The long wait has finally come to an end, SEC football is set to return this weekend.

Each week in this column, SDS news desk editor Michael Bratton and Senior National Columnist Connor O’Gara will go head-to-head and pick every SEC game against the spread and share our thoughts heading into each matchup.

Note: Not all the SEC games of Week 1 have publicly available point spreads. Those games include Florida A&M at Arkansas (Little Rock), Missouri State at Missouri and Charleston Southern at Mississippi State. 

North Carolina State (-6) vs. South Carolina — game in Charlotte

Michael: I was more confident in this pick before N.C. State suspended two freshmen and booted three others while also losing starting senior CB Mike Stevens. N.C. State’s strength is the on the DL, which should cause major issues for the Gamecocks. My only concern here is a backdoor cover thanks to a late score by the Gamecocks.

N.C. State 31, South Carolina 21

South Carolina and N.C. State have met 57 times; the Gamecocks lead the series 27-26-4.

Connor: Give me the Gamecocks to cover in what should be one of the better opening weekend games. Six points for what figures to be an improved offense is a nice proposition. I’m not sure South Carolina wins this one, but I think it’ll be decided by a field goal either way. 

NC State 31, South Carolina 28

Michigan (-3.5) vs. Florida — game in Arlington

Michael: There is a ton of uncertainty with both of these programs heading into the season. I tend to think Florida should win by a wide margin based on the talent of the rosters but Jim Harbaugh, despite his odd behavior, is one of the best coaches in college football. This game could go either way but I don’t believe the young Wolverines will be quite ready for this challenge to open the season.

Florida 26, Michigan 20

Connor: To be honest, I’m surprised the spread is only 3.5. I think the Wolverines could potentially win this one by three touchdowns. Despite the turnover on defense, something about Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown getting several months to prepare for Florida’s offense seems like a major plus for the Wolverines. It doesn’t figure to be a shootout but I like the Wolverines to do a whole lot more than cover.

Michigan 28, Florida 10

Kentucky (-10.5) at Southern Miss

Michael: The loss in this same spot last season was embarrassing for the Wildcats. Hard to imagine Kentucky hasn’t been looking forward to this game the entire offseason. If things are different this time in Lexington, which remains to be seen, starting the season by finishing the opener strong and not letting up will be crucial for Mark Stoops’ program.

Kentucky 34, Southern Miss 14

Connor: I wrote about why the Wildcats are the most likely SEC team to have a Mississippi State-like stumble in Week 1, and it isn’t only because of last year’s matchup. The Golden Eagles have a loaded backfield that could lead to another upset of the Wildcats. I’ll gladly take double digits for a home dog on opening weekend.

Kentucky 38, Southern Miss 35

Appalachian State at Georgia (-13.5)

Michael: This is a tough one. I have little doubt that Georgia wins but just how many points will the Dawgs score on a tough Sun Belt team? The Bulldogs had better not look past this game with the trip to Notre Dame coming up, otherwise the Mountaineers could embarrass them much like they spoiled the hype around Tennessee’s 2016 season in the opener.

Georgia 30, Appalachian State 17

Connor: This is a tricky matchup, but the line has already taken that into consideration. I think this game stays close for the first half, but the Bulldogs’ ground game wears down the Mountaineers and they end up winning by three touchdowns.

Georgia 34, Appalachian State 17

Georgia Southern at Auburn (-35)

Michael: Auburn should be an easy winner in this game but I’ll take that many points early in the season nearly every time. If this game were taking place in the middle of the season, Auburn would roll all over GSU, but don’t be surprised if the Tigers keep things vanilla before next week’s trip to Clemson.

Auburn 38, Georgia Southern 13

Connor: I’m not sure the passing game will click immediately, but Auburn’s ground game should run all over Georgia Southern. Yes, 35 points are a lot to give up, but the Tigers rolled three non-conference foes by 37, 55 and 51 points last year. That was with a lackluster passing game. I’ll give those five touchdowns.

Auburn 55, Georgia Southern 7

South Alabama at Ole Miss (-24)

Michael: Ole Miss is my surprise team out of the SEC this year and I like the Rebels to come out firing from the opening game. South Alabama won’t have the athletes to match up in Oxford. Ole Miss covers the three touchdowns plus.

