1. Miami – Hurricanes play one of their two Thursday night games tonight, it will be a joke.
2. Auburn – No longer a surprise pick to win the SEC; Tennessee will be difficult next week.
3. Georgia – Off week allows Dawgs to get key players back. Georgia is not playing well right now, but the return of Danny Ware will likely spark the offense just in time for LSU.
4. Tennessee – If the Vols can get through this early stretch they have a shot at going undefeated – it won’t happen that way, however.
5. LSU – Tigers just have not looked great this season.
6. Florida State – Clemson should be an easy win. If the Tigers hang around, or even win, FSU has real problems.
7. Florida – Gators used to rule Tennessee – no longer. Can Florida get through this difficult schedule to climb back into the SEC East race? Probably not – Arkansas will be a challenge next week for the once Mighty Gators.
8. Virginia – Cavaliers are building up wins before their huge showdown with Florida State.
9. Virginia Tech – NC State could be difficult, but Tech should be better on defense.
10. Alabama – loss of starting quarterback will hurt dark-horse in the SEC West
11. Maryland – Game with Duke will take the Turtles’ minds off difficult loss to West Virginia.
12. Arkansas – Hogs are better than most think; they’ll prove that this week against Bama.
13. North Carolina State – Two difficult games in a row for Pack. How will they respond to their loss to powerful Ohio State?
14. South Carolina – Gamecocks with a quarterback controversy all of the sudden – they should instead be focusing attention on giant killer Troy (State).
15. Clemson – Tigers have forgotten everything they learned last season.
16. Wake Forest – Boston College game will give a better indication of where Wake is right now.
17. Georgia Tech – This is the Georgia Tech most have grown to know; upset Clemson and lose to a horrible North Carolina. Things are not getting better in Atlanta – and Miami is next!
18. Kentucky – Cats won’t beat Florida in Gainesville, but they could keep it close.
19. North Carolina – Win over lifeless Yellow Jackets moved Carolina out of my cellar – for now.
20. Ole Miss – Are the Rebels this bad?
21. Vanderbilt – Are the Commodores ever going to win a SEC game?
22. Duke – How did the Blue Devils get out of the basement?
23. Mississippi State – How did State lose to Maine?
This week’s games:
Miami (-25.5) at Houston
Winner straight up – Miami
Winner with points – Miami
Comment – Miami rolls
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Alabama (+6) at Arkansas
Winner straight up – Arkansas
Winner with points – Arkansas
Comment – Hogs are too much without starting Bama quarterback
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The Citadel at Auburn
Winner straight up – Auburn
Winner with points – NL
Comment – Special teams practice in front of 85,000+
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Kentucky (+19) at Florida
Winner straight up – Florida
Winner with points – Kentucky
Comment – Gators might struggle a little after tough loss to Vols
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Mississippi State (+29) at LSU
Winner straight up – LSU
Winner with points – LSU
Comment – Neither team is playing well; possibly the worst SEC match up of the week
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Ole Miss (+5.5) at Wyoming
Winner straight up – Ole Miss
Winner with points – Ole Miss
Comment – Mississippi is so desperate to get non-conference teams to play in Oxford that they have to play AT Wyoming? Also, neither team has covered this season. This one is difficult to pick
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Troy (State) (+14) at South Carolina
Winner straight up – South Carolina
Winner with points – South Carolina
Comment – Going with the Cocks, but not sure why
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Louisiana Tech (+24.5) at Tennessee
Winner straight up – Tennessee
Winner with points – Tennessee
Comment – Vols too much
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Vanderbilt (+8.5) at Navy
Winner straight up – Navy
Winner with points – Navy
Comment – Navy is not that bad: 3-0 and 2-0 ATS. Commodores have scored only 29 points this season – Midshipmen scored that last week against Tulsa.
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Clemson (+19) at Florida State
Winner straight up – Florida State
Winner with points – Clemson
Comment – Noles don’t get the payback they want, but they do get a win.
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Maryland at Duke
Winner straight up – Maryland
Winner with points – NL
Comment – Turtles roll – perhaps the most uninteresting ACC game of the week.
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Louisville (-7.5) at North Carolina
Winner straight up – Louisville
Winner with points – Louisville
Comment – Cards way too much for Heels, even though Carolina can score points.
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NC State (+8) at Virginia Tech
Winner straight up – Virginia Tech
Winner with points – Virginia Tech
Comment – This week’s spread is manageable for Hokies; State is still feeling loss to Ohio State
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Syracuse (+22) at Virginia
Winner straight up – Virginia
Winner with points – Virginia
Comment – Syracuse has struggled all season, Virginia has not.
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Boston College (+3) at Wake Forest
Winner straight up – Boston College
Winner with points – Boston College
Comment – Another difficult game to pick
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LOCK OF THE WEEK
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Miami (-25.5) at Houston
Winner straight up – Miami
Winner with points – Miami
Comment – Miami just covered a -28.5 spread, and Houston lost ATS even with +40 points against Oklahoma earlier this season. Also, Miami is 2-0 ATS, and Houston is 0-3. Take the Canes.
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Year – Lock of the week: 2 of 3 or 67%
Year – Straight up: 42 out of 49 or 86%
Year – Points: 19 of 41 or 46%