While Kentucky has yet to defeat Florida or Tennessee since the SEC instituted divisional play in 1992 and Vanderbilt has yet to defeat Florida, the most lopsided West Division series is LSU-Mississippi State.
The Tigers have won 17 of 18 meetings since '92 and 10 in a row, including some by the scores of 42-0, 51-0 and 45-0. Yet LSU was quite fortunate to escape with a 30-26 triumph in Starkville last year when MSU coach Dan Mullen nearly pulled off a monster upset in his first season.
"They hadn't seen that in a while," Mullen said Wednesday. "We always go into a game expecting to win, and if there was any doubt in our players' minds that we should have that expectation, they were certainly erased after that game for the rest of the season.
"From that point on, our players realized that if they play with effort and play with focus and leave what we have on the field, then we're going to have an opportunity to win."
OTHER PICKSKentucky 41, Akron 14S. Carolina 30, Furman 6N.C State 20, Cincinnati 17W. Virginia 31, Maryland 24Va. Tech 28, E. Carolina 19Florida State 35, BYU 20Stanford 33, Wake Forest 7MTSU 27, Memphis 24Notre Dame 20, Mich. St. 19Ohio State 48, Ohio 6Boise State 37, Wyoming 0TCU 34, Baylor 16Texas 28, Texas Tech 21Oklahoma 35, Air Force 24Nebraska 20, Washington 13Iowa 17, Arizona 14Wisconsin 34, Arizona St. 9
The Bulldogs had a first-and-goal at LSU's 2-yard line during the final two minutes of last year's game before the Tigers came up with a deciding stand. Mississippi State visits Baton Rouge on Saturday night, and LSU coach Les Miles knows those days of 45-0 are over.
"I think it's a much better football team in the time I've seen Mississippi State," Miles said.
Pasquali's Pix:
Arkansas at Georgia: Bulldogs coach Mark Richt has yet to lose to the Razorbacks. Of course, he had yet to lose at South Carolina this time last week. Hogs 30, Dawgs 27.
Georgia Tech at North Carolina: Losing to Kansas still beats losing respect. Tar Heels 23, Yellow Jackets 20.
Vanderbilt at Ole Miss: Methinks Vanderbilt grad school wasn't an option for Jeremiah Masoli. Rebels 27, Commodores 16.
Florida at Tennessee: This marks the first matchup between these two with Florida leading the series, the Gators having won five straight to grab a 20-19 edge. Gators 26, Vols 13.
Alabama at Duke: The Blue Devils are going to need a lot of shining moments from Christian Laettner to hang in this one. Crimson Tide 37, Blue Devils 10.
Eastern Kentucky at UTC: The best 45-minute team in Championship Subdivision football is about to go the distance. Mocs 31, Colonels 17.
Clemson at Auburn: These two had a couple of Chick-fil-A Bowl matchups in recent years that were quite tight. Auburn 24, Clemson 21.
Mississippi State at LSU: All hail Chief Chavis! The Tigers lead the nation with 10 sacks. Tigers 28, Bullies 20.
Last week:
Winners.......................21
Weather delays..............4
Pasquali is 43-7 overall (86 percent) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or (423) 757-6524.