News Article: SEC preview and predictions – Week 13

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SEC preview and predictions – Week 13
By Jess Nicholas
TideFans.com Editor-in-Chief
Nov. 17, 2008

Last week’s record: 5-1 (83.3%)
Season record: 63-21 (75.0%)

The Predictions Dept. missed a single game last week, the win by Vanderbilt over Kentucky that put the Commodores into the postseason for the first time since the early 1980s. We said we wouldn’t pick Vanderbilt again this season, as the Commodores had appeared to have fallen into the same mental trap as in previous years, getting to the five-win mark but folding before getting bowl eligible. Well, Vandy did it – and congratulations to the Commodores, who now have a chance to finish the season with as many as nine wins and finish off one of the most heartwarming stories in SEC football in quite some time. This week, the SEC has a light schedule, as many teams are off and gearing up for a final week of rivalry games.

THE CITADEL at FLORIDA
Put simply, The Citadel is going to get clobbered. This isn’t even a good Division-IAA program and Florida is playing as well as it has in years right now. The only issue for the Gators is whether all key players will make it through the game healthy, as sometimes, these meaningless games end up with a coveted starter getting injured and dealing a blow to the team in later, more meaningful games. Florida head coach Urban Meyer needs to buck a recent trend and pull quarterback Tim Tebow early, rather than trying to run up scores for style points or to get Tebow into the Heisman Trophy race.
Florida 67
The Citadel 7

TENNESSEE at VANDERBILT
For once, maybe Dudley Field won’t have more UT orange than Vandy black and gold when this game is played. Tennessee is home for the holidays, having missed out on bowl eligibility, while Vanderbilt is headed to the postseason. Now the question becomes whether the Commodores will recover from the emotional letdown of getting bowl-eligible. Tennessee was off last week, and for a team that is in such a sad mental state, an off-week may or may not have helped. Tennessee clearly has more talent and is a more physical unit, but Vanderbilt is actually playing well. The Commodores are also favored in this game for probably the first time in any current Commodore fan’s adult lifetime. Despite Vandy riding the wave of good feelings after the UK upset, this game is the week’s “upset special” and we’re going to pick it. Look for the Vols to have a bounce game here before probably falling apart against Kentucky to end the year.
Tennessee 17
Vanderbilt 14

ARKANSAS at MISSISSIPPI STATE
Alabama bounced Mississippi State out of the bowl picture last week, but Arkansas can still get in. To do so, the Razorbacks have a tough task: beat Mississippi State, then LSU to close the season. Beating Mississippi State wouldn’t seem to be too hard. The Bulldogs are banged up following the Alabama loss and now no longer have a bowl to play for. On top of that, this is a sandwich game between two rivalry games, Alabama and then Ole Miss. And Arkansas was off last week. Everything is going against the Bulldogs in this game, and Arkansas’ offense may be too much for the Bulldogs’ beaten-up front seven to handle.
Arkansas 27
Mississippi St. 17


MISSISSIPPI at LOUISIANA STATE
Much like the Vanderbilt-Tennessee game, Ole Miss is coming off the experience of getting bowl-eligible for the first time in years, and is also, like Mississippi State against Arkansas, playing a game before a big rivalry game that their hearts may not completely be into. LSU, meanwhile, is coming off a soupy mess of a win over Troy that probably did as much damage to the Tigers’ faith in the current direction of the program as it did help the Tigers get a nicer bowl slot. So it’s anyone’s guess how this one shapes up, and the fact that the opposing coaches are Les Miles and Houston Nutt just adds to the hilarity. This ought to be a complete circus.
LSU 27
Ole Miss 24

IDLE: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Auburn