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SEC Rundown: ’Bama Streaks on Line
After a wild Week 7 in the Southeastern Conferences when five SEC teams scored at least 45 points, things could be a little quieter this weekend.
There is one matchup of ranked teams with Mississippi State traveling to meet an
Alabama team that hasn’t lost back-to-back games since the final two contests of the 2013 season.
The Ole Miss-LSU game could be an intriguing affair. However, don’t expect much movement in the SEC standings this week
Alabama (+135) only trails defending national champion Georgia in the odds to win the SEC title per the sportsbook. Tennessee comes in at +600.
According to the college football playoff odds, the Crimson Tide (+450) are fourth in the odds to win the national title while Tennessee (+1800) is sixth.
Georgia, Florida, Kentucky Arkansas and Auburn all have bye weeks.
Georgia is first in both national polls. Tennessee jumped three spots to No. 3 in the Associated Press ranking and went from eighth to fourth in the American Football Coaches Association poll. Alabama fell from No. 1 to No. 6 in the AFCA poll and checks in at No. 6 in the writers’ poll. Ole Miss is seventh in both rankings while Kentucky is also in the top 20.
Let’s check the latest NCAAF picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAF predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAF expert picks for you to consider.
Game of the Week
Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Alabama Crimson Tide
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
- Line: Alabama -21
Alabama‘s secondary had a tough day at the office last week as Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker threw for nearly 400 yards to lead the Volunteers past the Crimson Tide. It won’t be much easier on Saturday when Alabama faces a Mississippi State offense led by junior quarterback Will Rogers, the SEC leader with 2,313 passing yards and 23 touchdown passes.
The good news for Alabama is that only four SEC teams have allowed more passing yards than Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs‘ defense will also be tested by Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who has 544 yards from scrimmage over the last three games. He had three touchdowns in the loss to Tennessee.
3️⃣ TDs 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/DeEzAez80n
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 15, 2022
Not only has Alabama won 14 games in a row against Mississippi State, the Crimson Tide have outscored the Bulldogs 115-16 in the last four matchups.
Rest of the Schedule
UT Martin Skyhawks vs Tennessee Volunteers
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Oct. 22, Noon (SEC Network)
After pulling off one of the program’s biggest wins in years by ending a 15-game losing streak to Alabama, there is a different sort of challenge for Tennessee facing the FCS UT Martin team.
It would only be natural for the Volunteers to have a little bit of a letdown. While UT Martin (4-2) has some talented skill position players, the size and speed of Tennessee (6-0) should be evident.
With the next two games coming against No. 19 Kentucky and No. 1 Georgia, a key for Tennessee will be to come out of this game healthy. The last time the teams played, Tennessee won 50-0 in the 2010 season opener. It started a stretch when the Volunteers posted shutouts in five of the last 11 games against FCS programs.
Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Oct. 22, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
- Line: LSU -2½
This has the potential to be a barn burner.
Ole Miss (7-0, 3-0) leads the SEC with an average of 271.4 rushing yards. LSU (5-2, 3-1) has allowed 263 and 210 yards on the ground in its last two conference games.
A key for the Tigers has been its red zone defense as opponents have scored touchdowns on just nine of 20 drives that reached the red zone.
One of the keys could be that Ole Miss is tied for second in the SEC with 19 sacks, while only Kentucky has allowed more sacks than Louisiana State.
Ole Miss is looking to win back-to-back games against LSU since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
Four games in a row between the Rebels and Tigers had finished under the total before the 2021 meeting fell well short of the 77-point total.
Vanderbilt Commodores vs Missouri Tigers
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Oct. 22, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Line: Missouri -14
The two teams yet to win a game in the SEC will be getting together.
Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-3) is last in the SEC in total defense, allowing 493.7 yards per game and 6.95 yards per play.
However, Missouri (2-4, 0-3) is hardly an offensive juggernaut with the second-fewest touchdowns scored in the SEC.
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook has one touchdown pass over his last three games. Vanderbilt’s A.J. Swann hasn’t thrown an interception, but he has been held under 200 passing yards in three of the last five contests.
Vanderbilt does have the leading tackler in the SEC as Anfernee Orji has 71 stops.
Missouri is 5-2 in the last seven matchups with Vanderbilt. However, Vanderbilt has covered against the college football odds in three of the last four meetings.
Texas A&M Aggies vs South Carolina Gamecocks
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Line: Texas A&M -3
Who had Texas A&M heading into Week 8 as the lowest-scoring team in the SEC?
The Aggies (3-3, 1-2) have had just 17 drives that reached the red zone in the first six games. Just nine of them ended with touchdowns being scored and that could be of interest to those who bet online.
South Carolina (4-2, 1-2) has allowed just eight offensive plays of 30 yards or longer so the bend-but-don’t-break approach on defense seems to be working.
Texas A&M has outscored South Carolina 122-23 over the last three matchups.
