Maniac's SEC Picks: Week 3

Week 3 of the College Football Season
Last week I went 11-1 Week 2 Picks
My picks are in bold.

ALABAMA @ TEXAS A&M

SOUTHERN MISS @ ARKANSAS

LOUISVILLE @ KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE @ OREGON

MISSISSIPPI STATE @ AUBURN

VANDERBILT @ SOUTH CAROLINA

KENT ST. @ LSU

OLE MISS @ TEXAS

Florida, Georgia, and Missouri are all off this week.

2013 Arkansas Razorbacks Season Prediction

credit: ArkansasRazorbacks.com

It's finally game week. That time of year that all football fans desperately look forward to all winter and summer long. Last season was a major disaster. No one can deny the Razorbacks had talent last year. The biggest thing they didn't have was leadership on and off the field. The players flat out gave up especially after the loss to Louisiana Monroe. You have to go back a few years to win the Razorbacks lost all games at War Memorial like they did last season. Most people would say that the Arkansas Razorbacks are in rebuilding mode. I personally would say the Razorbacks are in redemption mode. The Hogs made a big splash hiring Bret Bielema (Pronounced Bee-la-muh). He hired a top notch staff and even grabbed some big recruits at the end of the recruitment period. It will take a few years to get the players that Coach Bielema and his staff need to fit the style they are bringing to Arkansas. Fans will need to be patient and realize their will be growing pains. But fans can take solace in the fact that along the way there will be things to be very excited and happy about. Last year the Razorbacks won only 4 games but with a better coach they could have easily won 6 to 7 games.

1. Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns-------------------------------W
2. Samford Bulldogs--------------------------------------------------------W
3. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles-----------------------------W
4. Rutgers Scarlet Knights-----------------------------------------------W
5. Texas A&M Aggies -------------------------------------------------------L
6. Florida Gators---------------------------------------------------------------L
7. South Carolina Gamecocks------------------------------------------W
8. Alabama Crimson Tide------------------------------------------------- L
9. Auburn Tigers--------------------------------------------------------------W
10. Ole Miss Rebels------------------------------------------------------------L
11. Mississippi State Bulldogs--------------------------------------------W
12. LSU Tigers--------------------------------------------------------------------L

                I see the Razorbacks going 7-5 and pulling an upset on South Carolina. I can't quite put my finger on why but I feel like the Hogs can get it done against the Gamecocks in Fayetteville. There are other games that really could be a lot closer than people think. If the Aggies don't have Johnny Football then that could be a winnable game. Also Florida at the Swamp has the potential to be an upset. If the Hogs were to get a few upsets along the way I completely feel like it will balance out with a few let downs as that is just a fact of history with the Razorbacks. In my opinion the Razorbacks have the talent to be at least a 6-6 team and go on to a bowl game and likely win it making them just over .500 for the season. 

Pryor proves NCAA can no longer let schools police themsleves

Terrelle Pryor has helped add further proof that the NCAA needs to change many policies. Pryor was set to be suspended for the first five games of the upcoming season. By leaving school he will not have to serve that suspension or have to answer to the NCAA on any an all violations that he had. The NCAA could have and should have suspended Pryor and the rest of the violating Ohio State players before the Sugar Bowl. I was in the group of people that did want them to play so if the Hogs had won we could have said we beat them at full strength with no excuses. However as a fan of the Hogs I knew it was a risk for the guys to play because they would be able to leave school for the NFL Draft before the season, but they promised their coach and school they would be back and serve the suspension.
 Fast forward six months and Terrelle Pryor and Coach Jim Tressel have both moved on from Ohio State. By going to the NFL both can avoid any punishment from the NCAA. More and more information keeps coming out. The latest is Pryor getting paid to sign memorabilia for large sums of money. The slip up came by payment by check. To find out more about violations just Google Pryor, Tressel or Ohio State.  This OSU debacle is just another proving that the NCAA can no longer allow schools to police themselves. OSU should and most likely will be more severely punished than USC. Its not a matter of when will it happen again but a matter of who will it be. Auburn, I am looking your direction.

The University of Connecticut Huskies are the National Champs but are they the best team?

Connecticut won what a lot of people consider the worst championship game ever on this past Monday night. The Huskies play terrible but lucky for them the Butler Bulldogs played even worse. Butler was bricking so many shots that you would have thought they were building a house. On twitter so many jokes were made about the bricks. UCONN was on a major run. They won 11 straight games on there way to the title. They won 5 games in 5 days in the Big East Tournament. They also won the Maui Invational as well making them undefeated in Tournament play. They are a good team and a very hot team but were they the best team. They were the better team Monday night, but that is what the NCAA Tournament provides, Chance. Every Division 1 Conference Champ gets into the tournament as well as some teams that didn't win to round out the field. When the tournament starts every team has a chance to become champ. That is the great thing about the Tournament. Its not like the BCS in College Football where its all politics. This year proved that the mid-majors have some of the better teams because they have more mature athletes than the big boys do. The big boys: Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, etc.. have some one and dones and kids leaving after just a few years. The smaller schools like VCU keep kids longer and they get more mature and better skilled. A lot of people I have talked to on Twitter and read reports from National and Local media think that Ohio State was the best team this year. Sometimes the best team isn't always the champion.

Who do you think the best team was in College Basketball this year?

Where are they now: Corliss "Big Nasty" Williamson

Corliss "Big Nasty" Williamson was a major part of bringing the University of Arkansas their only NCAA Championship in basketball in 1994 beating Duke. In his junior year,1995, he help lead the Hogs back to the championship game only this time to lose to college powerhouse UCLA. Williamson had a great career at the UofA. He is easily considered one of the top 10 players ever at Arkansas. Corliss spent 12 years in the NBA. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings at 13th overall in 1995. He was traded by the Kings in 2000 to Toronto Raptors. Raptors traded him in later that season to the Detroit Pistons. With the Pistons Williamson won a World Championship. In the 01-02 Corliss won the Sixth Man of the Year Award.  During the 04-05 season he was traded to Philadelphia before being traded back to Sacramento. Corliss finished his NBA career with the Kings, retiring in 2007. Corliss started his coaching journey in 2007 as an assistant with Arkansas Baptist. Currently Corliss Williamson is the head basketball coach at the University of Central Arkansas. He isn't having a great season at a current record 5-23. With all the basketball experience that he has there is no doubt that "Big Nasty" will have UCA competing very soon.

Sugar bowl starting to Sour?

We are only 12 days away from the very anticipated Sugar Bowl. There is now some drama involving Ohio State. 5 players including starting quarterback Terrell Pryor have been suspended for 5 games next season for violating NCAA rules. Pryor sold some of his apparel and a football ring. The one big that sticks out is they will play in the Sugar Bowl. If the players did something wrong worth missing games shouldn't they be punished and not play in a reward for playing well. I agree with lots of Hog fans that want to beat OSU at full power to make the victory that much sweeter. The other big problem that I have is some of if not all will not have to ever serve a suspension. Because all of the affected players are juniors they will be eligible for the NFL draft therefore never getting punished. The NCAA knows this and that is another reason they delayed the suspensions in my opinion. Another reason is because they want the big ten to look good against the SEC. The NCAA is all about money. They want to make every last cent they can off the amateur college athlete.