Randy Smith
It's the third week in October and Tennessee faces top-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. The Crimson Tide is a 36 point favorite over the Volunteers and it could be even worse when the smoke clears. There are six other games in the SEC this week, but no seriously tough match ups.
Florida at South Carolina
The Gators went toe to toe with second ranked LSU last week and lost 42-28 in Baton Rouge. On the same day, the Gamecocks were pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the year as they scored a 20-17 win at Georgia in 2 overtimes. You have to give South Carolina Coach Will Muschamp a lot of credit in this one. His game plan was nearly perfect in knocking the Bulldogs out of the top five in the polls. This is a new week however. Florida can see a clear path to the SEC East title even with a loss to LSU. All they have to do is win out the rest of the way and they're in. There is also the possibility that the Gamecocks may still be celebrating their win over Georgia this week when they tee it up against the Gators. If that's the case, it could get really ugly in Columbia. The Gators really have a lot to play for.
Florida 27 South Carolina 13
Auburn at Arkansas
The Tigers still see a a path to the SEC Championship Game, though it's not as clear at it was a few weeks ago. Auburn had a week off following that loss at Florida two weeks ago and even though they're on the road again, they've had several days to regroup and the Tigers are big favorites over the Razorbacks. Arkansas is improved from the 2-10 team from 2018, but the Hogs are still winless in SEC play. They came close to a league win last week in losing 24-20 at Kentucky. As freshman quarterback Bo Nix goes, so go the Tigers, that's obvious. I don't see Nix having two bad games in a row.
Auburn 40 Arkansas 17
LSU at Mississippi State
This has all the makings of a real trap game this weekend. LSU is coming off an emotional win against Florida while Mississippi State lost at Tennessee. However, LSU is simply too good to fall into a trap at MSU. Quarterback Joe Burrow has arguably been the best player in college football this season thus far. He has pulled the trigger on the game's best offense so far in 2019, looking almost impossible to stop or even slow down. The biggest detriment in LSU's game this season has been the play of the Bengal Tigers defense but that shouldn't be a factor this week. In just a few weeks, LSU must face Auburn and Alabama in back to back weeks. Those will be huge tests. This week however, not so much.
LSU 45 Mississippi State 20
Missouri at Vanderbilt
This could be the worst Vanderbilt team in years. The Commodores lost to a bad UNLV team last week in front of less than 20,000 fans. The crowd should be better this week because Missouri travels better than UNLV. The seat under Coach Derek Mason is getting hotter and hotter and will continue to do so with each loss. If Vandy loses to Tennessee, a team they've beaten three of the last four years, it could be the final straw. Missouri is 5-1 overall and is currently in first place in the SEC East at 2-0. The Tigers will remain in first place for at least one more week before they get into the tougher part of their SEC schedule.
Missouri 47 Vanderbilt 14
Kentucky at Georgia
This is bounce back week for the Bulldogs. Georgia suffered a damaging loss to South Carolina last week, a loss that could ultimately keep the 'Dawgs out of the College Football Playoffs. Look for Coach Kirby Smart to right the ship and it could get ugly very quickly for the Wildcats. Kentucky scored a win at home over Arkansas last week for the 'Cats first SEC win of the year. However this is not Kentucky. It's Georgia and the Bulldogs were taught a huge lesson in losing to South Carolina last weekend. They learned to not overlook anybody in the SEC and that lesson starts taking effect this week.
Georgia 40 Kentucky 7
Texas A&M at Ole Miss
The Aggies have proven to be pretty good but maybe not as good as expected when the season started. A&M has one of the toughest schedules, with a loss at Clemson early in the year, and with games late in the season versus Georgia and LSU, The Aggies have already lost to Alabama as part of that tough schedule and the game at Ole Miss won't be a cake walk. The Rebels have been up and down this season so far with a 2-2 league record and 3-4 overall. The Rebs are using a two quarterback system and remember the old saying, " If you have two quarterbacks, it means you really don't have a quarterback." That could be the case but I expect this game to be really close.
Texas A&M 30 Ole Miss 24
Tennessee at Alabama
The Vols and Crimson Tide will be playing for the 102nd time in this long, heated rivalry. Alabama is on a 12 game win streak that started in 2007. By the way, the Tide is a 36 point favorite in the game and that could be rather modest. Tennessee should be playing with a bit more confidence this week following their 20-10 win over Mississippi State last week. I'm a bit disturbed by Coach Jeremy Pruitt's comments about 'Bama in his weekly press conference as he said, " They could beat us by 100." That doesn't do anything to help his teams' game prep. If your own coach thinks you could lose by a hundred points to anybody, you're defeated before you ever take the field. Remember when Lane Kiffin's 2009 Volunteer squad lost at Alabama 12-10, and had a winning field goal blocked at the final gun? Alabama is great but not unbeatable. They still have some weaknesses that could be exposed at a later date but not this week. It won't be a one hundred point loss.
Alabama 49 Tennessee 20
Last week: 5-2
Year to Date: 51-12 (81%)
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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com