defensively, but I'm not so sure about that. In fact, I'd say on paper, LSU and Auburn probably have the two best defenses in the conference coming into the season, so it's difficult to say that one is gonna have an advantage over the other in that department.

If there is any advantage for either side, it's that the game is in Auburn. Auburn doesn't lose many big games in Jordan-Hare. But either way, this game is always an instant-classic. With two stingy defenses and two green QB's, I'd expect a final score along the lines of 17-14. Close, and low-scoring.

As for the significance this game has on the SEC West race, I'd say it's certainly big. Heck, 5 of the last 7 years, the winner of this game has won the Western Division Title. But I'm not sure it's as monumental in 2008, simply because I think the West is a little more wide open this year than in years past.

Case in point: Even if LSU beats Auburn, they STILL have a three-game stretch against the likes of Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. It's a tall order for the Bayou Bengals to make it out of that stretch unscaved.

And for Auburn, I agree with the article. Even if they beat LSU, their SEC Title hopes will probably come down to the final two games of the season: Georgia and Alabama.

As for Alabama, the matchup with LSU is big for a number of reasons, particularly the Saban storyline. But there's always the outside possibility that the Iron Bowl could serve as the SEC West Championship game this year, if LSU is out of the running...you never know.

You never know anything in this conference. The West is gonna be crazy this year.

Well said UAdan, well said. Great post.

[WarEagle73]

Agree that the West will probably be decided between AU, LSU, & Bama this year. The more I think of when these teams of ours meet on the gridiron my head starts to spin in anticipation of some really awesome football.

A game that truly worries me for us is the Tennessee game. We play UT the week after LSU so this is a particularly dangerous game for us. Whether we beat LSU or not, that game will be brutal so we may have a good deal of our players sore and gimpy. Also, there is the mental drain to consider. Both winning or losing the LSU game either put the young guys heads in the clouds or break their spirit.

Past that we have to consider the same dangers resulting from our Georgia game the week before we go to Tuscaloosa.

One solice I have in all this is that we play both LSU & Georgia at Jordan-Hare.

[MSUBULLY]

I would probally add the Auburn/MSU game on to that list. This game could show a lot about each of our programs. MSU could definitely beat Auburn, as proven last year on the Plains, and that would almost spell disaster for their season if they intend to push for the West Crown. It is in my opinion one of the most important early season matchups for both squads.

[DEHIII]

I would have to go with:

(1) Auburn/LSU because that will likely decide the west.

(2) Alabama/LSU the 1st time Saban heads back to red stick.

(3) Ole Miss/Arkansas just for the story line of Petrino versus the old Arkansas coach.

Note on my list, I am keeping it to just West vs West.

[DEHIII]

Agree that the West will probably be decided between AU, LSU, & Bama this year. The more I think of when these teams of ours meet on the gridiron my head starts to spin in anticipation of some really awesome football.

A game that truly worries me for us is the Tennessee game. We play UT the week after LSU so this is a particularly dangerous game for us. Whether we beat LSU or not, that game will be brutal so we may have a good deal of our players sore and gimpy. Also, there is the mental drain to consider. Both winning or losing the LSU game either put the young guys heads in the clouds or break their spirit.

Past that we have to consider the same dangers resulting from our Georgia game the week before we go to Tuscaloosa.

One solice I have in all this is that we play both LSU & Georgia at Jordan-Hare.


Remember that both Alabama and Auburn take the week off before the Iron Bowl. So you guys will have a week to rest up after UGA and we will have a week to rest up after MSU.

[GeauxTo]

All of these posts in this thread thus far have been excellent. Some great insight has been shown in each case. The intangibles, as WarEagle73 pointed out, are important; such as the UGA game at J-H coming just before the Iron Bowl, and Auburn having to face Tennessee the week after a usually very physical and telling game with LSU. And the extra tension that will be in the air at Death Valley as Saban appears on the opposing sidelines, and at Fayetteville as Houston Nutt coaches on the opposing sidelines. This is going to be a super-duper season, guys!