Randy Smith
Tennessee is idle this week, which is a good thing; they can't lose. Hopefully Coach Butch Jones can turn things around before the Vols host South Carolina next week at Neyland Stadium. Mississippi State is also idle.
Alabama at Texas A&M
The Aggies seem to have straightened things out since blowing that big lead and losing at UCLA in the season opener. A&M is 4-1 with four straight wins and they're 2-0 in SEC play. It was just a few years ago the Aggies upset Alabama behind great numbers by Johnny Manzel.
But Johnny Football is no longer in College Station and 'Bama is much better than they were in 2012. I'm not saying that the Aggies have no chance to win, in fact they have the potential to make it a close game. However, The Tide is just too awesome. They would have to play terribly if Texas A&M pulls the upset. I don't see that happening.
Alabama 44 Texas A&M 24
Arkansas at South Carolina
Even though both these teams have been up and down this season, I believe South Carolina may be a bit better than the Razorbacks. The Gamecocks almost pulled the upset last week at Texas A&M but they couldn't hold the lead. Since South Carolina is at home this weekend that should give them a decided edge. The oddsmakers are saying the Gamecocks are favored by two points. I believe they will win by a few more than that.
South Carolina 34 Arkansas 24
Ole Miss at Auburn
The Tigers have not stopped rolling since that opening 14-6 loss at defending national champ Clemson. Auburn is now 4-1 and is a clear cut second best squad in the SEC West behind Alabama. If the Tigers continue on their way, playing as well as they are right now, their annual grudge match with Georgia could be the game of the year in the SEC. Ole Miss was blasted 66-3 last week by Alabama and boy are the Johnny Rebs trending downward. Unless Auburn completely unravels on Saturday, Ole Miss has absolutely no chance to win.
Auburn 49 Ole Miss 13
Georgia at Vanderbilt
The Commodores have been brought back down to earth in a big way the past two weeks, being drubbed 59-0 by Alabama and losing at Florida last week 38-24. Those two losses came after Vandy had started the season 3-0 including an upset of 18th ranked Kansas State. Georgia is ranked seventh in the country following the Bulldogs 41-0 win at Tennessee last week. Georgia is very, very good but if Coach Kirby Smart's crew suffers a let down and if they turn the ball over a bunch, Vandy could make this closer than it should be.
Georgia 27 Vanderbilt 14
Missouri at Kentucky
The jury is still out on Coach Mark Stoops Wildcats. They struggled a bit last week with Eastern Michigan. That game came a week after the 'Cats thirty-second straight loss to the Florida Gators, so a let down was expected. Missouri is not a very good college football team, but the Tigers had last week off and they may have something extra in store for Kentucky. They may have to have several "something extras" if they can pull off the upset. Actually, if Mizzu can play just a little defense they can make the game a lot closer. The actual margin of victory depends upon exactly which Kentucky team shows up.
Kentucky 37 Missouri 28
LSU at Florida
This game is between the luckiest team (Florida) in the SEC and the most mysterious (LSU) team in the league. The Bengal Tigers lost last week at home to Troy in a major upset, while Florida was beating Vanderbilt. The Gators luck may be changing because quarterback Luke Del Rio suffered a season ending shoulder injury during the Vandy game. But Florida is still 3-0 in the SEC and lucky or not, the Gators have done what they had to do to win. LSU has had to do some soul searching after that loss to Troy. Solid play on both sides of the ball will probably go a lot further than soul searching.
Florida 27 LSU 24
Last week: 7-1
Year to Date: 41-11
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for 30 years. He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga television for more than a quarter-century. In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith. They have five grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, Mattingly, DellaMae, and CoraLee.