09 04 2004 - This week's picks for the SEC and ACC

Don't make your final picks for this weekend's game until you check out Dean's picks for the weekend.

1. LSU – The Tigers are the best team in the South, right now

2. Georgia – The Bulldogs’ game with Georgia Southern should be a joke.

3. Miami – The last early season match up with Noles went well – but now, thanks to a real hurricane, it will have to wait a week

4. Florida State – Can Chris Rix step up for once? We’ll see in a week

5. Florida – Tennessee will be here sooner than you think; not playing this week hurts

6. Auburn – Easy game with Louisiana-Monroe before SEC starts.

7. Clemson – Can Clemson get revenge against the last team that beat (embarrassed) them?

8. Tennessee – Phil Fulmer has decided on a quarterback, but he’s not Peyton. Not only that, the loser in the quarterback in now playing tight end. That’s not saying much for the Vols’ quarterback situation.

9. Virginia – This week’s game against Temple is a joke.

10. Maryland – Another revenge game, this time against Northern Illinois

11. Virginia Tech – Bad call costs Tech a possible huge upset.

12. Alabama – Media in state clamoring for Mike Shula to make this team relevant again.

13. Wake Forest – Playing at Clemson to open the season will be tough; better hope the option is ready to go.

14. Ole Miss – A.E. – After Eli.

15. Vanderbilt – Winnable game for Vandy might set the tone for the next two years.

16. South Carolina – Lou Holtz needs a win worse than any other coach in the SEC; Playing in Nashville is difficult way to get that win.

17. North Carolina State – Can the Pack survive without Rivers?

18. Georgia Tech – Help needed fast. This program has problems.

19. Arkansas – Hogs are always underrated – am I doing the same thing?

20. Kentucky – Win over in-state Louisville is needed for stability in program.

21. Mississippi State – Sylvester Croom could not have walked into a more difficult situation.

22. North Carolina – Heels are just plain bad.

23. Duke – But Duke is worse.

This week’s games:

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South Carolina (-5) at Vanderbilt

Winner straight up – Vanderbilt

Winner with points – Vanderbilt

Comment – upset that everyone sees coming

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Louisiana-Monroe (+38.5) at Auburn

Winner straight up – Auburn

Winner with points – Louisiana-Monroe

Comment – that’s way too many points for my liking

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Georgia Southern at Georgia

Winner straight up – Georgia

Winner with points – No line

Comment – Georgia rolls over over-matched Eagles

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Oregon State (+18.5) at LSU

Winner straight up – LSU

Winner with points – LSU

Comment – Tigers are great at home

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Tulane (+6.5) at Mississippi State

Winner straight up – Mississippi State

Winner with points – Mississippi State

Comment – This is a sucker bet for sure

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New Mexico State (+20) at Arkansas

Winner straight up – Arkansas

Winner with points – New Mexico State

Comment – as bad as NMSU is, Arkansas is not 20 points better

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Utah State (+26) at Alabama

Winner straight up – Alabama

Winner with points – Utah State

Comment – Bama’s not 26 points better than anyone

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Memphis (+3) at Ole Miss

Winner straight up – Ole Miss

Winner with points – Ole Miss

Comment – Will Ole Miss slip back to the middle of the pack in the West this season? This game will give us good indication of that; Memphis isn’t that bad.

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Kentucky (+8.5) at Louisville

Winner straight up – Louisville

Winner with points – Louisville

Comment – Kentucky still has a long way to go to get back to being competitive.

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UNLV (+20.5) at Tennessee

Winner straight up – Tennessee

Winner with points – Tennessee

Comment – Three touchdowns would have been a little too many for the Vols to cover, but less than that should be fine.

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Virginia (-16.5) at Temple

Winner straight up – Virginia

Winner with points – Virginia

Comment – Temple is terrible

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Samford at Georgia Tech

Winner straight up – Georgia Tech

Winner with points – No line

Comment – Samford is terrible

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William and Mary at North Carolina

Winner straight up – North Carolina

Winner with points – No line

Comment – William and Mary is terrible

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Wake Forest (-12) at Clemson

Winner straight up – Clemson

Winner with points – Clemson

Comment – Tigers get revenge

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Duke (-7) at Navy

Winner straight up – Navy

Winner with points – Duke

Comment – Difficult game to pick

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Richmond at NC State

Winner straight up – NC State

Winner with points – No line

Comment – NC State struggles in these types of games at times

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LOCK OF THE WEEK

Northern Illinois (+14) at Maryland

Winner straight up – Maryland

Winner with points – Maryland

Comment – Maryland drills Northern in a major revenge

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Last year – Lock of the week: 6 of 8 or 75%

Last year – Straight up: 82 out of 104 or 79%

Last year – Points: 60 of 104 or 58%

NOTES:

Miami at Florida State ppd.

Middle Tennessee State at ppd.