Beat My CFB Picks For A Tailgate Package

Every Friday morning during CFB season I join Columbia sports talk legend Teddy Hefner on his Fox Sports 1400 show to pick some of the biggest games of the week. If you beat my picks you may win a tailgate package from Mathias Sandwich Shop on St Andrews Rd. Text your picks and your answer for the tiebreaker to 803-315-3292

Oklahoma at South Carolina (+5.5) Preview

12:45 PM ET, SEC Network

Last year Oklahoma was blown out at home 35-9 by the Gamecocks This week they head to Columbia fresh off being embarrassed last week by their rivals Texas in the Red River Rivalry where they never scored a TD. The Gamecocks were also pretty embarrassed by their trip to Baton Rouge although the game was much more competitive where it wasn't really decided till LSU kicked a FG with with 1:46 left in the contest. The Sooners QB John Mateer threw for 202 yards but also 3 int's! Oklahoma D gave up 136 yards rushing but thankfully for them running is what South Carolina struggles with. Or do they? Last week they rushed for 193 yards! Gamecocks expect their O line to be better this week with the replacement of the now former coach with Shawn Elliott who was the O line coach in the Spurrier era. At the very least cut way back on the false starts where they had another 5 last week. Williams-Brice's night energy gives the Gamecocks a shot, and their front seven ranks 35th against the pass. Sooners D is great at creating tackles for loss but not at sacking QB's. Arch Manning is a long way from LaNorris Sellers when it comes to escapability but they could only get Arch on the ground once. Mateer's mobile but was sacked 3 times last week. I'm sure SEC officials by now have been warned that they better start calling holding when lineman are legit tackling Dylan Stewart so there should be more pressure applied. OU's had 1 road game this year vs Temple. For the younger players at Oklahoma this will be the most disruptive scene they've been in despite the early kick. This is Cocktober! Give me South Carolina.

SMU at Clemson (-9.5) Preview

3:30 PM ET, ESPN

Last year 11-1 SMU kicked a FG to tie Clemson with 16 seconds left in the ACC Championship. Then allowed the kickoff to be returned almost to midfield. They gave up a mid length pass and then Clemson kicked a 56 yarder to beat them as time expired. This SMU is NOT last years. They have already lost to unranked Baylor and TCU This Mustangs teams invades Death Valley as 9.5 underdogs. Clemson has righted the ship after a shaky start. They pounded Boston College 41-10 a week after humiliating UNC. The Mustangs Defense at #118 is much worse than UNC (#77) or BC (#92)

The last Tigers' fans got to cheer their team in person was a humiliating loss to Syracuse (who has the 126th defense). They also weren't too pleased with the home win over Troy where they were actually losing at half 16-3! The home crowd roars back this week and they'll have a double digit win.

Ole Miss at Georgia (-7.5) Preview

3:30 PM ET, ABC

Ole Miss (5-1) challenges No. 5 Georgia (5-1) in Athens, with the Dawgs favored by 7.5. The Rebels edged Arkansas 38-31, with Jaxson Dart at 300 yards and 2 TDs, but their D allowed 380 total yards. Ole Miss' pass rush is fierce (8 sacks last two games). Georgia dominated Auburn 31-17, with Gunner Stockton efficient at 69% for 220 yards and the rush at 206 YPG.

Sanford Stadium's rivalry vibe looms, and UGA's trenches (#10 O-line) stifle Dart. Rebels' road woes in Athens (0-4 last four). Bulldogs control the line. Georgia covers.

Tennessee at Alabama (-8.5) Preview

7:30 PM ET, NBC

No. 8 Tennessee (5-1) heads to Tuscaloosa for a nightcap against No. 4 Alabama (5-1), favored by 8.5. The Vols D is soft at 101'st in the nation. Their offense however is elite at 4th. Bama 's offense is pretty good at 39th and should feast on TN. The question is can TN's 4th ranked offense move on Bama's 18th ranked defense. I'll point out the Bama's worst D performance was the first of the year vs FL State giving up 31 and almost 400 yards. They seem to get better every week. I'll take Bama at Bryant-Denny

LSU at Vanderbilt (-8.5) Preview

7:30 PM ET, SEC Network

LSU (4-2) rolls into Nashville to face Vanderbilt (3-3), favored by 8.5 on the road? Wait, Vandy hosts as +8.5 dogs. Tigers lost 27-24 to Ole Miss, with Garrett Nussmeier at 259 YPG but the D leaky at 24 PPG allowed. LSU's O-line is solid (zero sacks). Vandy's 3-3 after a 28-24 upset over A&M? No, clinging to wins, with Diego Pavia at 301 total yards per game but O-line allowing two sacks.

First Stone Stadium game, but LSU's talent overwhelms. Commodores' scrappy, but Tigers' balance feasts. LSU covers comfortably.

Missouri at Auburn (+1.5) Preview

12:00 PM ET, SEC Network

Missouri (5-1) travels to Jordan-Hare after losing a home game to Bama last week. Auburn (3-3), getting 1.5 at home. Auburn almost pulled the upset last week at A&M! However when you look at the stat sheet they were dominated in every metric. Mizzou lost to Bama because their run game was shut down. Auburn doesn't have that trick. They gave up over 200 on the ground last week.

Mizzou will run their way to victory.

USC at Notre Dame (-9.5) Preview

7:30 PM ET, NBC

USC heads to South Bend for the Shamrock Series against Notre Dame fresh off their win last week 31-13 over Michigan. However the Irish are favored by 9.5. The Trojans are the only program in the Big Ten to score more than 30 points in every game this season. The team also leads the Big Ten in third down conversion percentage (0.552), fourth down conversion percentage (0.833), and yards per completion (14.38).

ND's D is ranked 59th which is worse than Michigan at 35th Notre Dame has won 6 of the last 7 vs. USC and has the home field, but I don't trust them to cover this much against an explosive offense. I'll take Southern Cal.

Tie Breaker Gamecocks total offense vs Oklahoma. The Sooners are #1 in the nation in total D allowing only 211 YPG. Gamecocks have averaged 311 YPG. It would seem logical to go under the 211 because we're a poor offense so far this year ranked 121st. However I think the coaches have found a few things to exploit and I'm going to put us up against the best at 225.