Ok, off we go to look at some of the nation's biggest games this weekend:
South Carolina (+16.5) at No.3 Florida
I liked what I saw out of Collin Hill, USC's new quarterback, last weekend. But I liked what I saw out of Kyle Trask even more. And here's the big rub: South Carolina gave up 261 yards passing to Tennessee, and Jarrett Guarantano is not Trask. Nowhere close. Add in that Carolina gave up 4 sacks and turned the ball over twice and that's a bad recipe for winning when you're a big underdog. Two weeks ago, most people would have nailed this for a defensive struggle, but I think both teams will put up points. But Florida will put up a good bit more.
The pick: Florida wins, covers
No. 7 Auburn (+6.5) at No. 4 Georgia
Here's your defensive struggle. UGA has a very good defense. Auburn...well, UGA has a bad offense. They struggled mightily against Arkansas and J.T. Daniels probably won't play much today. That leaves a bunch of QBs that don't (at this point) inspire much confidence. Auburn's defense looked pretty solid against Kentucky, and there's no doubt the Dawgs can play defense.
So which way to go? Here it is. Bo Nix usually makes a play or two a game that are big, and that may be enough in this one. Auburn's defense also did a solid job of forcing turnovers last weekend, so they're opportunistic again this season. I'm taking the upset here, because Georgia isn't what we thought.
The pick: Auburn wins outright
Arkansas (+17) at No. 16 Mississippi State
Let's break this down very simply:
(KJ Costello throws for 623 yards)
Arkansas' best corner: Nah, I'm opting out.
The pick: Mississippi State wins, covers
Missouri (+12) at No. 21 Tennessee
This one flummoxes me. Missouri actually moved the ball moderately well against Alabama, but Tennessee showed a lot of resilience in taking everything South Carolina threw at them and immediately responding. Flat-out talent-wise, Tennessee is better. And sometimes that's all you need. But Missouri won't go away in this game.
The pick: Tennessee wins, Missouri covers
No. 20 LSU (-21) at Vanderbilt
As we saw last weekend, Vanderbilt is scrappy. And LSU's defense looked...crappy. They are clearly not the same team they were last year. I think they'll win this weekend, but until the defense steps it up considerably, 21 is too big.
The pick: LSU wins, Vandy covers
Ole Miss (+7) at Kentucky
Kentucky didn't do a terrible job moving the ball against Auburn, but they self-destructed in the fourth quarter to make a close game look a lot more lopsided than it was. Ole Miss, on the other hand, gave up 642 yards of offense. They also put up 613, so the offense is certainly capable. But Kentucky's defense may be better than Florida's (who would have thought that, even after a week?) and if the Wildcats run the ball like they want to and control the clock, they can minimize the damage done by the Ole Miss offense.
The pick: Kentucky wins, Ole Miss covers
TCU (+10.5) at No. 9 Texas
I was so underwhelmed by Texas' defense last weekend that I wanted to take TCU to win this thing outright. There's just one problem: TCU's offense looks pretty putrid. Seven sacks allowed to Iowa State and only 99 rushing yards. But they did throw for 400, so it's not like they are offensively absent. But the Texas offense is probably going to be too much. I wouldn't be surprised if TCU wins this thing outright because the Texas defense sucks, but they may be the evil of two lessers.
The pick: Texas wins, TCU covers
Virginia (+28) at Clemson
The Tigers are rolling so far this year. I don't think that's going to change this weekend. UVa simply does not have the horses to hang with Clemson and Trevor Lawrence has had it rolling from the word go.
The pick: Clemson wins, covers
Texas Tech (+1.5) at K-State
Anyone want to explain this line to me? This seems pretty ridiculous. K-State torched OU's defense last weekend, largely through the air, and Tech is giving up 417 passing yards a game. They're not the worst defense in college football, but they're very close. Kansas State got a boost of confidence after taking down the Sooners. I'll take them and the over of 63.
The pick: K-State wins, covers
No. 18 Oklahoma (-7.5) at Iowa State
Let's be real here: this is the season for OU. Every game from here on out is. You lose and you're done. You don't win the conference and you don't go to the playoffs (and that's probably on life support anyway). They completely collapsed against K-State and Spencer Rattler looked...well, rattled (sorry). Iowa State's defense hasn't been much to write home about this year, especially against the pass. They could win this thing, but I think OU stays alive for another week. This will be pretty close, but OU will cover.
The pick: OU wins, covers