Last week wasn’t exactly a banner week for the SEC, what with Ole Miss losing to a mediocre Cal team, Missouri getting throttled (at home) by Purdue, Auburn sweating Mercer for four quarters, Texas A&M trailing Louisiana-Lafayette in the second half, Tennessee and Florida setting offensive football back a few decades before a frenetic finish, and alleged contender LSU losing by 30 in Starkville.
That tiny Crimson dot disappearing into the distance is Alabama, which appears poised to leave the rest of the league in its dust yet again.
Speaking of rough weeks, we were a Feleipe Franks 63-yard heave away from potentially going 0-4 on the picks last week. Like the SEC, we’ll try and do better this week.
Last week’s record: 1-3
Season record: 7-5
Saturday, September 23
Arkansas (1-1) vs. Texas A&M (2-1)
The whole battle-of-coaches-on-the-hot-seat theme is getting a workout in the SEC these days, but it sure seems to apply to this matchup in Arlington. Unfortunately for Bret Bielema, Texas A&M has owned the Hogs since joining the SEC, winning all five meetings. Make it six.
The Pick: Texas A&M 31 Arkansas 21
Alabama (3-0) at Vanderbilt (3-0)
Give Derek Mason credit—he can coach the heck out of a defense. Vanderbilt’s has only allowed two touchdowns during its first 3-0 start since the 2011 season. Alabama, as you may have heard, can play a little defense, too.
The Pick: Alabama 30 Vanderbilt 13
Auburn (2-1) at Missouri (1-2)
Lost amidst Auburn’s five turnovers against Mercer last week was the fact that Jarrett Stidham took an important step forward, throwing for 364 yards on 32-for-37 passing. Can he keep it rolling against one of the more user-friendly defenses in the SEC?
On the other side of the ball, the newfound ability of the fast and physical Auburn defense to smother opposing receivers after the catch will be critical against Missouri’s quick passing game.
The Pick: Auburn 27 Missouri 17
Mississippi State (3-0) at Georgia (3-0)
Whoa. Okay, then. Was that beat-down in Starkville more about the team that took it or the team that gave it? If it’s the latter, we could be in for a fantastic game in Athens. The more likely scenario would seem to be that Mississippi State comes back down to earth a bit between the hedges. But if they don’t, and if Nick Fitzgerald does to the Georgia defense what he did to the LSU defense, then we may be forced to re-think the pecking order in the SEC.
Georgia’s involved, so it’ll probably be a close game.
The Pick: Georgia 21 Mississippi State 20
