“Bamageddon” lived up to its billing with LSU grinding and pounding for a 9-6 victory against the Crimson Tide.
The Tigers’ win helped keep my picks above .500 for the week, but utter disappointments from Arizona State, Ole Miss, Michigan and South Carolina kept my record from being anywhere near stellar.
The losses were especially shocking from the Sun Devils and Wolverines, who don’t have the injury excuse like the Gamecocks or the case of being just plain awful that’s nested in Oxford.
Here’s hoping for some better breaks this week.
Nebraska -4 over Penn State
With all the hoopla surrounding Happy Valley this week, there is no way this team can be even remotely focused on football.
And they shouldn’t be.
Some things are more important than winning a football game. No matter how many times the players say the right things to the media, this is a major distraction and it will show Saturday.
Florida State -9 oveR Miami
Once upon a time, this was the marquee game of the season.
Not so much anymore.
Florida State has been more consistent this season, as the Hurricanes have strung together back-to-back wins just once.
Ole Miss +2 over Louisiana Tech
This is a risky pick.
Ole Miss hasn’t shown any reason to have faith in it all season. But expect Rebels’ lame-duck coach Houston Nutt to pull out all the stops from here on out.
And in this case, he’ll pull out a victory.
Vanderbilt -13 over Kentucky
Kentucky may have scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter last week against Ole Miss to snag a 30-13 win, but that won’t happen again this week.
Vanderbilt is still hanging on to hopes of becoming bowl eligible this season, and a win here is much needed.
Arkansas -14.5 over Tennessee
The Razorbacks have been as Jekyll and Hyde of a team as any this season.
Some weeks, like last week against South Carolina, their highly touted offense shows the nation why they deserve a top-10 ranking.
Then there are weeks where Arkansas flirts with disaster, like trailing 17-0 to Ole Miss before rallying for a 29-24 win.
This won’t be a week where Arkansas struggles.
Florida +3.5 over South Carolina
South Carolina was exposed as a pretender by Arkansas last week. And sophomore quarterback Connor Shaw is questionable to play after suffering a concussion against the Razorbacks.
This sets up perfectly for Florida coach Will Muschamp’s crew to steal a win and clinch bowl eligibility.
Alabama -18.5 over Mississippi State
The Crimson Tide will start slow, suffering from a bit of a hangover from the bloodbath that was their game with LSU.
But Mississippi State doesn’t have the defensive depth to slow down Alabama junior running back Trent Richardson for four quarters.
Auburn +12.5 over Georgia
The Southeastern Conference’s oldest rivalry fires it up again, this time with a double-digit spread.
Georgia has surged lately, winning seven in a row after starting 0-2, but it’s still not that good.
Auburn will not win the game outright, but it will definitely be able to contain the Bulldogs’ offense enough to stay within two touchdowns.
Oregon +3.5 over Stanford
Stanford and senior quarterback Andrew Luck are looking to take a huge step Saturday toward a berth in the BCS Championship game.
But getting past Oregon will be a tough task.
Stanford doesn’t have the sideline-to-sideline speed needed to slow down Oregon’s rushing attack, and it will cost them a shot at the crystal ball as the Ducks pull the upset.
LSU -41.5 over Western Kentucky
The breakdown for this one will be nearly identical to the one for Alabama’s game this week, except LSU is beat up, not down.
The Tigers will undoubtedly be very vanilla, showing as little as possible and getting as many young players live snaps as possible.
But the problem for the Hilltoppers is the Tigers’ young players aren’t a big step down from the veterans.
Last week: 6-4
Overall record: 56-43-1
Rob Landry is a 23-year old mass communication senior from Mandeville. Follow him on Twitter @RobLandry85.
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected].