David PaschallOther picks
Miss. State 23, Missouri 10North Carolina 21, Duke 17Notre Dame 27, Pittsburgh 24N.C. State 16, Boston Coll. 15Louisville 34, Syracuse 23Miami 28, Virginia 20Baylor 35, Kansas State 24Memphis 31, Navy 29Marshall 27, MTSU 26Ohio State 30, Minnesota 17Michigan St. 31, Nebraska 22Oklahoma 48, Iowa State 9Michigan 38, Rutgers 17Stanford 31, Colorado 10Iowa 24, Indiana 22TCU 35, Oklahoma St. 28Houston 35, Cincinnati 31
The undercard for Saturday night's LSU-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa carries plenty of importance in the Southeastern Conference race.
Ole Miss will host Arkansas in the first game of the SEC's lone day-night doubleheader televised annually by CBS. The Rebels are 7-2 overall and 4-1 in league play, and they can make their first appearance in the SEC title game by sweeping the Razorbacks this week, LSU on Nov. 21, and Mississippi State on Nov. 28.
It's not the easiest task in the world, but the Rebels look up for the challenge after routing Texas A&M and topping Auburn the past two weeks.
"It certainly seems that we've recaptured some of that hunger and passion and energy," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said during Wednesday's league teleconference.
The Rebels vaulted to No. 3 nationally after their 43-37 win at Alabama on Sept. 19, but lopsided losses last month to Florida (38-10) and Memphis (37-24) left them clinging to the top 25. So what caused the brief but noticeable plummet?
"We could go into a lot of things," Freeze said. "Maybe we listened to too much of the noise around us after we went into Tuscaloosa and won. Obviously some of it had to do with injuries, and maybe it was me backing off some knowing we are going through a 10-game stretch. Maybe we lost some of our intensity and our attention to detail."
Said Arkansas coach Bret Bielema: "Obviously they've got two losses, but Florida can make a lot of people struggle offensively, and Memphis is where they're at because of what they're able to do, so I think it's more of what the opposition has done than Ole Miss struggling themselves."
The Rebels get their open date next week, but first they must survive Bielema's Razorbacks, who have regrouped at 4-4 after stumbling out of the gate.
"Each year Coach Bielema has been there, they've improved as the year has gone on," Freeze said, "and I'm impressed with that. This year is no exception."
Pasquali's Pix:
Vanderbilt at Florida: The Gators were picked fifth in the SEC East before the season, and the Commodores were picked seventh. They're the only teams left who can win the division. Gators 16, Commodores 6.
Kentucky at Georgia: The longer the Bulldogs struggle, the more it will look like Mike Bobo was the glue that kept things together. Bulldogs 23, Wildcats 14.
Arkansas at Ole Miss: Freeze on whether his players are geeked after last year's 30-0 loss in Fayetteville: "I don't know how it affects the kids, but it's definitely a motivating factor for me." Rebels 24, Razorbacks 21.
UTC at Mercer: The Mocs have gotten better this year at winning close games. The Bears are really good at losing them. Mocs 28, Bears 21.
South Carolina at Tennessee: Steve Spurrier had no desire to lose to Team 117, Team 118 and Team 119. Volunteers 38, Gamecocks 19.
Auburn at Texas A&M: The only folks watching the SEC Network on Saturday night will be Auburn fans, Aggies fans and those who included this in a parlay. Aggies 33, Tigers 30.
Florida State at Clemson: This year, "Clemsoning" means getting to college football's four-team playoff. Tigers 31, Seminoles 17.
LSU at Alabama: A program surpasses elite status when it can defeat Les Miles five straight times. Crimson Tide 20, Tigers 17.
Last week:
Winners21
Missing ACC flags4
Pasquali is 175-50 overall (77.8 percent) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.