Keep the Streak Going

Welcome to the next to last week of the regular season. Hard to believe but so very true. The seasons fly by like the years of our lives, but there is joy and memories if you look for the positive and share the moments with friends and family. Honestly, it is not the wins and losses that endure time, it is the journey itself.

Western Carolina @ No. 5 Alabama: The Catamounts are taking an excursion at the best possible time and the worst possible time. The Crimson Tide had their long home winning streak broken their last time out of the box. Nick Saban will be anxious to get another one started. There are problems to overcome, though, as they try to find a quarterback who can just manage a game while letting playmakers do their thing.

For those of you who don’t know what a Catamount is, well, it was a form of a cougar that roamed the Eastern United States but is now thought to be extinct. If it wasn’t, they would be after aiding Nickie-poo in a search for an adequate quarterback.

T-Dawg’s Winner: Alabama 45-6

Samford @ No. 16 Auburn: The Samford Bulldogs travel down Hwy 280 for their second visit to the village on the plains. The Bulldogs have never really had a chance to get a paw in the door at Auburn, having scored a total of 89 points in 10 of the 28 times these two have played.

Gus knows that the hopelessly wounded red pachyderms are stumbling his way, so he must get the ground traps ready and he will use the unsuspecting Bulldogs as a trial run. Gus will not allow his main cats to get beat up in this one knowing next week should punch his ticket one way or the other. Before this one is over, he will have the cook from Waffle House playing quarterback.

T-Dawg’s Winner: Auburn 41-7

Tennessee @ Missouri: Jeremy Pruitt’s Volunteers started out the season about as bad as they could start. In fact, you would have sworn that they didn’t know which way to even point the gun because they kept shooting themselves initially. The volunteers are seeking to end on a five-game win streak, but to achieve that, they must make it four in a row first.

Barry Odom’s Tigers are on the opposite end of that spectrum having dropped four in a row while needing only one to qualify for the bowling season. Derek Dooley’s offense hasn’t scored points in nine quarters as the wheels have fallen off the gold and black wagon. It is almost like this is a game between two teams that have completely changed places from where they were at the beginning of the year. Odom’s felines may still make the postseason because some mortally wounded pigs lie ahead, but still, he must be wondering if he fed his cats some bad food at some point.

T-Dawg’s Winner: Tennessee 31-13

UT Martin @ Kentucky: Mark Stoops’ Wildcats will go all out to knock the Skyhawks out of the sky. Stoops understands that not securing a win this week could spell death to any hopes of spending the holidays outside of Lexington, Kentucky. The Wildcats will use “Smoke,” mirrors and Bowden to run past the Skyhawks into the travel agent’s office. The bird attack will not give it up without making a couple of flybys, but they will find that they have run into a little bit more than a house cat.

T-Dawg’s Winner: Kentucky 37- 14

East Tennessee St. @ Vanderbilt: The Buccaneers ease on over to Nashville to fight it out with the Commodores of Vanderbilt. Both coaches realize that, in a season where most everything has not gone as planned, this may be their last chance to be victorious. The two coaches will test their swash-buckling skills along the gangplank until one strikes a fatal blow. On guard……..

T-Dawg’s Winner: Vanderbilt 27-14

Arkansas @ No. 1 LSU: Interim Head Coach Barry Lunney takes his newly inherited little Piggies down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The grunts and squeals may sound a little different, but it will still be the same mud wallowing pigs. It must be discouraging knowing the only reason they are ever invited is to be the food sacrifice.

Joe Burrow has almost led his Bengal Tigers to Atlanta and so many other possibilities, but first he needs to help his team roast some pigs and beat another team that always uses 12 men. Have no doubt, Joe KNOWS and will get the job done barring the unthinkable. Big Baby Orgeron is simply smiling all day and night. He has even been waking up giggling in the morning. Listen for the Piglets squealing all the way home.

T-Dawg’s Winner: LSU 58-13

No. 24 Texas A&M @ No. 4 Georgia: Jimbo has delivered his Aggie clan to bowl season again and avoided the November nosedive, until now. Athens and then Baton Rouge await to close the season, and while Reveille has a little bite to her, she must be shivering in guarded fear having to go to a harsh environment. The Aggies may get away with playing with the “12th Man” at home, but this adventure will take them to the east 900 miles.

Before Kirby takes his Dawgs over to Atlanta, he needs to dispose of a rogue band of collies that someone has unloaded at Sanford Stadium. Kirby does love dogs, but these mutts will be digging in the hedges if he doesn’t use his boys to run them out. Fromm and associates will take care of business in their Athens swan song.

T-Dawg’s Winner: Georgia 36-13

Abilene Christian @ Miss. State: Coach JoMo must win out to keep the State bowl streak going. Every streak will end at some time, that is just a fact of life. The Dawgs know they must impose their will in this week’s game so the rest of the brethren can join them once they get out of the pound next week. Kylin, Tommy, Garrett, Erroll and the rest of the crew will try to run the purple Wildcats out of town so preparations can be made for a Thanksgiving feast. Nothing can be taken for granted or the streak could be in jeopardy.

T-Dawg’s Winner: Miss. State 42-6

A short week next week as the Thanksgiving rivalries take place to close out the regular season for most of Division I teams. Conference championship games will be played and the iconic Army vs. Navy game. If you have never seen this historic game, you have missed what the heart of college football is all about. Playing football for the sheer love of the game and your school knowing there probably will not be a future in football down the road. Life will bring changes from your youth but the memories and pride of doing what you loved can never be taken from you.

Hail State!