1) No. 9 Arkansas (3-0) @ Alabama (2-2), 2:30 p.m., CBS
‘Bama was embarrassed by Northern Illinois at home even though NIU is a solid team. The Crimson Tide is looking to improve to 2-0 in conference and must ride the coattails of running back Shaud Williams, who leads conference running backs with six touchdowns.
But here lies the problem. ‘Bama could not stop Michael “The Burner” Turner on the ground last week as he rushed for more than 150 yards in Tuscaloosa. That’s not a good sign when option quarterback Matt Jones and running back Cedric Cobbs – who leads the SEC with 121.3 yards per game – come into town.
Still, ‘Bama is at home and even though the ‘Backs beat UT on the road, I’m not convinced.
Alabama 24, Arkansas 20
2) South Carolina (3-1) @ No. 8 Tennessee (3-0), 6:45 p.m., ESPN
Tennessee really took it to Florida in the second half at The Swamp. The Vols rushing game has been as impressive as any in the country. Two juniors, Jabari Davis and Cedric Houston, have combined for 569 yards and four scores and lead the Tennessee team.
South Carolina can’t score against really good teams. Couldn’t do it against Georgia and won’t do it against Tennessee. Dondrial Pinkins is last among SEC quarterbacks with 166.2 yards passing per game. Auburn’s Jason Campbell even beats that mark. Yikes!
Tennessee 27, USC 10
3) Texas Tech (2-1) @ Ole Miss (2-1), 6 p.m.
This is my first question: why isn’t this game on television? I mean Tech’s quarterback B.J. Symons threw for nearly 600 yards last week against N.C. State. No, that’s not a type-o either.
You know that Rebels quarterback Eli Manning is going to put the ball up a lot, so this will be a fun game to watch.
Neither team has much defense, but Ole Miss let Memphis score all over them in a previous matchup. Therefore, we’re going to go with the Red Raiders in this one.
Texas Tech 59, Ole Miss 56
4) No. 25 Florida (2-2) @ Kentucky (2-2), 11:30 a.m., JP
True freshman Chris Leak gets his first real start under center. Sure he’ll blow out Kentucky, but how will the frosh fair against a very good LSU defense in Tiger Stadium in two weeks?
Florida 34, Kentucky 16
5) No. 7 LSU (4-0) @ Mississippi State (0-3), 8 p.m., ESPN2
Here’s the only stat you need to know for this game: LSU has scored 160 points this season (1st in the SEC West) and State has given up 115 points (worst in the SEC).
LSU 44, State 27
6) Georgia Tech (1-3) @ Vanderbilt (1-3)
Vanderbilt could not beat a Conference USA team or play them to within two touchdowns. What makes them think they can hang with a decent Georgia Tech team?
Georgia Tech 31, Vanderbilt 17
7) Western Kentucky (3-0) @ Auburn (1-2)
Western Kentucky is actually good – for a 1-AA team. Auburn scored 45 points two Saturdays ago, but once again, it doesn’t count because it came against Vanderbilt.
Auburn 35, Western Kentucky 13