Outside of games in Fayetteville and Knoxville, Tenn., this is a pretty boring week in the SEC.
It is becoming obvious that the SEC should rethink its alignments, because the Western Division has further separated itself from the Eastern Division.
There have been six games between the divisions, and the SEC West is 6-0 and outscored the East 217-92 (and 38 of those were by Tennessee on Saturday).
No surprise to have gone 5-0 last week and run the season record to 47-13.
Here are this week's predictions:
Ole Miss at Arkansas
If the Rebels have an Achilles' heel, it's their run defense, which ranks 105 out of 128, allowing 215.4 yards per game. Running the ball is supposed to be the Razorbacks calling card, but so far they have been Air Arkansas. The Hogs will miss linebacker Dre Greenlaw, their best defensive playmaker, but if the same crowd shows up this week that did for Alabama, the Rebels might have some problems with timing. Arkansas 45-38.
South Alabama at ASU
The Jaguars have one of the Sun Belt's biggest wins of the season, 21-20 over Mississippi State, but they fell to Georgia Southern and Louisiana-Lafayette before getting back on track. The Red Wolves may have kick-started their season last week with a come-from-behind victory over Georgia Southern. ASU 28-24.
Alabama at Tennessee
For now, this is a showcase game for television. The undefeated defending national champs, Alabama, going on the road to one-loss Tennessee, which lost to a Texas A&M squad that plays next week against the Tide in Tuscaloosa. For now, this game deserves the hype, but for how long? A half, maybe. The Tide are a little suspect against the pass, but it may be tough for Vols quarterback Joshua Dobbs to find time. The Tide weren't intimidated in front of one of the best Razorback crowds in years, and they won't be afraid of Rocky Top. Alabama 31-17.
Missouri at Florida
The Gators can't afford any type of letdown against the Tigers, who aren't very good but better than their 2-3 record. Florida and LSU sat out Hurricane Matthew last weekend. Florida 17-14.
Vanderbilt at Georgia
The Dawgs and 'Dores in a game only Dawgs and 'Dores fans care about. Georgia beat South Carolina 28-14 on Sunday but had only 29 yards passing. The Commodores will try to shut down the running game of Georgia, which can be pretty good at times. It is like old times at Vandy, struggling. Georgia 21-17.
Southern Miss at LSU
The Golden Eagles opened the season with a victory over Kentucky but would later fall to Troy and UT-San Antonio. The Tigers are just a bunch of question marks, although they are deep, talented, fast and definitely better than the Kentucky Wildcats. The Tigers cannot look ahead to the annual Magnolia Bowl, the annual grudge match with Ole Miss. Leonard Fournette is still out and probably eliminated from Heisman Trophy consideration, but not from the first round of the NFL Draft. LSU 28-17.
Mississippi State at BYU (tonight)
The Cougars should be flying high after beating Michigan State last week, and they are pretty good. Their three losses to Utah, UCLA and West Virginia were by a total of seven points. The Bulldogs knew they would have some questions going into this season after losing 11 starters, and at the midway mark they have been consistently inconsistent. BYU 31-21.
Sports on 10/14/2016