The hot streak continued last week. A 3-1 mark against the spread raised my house-busting, wallet-bulging run to 21-5-1 over the last five weeks.
I throw that out there in a pre-emptive attempt to cushion the fall this week.
Seriously, with this much at stake for a few teams and rivalry emotion at stake in almost every game, the only certainty this week will be uncertainty.
In fact, not only is there not a lot of good feeling against the spread, I don’t have real good feelings about simply picking the winners of the SEC games today.
But that tells me there’s going to be a lot of great football. I’d bet on that.
(Last week’s guesses: 5-0 straight up, 3-1 against the spread.)
Kentucky at Tennessee
12:21 p.m. at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville
* TV/Radio: WDSI/106.5 FM
* Breakdown: Earlier this season, the Wildcats ended a sour streak against Steve Spurrier, beating the Ol’ Ball Coach for the first time in 17 tries. Can UK end two hexes in two months? Nope.
* Line: Tennessee minus 3
* Pick: Tennessee, 31-27
LSU at Arkansas
3:30 p.m. War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, Ark.
* TV: CBS
* Breakdown: Les Miles consistently has found ways to pull magic from his Hat. The fake-field-goal bounce pass against Florida. The fake punt against Alabama. The double-pass against Auburn. What does he have for Arkansas? Well, it better be a lot because no one this side of Auburn is playing as well as the Razorbacks, who could squeeze into the BCS with a win today.
* Line: Arkansas minus 3 1/2
* Pick: Arkansas, 35-24
Florida at Florida State
3:30 p.m. at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Fla.
* TV: ABC
* Breakdown: Florida will use three quarterbacks; FSU will use one. Florida will use an array of offensive formations and styles; Florida State will use a pro set. Normally a mixture is good. Today, look for the strength in the power on FSU’s one, especially since Andre Debose – one of the Gators’ top big-play threats – may miss the game.
* Line: FSU minus 2 1/2
* Pick: FSU, 26-20
South Carolina at Clemson
7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C.
* TV: ESPN2
* Breakdown: In the year of streak busting for South Carolina, this may be another in a line of head-scratchers. A win tonight would give South Carolina its first winning streak over its in-state rival since 1970. In an historic year that includes the Gamecocks’ first SEC East title, let’s keep adding to the list.
* Line: South Carolina minus 2 1/2
* Pick: South Carolina, 34-24
Mississippi State at Ole Miss
7 p.m. at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Miss
* TV: ESPNU
* Breakdown: Each team has a power back with more than 10 rushing touchdowns. Each team has a double-threat quarterback who could pass and rush for more than 100 yards today. But Mississippi State has Chris White, one of the league’s best linebackers who ranks in the top five in the SEC in tackles (96) and tackles for loss (14). And that will be the difference.
* Line: Mississippi State minus 2 1/2
* Pick: Mississippi State, 30-28
Wake Forest at Vanderbilt
7:30 p.m. at Commodore Stadium, Nashville
* TV: CSS
* Breakdown: Vandy’s offense is bad, really bad, and there appears to be a quarterback quandary. The only question that comes to mind is, “What took them so long?” Wait, there’s one more question: “What difference does it make?”
* Line: Vanderbilt minus 6
* Pick: Wake Forest, 21-17
Georgia Tech at Georgia
7:45 p.m. at Samford Stadium, Athens, Ga.
* TV/Radio: ESPN/107.9 FM
* Breakdown: Georgia receiver A.J. Green and defensive end Justin Houston likely are playing their final games in Athens tonight. The two juniors have been ranked among the top NFL prospects at their positions and likely will enter the draft. With the Bulldogs needing a win tonight to qualify for a bowl, the question is whether this is their last game in a Georgia uniform. Don’t put the pads away just yet, fellows.
* Line: Georgia minus 12 1/2
* Pick: Georgia, 38-21