Week 8 SEC Preview and Predictions (and some others too!)

It’s a relatively quiet week in the SEC, with only 4 SEC match-ups and out-of-conference v SEC game.

Headlining it is Alabama v Tennessee, with South Carolina’s trip to Missouri, Ole Miss’ trip to Auburn, and a bottom-feeder-for-the-SEC-West clash between Mississippi State and Arkansas (which should be stuck on on the Pac-12 Network, let alone the SEC Network) coming along behind.

Oh, and LSU hosts Army, which would have been a cool match-up, erm, last year.

So as a special treat, we’re doing a brief  preview of three non-conference match-ups between ranked teams, including Penn State’s trip to Ohio State, Duke v Florida State, and Utah v USC – a match-up that looked a lot spicier before the season started.

So here weeee go (in order of games we’re going to be watching).

  1. No. 17 Tennessee at No.11 Alabama (-8.5): This is going to be a vengeance game for Nick Saban, who saw his team lose by a field goal last year in an exhilarating clash at Neyland. The victory for the Vols ended Bama’s 15 game winning streak. This year, it’ll be the battle between two quarterbacks that a huge step down from Bryce Young and Hendon Hooker. You know, because no-one thinks very much of in Jalen Milroe and Joe Milton III. At least with Milroe he’ll have Jermaine Burton as his top target as well as a strong run game (we have a feeling that he’ll be doing more designed running that we’re used to), while with Milton III, the loss for Bru McCoy is going to be a massive loss – as we could see last week against Texas A&M. PREDICTION: Another double-digit win. For Alabama. Alabama 34, Tennessee 21.
  2. South Carolina at No.20 Missouri (-7): The highlight of this week’s news has to be Shane Beamer’s foot, which he broke after the Gamecocks blew at 10 point lead against Florida (and subsequently lost in the last minute of the game). Spencer Rattler, who went 23-30 with 313 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT had a great day, but his defense really didn’t. On the other side, Missouri’s clicking, with Brady Cook, Luther Burden, and Theo Wease doing some heavy lifting. Missouri’s going to have to be careful not to get too ahead of itself after smashing Kentucky and confirming a bowl spot earlier than expected. Expect quite a war up in the Northern parts of the SEC. PREDICTION: Missouri 28, South Carolina 24.
  3. No.13 Ole Miss (-6.5) at Auburn: Maybe Vegas didn’t watch Auburn’s abhorrent effort at LSU or they are giving too much credit to what will be an excellent atmosphere in Jordan-Hare (it generally is!), but less than a touchdown against a far better Ole Miss team seems a little generous. Ole Miss will be coming back healthier off a bye-week, and there’s no reason to believe that Auburn defense will be able to cope with Jaxson Dart and receivers Jordan Watkins or Dayton Wade. Or stop Quinshon Judkins. I know we should be doing more on how Hugh Freeze will execute Payton Thorne well against the Rebels in The Escort Bowl, but we can’t. PREDICTION: Ole Miss 34, Auburn 14.
  4.  Mississippi State at Arkansas (-5.5): As vomit-worthy as this game will be, the chances are that it will be the closest game in the SEC this week. Why? Because both teams ain’t that good. Despite KJ Jefferson continuing to be one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC, the Razorbacks have a knack of doing at least one dumb thing per drive – as was evidenced in the final throes of its loss against Alabama last week. Mississippi State, on the other hands, may be in a world of pain if Will Rogers – who suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder in the win against Western Michigan – can’t play on Saturday. Zach Arnett may be depending on former Vanderbilt starting QB Mike Wright to run the show, which could lead to a different offensive philosophy. Either way, this ain’t gonna be pretty. PREDICTION: Arkansas 34, Mississippi State 20.
  5. Army at No.19 LSU (-31): We think LSU should be higher than No.19. The only reason why they aren’t ranked higher is their defensive shitshow against Ole Miss. But since then, they’ve rebounded pretty well, and with Jayden Daniels (Why isn’t he getting more Heisman chatter, people?) and an electric group of wide receivers led by Malik Nabers, this team’s firing on the cylinders you’ll need. Army on the other hand, have a 2-4 record and lost to Boston College this season. They are trying to find a new identity after the effect evisceration of the triple option with new rules involving cut blocking and it’ll take time. But time and no tide will wait around for LSU. PREDICTION: LSU 45, Army 10

 

OUTSIDE PREDICTIONS: 

  1. No.7 Penn State at No.3 Ohio State (-4.5): Penn State prides itself on a great defense, while Ohio State has the better receivers. The QBs (McLeod and Allar) are a toss-up. As are the running games. This is going to the wire. PREDICTION: Ohio State 34, Penn State 30.
  2. No.16 Duke and No.4 Florida State (-14.5): If Riley Leonard does return for Duke against Florida State, this is going to be closer than expected. Florida State should have lost to Clemson, and wandered around like a blind drunk against Boston College, and we’re not sure we trust Jordan Travis & Co to cover. PREDICTION: Florida State 35, Duke 24.
  3. No.14 Utah at No.18 USC (-7): With Utan showing zero offense without Cam Rising, it will be up to the defense – yet again – to stop a USC offense that was downright lousy against Notre Dame. This Pac-12 Championship rematch ain’t gonna be pretty. PREDICTION: USC 35, Utah 20.

 

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