The SEC has provided us with some exciting games the past three weeks—and this Saturday should be more of the same.
I'll be previewing the SEC matchups in a weekly column from here on out, with some bonus picks from the other BCS conferences.
And so without further ado...
Most Intriguing Matchup(s)
Florida at Kentucky
The Wildcats are coming off a huge upset win over LSU, which put them back in the race in the East. The Gators are coming off a bye and had an extra week to prepare for the Wildcats, but the game is in Lexington.
LSU beat Florida and Kentucky beat LSU, so the Wildcats should beat the Gators, right? In any event, this promises to be an offensive showdown, with both teams capable of scoring over 40 points.
With a Wildcat win, the Gators are out of the East race, and the Wildcats have to hope for South Carolina to lose. A Gator win puts Florida in at least a tie with Georgia for third in the East, with Kentucky still lurking close behind.
Prediction: Florida wins because they have the ball last and score. The Gators need this one more than Kentucky does, and the week off helps.
Florida 42, Kentucky 40
Auburn at LSU
Auburn is coming off an emotional last-minute win over Arkansas, and has won four straight after a slow start.
LSU was stunned by the Wildcats in three overtimes and is determined to bounce back.
This game will determine first place in the SEC West. The winner puts itself in an excellent position to reach the SEC Championship Game given the relative ease of both teams' remaining schedules.
Expect a low-scoring defensive struggle.
Prediction: LSU is determined to bounce-back from the Kentucky loss. The fact that the kickoff is set for 9 p.m. at LSU doesn't bode well for Auburn.
LSU 24, Auburn 14
Tennessee at Alabama
Both teams are coming off conference wins and are currently in position to capture their respective division crowns.
Both teams have also been very inconsistent this year.
The play of the quarterbacks will be pivotal. Tennessee’s Erik Ainge and Alabama’s John Parker Wilson are top-tier QBs—this is going to be a classic SEC showdown.
Look for both teams to try to get the edge on the ground and rely on their QBs for big plays. Both teams play smashmouth defense, so expect this to be a fierce one.
Prediction:
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about 1 year ago
for the usc/vandy game.....
look for another "usc" home upset
about 1 year ago
Expect the Gamecocks to put up one less touchdown than you predicted. Their offense has been too shaky to for me to have them scoring more than 4 touchdowns this week.
South Carolina 31, Vanderbilt 20
I think the "Clash of the Tigers" will be a closer match, with Auburn possibly coming out the victor.
I'm not ballsy enough to give the score for this one. Although I will leave a 24-21 possibility out there.
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