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Want to daze the world?
Beat the SEC.
Want to alteration perceptions?
Beat the SEC.
Want ESPN to admit your existence?
Beat the SEC.
“I mean, cheque the numbers and cheque the level of contention you play against,” Broncos extracurricular linebacker Andre Mintze, a Vanderbilt alum, told The Post. “Week-in and week-out, there’s precise fewer places similar (the SEC). And it makes you a amended player. Either it makes you a amended subordinate oregon you get consumed by it.”
While the Broncos alert eastbound for their opener against the Giants, the Front Range is astir to beryllium consumed by hordes from Texas A&M and (to a acold lesser degree) Vandy. Hello, SEC speed. Hello, SEC strength.
And hello, SEC swagger.
“We gotta spell retired determination and termination ‘em,” Broncos icon Von Miller said of his alma mater, the fifth-ranked Aggies, who’ll look the CU Buffs successful his location — Empower Field astatine Mile High — Saturday afternoon.
“I’m not connected the Aggies (any) more, truthful I gotta accidental it for them. We gotta spell retired determination and termination (the Buffs). We’re an SEC school, we’re ranked (in the apical 5), we’ve got precocious expectations for our season, we’re going against the Buffs — I’m a instrumentality of the Buffs, but going against the Aggies, this weekend, (A&M has) conscionable gotta spell retired determination and termination ‘em, commencement to finish.”
After the Buffs (1-0) and Aggies (1-0), 2 erstwhile Big 12 ex-patriates who near the league for the Pac-12 and SEC, respectively, renew their aged acquaintances, the Rams (0-1) big the Commodores (0-1) astatine Canvas Stadium precocious Saturday successful a showdown of teams who got their doors blown disconnected astatine location past week by visiting programs from the FCS.
CSU fell to South Dakota State, the reigning FCS nationalist runners-up, 42-23 successful Fort Collins past Friday portion Vandy opened with a 23-3 location setback astatine the hands of East Tennessee State.
Saturday marks the archetypal clip CU and CSU person ever played SEC schools successful Colorado connected the aforesaid weekend. It’s besides the Aggies’ archetypal travel to the Front Range since November 2009 — A&M, all-time, is conscionable 1-4 successful Boulder — portion the Commodores are making their inaugural travel to FoCo.
It’s uncommon to get 1 squad from the SEC, fto unsocial 2 astatine the aforesaid time, successful uncommon air. Which means it’s a uncommon accidental for the Buffs and Rams to crook heads of assemblage shot observers eastbound of the Rockies.
The SEC has placed astatine slightest 1 squad successful the College Football Playoff rubric crippled each twelvemonth since 2016 and a league typical has won 4 of the past six CFP championships. With the caller additions of Big 12 stalwarts Oklahoma and Texas to their ranks, what’s wide perceived arsenic the toughest league successful assemblage shot is lone going to get stronger.
“The SEC is the champion assemblage shot league successful the nation,” said Andrew O’Connor, a Vandy grad — people of ’82 — based successful Lafayette. “Let’s conscionable beryllium frank astir it.”
Rams question redemption
Want to get that Week 1 embarrassment retired of your mouth, Rams?
Beat the SEC.
“CSU mislaid to the Jackrabbits, we mislaid to East Tennessee State,” O’Connor laughed. “So somebody’s gotta triumph this game.”
Mintze thinks that idiosyncratic volition beryllium the ‘Dores, who caput to FoCo arsenic seven-point underdogs aft giving up 179 rushing yards to East Tennessee State. Vandy turned it implicit 3 times against the Buccaneers, doubly via picks thrown by backmost Ken Seals.
“It didn’t hap past week, but they learned,” said Mintze, who signed with the Broncos arsenic a assemblage escaped agent aft signaling 4 sacks and 5.5 tackles for nonaccomplishment successful 9 appearances with Vandy successful 2020.
“They’ve got a batch of young guys wrong that program. They’re going to larn from that acquisition and triumph (on Saturday).”
Vandy, which archetypal fielded a shot squad successful 1890, has lone played 2 regular-season games successful the authorities of Colorado, losing astatine Air Force doubly (1977, ’79).
“I deliberation I person hope,” O’Connor said. “Even though Vandy (lost its opener), still, astatine the extremity of the day, the astir important happening is that Vandy is an SEC team. I deliberation an SEC squad should beryllium capable to bushed CSU. That’s my logic.”
Buffs seeking immense win
Want to beryllium that 2020’s Alamo Bowl play wasn’t a fluke, Buffs?
Beat the SEC.
“I deliberation a batch of times, erstwhile fans of SEC shot look astatine non-conference games, they spot ‘Slow and undersized,’” noted Andrew Estrada, a 2021 A&M grad who works arsenic a task technologist successful Westminster. “That’s conscionable my opinion. I bash deliberation that’s benignant of where, sometimes, (league teams) person trouble, is overthinking, oregon underestimating their opponents.
“So that cognition astir apt goes for each the teams arsenic acold arsenic the Pac-12, for sure. Not the Big 12. Big 12 teams, I consciousness similar the SEC teams spot them arsenic an equal, oregon lesser to. The Pac-12, I deliberation a batch of SEC fans deliberation they’re a joke.”
LSU fans weren’t precisely rolling successful the aisles aft UCLA handed the Tigers a 38-27 nonaccomplishment successful Pasadena past Saturday night, but constituent taken.
The Buffs are a 17-point underdog astatine Mile High, acknowledgment successful portion to the information that Aggies manager Jimbo Fisher is 5-0 with the A&M successful neutral-site games.
The Aggies are besides getting a boost from the expected instrumentality of antiaircraft extremity Michael Clemons. The 6-foot-5 Clemons sat retired the Aggies’ 41-10 rout of Kent State successful the location opener due to the fact that of off-field ineligible entanglements aft racking up 4 sacks successful 5 appearances successful 2020.
The crippled volition diagnostic 2 freshman quarterbacks successful CU’s Brendon Lewis and A&M’s Haynes King. While Lewis was eased into the Buffs offense during a run-centric romp of Ed McCaffrey’s UNC Bears past Friday, King came retired firing successful Week 1, throwing for 292 yards with 2 passing touchdowns and 3 picks.
“I was reasoning 38-10 (for A&M),” Estrada said. “In the archetypal half, it’ll beryllium existent slow. I’m optimistically saying that I deliberation (King), he’s going to amusement up successful this game. I deliberation that this volition beryllium a trial for (the Aggies).”
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