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Week 3 is just around the corner and we are finally treated to a weekend with multiple conference games. This weekend, Tennessee travels to Florida, LSU is playing at Mississippi State and Kentucky is hitting the road in order to face South Carolina.

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

Note: Games against FCS opponents do not have readily available point spreads, thus, Mercer’s journey to Auburn and Samford’s trip to Georgia are not among the SEC games predicted below. 

Colorado State at #1 Alabama (-28.5)

Michael: Unless Alabama completely looks beyond the Rams in anticipation of next week’s trip to undefeated (for now at least) Vanderbilt, this game shouldn’t be close. It will be interesting to see what criticism comes Jalen Hurts’ way after yet another nearly flawless game this weekend. If only Tua Tagovailoa understood English good, he might be a threat to start under center for Alabama this season.

Alabama 49, Colorado State 13

Connor: For a Mountain West team in mid-September, Colorado State has about as big of a sample size as one can ask for. The Rams already have three games under their belts, two of which were against Power 5 teams. They also have a third-year starting quarterback in Nick Stevens, who already threw for 300-plus yards in each of those contests. So what did all of that tell me? That the Tide will still roll.

Alabama 52, Colorado State 14

Louisiana at Texas A&M (-24)

Michael: It took a fourth quarter rally just for Texas A&M to beat Nicholls last week. Considering the Aggies scored 24 total in that game, it’s hard to imagine this team beating anyone by 24 the way the offense is playing. Louisiana may be one of the worst teams in the nation but I still like them to cover this week. That should tell you something about the state of the Ags.

Texas A&M 30, Louisiana 14

Connor: Are we sure that the Aggies have this thing figured out? I get that they should be able to just run the ball with Trayveon Williams and win by four touchdowns without thinking twice, but wasn’t that supposed to happen against FCS Nicholls State, too? Jake Hubenak gives the Aggies a better shot than Kellen Mond to have some sort of balance. I still question if the Aggies will be able to fully utilize Christian Kirk and that passing game. Texas A&M comes out stronger than last week, but struggles to pour it on.

Texas A&M 31, Louisiana 14

Purdue at Missouri (-7)

Michael: Missouri is clearly a fragile team right now. The Tigers were in control of the South Carolina game last weekend but lost it in a matter of moments after allowing a kick return touchdown, throwing an interception and following that up with an offensive touchdown in the span of four total plays of the game. The Tigers never recovered from that moment and were dominated the rest of the way. The next day, the defensive coordinator was fired. Somethings up here and it will be interesting to see if it lingers into this weekend.

Missouri 33, Purdue 30

Connor: If you don’t have anything going on Saturday afternoon, this is the game you should be watching. Why? These teams can light up the scoreboard in a hurry. Yes, Mizzou had a down offensive week, but Drew Lock against a non-conference defense is usually a sight to see. And while Purdue is certainly an improved defensive unit under first-year coach Jeff Brohm, this one still has the makings of some serious offensive fireworks. Get ready to do some pushups in Columbia. The Tigers win in a shootout.

Missouri 45, Purdue 42

Ole Miss (-3.5) at Cal

Michael: Despite predictions of doom and gloom by many, I’ve been high on Ole Miss all offseason. Thus far, I continue to like what I see from the Rebels. Now traveling to the west coast for a late night Pac-12 kickoff, look for things to get weird Saturday night in Berkley. While the Rebs’ offense is firing on all cylinders right now, Cal’s defense has a long way to go — the Bears allowed 431 passing yards to Weber State last week! Shea Patterson broke a school record by throwing for 489 yards last week against UT Martin. There’s an outstanding chance he tops that if he and receiver AJ Brown are just getting started after putting up gaudy numbers the first two weeks of the season.

Ole Miss 55, Cal 42

Connor: It took me longer than most, but after watching Ole Miss from start to finish last week, I’m on board with the Shea Patterson hype train. He’s a special difference-maker who is going to keep the Rebels in a lot more ball games than they should probably be in. Having said that, the defense is still somewhat awful. They couldn’t tackle UT Martin skill players. What makes me think they’ll be able to turn it around on the road against a Cal team that ran the ball for 231 yards last week? This one has “Pac-12 after dark” written all over it. Give me the team that doesn’t have to travel across the country with a lackluster defense.

