BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
I was all ready to do it. I was going to take South Carolina as a 3-point road dog at Florida. The Gamecocks were going to regain control of the SEC East.
Then came the news Wednesday that Marcus Lattimore is likely to miss Saturday's game in the Swamp with a hip injury. It doesn't matter if Florida safety Josh Evans thinks Lattimore has lost a step or not, South Carolina is still a far better team with him in the lineup -- and a risky proposition on the road against the No. 13 defense in the nation without him.
The pick: Florida (-3) 20, South Carolina 14
In Saturday's other games:
Alabama (-20 1/2) 42, Tennessee 21 -- Tyler Bray, Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter should give Alabama's secondary its toughest test of the year. But Sal Sunseri's Tennessee defense is a work in progress, to put it nicely. Alabama's offense should roll.
Auburn (+7) 17, Vanderbilt 14 -- How many times do you get to pick a win over Vanderbilt and call it an Upset Special? Auburn's offense is awful, but Vanderbilt's offense hasn't exactly set the world on fire either. If the Tigers don't find a way to win here, they're not likely to get a W in SEC play all year.
LSU (-3) 28, Texas A&M 24 -- The Tigers rebounded from their road loss to Florida with a 23-21 win over South Carolina last week at Tiger Stadium. The Aggies present another test on the road -- and an electrifying quarterback in Johnny Manziel -- but they also have a defense that gave up 57 points last week.
Georgia (-28) 42, Kentucky 7 -- Kentucky wasn't a great team to begin with. Now the Wildcats have got a rash of injuries. Look for Aaron Murray, Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall to have a big day.
Mississippi State (-20) 31, Middle Tennessee 14 -- The Bulldogs haven't exactly blown out the other two Sun Belt teams they've played this year. No upset alert here but the Bulldogs may have a hard time equaling the intensity of last week's big win over Tennessee.
Then came the news Wednesday that Marcus Lattimore is likely to miss Saturday's game in the Swamp with a hip injury. It doesn't matter if Florida safety Josh Evans thinks Lattimore has lost a step or not, South Carolina is still a far better team with him in the lineup -- and a risky proposition on the road against the No. 13 defense in the nation without him.
The pick: Florida (-3) 20, South Carolina 14
In Saturday's other games:
Alabama (-20 1/2) 42, Tennessee 21 -- Tyler Bray, Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter should give Alabama's secondary its toughest test of the year. But Sal Sunseri's Tennessee defense is a work in progress, to put it nicely. Alabama's offense should roll.
Auburn (+7) 17, Vanderbilt 14 -- How many times do you get to pick a win over Vanderbilt and call it an Upset Special? Auburn's offense is awful, but Vanderbilt's offense hasn't exactly set the world on fire either. If the Tigers don't find a way to win here, they're not likely to get a W in SEC play all year.
LSU (-3) 28, Texas A&M 24 -- The Tigers rebounded from their road loss to Florida with a 23-21 win over South Carolina last week at Tiger Stadium. The Aggies present another test on the road -- and an electrifying quarterback in Johnny Manziel -- but they also have a defense that gave up 57 points last week.
Georgia (-28) 42, Kentucky 7 -- Kentucky wasn't a great team to begin with. Now the Wildcats have got a rash of injuries. Look for Aaron Murray, Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall to have a big day.
Mississippi State (-20) 31, Middle Tennessee 14 -- The Bulldogs haven't exactly blown out the other two Sun Belt teams they've played this year. No upset alert here but the Bulldogs may have a hard time equaling the intensity of last week's big win over Tennessee.
