SEC Packets: Week Four Schedule and Picks

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
Florida at Ole Miss 9/22 - 11:30am CST Oxford, MS Lincoln Financial

OTS:
The Gators will annihilate the Rebels, and it will be yet another easy win with big numbers for Florida. Another blowout win, another week closer to their showdown game versus LSU on October 6th.

Nico:
Tebow will be out of this game so quickly he'll have time to seduce the entire Ole Miss danceline.

Todd:
This will be ugly.

In fact, it's going to be so ugly, I'm making it my Sandra Bernhard Game of the Week!

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
South Carolina at LSU 9/22 - 2:30pm CST Baton Rouge, LA CBS

OTS:
I'll be the first to give Steve Spurrier credit, he definitely has the Gamecocks going in the right direction, and we all know that their players are looking at this game as a chance to really garner attention as a top program and a championship contender. However, I just can't see them knocking off LSU. Sure, the Gamecocks have one of the most underrated defenses in the country, and I could see them giving the LSU offense problems. That said, though, I really don't think that Mitchell and co. can move the ball on the LSU defense, and that will be the difference. Unless SC can get a lot of points out of some big turnovers -- and protect the ball completely when they have it, i.e. no turnovers -- LSU moves to 4-0.

Nico:
South Carolina probably won't get absolutely decimated like LSU's first three opponents but just like the beast in Tenacious D's "Tribute," LSU will eat your soul.

Todd:
The 'Cocks threw five picks against a 1AA defense. How hard do you think the LSU secondary is licking their chops thinking about that?

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
Kentucky at Arkansas 9/22 - 5pm CST Fayetteville, AK ESPN2

OTS:
I'll be the first to admit it, the Hogs impressed me Saturday night, and I really think I underestimated them. I still doubt they have anything for the big boys of the conference (namely LSU and Florida), but this is a good squad, and I think McFadden and co. run wild on a very questionable Wildcat defense.

Nico:
I think Arkansas bounces back. Not necessarily with a big win, but a win over a ranked team should find them back in the good graces of pollsters.

Todd:
Going with the 'Cats paid off for me last week and besides, history is totally on my side. As much as I respect the Arkansas ground game, and think they are a far better team than we gave them credit for, UK should be able to outshoot them.

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
Auburn vs New Mexico State 9/22 - 6pm CST Auburn, AL

OTS:
Some people see this as a potential upset, but surely not. I didn't think Auburn would be very good this year, but honestly they are even worse than I expected. Nevertheless, surely they can beat New Mexico State, though. That said, when you lose to MSU, you can lose to almost anyone, NMSU included.

Nico:
I'm going with the Barn...again...for the fourth straight week. If they lose this one, Tuberville might get canned mid-season. Well, not really, but it would be baaaaaaaaaaaaad for them to lose this one.

Todd:
Man, things have changed when trying to pick between Auburn and NEW MEXICO STATE is a tough call. I'm going with the Teagles. Surely they can turn things around over a cupcake, right? Right?

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
Mississippi State vs Gardner-Webb 9/22 - 6pm CST Starkville, MS

OTS:
The Bulldogs win their third straight, and they move to 3-1. I'm not sure, but the world may really be coming to an end. At the very least, they're storing up on heavy jackets in Hell.

Nico:
I actually have a Gardner-Webb soccer jersey that someone gave me. That exhausts my knowledge of the Gardner-Webb football program. Bulldogs stunningly start their season 3-1.

Todd:
I'm with OTS, the end is nigh.

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
Alabama vs Georgia 9/22 - 6:45pm CST Tuscaloosa, AL ESPN

OTS:
I've got to be really honest, I'm really worried about this game, and honestly I think Georgia wins if we play like we did last week. The running game will have to do much better this week, and the turnovers will have to be cut out if we want to win. More worrisome is the fact that, with little doubt, Georgia is easily the most balanced offensive team -- in terms of being able to effectively run and pass -- that we have faced to yet, so it's yet another new challenge for the defense. Unfortunately, I now have a feeling that Georgia is a good bit better than I gave them credit for being in the pre-season. One thing we do have going in our advantage, perhaps, is home field advantage. I don't think HFA means much -- and I think I've given at least a decent amount of evidence to support that notion -- but if it can ever provide a tangible advantage, it's in a game like this where a young team goes on its first road trip to a big-time stadium. That basically sums up the Dawgs. If we can win though, we may very well go into the Tennessee game at 7-0 or 6-1, so let's hope so. I honestly have a feeling we lose, but whatever, I'll take the Homer pick and go with the Tide.

