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The East and West are decided, so now the entire league is playing for bowl game positioning. Several teams are facing make or break situations. Who do you have in the SEC this week?
Last Week: 7-1 Season: 63-12
You can go to a thousand SEC Sports websites, but if you want more correct picks and accurate SEC football score predictions ... you are reading the correct article.
Tennessee Volunteers at Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss is a 5 point favorite (6 points according to Caesars)
Everyone knows the story line: Three UT players were arrested in the middle of the night. The actual (true) story has yet to come out according to sources and most likely never will. How big of a distraction will this be for the UT football team? While several Knoxville area talking heads are declaring it is no distraction at all ... I think you get the point as I will simply reply "Interesting" ... it has been an enormous distraction, but ultimately we had Tennessee picked to win this game ... now, even as I am typing this, I am not 110% sold.
Ole Miss has struggled against solid defenses. Tennessee's defense is solid.
The key match-up in this game will be the UT offensive line versus the Ole Miss defensive front seven. If Ole Miss can get penetration, the Rebels can wreak havoc on the Vols. On the flip-side, Tennessee must not allow Ole Miss' running attack to gain any traction. If the Rebels can run the ball at all, the passing game will open up. UT must confuse Jevan Snead in order to win this game.
My pick at 2:00pm today ... gonna stick with it regardless of the situation because I believe catching the Rebels at an odd time (11:00am CST) helps the Vols ... is this my miss for the week or do I completely go off of the deep end and have a bad week?
Tennessee 16 Ole Miss 10
Kentucky Wildcats at Vanderbilt Commodores Kentucky is a 3 point favorite
Do the Wildcats stick with Morgan Newton or does Mike Hartline regain his starting spot? Is Randall Cobb ready to go at 100%? The Vandy offense is horrible to be blunt. Kentucky's defense may make the Commodores look better than they actually are.
Kentucky 20 Vandy 13
Florida Gators at South Carolina Gamecocks Florida is a 17 point favorite
Urban Meyer's number one ranked Gators invade Columbia for a match-up of the Old Ball Coach and the Upstart Ball Coach. Seventeen points in this game are too many points.
Florida's offense is runs as if it is hooked to a five gallon hot water heater. At times the Gators almost look explosive and the rest of the time, they simply look methodical at best. Just think, the Gators are still in the upper quarter in the SEC in offensive efficiency.
South Carolina must be able to run the ball. Period. Too bad the Gators do not allow teams to run the ball much at all. What is the over/under for Stephen Garcia passing attempts in this game? I am betting 46 or over.
Florida 20 South Carolina 7
La Tech at LSU Tigers LSU is favored by 23
Do the Bayou Bengals have a post-Alabama hangover in this game? Maybe for at least a half. LSU's defense will be too much for La Tech.
LSU 34 La Tech 14
Alabama Crimson Tide at Mississippi State Bulldogs Alabama is favored by 12 points
Eventhough their record does not indicate it, Mississippi State has played well above expectations this season. Alabama has struggled the past few times these teams have played. That could be in part to former MSU coach Sylvester Croom getting the team up to face the team that passed him over as a head coach.
Alabama's defense is among the best. Alabama's offense has seen better days, but is playing well enough to win every game they have played. This Crimson Tide team reminds me a LOT of the 1992 National Championship team.
Alabama 24 MSU 10
Auburn Tigers at Georgia Bulldogs Georgia is a 4.5 point favorite
This game could be the most watchable of the weekend. Georgia's team is against the ropes internally while Auburn has performed to our expectations (and higher than some pundits listed them preseason).
The key match-up in this game will be the AU offensive line against the UGA linebackers. If AU can get the linebackers blocked at the point of attack, Auburn wins this game. What gameplan does Georgia have to make sure that Joe Cox does not beat the Bulldogs?
Auburn in a toss-up: 28-26
Troy Trojans at Arkansas Razorbacks Arkansas is favored by 13.5 points
Troy is not as bad as their record shows. Florida struggled against Troy's defensive front seven for about a quarter and a half. Arkansas must protect Ryan Mallett. How well can the Razorbacks run the ball? We are thinking fairly well.
Arkansas 31 Troy 17
If you are new to SECRivals, we have a Picks Panel from across the internet that convenes each week. Starting this week, the Picks Panel will be included in the same article as SECRival's official picks (in other words, this article).
Blatant Homerism, also from the Bloguin Network, is currently in first place on the season with a record of 63-22 (.740%).
This week's picks include the SEC match-ups that you read about above plus these games:
West Virginia at Cincinnati
Nebraska at Kansas
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
Arizona at California
Miami (FL) at North Carolina
Without further adieu, here are this week's selections from the Picks Panel:
Note: the Panelist's names are hyper linked to their respective sites. These sites are among the best on the internet, please give them a visit and make them among your daily reading list.
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| SECRivals |
Blatant Homerism |
Sports Overload |
Fantasy College Blitz |
Moondog Sports |
Aaron Torres |
Wolfe Reports |
SEC Expats |
7 Year Old Nick |
| 60-25 |
63-22 |
59-26 |
25-9 |
61-24 |
51-24 |
43-17 |
44-14 |
36-24 |
| UT |
Ole Miss |
Ole Miss |
UT |
UT |
Ole Miss |
UT |
Ole Miss |
UT |
| UK |
UK |
UK |
Vandy |
UK |
UK |
UK |
UK |
UK |
| UF |
UF |
UF |
UF |
UF |
UF |
UF |
UF |
UF |
| LSU |
LSU |
LSU |
LSU |
LSU |
LSU |
LSU |
LSU |
LSU |
| Bama |
Bama |
Bama |
Bama |
Bama |
Bama |
Bama |
Bama |
Bama |
| AU |
Georgia |
AU |
AU |
AU |
AU |
Georgia |
Georgia |
Georgia |
| Arkansas |
Arkansas |
Arkansas |
Arkansas |
Arkansas |
Arkansas |
Arkansas |
Arkansas |
Arkansas |
| Cincy |
Cincy |
Cincy |
Cincy |
Cincy |
Cincy |
Cincy |
W Va |
Cincy |
| Nebraska |
Kansas |
Nebraska |
Nebraska |
Nebraska |
Kansas |
Nebraska |
Kansas |
Kansas |
| Pitt |
Pitt |
Pitt |
Pitt |
Pitt |
Notre Dame |
Pitt |
Pitt |
Pitt |
| Arizona |
Arizona |
Arizona |
Arizona |
Arizona |
Arizona |
Arizona |
Cal |
Cal |
| Miami |
Miami |
Miami |
Miami |
UNC |
Miami |
Miami |
Miami |
UNC |
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