Around the SEC: All Aggies' Week 6 Picks
This was the supposed to be the greatest weekend for Texas A&M. Instead, it's just another Saturday.
Unless the Aggies (3-2, 0-2 SEC) can find a way to rebound after a two-game skid, No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) should roll its way to another win and closer to an SEC title. The Crimson Tide enter Kyle Field fresh off a dominant win over Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin's high-tempo offense.
Where was the offense, Lane? The popcorn is stale now.
A&M fell to Mississippi State in a 26-22 defeat thanks to poor defensive play. Once regarded as the top unit in college football, A&M allowed MSU's Will Rogers to throw for over 400 yards and three scores against the No. 4 pass defense in the country.
Fans were enamoured with this game all season, but can the Aggies now pull off the upset of the season? We will find out at 7:00 p.m.
As for the SEC as a whole, there's plenty of quality games to watch. Auburn has a chance to upset Georgia at home. Meanwhile, the race for second place in the SEC West is open until the whistle blows between Ole Miss and Arkansas.
Can Kentucky keep its hot streak alive against LSU at Kroger Field? Here's AllAggie's staff picks for every SEC game and the top national games in Week 6.
SEC GAMES
No. 1 Alabama vs. Texas A&M
Check out AllAggies' staff picks for Saturday's game here.
No. 13 Arkansas at No. 17 Ole Miss – 11 a.m.
Matt Galatzan - Publisher/Managing Editor: Both of these teams are looking to bounce back in a big way after tough losses. Ole Miss has the better overall team and Matt Corral is still the best quarterback in the country. Rebels by a slim margin.
Matt's Pick: Ole Miss
Cole Thompson - Columnist: A high-tempo offense against a defense that was torched on the ground by Georgia last week. In today's game, defense wins games, but offense win championships.
Cole's Pick: Ole Miss
Art Garcia - Editor/Columnist: Remember how high we were on these squads last week? Alabama and Georgia have a way of crushing dreams.
Art's Pick: Ole Miss
Matthew Postins- Staff Writer: The Razorbacks looked human last week. The Rebels took their whooping from Alabama last week. This game should be much more competitive, with the Rebels edging this one out.
Matthew's Pick: Ole Miss
Timm Hamm - Staff Writer: The Razorbacks looked very pedestrian last week and I bet their confidence is shot.
Timm's Pick: Ole Miss
Vanderbilt vs. No. 20 Florida - 11 a.m.
Galatzan: Florida should have no problem with Vanderbilt. Dan Mullen’s team should get back on track with an easy one here. Florida wins big.
Matt's Pick: Florida
Thompson: The Gators lost for the first time in Lexington since 1986. Pray for the Commodores against an angry Florida team at home.
Cole's Pick: Florida
Garcia: Poor Vandy. The Commodores will pay for UK's sins.
Garcia's Pick: Florida
Postins: It's Florida. C'mon, let's not waste time here.
Matthew's Pick: Florida.
Hamm: Florida has to still be mad about last week. They're going to take it out on the Commodores.
Timm's Pick: Florida
South Carolina at Tennessee - 11 a.m.
Galatzan: South Carolina is on the right track. They’re just not there yet. Tennessee wins by two scores.
Matt's Pick: Tennessee
Thompson: The Vols feel different under Josh Heupel. No, they're not back to the days of Phillip Fulmer, but a .500 season feels plausible. Because it's at Neyland Stadium, give me Tennessee.
Cole's Pick: Tennessee
Garcia: Not every SEC is a classic. Some, like this one, are dubs. Still, the Vols have some momentum.
Garcia's Pick: Tennessee
Postins: Tennessee is coming off a big win over Missouri, and the Vols will face another team that looks like a lower-echelon SEC East team. Plus, it's at home, and Tennessee should take care of business.
Matthew's Pick: Tennessee
Hamm: South Carolina is on the rise, and may take the Vols by surprise. Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to rhyme.
Timm's Pick: South Carolina
No. 2 Georgia at No. 18 Auburn - 2:30 p.m.
Galatzan: Georgia is better than everyone but maybe Alabama and its not particularly close.
Matt's Pick: Georgia
Thompson: There's no miracle at Jordan-Hare 2.0 this time around. Georgia has been my No. 1 team since the preseason and will remain there until someone can test Kirby Smart's defense.
Cole's Pick: Georgia
Garcia: Auburn should be commended for escaping Death Valley, but those good vibes won't mean much against the Dawgs.
Garcia's Pick: Georgia
Postins: A big pitfall game for Georgia. The Bulldogs are getting healthy at wide receiver, but it’s likely quarterback J.T. Daniels won’t play. Is that, plus the game being at Jordan-Hare, enough to give Auburn the shot at an upset? The Tigers have a shot, but I think the Bulldogs pull this one out.
Matthew's Pick: Georgia
Hamm: Georgia should be the No. 1 team in the country and it’s not close.
Timm's Pick: Georgia
North Texas vs. Missouri - 3 p.m.
Galatzan: Missouri and it’s not close. Not much to know here.
Matt's Pick: Missouri
Thompson: You know that Penn State vs. Iowa is on at the same time? It might be worth a watch.
Cole's Pick: Missouri
Garcia: Mizzou needs some help. Hello, Mean Green.
Garcia's Pick: Missouri
Postins: I was tempted ... until I saw UNT's record (1-3). Not tempted anymore.
Matthew's Pick: Missouri.
Hamm: I really want to pick North Texas, but the brain overrules the heart.