Nico:
This three game stretch has scared the ever living crap out of me ever since it was announced. Georgia scared me the most of the three when the 2007 schedule came out and they scare me most to this day. I can't shake the nagging feeling that it'll be difficult for us to run this gauntlet unscathed. That being said, I think we can hang with just about anyone on the schedule and I'm going to be a homer and pick Bama because I personally feel that I will be as exhausted as the players after this game, which will surely be a hard fought contest. I hate the notion of the "12th Man" (please don't sue me Texas A&M), but I'm on board for Saturday night and I will be giving it my all. I realize this summary is pure emotion, but that's what I'm running on right now.

Todd:
There's been a lot of talk about Coach Saban restoring hope to this team and it's fans, and showing his trust in them and in his staff by going to his defense and asking if they can get one more stop before kicking the FG, and I'm buying into that Kool Aid stock wholeheartedly. If there's one thing we've seen so far this season, it's that this staff is walking around with oil cans looking for the squeaky wheel first thing every Sunday morning. The D played "soft" in week one? Okay, that's fixed in time for Vandy. The passing game wasn't clicking against the Commies? Fine, we'll throw up some big numbers and drive the field in under two minutes to win against Arkansas. The ground game wasn't clicking and Wilson still has some progress to make in this offense? Let's see if the trend continues. UGA has some problems on their o-line (it's so nice saying that about someone else for a change), and if we blitz Stafford out of his cleats the second he walks onto the field I think we can run away with this one.

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
Tennessee vs Arkansas State 9/22 - 6:45pm CST Tuscaloosa, AL ESPN

OTS:
It's going to be a long year for the Vols, and Fulmer could be nearing the end, but a win over Arky State is a given. A loss here and Fulmer is probably done by the end of next week.

Nico:
Texas only beat them by eight. Who knows? I'm sure Tennessee wins comfortably though. Sun Belt teams are usually limited to one (or less) heroic loss per year.

Todd:
The Vols get another week to lick their wounds and try to regroup before the season swirls into outright disaster.

SPECIAL BONUS PICKS

Since there really aren't a lot of interesting games going on this weekend, we're cutting back to two, with the first one going on tonight.

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
Miami vs Texas A&M 9/20 - 6:45pm CST Miami, FL ESPN

OTS:
This seems like a big-time match-up, but it's not. Neither of these two teams are particularly good, and that's just the simple truth. I'll go with Texas A&M, simply because they haven't been annihilated by OU yet, but I really don't know. This one could go either way. It's tough to predict games between two poor teams.

Nico:
I'm going to echo the sentiments of OTS here and go with TAMU if for no other reason than they haven't had their asses handed to them yet this season.

Todd:
I'm only going with Miami since they're the home team and TAMU should have lost to Fresno. DON'T STRETCH THE BALL IF YOU DON'T HAVE BOTH HANDS ON IT!

Opponents	OTS 30-5	Nico 28-7	Todd 29-6
Penn State at Michigan 9/22 - 2:30pm CST Ann Arbor, MI ABC

OTS:
You have to give credit to Carr and company, they looked much better last week, though they were playing a piss-poor opponent. Still, they had no passing attack whatsoever, and Penn State will keep Mike Hart contained relatively well. The Penn State offense, as is per usual, won't be particularly good, but should get enough done to get the victory. I imagine Michigan struggles to put up points on a very good Nittany Lion defense, and Penn State's offense generates points off of turnovers and good field position. Nevertheless, Penn State hasn't beaten Michigan since 1996 (eight straight losses), so an upset is possible. Even 7-5 Michigan knocked off Penn State's Big Ten and Orange Bowl Championship team in 2005, so it's not out of the question. Nonetheless, I go with the Nittany Lions.

Nico:
I'm going with PSU despite the fact that nobody really knows much about them. They destroyed a terrible Sun Belt team, smacked a horrible Notre Dame around and gave up 24 points to Buffalo. I don't know to make out of all of that, but I don't doubt for a second that they're better than Michigan. Michigan's biggest hope in this game is PSU players letting a decade's worth of losses get in their heads.

Todd:
The Penn State D looked a little lost at times against Buffalo, but I can't go with Michigan. Yeah, they finally got a win, but it was against the worst Irish team in history, and I give the Nittany Lions a good chance to finally get a win over the Wolverines after a decade of futility.