After a few weeks of missing several games, almost every SEC team is back in action in Week 9. Has the stop-and-start nature of the season caused any potential craziness? Well, this is the place to check, as we bring you a bold prediction for each SEC game.
Arkansas pulls the upset
This is one of those games that if you took the logos off the helmets and just matched up the teams, we’d figure Arkansas for about a 10-point home favorite. Instead, LSU is favored by roughly a field goal on the road. Without Myles Brennan, that feels like a significant mistake. Yes, the Arkansas defense couldn’t keep up with Florida. But the last time this LSU team took the field, it was absolutely gob-smacked by a thoroughly mediocre Auburn team — the same one that Arkansas hung around with for 60 minutes.
Feleipe Franks has done an excellent job in keeping the Hogs moving, and we see him with 250 yards and 3 scores in a 38-28 kind of game.
Kyle Trask does it again — 300 by halftime
In past seasons, playing at Vandy was the kind of a thing that could throw a team off-kilter. But this Vandy team is awful, and this Florida team has too much offensive focus to let this game stay competitive. What we like is Kyle Trask to have a big day — and as has been the case this year, that means he’ll have to do it early because he’ll be holding a clipboard by the middle of the 3rd quarter. Florida won’t need Kyle Pitts, as Trask will hit his 300 yards passing by intermission, with another Heisman-esque day in a 40-point win.
Kentucky covers in a snooze fest
On the other hand, Alabama has had 2 weeks off and figures to be a little dozy. Don’t get us wrong, we’re not seeing a real struggle for Bama against Kentucky. But UK’s grind and drain clock offensive style will keep the Wildcats close for a half. Alabama wins, probably with a 150-yard game from Najee Harris, by a 38-10 kind of score.
Auburn rallies late
Tennessee figures to be fired up, playing a game with Auburn that is one of the last signposts on the way to a horrifyingly bad season in Knoxville. We like Jarrett Guarantano and the Vols to get off to a fast start and lead at halftime. But as we’ve seen with UT this year, one good half doesn’t guarantee another.
We’ll take Bo Nix and Auburn to rally late, winning by 14 on the basis of a 100+ yard, 2- touchdown game from Seth Williams.
Georgia delivers the defensive special
It’s a prediction we like to make for Alabama, but an elite defensive team (Georgia) meets an offensive team that’s shown an incredible predilection for shooting itself in the foot (Mississipi State). Given those factors, we’ll take the Georgia defense to outscore MSU. Georgia’s Bulldogs should be good for a pick-6 or a scoop and score, and frankly, MSU is far from guaranteed to even dent the scoreboard. Georgia’s D outshines MSU in a 38-3 kind of game.
Lame-duck South Carolina pulls an upset
Yes, there’s every reason in the world to pick against South Carolina. Its season has been a disaster, it’s losing players by the day and Missouri has been surprisingly competent.
But there’s a random possibility that given the opportunity to run offense without any interference, Mike Bobo could pull a rabbit out of his hat. It would be just the 2020 thing to happen, which means we’ll take Carolina by a late field goal, largely due to a big game from star running back Kevin Harris.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
