Southern Football Predictions

Dean Legge makes his weekly picks for the 23 schools in the South.

1. Miami – ‘Canes always put it to the ‘Noles somehow. Now who’s going to stop Miami in the ACC?

2. Georgia– Dawgs never play well in Columbia – Marshall might not be easy either. Richt’s bunch seem to be waiting around for LSU, Tennessee, Auburn, and Florida

3. Auburn– Tigers’ running game is solid – sleeper SEC championship contender?

4. LSU – Tigers could win up with a couple of losses in the next few weeks

5. Florida – Gators no longer own Vols – game of the week in the country

6. Tennessee – Vols can win the East in a matter of weeks with wins over Georgia and Florida

7. Florida State – Chris Rix won’t ever win a big game for the ‘Noles

8. Virginia – sleeper ACC championship contender? (Cavs have not played anyone, yet)

9. Maryland – this week’s game against West Virginia is a true test of the Turtles

10. Virginia Tech – Hokies roll against Blue Devils

11. Alabama – Ole Miss game was easy, soon the difficult part of the season starts

12. Georgia Tech – Stolen win; Calvin Johnson looks for real

13. Arkansas – last season the Hogs beat Texas, this year they just hung close. It could be that sort of season, but Arkansas is certainly dangerous

14. Clemson– yes the Tigers should be 1-1, but with a loss to Wake and a win over Tech

15. North Carolina State – Ohio State should win

16. South Carolina – a winnable game lost at home – when will Holtz get away from being overly conservative?

17. Wake Forest– Wake probably won’t be this low in the rankings too long

18. Mississippi State – Bulldogs are not yet ready for primetime

19. Ole Miss – 0-3 to start the season? It’s possible

20. Vanderbilt – Vandy needs this game

21. Kentucky – just the Cats’ luck; suddenly Indiana is pretty good – a UK win would be an upset

22. North Carolina – at least the Heels scored against Virginia

23. Duke – is a comment really needed?

This week’s games:

Vanderbilt (+6.5) at Ole Miss

Winner straight up – Ole Miss

Winner with points – Vanderbilt

Comment – This game is always very close

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Marshall (+19) at Georgia

Winner straight up – Georgia

Winner with points – Marshall

Comment – Dawgs never seem to cover against non-conference at Sanford

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LSU (-1.5) at Auburn

Winner straight up – Auburn

Winner with points – Auburn

Comment – Neither team has a quarterback ready for this game – Auburn’s running game and defense is better

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W. Carolina at Alabama

Winner straight up – Alabama

Winner with points – no line

Comment – Alabama should be fine

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Louisiana-Monroe (+31) at Arkansas

Winner straight up – Arkansas

Winner with points – Arkansas

Comment – Hogs should cover huge spread

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Maine at Mississippi State

Winner straight up – Mississippi State

Winner with points – no line

Comment – This could be one of State’s last wins of the season

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South Florida (+13.5) at South Carolina

Winner straight up – South Carolina

Winner with points – South Carolina

Comment – I might be stupid for taking the Cocks to cover more than a 7 point spread.

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Indiana (+1.5) at Kentucky

Winner straight up – Indiana

Winner with points – Indiana

Comment – How is Kentucky favored?

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Florida (-3.0) at Tennessee

Winner straight up – Tennessee

Winner with points – Tennessee

Comment – This game is so early in the season – you rarely know anything about either team before this game

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Duke (+25) at Virginia Tech

Winner straight up – Virginia Tech

Winner with points – Virginia Tech

Comment – This game can’t be the reason Tech came to the ACC

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Maryland (+7.0) at West Virginia

Winner straight up – West Virginia

Winner with points – West Virginia

Comment – Turtle power won’t be able to keep up with Mountaineers

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Louisiana Tech (+30.5) at Miami

Winner straight up – Miami

Winner with points – Miami

Comment – Canes roll

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Akron (+31.5) at Virginia

Winner straight up – Virginia

Winner with points – Virginia

Comment – Virginia can score a lot of points it seems

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Ohio State (-2.5) at NC State

Winner straight up – Ohio State

Winner with points – Ohio State

Comment – Ohio State should win this game

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Alabama-Birmingham (+24.5) at Florida State

Winner straight up – Florida State

Winner with points – Alabama-Birmingham

Comment – UAB is not that bad

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North Carolina A&T at Wake Forest

Winner straight up – Wake Forest

Winner with points – no line

Comment – This game will likely put fans to sleep – who schedules these games?

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Clemson (-1.5) at Texas A&M

Winner straight up – Clemson

Winner with points – Clemson

Comment – A road favorite after a loss at home? Still… I manage to take the Tigers

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LOCK OF THE WEEK -------------------------------

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Ohio State (-2.5) at NC State

Winner straight up – Ohio State

Winner with points – Ohio State

Comment – Too many factors point to a Buckeye win

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Year – Lock of the week: 1 of 2 or 50%

Year – Straight up: 28 out of 31 or 90%

Year – Points: 12 of 26 or 46%