re: Breaking down the first 3 SEC vs. SEC games of the season

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Georgia @ Vanderbilt (CBS, 2:30 CT)
Vandy is tied for the most returning starters in the SEC, but went 0-8 in conference play last season. Mason knows his job is on the line, and if they can get by Western Kentucky in week 1 they should have a good crowd & some energy for this game. Georgia won 44-17 last year in Athens, and ran for 243. Vandy will be a year older & improved on defense, but I say that a Chubb-led UGA will run for 200 as a team and dominate the 2nd half. Bulldogs win 31-14.

Kentucky @ S.Carolina (SECN, 6:30 CT)
We'll learn a lot in week 1 - Kentucky hosts a decent ULL team and SC plays UNC. If UK wins impressively and SC wins at all, this game will get some extra attention, with SC possibly coming in ranked. UK won last year's shootout (947 total yards) 45-38 with a 21-point 4th qtr comeback in Lexington. That 2014 game is the high-water mark of the Stoops era so far, as it lost its next 5 SEC games. UK has not won a road SEC game under Stoops, but they have been close. They will be close again: SC 34, Cats 31.

LSU @ Mississippi St. (ESPN, 8:15 CT)
Both teams have cupcakes in week 1 setting up a showdown in Starkville. MSU handled the Tigers in Baton Rouge last year 34-29, establishing the Bulldogs' legitimacy and exposing LSU as a young team with problems in the middle of the defense. MSU brings back the fewest starters in the SEC, but many new starters played a lot of downs as backups last year. LSU has QB questions while MSU's best player is the QB - big advantage to MSU, along with playing at home. LSU's biggest advantage will be its running game against MSU's defensive front. It will be just enough in a wild Les Miles classic of a finish: Tigers 27, Dogs 24.

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