Another 6-0 week? I can't possibly make it three perfect weeks in a row, can I? Nah…
LAST WEEK: 6-0
OVERALL: 19-5
#25 MISSOURI (5-0, 1-0) AT #7 GEORGIA (4-1, 3-0) (12:00 PM EST, ESPN)
Congratulations! If you looked at the SEC standings and Missouri's record and did a double-take upon seeing that the Tigers (no, not those Tigers… or those Tigers) are the only undefeated in the league other than Alabama, you're the one millionth person to do that this week! You win a fabulous, all-expenses paid trip to Whatthehecktopia. But, yes, Missouri really is undefeated this year and fresh off a pulverizing of former plucky SEC overachiever Vanderbilt. Missouri was the butt of jokes about their move to the SEC last year, but through five games, they look much better-equipped to compete in the league this year. Then again, maybe we should check back on them at the end of the month; this is the first of a three-game stretch where they play Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina — we'll know much more about their contender/pretender bona fides after those games. They enter this game with a rollicking offense (46.6 ppg, 8th nationally) and face a Georgia team that's been losing key players at a staggering rate. After losing (another) key running back and (another) key wide receiver last week, Georgia clawed their way to an OT victory over Tennessee; the question now isn't whether they can make it to the SEC Championship Game — it's whether they can even make it to Halloween with enough healthy bodies on their roster. That said, they still have Aaron Murray and the nice thing about being at a blue-chip, elite program like Georgia is that the back-ups at RB and WR are pretty skilled individuals themselves… they just lack experience. Georgia's players may have to grow up fast and they'll probably need to win another shootout (something they've done with aplomb against LSU and Tennessee the last two weeks), but I think they can pull it off.
THE PICK: GEORGIA 42, MISSOURI 38
#12 OKLAHOMA (5-0, 2-0) VS TEXAS (3-2, 2-0) (12:00 PM EST, ABC)
Everyone's spent the last few weeks writing obituaries for Mack Brown's tenure at Texas, but… what if he wins this game? What if he ends up winning 10 games in a not-that-tough Big XII? Is that enough for a stay of execution? Those are all interesting points to ponder… and then you remember how lucky Texas was to escape from Iowa State with a hard-fought (and ill-deserved) win and you remember all of the quarterbacks that have demolished Texas' sad sack defense on the ground this year and you remember that the Belldozer is playing in this game… and suddenly those musings look somewhat inconsequential. Sure, this isn't a vintage Oklahoma team; their struggles with so-so West Virginia and TCU teams is pretty good evidence of that. But Stoops always has Oklahoma well-prepared for this game and for all their flaws, the Sooners still look like a more complete team than Texas. The fire under Mack Brown's seat is gonna get even hotter by Saturday afternoon.
THE PICK: OKLAHOMA 35, TEXAS 17
#17 FLORIDA (4-1, 3-0) AT #10 LSU (5-1, 2-1) (3:30 PM EST, CBS)
So now LSU has the high-flying offense attached to a shaky defense and Florida has the brutish, suffocating defense married to a limited offense; hello, Freaky Friday. Florida's defense is absolutely legit and one of the nastiest in the nation, so LSU's carpet-bombing offense probably isn't going to drop another 40-spot on them. But I think they'll still move the ball and score on Florida, albeit at a reduced rate. The bigger question is whether Florida's offense can do much itself; if LSU is able to score 21 points in this game, can Florida match that without a few defensive scores? That's unclear. On the other hand, this game has also been a weirdness magnet in recent years, so strange play should be expected here. Still, LSU is at home and has the more experienced offense; I think that matters in the end.
THE PICK: LSU 27, FLORIDA 14
#19 NORTHWESTERN (4-1, 0-1) AT WISCONSIN (3-2, 1-1) (3:30 PM EST, ABC/ESPN2)
Thanks to a conveniently-timed bye week for the Badgers, both Northwestern and Wisconsin enter this game coming off losses to Ohio State. Strange but true. Also strange? Northwestern, a team ranked in the top-20, enters this game as a 10-point underdog against an unranked team. Suffice to say, this is probably a good week for Pat Fitzgerald to dust off the ol' "NOBODY BELIEVES IN US!" speech. But will that matter? Wisconsin looks like a difficult matchup for Northwestern; Carlos Hyde's power running mauled Northwestern in the second half of the OSU-NU game last week; if there's one thing Wisconsin knows, it's power running. Wisconsin's defense has been victimized by the two good offenses that it's played (Arizona State and Ohio State), so I expect Northwestern to put up some points in this game. But a late Wisconsin scoring drive should seal a home win for the Badgers.
THE PICK: WISCONSIN 37, NORTHWESTERN 31
#2 OREGON (5-0, 2-0) AT #16 WASHINGTON (4-1, 1-1) (4:00 PM EST, FOX SPORTS 1)
Washington's Two Weeks of Hell concludes with a visit from the second-ranked Oregon Ducks, a team that's been so dominant this season it hasn't played a meaningful second half minute yet. Washington came close to a hugely impressive upset win at Stanford a week ago, but special teams blunders (almost 200 KR yards to Ty Montgomery, including a game-opening TD return) and painful red zone miscues (like an interception in the fourth quarter) killed their hopes. Turning around in seven days and playing the Pac-12's other dominant program won't be easy, but Washington has a tremendous one-two punch in QB Keith Price and RB Bishop Sankey and they'll have the advantage of a raucous home crowd trying to will them to an upset. Oregon counters with the usual: a blisteringly fast-paced offense that gobbles up yards and points like Pac-Man with cheat codes turned on. This will be the biggest test yet for the Ducks and they'll actually have to play some tough minutes in the second half, but I still think they'll pass the test.
THE PICK: OREGON 45, WASHINGTON 34
#9 TEXAS A&M (4-1, 1-1) AT OLE MISS (3-2, 1-2) (8:30 PM EST, ESPN)
There were a few other games we could have gone with here, but in the end I opted for Johnny Football and the possibility for another points orgy in true SEC shootout fashion. Ole Miss has been humbled by back-to-back losses to Alabama (understandable) and Auburn (less so), which has removed some of the shine from their 3-0 start and non-conference beatdown against Texas. On the other hand, thanks to a weird scheduling quirk, this is also just Ole Miss' second home game of the season and their first since September 7th. Maybe all they need to get their mojo back is some home cookin' and a trip to the Grove? Nah. Not with Johnny Football coming to town; A&M's defense is decidedly shaky and will probably cost them another game at some point this season, but I trust it enough to let Manziel & Co. rack up plenty of yards and points to win this game.
THE PICK: TEXAS A&M 41, OLE MISS 34
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