SEC Predictions: Week Seven

I am willing to forget about last weeks predictions if you are. We will just say it wasn’t a good week and move on. For the year I’m 47-10 straight up and 25-24 against the spread. Let’s get into this weeks game…

Auburn (1-4, 0-3) at Ole Miss (3-3, 0-2), 12:21 PM, SEC Network

Ole Miss is a five point favorite in this game. Yes, you heard that right. Let’s put it into perspective for a minute. Auburn won the National championship just two years ago and Ole Miss hasn’t won a conference game since October 2nd of 2010. Auburn has won a National Championship more recently than Ole Miss has won a conference game. Wow. And Ole Miss is favored. That really tells us how awful Auburn has been this season. I think what this boils down to is that the Ole Miss offense will be able to put points on the board but I’m not so sure about the Auburn offense.

Ole Miss 24 Auburn 17

Alabama (5-0, 2-0) at Missouri (3-3, 0-3), 3:30 PM, CBS

Alabama is favored by 21. Mizzou had played decidedly better at home this year until last week when they lost to Vanderbilt by four points. Missouri seems to be getting worn down by the SEC schedule and that’s not going to get better with a rough and tumble team like Bama coming in. Take Bama and take the points.

Bama 35 Missouri 10

Florida (5-0, 4-0) at Vanderbilt (2-3, 1-2), 6:00 PM, ESPNU

Florida is an 8.5 favorite. This is a classic trap game. Florida is coming off of a big win over LSU and hosts South Carolina next week. Vandy has not played well this year but they have played teams, other than Georgia, close this season. Florida wins but I think they struggle a bit and have trouble on the road.

Florida 28 Vanderbilt 20

Kentucky (1-5, 0-3) at Arkansas (2-4, 1-2), 7:00 PM

Arkansas is an 18.5 point favorite. That’s a huge number for a team that only has two wins this season. That being said, Arkansas did beat Auburn by 17 last week on the road. Arkansas has let me down several times this year but I think they are just too good for this banged up Kentucky team that really wasn’t any good before they started getting banged up.

Arkansas 31 Kentucky 14

South Carolina (6-0, 4-0) at LSU (5-1, 1-1), 8:00 PM, ESPN

LSU is favored by three points and is 34-1 in Saturday night games at home under Les Miles. South Carolina came out and played a flawless first quarter against Georgia last week and got out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back. Throughout the rest of the game, the Gamecocks offense didn’t really do much but their defense was excellent in shutting down a Georgia offense that had been clicking. LSU really struggled last week to move the football against a good Florida defense and I would be surprised if they are significantly better this week. I like South Carolina in this one so I will take the points but expect a close hard-fought game.

South Carolina 21 LSU 17

Tennessee (3-2, 0-2) at Mississippi State (5-0, 2-0), 9:00 PM, ESPN2

Mississippi State is a three point favorite in this game. The Bulldogs have a lot going for them. They are the home team and they are riding a 5-0 record coming into this one. What’s not on their side is who they’ve played this year. The Bulldogs opponents are a combined 8-20 and five of those victories belong to either Jackson State or Troy. To say Dan Mullen’s crew has played a weak schedule so far is a huge understatement. Tennessee has played three legitimate opponents and they are much more battle tested. I think the Tennessee offense will pull out a squeeker.

Tennessee 31 Mississippi State 30

Texas A&M (4-1, 2-1) at Louisiana Tech (5-0, 2-0), 9:00 PM, ESPNU

The Aggies are a 7.5 point favorite. This is a make-up game from week one and I think that benefits A&M as they’ve gotten better every week. Louisiana Tech is a good football team and they have beaten some “BCS Conference” teams so far this year in Illinois and Virginia but they are yet to play anybody the quality of the Aggies. Another thing to look at is the Bulldogs defense, which is giving up 35.8 points per game against lackluster competition. Expect points to be scored as the Aggies are the top scoring team in the SEC so far and Louisiana Tech is averaging over 50 a game.

Texas A&M 48 Louisiana Tech 35