Week 4 SEC Previews: Ole Miss v Bama’s the big one

After an awful performance against South Florida, the knives are out for The University of Alabama.

The offense was dreadful, with neither Tyler Buchner or Ty Simpson proving that they would replace Jalen Milroe. And despite the terrible weather, 17-3 wasn’t the way to ‘come back’ against a dreadful USF team.

Now Lane Kiffin comes into town, armed with an Ole Miss team that’s weirdly good on both offense and defense.

This should be fun.

Also we can Texas A&M hosting Auburn, No.12 LSU hosting Arkansas, Mississippi State rolling into South Carolina, Kentucky’s going to Vanderbilt and the potential upset of the day when Memphis and Missouri play each other in St Louis. Tennessee’s got UTSA, Georgia’s hosting (giggles!) UAB, and Florida’s hosting (even louder giggles!) Charlotte.

Oh, and we’ll do a one-line prediction for Colorado v Oregon, Notre Dame v Ohio State, Penn State v Iowa, and Clemson v Florida State, just in case you’re thinking: “You do know there are other games this weekend other than SEC ones, right?”

  1. Ole Miss at Alabama (-6.5 O/U 55.5): This week Jalen Milroe’s going to start again, and we expect the Tide to be more run-focused, with Roydell Williams, Jase McClellan and Milroe himself picking up the slack. Mississippi’s D is medium-to-upper this year, but can they stack the box this well? On the other hand, Jaxson Dart can throw bullets, and we can expect Jordan Watkins, Dayton Wade and Tre Harris to test the Alabama secondary. Oh, and Dart can also run, too (213 yards this year). PREDICTION: Alabama to win in a classic. Alabama 35, Ole Miss 33.
  2. Auburn at Texas A&M (-7.5 O/U 51.5): Texas A&M’s pass defense (100th in the country in yards per attempt) is awful. It really struggled against the team with true speed who it faced (Miami). But Auburn has a worse QB in Payton Thorne, and worse talent. This is just a fact. And they’ll have to go to Kyle Field, where Conor Weigman’s really impressing the locals. Evan Stewart (who’s also in the Top 5 in NIL valuation) is one of the best wideouts there is, and Anias Smith can cause a lot of damage, too. PREDICTION: Aggies roll. Texas A&M 35, Auburn 21.
  3.  Arkansas at No.12 LSU (-17.5 O/U 55): LSU raised a lot of eyebrows with an excellent performance at Mississippi State. Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers absolutely WENT OFF. Arkansas – on the other hand – were lousy on the offensive front, en route to losing to BYU. The offense is going to have to again last without Raheim Sanders, who’s once again hurt. Sanders was a key to Sam Pittman not being on the hotseat last year. PREDICTION: Arkansas gets trounced. LSU 42, Arkansas 17.
  4.  Memphis v Missouri (St Louis) (-6 O/U 51.5): Missouri’s victory over Kansas State was awesome. Luther Burden shone, Brady Cook was good, and Harrison Mevis’ rocket is still going. All three of them will be expected to continue to shine against a Memphis side that actually struggled the last time out….against Navy. The man to watch on the Memphis side is running back Blake Watson, who’s 7th in the country in total yards from scrimmage (425). If Missouri stop him, they should coast. PREDICTION: Missouri don’t stop Watson, but still win in a tight one. Missouri 38, Memphis 35.
  5. Mississippi State at South Carolina (-6.5 O/U 48.5): Mississippi State’s pass defense is atrocious (In almost all of its measures, it’s ranked 100th or worse). And on the other side Carolina’s offensive line is appalling, so expect Zach Arnett to turn Jett Johnson, Nathaniel Watson and Jaden Crumedy to have a field day behind the line of scrimmage. This will not be pretty. PREDICTION: Mississippi State in the stunning rebound. Mississippi State 24, South Carolina 19.
  6.  Kentucky (-13.5 O/U 50) at Vanderbilt: Kentucky’s very average, Vanderbilt’s far below average. Ray Davis is going to run roughshod over his alma mater. PREDICTION: Kentucky 48, Vanderbilt 10.
  7.  UTSA at Tennessee (-21 O/U 59): The Joe Milton experiment is not going horribly wrong, but it certainly wasn’t great as he struggled with some competent competition in Florida. I would expect Tennessee to put less of the focus on their rocket-armed QB, and more on Jaylen Wright, who’s going to put up the yards against far worse opposition. PREDICTION: Tennessee 52, UTSA 21.
  8.  Charlotte at Florida (-28 O/U 49): Will the win at Tennessee spark a renaissance at Florida not seen since the Dan Mullen COVID year? Charlotte isn’t great on both sides of the ball, so expect Florida to have some fun. PREDICTION: Florida 55, Charlotte 10.
  9.  UAB at Georgia (-42 O/U 54.5): Georgia’s offense wasn’t great by any stretch against South Carolina, but its pass rush was. Expect Georgia to pound UAB, bearing in mind the Birmingham team are so damned poor against the rush. PREDICTION: UGA 58, UAB 7.

 

                                                 AWAY FROM THE SEC

  1. No.6 Ohio State (-3 O/U 55.5) at No.9 Notre Dame: We don’t know which team is flattering to deceive, because both teams haven’t played anyone particularly good. Notre Dame’s going to struggle with OSU’s insanely good offensive corps, while Ohio State’s going to struggle against the run. PREDICTION: Notre Dame with one of the biggest wins in the school’s history. Notre Dame 28, Ohio State 23.
  2.  No.4 Florida State (-2.5 O/U 55.5) at Clemson: Despite the loss at Duke, Clemson isn’t as bad as everyone says they are. And Florida State’s awful defense against Boston College made a lot of people think that maybe the Noles aren’t as good as everyone thinks, either. PREDICTION: Clemson with the ‘upset’ in a classic. Clemson 31, Florida State 28.
  3.  No.19 Colorado at No.10 Oregon (-21 O/U 70.5): THE DEION SHOW RUNS INTO AUTZEN!! Hell, we might even see Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on Colorado’s sidelines. Anyway, Oregon’s widely expected to destroy Oregon. For us, it’s going to be a shoot-out until the final quarter, when Oregon goes more on the ground. PREDICTION: Oregon 51, Colorado 44.
  4.  No.24 Iowa at No.9 Penn State (-14.5 O/U 40): I don’t know why Iowa’s a 14 point dog, because Penn State’s offense was AWFUL against Illinois. And Iowa’s got a good defense that always plays well against Penn State. This will not be fun to watch, unless you love the loudest atmosphere in college football (sadly, Gary Danielson will be giving the ‘analysis’. PREDICTION: Iowa with the shocker. Iowa 24, Penn State 14