Cal 45, Ole Miss 42

Kentucky at South Carolina (-6.5)

Michael: South Carolina has been the most pleasant surprise out of the SEC after two weeks in my mind. Jake Bentley has continued his progression (Did you know he skipped his senior season of high school to enroll at South Carolina! So far, that well-known piece of information has been mentioned in every single Gamecock broadcast of his career) and Deebo Samuel has been arguably the most impressive all-around receiver in the league. While a win over Kentucky won’t automatically elevate the Gamecocks as true East contenders, as some have suggested this week, the program is clearly trending in that direction. The Wildcats, on the other hand, have been a disappointment thus far. Kentucky could right the ship in a hurry with a win here but the Columbia crowd will be enough to push the Gamecocks toward a victory in this one.

South Carolina 38, Kentucky 35

Connor: Last year, South Carolina didn’t look like a team that would be favored by at touchdown to beat any SEC team. But now that Jake Bentley is hitting his Year 2 stride, the Gamecocks look plenty dangerous on that side of the ball. I think Kentucky presents the toughest defensive challenge he’s seen so far, but I don’t think it results in a road upset. I’ll give up a touchdown and then some with the red-hot Gamecocks.

South Carolina 27, Kentucky 14

#18 Kansas State (-4) at Vanderbilt

Michael: It’s a shame the Commodores don’t have any semblance of a homefield advantage in Nashville, the team could use one this weekend. While Vanderbilt has been impressive early on, it remains to be seen if the team can hang with an opponent of this caliber. Look for the Commodores to keep it close for a half, but I like KState to pull away in the second half. Vanderbilt hasn’t beaten an AP ranked non-conference opponent since 1946, the Commodores are 0 for their last 18 tries.

Kansas State 23, Vanderbilt 16

Connor: Vegas is obviously all in on the Commodores. Either that or they aren’t buying the No. 18 team in the country to look like it on the road. Obviously, Kansas State is facing its toughest task so far on both sides of the ball. The improved Kyle Shurmur gives Vanderbilt a new element, though he hasn’t faced a weapon like Kansas State safety Kendall Adams yet. The Wildcats will sell out to stop Ralph Webb and make Shurmur beat him. I question if that formula will work for the third straight week for Vanderbilt.

Kansas State 35, Vanderbilt 21

#12 LSU (-7) at Mississippi State

Michael: This could very well be the best game of the weekend from the SEC. Despite both teams having played two games, we still don’t know much either of these squads given the level of competition both have played. Both defenses have performed like some of the best in the league this season and each offense may have the two best players at the two most key positions on offense. I expect each team to make players other than Nick Fitzgerald and Derrius Guice beat them Saturday night in Starkville. Given the talent on LSU’s roster, I lean toward the Tigers having the better opportunity to do just that.

LSU 20, Mississippi State 17

Connor: A touchdown seems like a lot to give any team Nick Fitzgerald plays for. That was more than he and the Bulldogs would’ve needed last year when they were a field goal away from winning in the Bayou. That was also Fitzgerald’s second career start. The two big question marks in this one are LSU’s offense and Mississippi State’s defense. How much have both units improved? They’ll be each other’s best test so far. I still like the Tigers to get a key defensive stop late to hold on to a big road win to start SEC play.

LSU 28, MSU 27

#23 Tennessee at #24 Florida (-5)

Michael: Tennessee finally got the Florida monkey off its back last season and will travel to Gainesville attempting to do the inconceivable, start a winning-streak of its own against the Gators. While the spread favors Florida, there seem to be far more factors suggesting Tennessee will come away with the win in this game. The Gators are expected to continue to have nine players suspended by kickoff, including arguably the two best players on offense — receiver Antonio Callaway and starting running back Jordan Scarlett. Considering Callaway has been a nightmare matchup for the Vols, his absence particularly looms large. Florida also lost a week of much-needed preparation after canceling last week’s contest against Northern Colorado. Florida is also expected to be without starting LB Kylan Johnson due to injury. All that being said, given the recent history of this series, I expect Florida to make one or two critical plays in the end and steal away yet another victory in the series from the Vols.

Florida 24, Tennessee 20

Connor: As tempting as it is to pick the Vols to win outright, the Gators have a couple things working in their favor. Despite his team’s offensive issues the last two years, Jim McElwain is 11-1 at The Swamp. Tennessee was 1-3 in SEC road games last year, with the lone win being the Hail Mary at Georgia. That’s probably why the line is nearly a touchdown. But this is a game in which Florida should be able to run the ball and limit those third-and-longs. If the Gators do that, they’ll squeak by with a victory.

Florida 23, Tennessee 21