Ole Miss vs Mississippi State
Bo Wallace and company plan to finish out the year with a .500 record in the SEC. Coming into the week, Ole Miss is 3-4 in the conference. All of their losses were to teams that are currently ranked in the top 25. Ole Miss’ offense, primarily the wide receiver duo of Laquon Treadwell and Donte Moncrief, will be too much for Mississippi State to handle. Mississippi State has desperately struggled against SEC passing attacks this year. Auburn, LSU, and Texas A&M threw for a combined 1,085 yards and 11 touchdowns against Mississippi State.
The counter to Mississippi State’s defensive issues lies in the trenches. Their rushing attack is the key to their offense and it shall not disappoint them. As a whole, Mississippi State is averaging 194 yards of rushing per game. On average, Ole Miss allows roughly 160 yards of rushing per game, but expect Mississippi State to top that.
Arkansas vs (17) LSU
Thus far, Arkansas has not won a single conference game. Unfortunately for them, they will end the season that same way. As is the usual for Arkansas, the passing attack will fail to be competent and allow the running backs to get the amount of carries necessary for Arkansas to win. Their running back duo of Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams is one of the best in the nation and have ran for 1,840 combined yards this year. Without Brandon Allen being able to complete passes and move the chains in the few situations that he is asked to, the running back duo won’t be used as often because it will become too predictable.
At this point, the whole nation is aware of how lethal Zach Mettenberger and his tandem of wide receivers are. Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. account for 2,160 yards and 18 touchdowns of Mettenberger’s 2,926 passing yards and 22 passing touchdowns. Running back Jeremy Hill, along with the talented corps behind him, opens up the skies as he makes defenses fear him. Hill has ran for over 1,000 yards and has ran for 13 touchdowns.
Florida vs (2) Florida State
To put it bluntly, Florida does not stand a chance. Fire in the locker room is completely diminished and the players know that defeat is unavoidable. With Jeff Driskel and Tyler Murphy both out with injury, Florida is left with freshman Skyler Mornhinweg at quarterback. In two games, he’s thrown for just 229 yards and most of his passes are either behind the line of scrimmage or short passes because he is not yet capable of doing much more.
Jameis Winston has become a phenom. With the Heisman on the line, Winston will hold nothing back. Despite the talent littered throughout Florida’s defensive back corps, Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin and Rashad Greene are dynamic mismatches that will give the Florida defensive backfield their toughest matchup of the year.
Not only will Florida State’s passing game succeed, but their plethora of future NFL running backs will beat and batter an abysmal and broken Florida front seven. Dominique Easley and Ronald Powell, both starters when healthy, will not be back to support Florida’s front line.
Vanderbilt vs Wake Forest
Jordan Matthews, a highly regarded NFL draft prospect, will be playing his final game as a part of Vanderbilt’s team. He has been the highlight of their program for the past couple of years and will leave large shoes to fill. At 1,209 yards, Matthews almost has more than double the amount of yards than the receiver behind him (Jonathan Krause has 651 yards). Just as he usually is, expect him to be the catalyst of Vanderbilt’s offense.
Not to take away from Matthews, but running back Jerron Seymour quietly has 13 rushing touchdowns. He has been a dominant force in the red zone.
Wake Forest has a counter to Jordan Matthews and he happens to play the same position. Michael Campanaro is a Wes Welker type receiver that dominates from the slot. In space, Campanaro always finds the soft spot in the defense and has a quick, feisty running style.
(1) Alabama vs (4) Auburn
As far fetched as it may seem, do not count Auburn out of this contest. They are coming off of a stunning victory over Georgia and will carry over that fire into this game. Quarterback Nick Marshall has become a nightmare for opposing defenses as he can both run and throw quite well. Wide receiver Sammie Coates can stretch the field and force Alabama to respect the deep ball. Tre Mason, the featured running back, has amassed over 1,100 yards and has ran for a whopping 17 touchdowns. The duo of Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant that takes carries behind Mason are talented rushers as well.
Few teams can do it, but Auburn’s defensive front will be able to keep up with Alabama’s offensive line. They utilize a deep rotation, all of which are capable players. Dee Ford will be their pass rush specialist. In his senior campaign, Dee Ford has become a quarterback’s nightmare.
Nonetheless, Alabama is still Alabama. Their elite rushing attack led by TJ Yeldon and Kenyan Drake should allow for softer coverages for AJ McCarron to throw into. Add such factors with their top tier defense and Alabama has a recipe for success.
Georgia vs Georgia Tech
Georgia has to deal with another key injury. Aaron Murray will be out with a knee injury. With a backup quarterback in, Georgia will lean on Todd Gurley and JJ Green more so than usual. Gurley and the rest of the Georgia running backs will be forced to quite literally carry their team to victory. Aside from injuries, Georgia’s offensive line has been a mess all season long. Jeremiah Attaochu of Georgia Tech, who has eight sacks on the year, will be wreaking havoc off of the edge.
The combination of a young Georgia defense and a unique triple-option offense from Georgia Tech spells disaster. In total, Georgia Tech has ran for nearly 3,500 yards this season with their brutalizing triple-option offense. Ugly or not, it is a tough scheme to contain, especially with young players. Despite the prestige of Georgia, Georgia Tech is more likely to come out on top.
Tennessee vs Kentucky
While neither team has had an impressive season, Tennessee will win this game by a decent margin. Their quarterback issues have yet to be solved as Josh Dobbs is still learning the position, their talented running backs will be let loose. Rajion Neal and Marlon Lane have combined for nearly 1,500 yards and have a total of 15 rushing touchdowns. Their personal talent along with Tennessee’s superb offensive line will be able to dominate Kentucky.
Kentucky’s secret weapon has been their duo of pass rushers in Za’Darius Smith and Bud Dupree, but Tennessee has a pair of incredible offensive tackles. Both are future NFL players and will neutralize Kentucky’s pass rushing tandem.
(10) South Carolina vs (6) Clemson
Unlike any other South Carolina game, Jadeveon Clowney will prove to be problematic, especially considering how pitiful Clemson’s offensive line is. Tajh Boyd will be constantly forced out of the pocket. Clemson will have to utilize a fair amount of screens and quick passes to lower the amount of opportunities that Clowney has to make a play.
Sammy Watkins will have a difficult matchup with Victor Hampton. Hampton’s ability to blanket Watkins may be the deciding factor in this game.
South Carolina’s offense will dismantle Clemson’s defense. Connor Shaw has developed into a solid quarterback and Mike Davis has filled the shoes of Marcus Lattimore and excelled. Davis has surpassed 1,100 yards as well as rushing for 10 touchdowns. As a passer, Shaw has astonishingly only thrown a single interception through 233 attempts, yet has 20 touchdowns.
(24) Texas A&M vs (5) Missouri
Missouri’s Cinderella season will come to a depressing ending. Johnny Manziel will be looking to cap off what may be another Heisman winning season with a win. Despite how talented Missouri’s Kony Ealy, Michael Sam, and Shane Ray are as pass rushers, Texas A&M has two elite offensive tackles that will be able to contain the trio of pass rushers. With time in the pocket, Manziel will pick apart Missouri.
Although, Texas A&M’s defense is abysmal. With James Franklin back, Missouri’s offense once again has the potential to be explosive. Dorial Green-Beckham is a mismatch at wide receiver and the two-headed running attack of Henry Josey and Russell Hansbrough have ran for over 1,400 yards and have a total of 16 rushing touchdowns.