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Coach Steve Spurrier calls it “Talkin’ Season.”

That was the period of time from the end of spring practice in late April until the games mercifully returned in late August. Until then, all we could do was “talk” about college football. Brother, do we talk….and talk….and talk.

It does wear a body out.

So I am happy to report this to you, our gentle readers:

Talkin’ Season is over.

Praise the Lord and pass the chicken wings.

Starting today, and going through the conference championship games on Dec. 4, your humble prognosticator will pick six games each Friday. Understand that this heroic effort will be for entertainment purposes only. Do not consider the information gleaned in this exercise worthy of using to place a friendly wager.

As my friend Wes Durham always says, there is a reason the boys in Vegas live in big houses and drive nice cars.

So here we go with our first Pick Six of 2021.

The Game: Georgia (0-0) vs. Clemson (0-0) (minus-3) in Charlotte, 7:30 p.m., ABC.

The winner: Georgia.

The score: Georgia 27, Clemson 24.

The skinny:

This is a battle of two teams whose campuses are just 90 miles apart and who have a long, rich tradition of giving us good games. Clemson gets the edge from Vegas because of a great defensive line and the fact that Georgia comes out of training camp beat up in several areas. The biggest concern among the Georgia people is a lack of depth in the secondary and whether or not it can be exploited by big-armed quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who takes over for Trevor Lawrence. He threw for 439 yards last season against Notre Dame. Logic says go with Clemson, which will do its best to make Georgia quarterback JT Daniels uncomfortable.

Georgia will win on a late field goal.

The Game: Alabama (0-0) vs. Miami (0-0) (plus 18.5) in Atlanta, 3:30 p.m., ABC.

The winner: Alabama.

The score: Alabama 42, Miami 17.

The skinny: Sophomore Bryce Young makes his first career start at quarterback for Alabama, the defending national champions. The Crimson Tide lost 10 NFL draft choices from an undefeated team. If quarterback D’Eriq King can stay healthy, Miami has enough talent to challenge North Carolina in the ACC’s Coastal Division. Here is a matchup to watch: Miami head coach Manny Diaz has gone back to calling the defensive plays. He’ll be working against new Alabama OC Bill O’Brien, a former head coach at Penn State and the Houston Texans of the NFL. Miami hangs in there for about a half and then Alabama’s talent and depth allows the Crimson Tide to pull away. Tide covers.

The Game: LSU (0-0) at UCLA (0-0) (plus 3.5), 8:30 p.m., FOX.

The winner: LSU.

The score: LSU 28, UCLA 25.

The skinny: This game went off the board earlier in the week when the LSU football team and support staff moved to Houston to escape Hurricane Ida. How that will impact LSU’s first-ever trip to Rose Bowl stadium anyone’s guess. But now the game is back on the board with UCLA getting 3 ½ points. UCLA was able to open its season early with a 44-10 win over Hawaii last Saturday in Pasadena. Coach Chip Kelly has had three straight losing seasons and needs something good to happen for his program. Look for UCLA to try to run ball and shorten the game against an LSU team that really needs a win after going 5-5 last season.

The Game: ULM (0-0) at Kentucky (0-0) (Minus 29.5) Noon, SEC Network.

The winner: Kentucky.

The score: Kentucky 49, ULM 17.

The skinny: Kentucky starts over on offense with a new quarterback (Penn State transfer Will Levis) and a new OC (Liam Coen) who has installed a 21st century attack. Kentucky will still try to establish the running game with Chris Rodriguez, who ran for 6.6 yards per carry last season. But Levis has some new weapons including wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who caught 51 passes for Nebraska last season. Don’t look for Kentucky to show everything it has because the Wildcats have a big home game with Missouri on Sept. 11.

Former Auburn Coach Terry Bowden makes his debut as the ULM Coach.

Kentucky gets a late score to cover the 29 1/2.

The Game: FAU (0-0) at Florida (0-0) (Minus-24.5), 7:30 p.m., SEC Network

The winner: Florida.

The score: Florida 42, FSU 17

The skinny: The Florida Gators did not have a good finish to 2020 losing their final three games to LSU, Alabama in the SEC championship game and to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. After losing explosive players like Kyle Pitts (the No. 4 player taken in the draft), receiver Kadarius Toney, and quarterback Kyle Trask, the Gators have to hope that quarterback Emory Jones can be an every-down quarterback. They will be fine against FAU, but this is about getting the team ready to play Alabama on Sept. 18 in the Swamp. Gators get a late score for the backdoor cover.

The Game: Ole Miss (0-0) vs. Louisville (0-0) (plus 9.5) in Atlanta, Monday, 8 p.m., ESPN

The winner: Ole Miss.

The score: Ole Miss 45, Louisville 35

The skinny: With Matt Corral returning at quarterback, there is a lot to like about this Ole Miss team. And here is a great stat that I read in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper. Carrol has made 14 college starts. Ole Miss is 7-2 when he doesn’t throw and interception and 0-5 when he does. So can Louisville force Corral into turnovers? Remember he had 14 interceptions last season, more than any quarterback in the SEC.

The Cardinals were minus-12 in turnovers last season. So to have a shot they have make Corral uncomfortable. Ole Miss wins and covers the 9 ½.

Have fun.

Note: The above photo is of Georgia quarterback JT Daniels at SEC Media Days on July 20. Photo is credited to Vasha Hunt of USA Today.