Timm's Pick: Missouri
LSU at Kentucky - 6:30 p.m.
Galatzan: Kentucky looks like a real contender the SEC East and LSU looks like they’re trending in the other direction. Give me the Cats.
Matt's Pick: Kentucky
Thompson: Remember when Lane Kiffin was fired on a tarmac by USC after losing to Arizona State? Ed Oregon will at least be called in Sunday morning and told it's time to pack up the office following a loss at Kroger Field. It's nothing personal, Coach O. This is the SEC.
Cole's Pick: Kentucky
Garcia: The Wildcats announced their arrival last week. They're here to stay.
Garcia's Pick: Kentucky
Postins: This is a very intriguing game. Just a few years ago, I would have taken LSU without a second thought. But Mark Stoops has built a programs at Kentucky. Not just a good team, but a program. Not, they're not elite, but the Wildcats are highly competitive now. And LSU may just have a rough night.
Matthew's Pick: Kentucky.
Hamm: I think Kentucky comes crashing back to reality this week.
Timm's Pick: LSU
NATIONAL GAMES
No. 21 Texas vs. No. 6 Oklahoma - 11 a.m.
Galatzan: Before the season began, Oklahoma was thought to be a national championship contender. And while they are still undefeated, they look extremely vulnerable and are playing with an immense amount of pressure.
Texas has a chance to pull off a big upset here. I think they do just that.
Matt's Pick: Texas
Thompson: This game is going to come down to quarterback play. Both actually have impressed, but Casey Thompson, the son of former Oklahoma QB, Charles, gets to talk smack over Christmas dinner this year.
Cole's Pick: Texas
Garcia: I'm really tempted to pick the Horns since the QB switch, but not sure what they've proved. Sooners need to make a statement to make up for their uneven start.
Garcia's Pick: OU
Postins: When I picked this game in the summer, I felt like it was going to be OU walking away. Well, here's how things have changed. OU isn't itself and Texas is on a three-game winning streak, fueled by a quarterback change and the Heisman-worthy running of Bijan Robinson.
Still, this game has its way of defying the hotter team. Right now, I think Texas, even with the loss, is the slightly hotter team. But something tells me OU is going to find a way to win this. This may be the game where Spencer Rattler finally looks like the Rattler we saw at the end of last season.
Matthew's Pick: Oklahoma (in OT)
Hamm: All the pressure is off Texas to do anything spectacular this season and all the pressure remains on the very vulnerable Oklahoma teams. Texas will play loose and fast against an OU defense that won’t know what hit them.
Timm's Pick: Texas
No. 4 Penn State at No. 3 Iowa – 3 p.m.
Galatzan: I am very interested to see what Iowa does here against what might be the best overall team they face in the regular season. They look explosive and can get after it on defense, and they have the advantage of being at home. Iowa close.
Matt's Pick: Iowa
Thompson: If there's one team I feel can go toe to toe defensively with Georgia or Alabama, it's Iowa. The Hawkeyes defense ranks second in points allowed (11.8) and is top 10 in total yards and run defense. The Nittany Lions head to Kinnick Stadium and will leave as the sun sets with a loss.
Cole's Pick: Iowa
Garcia: Who would have thought this would be the Big Ten game of the year?
Garcia's Pick: Iowa
Postins: I have a co-worker that will be livid with me if I don’t pick her alma mater. And I don’t need that.
Matthew's Pick: Penn State
Hamm: How weird is it that I’m about to pick Iowa over Penn State? Yet that’s what’s happening. It should be very close but I give the edge to the home team.
Timm's Pick: Iowa
Boise State at No. 10 BYU – 2:30 p.m.
Galatzan: BYU is making the Big 12 look very smart for adding them into the fold, and there is no reason that won't continue here.
Matt's Pick: BYU
Thompson: Should it be in the Big 12 already, BYU would have a valid argument to be the best team in 2021. The Cougars already beaten better teams, so a game against a rebuilding Boise State team feels easy.
Cole's Pick: BYU
Garcia: Not all great matchups are in the Power Five.
Garcia's Pick: BYU
Postins: Boise State is in a rough place, with losses to UCF, Oklahoma State and Nevada. The Broncos haven’t beaten a Power 5 team this season. BYU has beaten three, and the Cougars want to be undefeated when it faces Baylor next week. And the Cougars will be.
Matthew's Pick: BYU
Hamm: Boise State is not good and BYU should dominate.
Timm's Pick: BYU
No. 14 Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech - 6:30 p.m.
Galatzan: Virginia Tech already has a good win over North Carolina. They get another one here over the Irish. Tech by a field goal.
Matt's Pick: Virginia Tech
Thompson: Notre Dame still could make the College Football Playoff if literally everything goes wrong for every other team. They also could be eliminated with a loss to the Hokies on the road. The Irish win, but it'll show the CFP committee that this was never a team destined for the postseason in 2021.
Cole's Pick: Notre Dame
Garcia: The Domers were humbled by Cincy and VT is tough at home.
Garcia's Pick: Virginia Tech
Postins
I know just enough about these two teams to make an uninformed pick. Lane Stadium is an awfully tough place to play. But that Week 1 win over UNC looks less impressive a month later. Notre Dame will be motivated to bounce back because it still has something to play for moving ahead.
As Cole notes, just about everything has to go wrong for it to happen in the long run.
Matthew's Pick: Notre Dame
Hamm: The CFP hopes for Notre Dame should be dismissed by now and they don’t have much to play for. Virginia Tech is a tougher team and should pull away late.
Timm's Pick: Virginia Tech
