Week 3 in the SEC provides a couple of revenge games for high-profile SEC teams that have been waiting for the chance to get back at lesser opponents.
No. 2 Alabama will head to Columbia to take on South Carolina for the first time since 2010. Stephen Garcia played out of his mind the last time these two teams met at Williams-Brice Stadium, and the Gamecocks handed the defending national champion Crimson Tide their first loss of the season. No. 9 Florida will travel to Lexington to take on Kentucky. The Wildcats stunned the Gators last season in Gainesville to break the 31-game losing streak in the series.
Let's break down Week 3 in the SEC in make some picks:
2019 record straight up: 18-7
2019 record against the spread: 15-10
No. 2 Alabama at South Carolina (+25.5): Gamecocks quarterback Ryan Hilinski had a great debut as the starting quarterback against Charleston Southern. Well, this is Alabama, and the Crimson Tide have a little bit more defensive talent than the Buccaneers. Alabama is giving up just 129 passing yards per game, has notched three interceptions and is giving up just 4.4 yards per attempt. On the other side of the ball, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his talented wide receiving corps will come out of the gate hot, put the Gamecocks in a hole and cruise to a win and a cover. So ... it will pretty much be like every other Alabama regular season game since the start of last season. Pick: Alabama (-25.5)
No. 9 Florida at Kentucky (+8): The Wildcats will run Troy graduate transfer quarterback Sawyer Smith out in place of the injured Terry Wilson, and he'll get a heavy dose of a Gators front seven that leads the nation with 15 sacks. They'll be better off with Smith long term because he's a more accomplished passer than Wilson, but this isn't the game coach Mark Stoops wanted to break his transfer quarterback in. Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks was 25-of-27 passing last week against UT-Martin after struggling in Week 0. The good version of Franks will show up in Lexington, use his talented group of wide receivers and lead the Gators to a win and cover. Pick: Florida (-8)
Kansas State at Mississippi State (-8): The status of Bulldogs quarterback Tommy Stevens is up in the air, and Garrett Schrader would get the start in his place if he can't go. It won't matter. Running back Kylin Hill is second in the nation in rushing with 160 yards per game. James Gilbert has been solid for the Wildcats as well, so this will be a battle of running backs that moves along at a brisk pace. Give me the Bulldogs to cover and win by 10-plus. Pick: Mississippi State (-8)
Arkansas State at No. 3 Georgia (-33): Arkansas State gave up 30 points in a loss to SMU in Week 1, and will get destroyed by quarterback Jake Fromm, running back D'Andre Swift and the rest of the Bulldogs. Notre Dame is lurking next week, so expect coach Kirby Smart to get his wide receivers a little bit more work than expected in order to get things worked out prior to the biggest game of the season. Pick: Georgia (-33)
Kent State at No. 8 Auburn (-35.5): Do you want to know a dirty little secret about Auburn? It's the same team it was last season. The Tigers can't block, which has resulted in a difficulty to consistently establish the run and erratic quarterback play. Kent State won't be a huge challenge, but the problems up front will persist and allow the Golden Flashes to cover. Don't be surprised to see a heavy dose of quarterback Joey Gatewood in place of Bo Nix in this one. Pick: Kent State (+35)
Colorado State at Arkansas (-10): Florida and Alabama are playing in the weekend's biggest revenge games, but the Rams topped the Razorbacks last season in Fort Collins. They haven't looked like it so far, but the Razorbacks really are better than they were last year. The right quarterback is now starting after Nick Starkel took the job from Ben Hicks, and the Rams allowed 11.6 yards per passing attempt in their only FBS matchup of the season (Colorado). Give me the Hogs in a late cover. Pick: Arkansas (-10)
Northwestern State at No. 4 LSU (-51.5): The Tigers showed that they've finally evolved into a dangerous offense, and that won't change in this one. Most teams would put it in cruise control early, but quarterback Joe Burrow and the rest of the Tigers offense needs to keep the momentum going. Lay those points. The Tigers will flirt with 70. Pick: LSU (-51.5)
Lamar at No. 16 Texas A&M (-43.5): Kellen Mond was dreadful last weekend in the loss to Clemson, so expect Jimbo Fisher to leave him in for a long time in order to get him ready for a ferocious Auburn defense next week. Sorry, Lamar, this one will get ugly. Pick: Texas A&M (-43.5)
Chattanooga at Tennessee (-28): The Vols have to get at least one win this season, right? RIGHT? They'll get one this week, but the defense will still look lost at times and quarterback Jarrett Guarantano will still be erratic. Tennessee is over-coached. Jeremy Pruitt and the staff gave them too much during the offseason and they can't just "play ball." Pick: Chattanooga (+28)
Southeastern Louisiana at Ole Miss (-31): The Rebels got right after a sloppy start in a win over Arkansas last week and get to step out of conference play to feast on a cupcake in Week 3. With that said, depth is still an issue in Oxford. Matt Corral will have a decent day through the air, but make a few mistakes that will allow Southeastern Louisiana to get a backdoor cover after Ole Miss pulls its starters. Pick Southeastern Louisiana (+31)
Southeast Missouri State at Missouri (-34): Quarterback Kelly Bryant didn't show out through the air in a win over West Virginia like he did vs. Wyoming in Week 1. That was only because he didn't have to. Why? Because his defense played lights out vs. the Mountaineers. That will continue this week and the Tigers will cover late. Pick: Missouri (-31)
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