SEC Football Week 8 Predictions

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This week is gonna be a pretty big week for SEC football and here's my take on what's going to happen this weekend.

#15 Georgia vs. Vanderbilt 12:00 PM EST – CBS

(4-2) Georgia is heading to Nashville this week for their 4^th SEC game in a row. They started off this stretch looking strong against LSU pulling out a win there and then the following week winning a nail biter in OT against a rebuilding Tennessee team. Last week they came back home to play a surging and undefeated Missouri team and couldn't put down the Tigers losing 41-26.

(3-3) Vanderbilt under the coaching of a confident James Franklin is looking to prove that they can win big ball games against their SEC counterparts, as they host the Bulldogs this week. The Commodores come into this game lacking a single conference victory but this might be their best opportunity to get one as they take on a beat up Georgia team. Vanderbilt had last week off to rest and get some extra practice/film time in after falling to the same Missouri team that took down the Bulldogs last week. very well has some talent on their team and a pretty decent head coach but I'm not sure if it's enough to take down this Georgia team under the reigns Coach Richt.

I'm gonna play it safe on this one and give the W to the Bulldogs but don't be surprised if Vandy pulls it out.

Georgia > Vanderbilt 21-10

#11 South Carolina vs. Tennessee 12:00 PM EST – ESPN

(5-1) South Carolina has had what you could call a slow start to their season, losing to Georgia and barely pulling out some games against others. This Gamecock team is the most puzzling team in the SEC for me. Their 5-1 record and their #11 ranking shows that they should be regarded as a top team but I haven't seen what separates them from the pack other than a few points. A few weeks ago a mid-tier UCF team had them playing catch up most of the game and then they gave up 21 points to (1-5) Kentucky late in the 4^th quarter but still squeezed out a win. These aren't necessarily horrible things but heading into Neyland Stadium housing the upset hungry Volunteers and arguably one of the best 12^th mans in college football they cannot let it be a close game.

(3-3) Tennessee and Coach Butch Jones' motto for the year has been “Brick By Brick” focusing on rebuilding this historic program and he's been doing absolutely that. Vols' fans didn't really have too much to be excited about before the season but after the heartbreaking overtime loss against Georgia and with Jones lighting up the recruiting trail it has the fan base feeling a surge of excitement and it's gonna show this Saturday when they welcome in the Gamecocks. Hiring Jones was the best move by the program in awhile, he's got a team that on paper is lacking in talent, hanging with higher up SEC teams. The Vols don't have anything close to an all-star offense but it's good enough to get down the field enough and score some points while the Vols' defense contains the Gamecock offense. I expect this to be a big defensive game, not much of a high scorer.

Take this as my upset for the week. Tennessee > #11 South Carolina 17-13

#22 Florida vs. #14 Missouri 12:21 PM EST – SEC TV

(4-2) Florida's season has been a pretty interesting but straight forward ride for them. The Gators have won all the games I expected them to win and have lost the two I expected them to lose. Their original starting quarterback Jeff Driskel went down for the season in Week 3 against Tennessee with a broken leg. You'd think losing your starting QB would be a huge deal but for Florida it hasn't been. Tyler Murphy stepped in for Driskel and so far has thrown for 645 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Those are pretty great stats for a quarterback who up until the game against the Vols hadn't played a college snap before. I could be the only person but I feel as though the Gators are better with Murphy behind the center, the guy stepped in and looked more comfortable than Driskel did starting the game. I expect Florida's defense to continue to perform well even against this Missouri offense but this game for the Gators is going to be all about how Murphy and his offense perform.

(6-0) Mizzou was a team I didn't believe in early in the season when they started off 4-0. They were winning and playing well but because of their schedule I couldn't get behind them, but then they picked up their 5^th win against Vanderbilt and won pretty convincingly and that's what really piqued my interest about the Tigers. I was really excited to see how they did going up against a more top tier SEC team and they oh man did they convince me that they were for real. Mizzou marched into Athens and hit the Bulldogs in the mouth early and finished strong even with their QB James Franklin going down late in the game. With the little I saw of his replacement Maty Mauk, it's really hard to say how he'll play against this great Florida defense. Missouri winning this game is all about Mauk performing well and not making any rookie mistakes.

#14 Missouri > #22 Florida 38-34

#24 Auburn vs. #7 Texas A&M 3:30 PM EST – CBS ***GAME OF THE WEEK***

What's that sound? It's the sound of the War Eagle as the (5-1) Auburn Tigers charge into College Station looking to defeat the Aggies of Texas A&M. Auburn has fared well so far this season only sporting one loss overall and one loss in the SEC. The Tigers currently stand at third place in the SEC West behind Alabama and LSU, and if they plan on going to the SEC Championship then today is a must win game. Honestly, the keys to the game are pretty simple for Auburn but it's all about executing. They come into this game with the most run plays ran in the SEC with 64 percent of their plays being run plays and averaging 287 yards per game which is another SEC best. If Auburn continues to run the ball like have been they shouldn't have much of a problem scoring against an Aggie defense that allows 5.7 yards per carry and 201 yards per game. The main problem for them is stopping the A&M offense led by Heisman-winner Johnny Manziel from scoring on them.

(5-1) Texas A&M is preparing for what is looking to be an offensive battle against Auburn while the equipment crew scrambles to look for ear plugs to block out the war cry of the Tigers. The Aggies have a tough road ahead of them after having a little fun for the past three weeks and it all starts this Saturday against Auburn. Johnny Manziel looks to carry his team to another SEC victory against a team that they're currently tied with in the West standings. Manziel has been on his game all season winning 5 out of 6 games in which most of those games turned out to be shootouts. A&M has been able to pull out the W's in most of these shootouts except against #1 Alabama who gave them their only loss. The Aggie's defense has yet to find their soul this season and are currently sitting in last out of the BCS Automatic Qualifying teams in rush defense but against an Auburn team that has the best rushing game in the SEC they're going to have to find something to stop them.

#24 Auburn > #7 Texas A&M 41-34

Bottom of the Pack Games:

Arkansas vs. #1 Alabama 7:00 PM EST – ESPN

Not much to say about this game here, it's Alabama and Arkansas. I can't see Alabama giving up more than 14 points in this game or Arkansas holding the Crimson Tide to anything under 20 points.

#1 Alabama > Arkansas 38-6

#6 LSU vs. Ole Miss 7:00 PM EST – ESPN2

This Ole Miss team isn't a bad team at all but they're not good enough to steal a win from the Tigers on Saturday night even at home. LSU won't breeze through this game but they won't have to fight for their lives either.

#6 LSU > Ole Miss 34-17