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We finally have some clarity in the SEC. Florida, which clinched the East with last week’s home win over Vanderbilt, visits South Carolina on Saturday.
Alabama took control of the West by beating LSU at home last week, and the Tide would clinch the division if it wins out, starting with Saturday’s road game at Mississippi State. Arkansas travels to Baton Rouge for its annual Battle of the Golden Boot with LSU.
Georgia and Texas A&M have clinched bowl eligibility, and Arkansas, Auburn and Tennessee can join them with victories this week. Meanwhile, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt all have three games left to try to crash the bowl-eligible party.
There are eight games involving SEC teams this week, so let’s take a look at projected final scores of Saturday’s games, according to four different media outlets — tennessean.com, Bleacher Report, saturdayblitz.com and Fox Sports.
SEC PICKS BY TENNESSEAN COLUMNIST DAVE AMMENHEUSER
Florida 24, South Carolina 10
Auburn 33, Georgia 30
Tennessee 49, North Texas 7
Alabama 31, Mississippi State 28
Vanderbilt 17, Kentucky 13
Texas A&M 49, Western Carolina 10
Arkansas 28, LSU 27
BYU 20, Missouri 7
Note: Here is what stands out. Ammenheuser likes Arkansas to win outright at LSU, which is favored by more than a touchdown. He also envisions another underdog — Mississippi State — to keep things close before eventually falling to Alabama. The Bulldogs are getting eight points. And even though Florida has been basking in its SEC East title all week, he sees the Gators winning and covering against South Carolina. The Gamecocks are a 7.5-point underdog.
SEC PICKS BY BLEACHER REPORT
Auburn 27, Georgia 23
Florida 24, South Carolina 17
Tennessee 54, North Texas 17
Alabama 30, Mississippi State 20
Vanderbilt 16, Kentucky 13
Texas A&M 51, Western Carolina 16
LSU 34, Arkansas 30
Missouri 23, BYU 21
Note: Talk about a difference of opinion. Unlike Ammenheuser does, Bleacher Report predicts that Missouri will not only cover but beat BYU outright. The Tigers are getting 5.5 points. Another difference is that they disagree on whether Alabama or Mississippi State will cover, but they are both taking the points in the Arkansas-LSU matchup.
SEC PICKS BY SATURDAYBLITZ.COM’S NICHOLAS IAN ALLEN
Tennessee 45, North Texas 3
Florida 28, South Carolina 20
Auburn 28, Georgia 24
Alabama 31, Mississippi State 24
Kentucky 17, Vanderbilt 14
LSU 31, Arkansas 28
Note: Like Ammenheuser and Bleacher Report, Allen likes Arkansas to cover. It’s interesting that all three outlets are calling for the Kentucky-Vanderbilt game to be in the 17-14 range.
SEC PICKS BY FOX SPORTS
Texas A&M 50, Western Carolina 8
Tennessee 32, North Texas 20
Florida 29, South Carolina 23
Kentucky 29, Vanderbilt 24
Alabama 27, Mississippi State 23
Georgia 27, Auburn 25
LSU 28, Arkansas 26
Note: Each game in Fox Sports’ predictions is simulated 101 times, so these scores may actually turn out to be quite accurate. No BYU-Missouri projection is available, but the Arkansas covering over LSU pattern continues. In fact, Fox likes the underdog to cover in every game except the Western Carolina-Texas A&M matchup, which has no line.
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