Ole Miss 48, South Alabama 14

Connor: That seems like a lot of points to be giving up for a team with such questionable expectations. We saw what South Alabama did to Mississippi State last year. The Jags had a lot of roster turnover, but they still have talent up front that could put more pressure on Shea Patterson than many expect.

Ole Miss 42, South Alabama 28

Florida State vs. Alabama (-7) — game in Atlanta

Michael: Until a team beats Alabama in an opener with Nick Saban coaching, I’m not picking it to happen. The key to this game is how well the reworked front seven of the Tide match up against Florida State’s offensive line. If you can’t beat the Tide on the line of scrimmage, you have little to no chance of winning, and FSU likely won’t do either.

Alabama 23, Florida State 14

Connor: So get this: Alabama has won every season opener under Saban by double digits. In fact, they won by an average of 29 points. Is Florida State the best team Alabama faced in an opener, perhaps ever? Probably, but the Tide’s opening-week dominance includes five matchups against top-25 teams and three against top-10 teams. Alabama will be ready to roll.

Alabama 45, Florida State 24

Vanderbilt (-4) at Middle Tennessee State

Michael: Going with an upset in Middle Tennessee. Vandy coach Derek Mason has consistently struggled to get his team ready to open a season and his team is going up against a solid MTSU team led by the father-son duo of Rick and Brent Stockstill. I have the Commodores starting the season on the wrong foot.

MTSU 23, Vanderbilt 21

Connor: Yes, it’s a scary matchup. But it’s still only four points to give. Keep in mind that the Commodores trucked Middle Tennessee last year on the heels of Ralph Webb’s 211 rushing yards. In case you forgot, he’s still in black and gold. Regardless of Vanderbilt’s woeful passing game, the Blue Raiders’ chances of containing Webb aren’t great.

Vanderbilt 24, Middle Tennessee State 14

Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

BYU vs. LSU (-16) — game in New Orleans

Michael: I thought BYU would present a tough challenge to the Tigers, until I saw the Cougars’ opening game against Portland State. BYU struggled for much of that game and was consistently blown back on the line of scrimmage by the Portland State front seven. I can’t imagine LSU having many issues in this game, especially considering the game has been moved to New Orleans.

LSU 33, BYU 17

Connor: The circumstances are atypical for both sides, which I think leads to a sloppy game regardless of where it’s played. LSU could still be working out the kinks offensively, and they’ll see a BYU squad that already shook off the rust in a weak showing against Portland State last week. But something else to consider is that BYU only lost one game by double digits in the past two years. This one doesn’t have the makings of a comfortable LSU win.

LSU 21, BYU 14

Texas A&M at UCLA (-4)

Michael: I’ve gone back and forth on this game quite a bit this offseason but Kevin Sumlin’s track record suggests he’ll have his team ready to play Week 1. No coach gets young quarterbacks ready to play as well as Sumlin and as long as Josh Rosen doesn’t have a career game, I’ll take the Aggies to upset the Bruins on the road.

The Aggies last visited the Rose Bowl to face UCLA in 1955.

Texas A&M 35, UCLA 30

Connor: Kevin Sumlin is 20-2 in games before Oct. 1. Those two losses were one-possession games vs. Florida and Alabama. The oddsmakers have already factored in UCLA’s obvious quarterback advantage, but I’m still not sold on the team around Josh Rosen. Maybe a Christian Kirk touchdown return is the difference in this one.

Texas A&M 42, UCLA 35

Tennessee (-3) vs. Georgia Tech — game in Atlanta

Michael: This might be the toughest game of the weekend to predict; it could certainly come down to one key play. How well will the two squads handle being the only game on Monday? Tennessee played in a handful of nationally televised prime-time contests last season, while Tech flew under the radar for the most part. Butch Jones has a perfect record in neutral-site games as Tennessee’s coach, that’s enough to get me to lean toward the Vols.

Tennessee 27, Georgia Tech 21

Connor: I know, I know, I know. The Vols are supposed to be much better stopping the run with Brady Hoke in town. But I keep picturing this image of Georgia Tech marching up and down the field and running the triple option all over the Vols. This game is in Georgia Tech’s backyard (at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium), it’s on the turf, and we don’t know what to expect from Tennessee’s quarterback situation. I’ll take all three of those points.

Georgia Tech 28, Tennessee 27