Tusk to Tail: How far will Pittman throw his headphones in Oxford?

THE QUESTION
Can you say something positive about the Hogs’ loss to Georgia?

Sam: Hey, we won the coin toss! Seriously, we got to see what four years of Sam Pittman recruiting for the Georgia O-line does. That is what we have to look forward to in the near future.

Todd: Pittman threw his headphones farther than our longest offensive gain. It was Saban-esque. Anything Saban-like is a positive.

THE GAMES
#13 Arkansas @ #17 Ole Miss
Sean: Our Hogs and Ole Miss are both limping into Saturday morning’s game. Arkansas is adding size to the offensive line, and that should help the Hogs in the trenches. The most important playmaker in this game is Ole Miss QB Matt Corral, and he’s not throwing 6 INT’s this weekend. Arkansas improves over last weekend and gets on the board, but it won’t be enough. Hogs fall to the Black Bears/Landsharks/Rebels (or whatever they call themselves) 34-17.

Sam: Ole Miss has had this game circled since the disaster last year. Ole Miss is favored by 6, and the Hogs need to establish the ground game to limit the Ole Miss offense time on the field. I think the game will go back and forth with the Hogs pulling out a 4th quarter score to win 34-27 over Ole Miss.

Todd: As I said last week, Hog fans need to be patient no matter how the next two games go. Our trajectory is still up. Georgia’s front 7 is the best we will play this season. It was a penalty fest for both teams last week, partly due to playing in hostile environments. The Land Sharks defense was exposed as expected, as they could not stop the run. I expect the Hogs offensive line to bounce back just fine and the ground game to pick right back up where it left off before Georgia. Arkansas was the first team to throw the 3-3-5 defense at Ole Miss last year and everyone used that blueprint after that game. Expect Kiffin and Corral to have made some adjustments. The Hogs’ passing defense though is still ranked one of the best in the country and I think they make the necessary adjustments in the second half to walk out of Oxford with the W. Leading with confidence, Arkansas wins 38-35.

LSU @ #16 Kentucky
Sean: Kentucky football is 5-0 with a huge win over Florida last weekend.  Saturday night they host a 3-2 LSU Tiger team, and LSU has not impressed since winning the national title in January 2020. Still, I’m not buying into a 6-0 Kentucky team. Somehow, someway the Corndogs win 20-17.

#6 Oklahoma vs. #21 Texas
Sam: OU has not been very flashy so far this season and Texas has only beat some weaker teams. I feel OU has played some tougher teams but Texas is feeling very good right now about themselves. I’ll take OU 27-24 over Texas.

Todd: Let’s cut to the chase. OU loses every year to someone they are not to supposed to. They have won 4 out of their 5 games against FBS teams by less than 7 points. Since the Horns lost to the Hogs last month, they have been on a roll. When they made the QB switch to Casey Thompson late in the game against Arkansas, he led them right down to the field to a TD. Anything can happen in a rivalry game, so both teams should be up for the Red River Shootout. The OU running game has not been the typical OU rushing attack. I think Bijon Robinson, the stud Texas RB, is the difference as he and Thompson knock OU out of the top 10. Horns down 34-31

#4 Penn State @ #3 Iowa
Sean: Both teams are 5-0 entering this game in Iowa City. This will be a brawl between two tough defenses, and both teams will have to air the ball out to get some traction. It comes down to whoever can make plays in the fourth quarter. I like Penn State. I like James Franklin. Penn State on top, 27-24.

#2 Georgia @ #18 Auburn
Sam: Bo Nix ran around and played keep away from LSU, giving their wide outs time to get open. UGA’s defense is for real and too strong to allow that. Georgia will shut down the Auburn offense. Auburn scores late but UGA wins 42-10.

#1 Alabama @ Texas A&M
Todd: Aggies have already lost two on the year. Make it three after this one. How much is A&M paying Jimbo again? We know Alabama is getting their money’s worth. Tide rolls 35-17.

Sean: Not much to see here folks. Bama at A&M at 7p.m. Bama’s killing the Aggies in the 2nd quarter and you’ll have more fun streaming Dave Chappelle’s last standup on Netflix. Bama wins 54-24.

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