The Crystal Ball makes its first appearance of the 2013 football season and will make a prediction of every SEC game this season along with a guess at the final score. The Crystal Ball had a good season in 2012, much like the SEC itself.
It got started on Thursday night when South Carolina and Ole Miss posted wins to kick off the Crystal Ball’s season with a 2-0 record.
Here’s a look at how the Crystal Ball sees the opening weekend of SEC football:
Florida doesn’t exactly have an easy mark in Toledo to open the season. The Rockets were 9-4 last season and are expected to make a run for the Mid-American Conference title this time around. The Gators need to have improved production out of their passing game but the defense is again expected to be strong. Florida will be tough if Jeff Driskel continues to improve this year as much as he did last season. It will be close, but the Gators should prevail. Florida, 21-13
Texas A&M will not have quarterback Johnny Manziel for the first half against Rice, which is good for Manziel since it will give him 30 minutes to rest his autographing hand. He returns in the second half and the Aggies will put away the Owls with no trouble. Texas A&M 43, Rice 10
Mississippi State has a tough assignment for the first week having to travel to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State. Clint Chelf is expected to get the start at quarterback for the Cowboys and J. W. Walsh should also see playing time but it won’t matter. Oklahoma State will beat Mississippi State in Boone Pickens Stadium. Oklahoma State 38, Mississippi State 20
Arkansas will open the Bret Bielema era by beating Louisiana but it won’t be easy. The Ragin’ Cajuns are a legitimate Sun Belt Conference title contender, but Arkansas will unleash Bielema’s new ground-based offense and it will be enough. Arkansas 28, Louisiana 24
Butch Jones’ debut at Tennessee will see the Vols down Austin Peay. The Vols are hoping to turn the page on their problems of the past few seasons and Austin Peay will fit the bill nicely. Tennessee 31, Austin Peay 7
Gus Malzahn’s head coaching regime at Auburn will get off to a good start when the Tigers put the frustrations of last season behind them by taking them out against Washington State of the Pac-12. It will be the launch of a turnaround season for the Tigers, who just might be the surprise team in the conference this season. Auburn 42, Washington State 14
Kentucky will have a tough time when they open against Western Kentucky in a game that features to new coaches — Mark Stoops at Kentucky and Bobby Petrino at Western Kentucky. The Wildcats and Hilltoppers will be sky high in wanting to start their new coach off on the right foot. Talent-wise, the Wildcats are probably slightly better but Petrino gives the Hilltoppers an edge in coaching experience. This one could go either way but Kentucky gets a slight nod simply because of the SEC affiliation. Kentucky 27, Western Kentucky 24
Missouri hosts Murray State to open what is a critical season for Tigers’ coach Gary Pinkel. He has been a successful coach in Columbia but Southeastern Conference fans demands on a coach might be more unforgiving than what Missouri fans are accustomed. The Tigers should win this one but they need more SEC wins to keep Pinkel on the sidelines for another year. Missouri 38, Murray State 21
LSU will face a tough defense but still manage to win at TCU. LSU was decimated by early defections to the NFL but don’t shed any tears for Les Miles. The LSU coach is stockpiling talent every year through one of the best recruiting pipelines in the country. TCU as always will be tough on defense, which the Horned Frogs will need against LSU’s powerful offense. LSU 28, TCU 21
Georgia and Clemson will be the marquee game of the weekend and it features two preseason Top 10 teams. The two quarterbacks—Georgia’s Aaron Murray and Clemson’s Tahj Boyd — bring outstanding credentials into the game. Clemson brings an experienced defense while Georgia brings a strong running game into the mix, although the Dawgs’ inexperienced defense is not yet up to past standards. Georgia 20, Clemson 17
Alabama will open defense of its double national titles as a big favorite when it plays Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic in the Georgia Dome, or as Alabama fans now refer to it as Bryant-Denny Stadium East. Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas is a big, bruising runner, but he will have to prove he can do it against a Nick Saban defense. I don’t think so. Alabama 35, Virginia Tech 14