Lindy’s 2013 Conference Games of the Year

 

As this season draws closer, Lindy’s will begin to release some of its football content. We’ll start today by giving you our Top 12 conference games of the year. And yes, we are basing the top game on the list as if Johnny Manziel will play.

1. ALABAMA AT TEXAS A&M, SEPT. 14:  

Johnny Manziel’s has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this offseason, but if he’s on the field for the second week in September, this will be the marquee in college football in 2013. Last year Manziel and Texas A&M ran wild on the Alabama defense. Will the Crimson Tide exact revenge in Round 2?

2. OREGON AT STANFORD, NOV. 7:

College football’s ultimate battle of speed vs. power is deadlocked at two apiece in the past four meetings, with the Cardinal shocking the top-rated Ducks late last season and winning the Pac-12 North Division (and allowing a certain team from Tuscaloosa to get back into the national title game). Now, let’s see if the Ducks can squirm out of Stanford’s headlock.

3. LSU AT ALABAMA, NOV. 9:

To recap, in 2011, No. 1 LSU beat No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, 9-6, before the second-ranked Tide emphatically turned the tables on top-ranked LSU in the BCS national championship game. Last season, No. 1 Alabama pulled off the miracle comeback — T.J. Yeldon scoring on a 28-yard swing pass — to win 21-17 in Tiger Stadium. Overall, the last three regular season games have been decided by a total of 10 points. Expect anything different?

4. SOUTH CAROLINA AT GEORGIA, SEPT. 7:

The Gamecocks have won three in a row in the series but have little to show for the past two victories, because subsequent losses allowed the Bulldogs to claim the SEC East. This year’s post-Georgia conference schedule is easier, so Steve Spurrier’s fellas aren’t as likely to be backpedaling in the division if they can get a leg up on the Dawgs one more time.

5. TEXAS A&M AT LSU, NOV. 23:   

Each of these teams will have played Alabama by now, so it’s hard to know what it will mean. A battle for No. 1? SEC West? BCS at-large berth? Heisman Trophy? LSU’s defense (now dearly departed) took a bite out of Johnny Manziel last season, picking him off three times, sacking him three times and limiting him to 27 yards rushing.

6. WISCONSIN AT OHIO STATE, SEPT. 28:  

Two teams that got rings last season. The Badgers won the Big Ten title game and became official champions, while the probation-laden Buckeyes really were the best team in the league, going 12-0, a feat deemed so special that the athletic department chipped in for the ring bling (shouldn’t that be against the rules?). After Ohio State took a 21-14 overtime victory last season, this time the game really counts for both teams.

7. FLORIDA VS. GEORGIA (JACKSONVILLE), NOV. 2:

Dawgs quarterback Aaron Murray is 2-1 against the Gators but has never completed more than 50 percent of his passes. He is 45 of 95 with seven interceptions and six touchdowns vs. UF, needing to be rescued by Georgia’s defense (six turnovers, including a late fumble) in a 17-9 win last season.

8. FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON, OCT. 19:

This has been high-scoring and entertaining the past two years, with the winner going on to claim the Atlantic Division and entry into the ACC Championship Game. It probably will be the same story this season. This time, Clemson has the home field edge, the quarterback advantage and (maybe) a defense that can hold the ‘Noles to something less than the 667 yards they threw down last year in winning, 49-37.

9. OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN, NOV. 30:   

Urban Meyer is 1-up on Brady Hoke, who doesn’t want to become the rivalry whipping boy like Lloyd Carr was to Jim Tressel. The first of two? Can’t rule out a rematch a week later in the Big Ten Championship Game.

10. UCLA AT USC, NOV. 30:    

It’s a classic that might be doing a 180. The Bruins have the better quarterback (Brett Hundley), the better coach (Jim Mora) and better momentum, coming off just their second victory over crosstown Troy in the past 14 years.

11. OKLAHOMA VS. TEXAS (DALLAS), OCT. 12:

Mack Brown has lost three in a row to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, That’s bad. This is worse: The Horns lost the last two by a combined 80 points. Lose like that again, and Brown could have plenty of time next year to sample Fletcher’s Corny Dogs and fried bacon cinnamon rolls at the Texas State Fair.

12. FLORIDA AT LSU, OCT. 12:

Twice in the past four years, this matchup has failed to produce more than 20 total points. We can see that happening again, and that’s not a bad thing.