Troy vs Ole Miss

Ole Miss is looking to lengthen their current three-game winning streak and will certainly do so. The last time Troy played an SEC team this year, they were blown out 62-7 (by Mississippi State). For Ole Miss, this is a sure win.

Ole Miss has been dominant for such a young team. Many key pieces to their success are freshman, such as Laquon Treadwell and Laremy Tunsil. Watching those young pieces overwhelm their opponents at such a young age is incredible and gives Ole Miss hope for a brighter future. Robert Nkemdiche is also one of their freshman stars. He was the No.1 high school recruit in the nation last year and has been thriving at his defensive tackle position.

Considering Ole Miss will run away with this game, be prepared for Barry Brunetti to take over for Bo Wallace at some point. Quietly, he’s thrown five touchdowns when relieving Wallace.

Kentucky vs Vanderbilt

Combined, Vanderbilt quarterbacks have thrown 12 interceptions compared to a lesser 11 touchdowns. Such incompetency will struggle against Kentucky’s pass rush. ZaDarius Smith and Bud Dupree is a lethal edge duo that will live in the Vanderbilt backfield. Although, Vanderbilt has a plethora of receivers that Kentucky will not be able to keep up with. Jordan Matthews leads that group with 71 receptions for 935 yards and five touchdowns.

An underrated role player to Vanderbilt’s offense is running back Jerron Seymour. Thus far, he’s scored 12 rushing touchdowns and has been quite useful in short yardage situations. He flashed such usefulness in the red zone against Florida.

(25) Georgia vs (7) Auburn

Offensively, Georgia is a lethal unit, but have been plagued by injuries all season long. Aaron Murray has had to deal with a broken receiving corps, yet has compensated well and is consistently putting scoring drives together. Even more important to their offense is Todd Gurley. Since his freshman year, Gurley has been destroying opposing defenses and has refused to slow down. He adds an extra element to Georgia’s offense that must be respected and feared.

Luckily for Auburn’s talented offense, Georgia’s defense is an inexperienced group. A majority of Georgia’s defense were not starters last year. The inexperience of Georgia’s defense will give Auburn’s Nick Marshall a bit of leniency and relieve pressure. That, along with Tre Mason wreaking havoc out of the backfield, will ultimately allow Auburn to continue their impressive season.

Florida vs (10) South Carolina

Florida has been an unwatchable mess this season and will yet again have offensive struggles. The offensive line will fail to create running lanes and handle Jadeveon Clowney. Tyler Murphy will struggle with pressure in his face and Victor Hampton covering his number one receiver. It will be an unsurprisingly abysmal offensive performance.

Connor Shaw has become a legitimate quarterback for South Carolina and will be greatly tested against Florida’s defense. Vernon Hargreaves, Loucheiz Purifoy, Marcus Roberson, and Jaylen Watkins make up the best defensive back corps on the nation and will be blanketing Shaw’s receivers as Florida’s pass rushers chase him around.

The deciding factor is Mike Davis. He is a phenomenal ball carrier as well as a  receiving threat, both of which make him a nightmare for Florida. Florida has failed to show gap integrity this season and struggled when Todd Gurley came out of the backfield as a pass catcher. Mike Davis will have an outstanding performance.

(1) Alabama vs Mississippi State

Alabama is coming off of a crucial win over LSU and will be coming in hot to face Mississippi State. The momentum along with their already dominant talent spells disaster for Mississippi State, a team that has struggled this season. AJ McCarron has been able to allow the elite team around him to thrive and dismantle their opponents. TJ Yeldon and Kenyan Drake have been superb running backs for the Crimson Tide and have made McCarron’s job infinitely easier as they have ran for 1,418 combined yards.

As many SEC teams are, Alabama is more renowned for their elite defense. They have allowed an average of 10.6 yards per game; good for first in the nation. Linebacker CJ Mosley is their leader and he has led by example, recording seven tackles for loss, five defended passes, and 71 total tackles. He is the strongest link in a defense that will hold Mississippi State to fewer than 14 points.