Southern Football Predictions

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

1. Florida – Clearly the best team in the South – but what the hell does that mean these days?

2. Tennessee – These guys are back for sure…

3. Clemson – Should win the rest of their games – and the ACC; again that’s “should” and this is Clemson we are talking about…

4. Arkansas – Now I remember why I picked the Hogs second in the West…

5. Auburn – Really struggling – looks like two losses in a row and no trip to Atlanta this season…

6. Georgia Tech – Better than most in the pitiful ACC – Georgia had better watch out…

7. LSU – I wonder about these guys – are they the most-talented bunch of players that lose when they shouldn’t? Miami and Florida State can make that case, too…

8. Georgia – The way Georgia has played of late every game is going to be a question mark…

9. Virginia Tech – Hard to get a feel on the Turkeys…

10. Miami – Canes can still get to the ACC final…

11. South Carolina – Will need two major upsets to get back into the SEC race, but showed they are tough with win in Lexington at night…

12. Maryland – No reason they should have lost to Tech…

13. Alabama – Struggling against Duke does not win Shula any more hearts and minds…

14 Kentucky – Now starting to look like 2005 Vandy – losing winnable games…

15. Wake Forest – Last season Wake would have beaten Clemson – this season the Tigers would not allow it…

16. NC State – These clowns can’t be ignored any longer – move them up the list…

17. FSU – Speaking of clowns – hello Tire Bowl!

18. Ole Miss – Are Rebels getting it together?

19. Vandy – Loss at Oxford and trip to Athens spells doom for Doors…

20. North Carolina – Basketball practice starts this weekend…

21. Mississippi State – This thing will not get turned around…

22. Duke – Sticking with Bama moves the Devils out of the cellar for me…

23. Virginia – Virginia is for Losers…

This week’s games:

NOTE: these are last Sunday’s lines; some may have moved
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Clemson (-45.5) at Temple (Charlotte)
Winner straight up – Clemson
Winner with points – Temple
Comment – I don’t care who you are – more than 40 points is a ton to cover…
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Virginia Tech (-2.5) at Boston College
Winner straight up – Boston College
Winner with points – Boston College
Comment – BC a dog at home – take the points…
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South Florida (-4.5) at North Carolina
Winner straight up – South Florida
Winner with points – South Florida
Comment – Take the Bulls – Carolina is horrible…
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Wake Forest (+6.5) at NC State
Winner straight up – NC State
Winner with points – Wake Forest
Comment – Tricky game – stay away…
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Vanderbilt (+13) at Georgia
Winner straight up – Georgia
Winner with points – Georgia
Comment – Bulldogs have struggled, but so has Vandy – lay the points…
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Florida State (-22.5) at Duke
Winner straight up – Florida State
Winner with points – Duke
Comment – Duke sticks around, and loses by about 20…
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SE Missouri St at Arkansas
Winner straight up – Arkansas
Winner with points – No Line
Comment – Hogs wished they had played Southern Cal last week…
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Jacksonville St at Mississippi St
Winner straight up – Mississippi St
Winner with points – No Line
Comment – This one looks like fun – State could actually lose…
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Maryland (-2.5) at Virginia
Winner straight up – Maryland
Winner with points – Maryland
Comment – Take the Turtles…
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Ole Miss (+14) at Alabama
Winner straight up – Alabama
Winner with points – Ole Miss
Comment – Bama can’t score – and Ole Miss is gearing up a bit…
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FIU (+28) at Miami
Winner straight up – Miami
Winner with points – FIU
Comment – Canes can’t score…
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Florida (+2) at Auburn
Winner straight up – Florida
Winner with points – Florida
Comment – I don’t understand why the Gators are not favored…
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Kentucky (+28) at LSU
Winner straight up – LSU
Winner with points – Kentucky
Comment – Four touchdowns is a lot to cover against a UK team that seems to be able to hang around…
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LOCK OF THE WEEK
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Maryland (-2.5) at Virginia
Winner with points – Maryland
Comment – Virginia can’t win – we know that – but they won’t stick around either – they have given up…
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Year – Lock of the week: 4 of 6 or 67%
Year – Straight up: 81 out of 96 or 84%
Year – Points: 52 of 82 or 63%