Randy Smith: SEC Picks Week 7

Last week for the first time ever, I picked less than 50% of the SEC games correctly. I was 2-4 and that gives me a season record of 53-13 ( 80%) It's easy to call week six of college football an upset week...three big ones in the SEC alone: Vandy over Alabama, Texas A&M over Missouri and Arkansas over Tennessee. This week, Auburn, Arkansas and Texas A&M are idle.

South Carolina at Alabama

Pity the poor Gamecocks this week. After losing at home to Ole Miss, they travel to Tuscaloosa to face what will likely be a butt-hurt Crimson Tide squad. Losing to Vanderbilt when you were the top-ranked team in the country will do that to you. Let's face it....Alabama's defense is less than mediocre. In the Tide's last two games, they've surrendered 74 points in the win over Georgia and the loss to Vandy. Head coach Kalen DeBoer is hoping his team can bounce back and so is the 'Bama fan base. If Alabama doesn't win big this week, I'll be very surprised.

Alabama 48 South Carolina 14

Mississippi State at Georgia

The once top-ranked Bulldogs rebounded after the loss to Alabama two weeks ago with a solid win in Athens over rival Auburn. Like Alabama, Georgia has a few weaknesses.

The Bulldogs can be beaten if teams can control the Georgia offense and get pressure on quarterback Carson Beck....as 'Bama did in the first half of their game on Sept. 28. I still believe Georgia is as good as any team in the country but they now need to prove it.

Georgia 50 Mississippi State 14

Vanderbilt at Kentucky

Vandy is the darling of the SEC after the Commodores' historic 40-35 upset of top-ranked Alabama, but Kentucky is looking to take that moniker away. The Wildcats were off last week after their huge upset win at Ole Miss two weeks ago. The Wildcats are hoping Vandy is still celebrating that win over 'Bama, but the Commodores, if they're focused are hoping to prove they're for real and quarterback Diego Pavia has a lot to do with that....in fact he's now in the Heisman Trophy talk on a national level. Sorry Vandy fans. It was fun while it lasted!

Kentucky 27 Vandy 21

Ole Miss at LSU

This could be the best game of the day in the SEC. Both teams are ranked in the top-25 polls, with the Rebels being the highest ranked squad coming in at number nine. LSU is ranked 13th. Both teams have one loss and neither one of these teams can afford another one if they make the playoffs. Lane Kiffin and his Rebs successfully bounced back from their upset loss to Kentucky by demolishing South Carolina. While LSU is a formidable foe, the Bengals are still looking for their indentity.

Ole Miss 30 LSU 27

Missouri at UMass

The Tigers are just not playing well right now. In fact, I predicted they were not as good as they were said to be in the pre-season polls. That's why they were totally destroyed at Texas A&M last week, 41-10. UMass doesn't present much of a challenge this week, so Missouri will have a great chance of righting the ship. The Tigers are favored by 28 points but should win by more than that.

Missouri 42 UMass 7

Texas at Oklahoma

The " Red River " rivalry finally comes to the SEC. The Longhorns are favored by a couple of touchdowns but the Sooners are a good football team. Head coach Brent Venables is hoping to control the tempo enough for his team to hang around and have a chance to win. Injured quarterback Quinn Ewers is expected to be back in the lineup after missing several games with an abdominal injury. If Ewers isn't ready to go, redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning will take over and not miss a beat.

Texas A&M 27 Oklahoma 23

Florida at Tennessee

It's Florida week in Knoxville, and that doesn't mean as much as it used to. The Gators have fallen upon hard times and even though the Vols are nationally ranked right now, things have turned around for them and Tennessee is favored by 15.5 points. Of course the Vols were picked by ten over Arkansas and lost by five. There is not any wiggle room for Tennessee if they make the playoffs. They may have a slight chance with two losses but with three you can forget about it. The Gators are in a lot of trouble and eventually will fire coach Billy Napier. The Volunteers will win big.

Tennessee 38 Florida 14