Every week, Rock M Nation will post the SEC betting lines for that week’s slate of games. DISCLAIMER: Rock M Nation is not an online gambling operator, nor a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here
to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only. None of the staff will be using this information for gambling purposes and are not liable for any losses incurred due to the analysis contained within.
Well, contrary to the first 25 or so issues of Best Bets I’ve written here at Rock M, I think last week might have been my first week where I went perfect on my “Worth a look” picks while totally flubbing my Best Bets, only going 1-2. Weird. Anyway, we were 4-2 on the week which pushes the overall record to 29-25, 14-13 on Best Bets.
Last week I called the Auburn/Arkansas game the most depressing SEC game of the year. At the time, I think it was… but that is no longer the case. After Arkansas lost to the Tigers and Mississippi State blew a 17-point lead at home to Texas, those two teams face off in Fayetteville. Arkansas’s last SEC win? Last year against MSU. The Bulldog’s last SEC win? In 2023… against Arkansas. One of these teams’ losing streaks has to end. Fitting that it will happen in this game, which is NOW the most depressing SEC game of the year. You better believe I’ll be watching the entire thing with a beer and a bowl of popcorn.
Best Bets
Penn State @ Ohio State (-20.5)
At this point, I’m not sure there is a spread too big for me to pick against Ohio State covering. This game against Penn State is no exception. At the start of this season, this match up was definitely in the top 5-8 most anticipated games of the season nationally. Welp, after Franklin got canned it’s looking like yet another Buckeye blowout. It’s in Columbus so Ohio State will roll by three touchdowns.
Vanderbilt (+1.5) @ Texas
I’m not sure in what world Texas should be favored in this game. They should have lost to two of the three worst teams in the SEC the last two weeks in Kentucky and Mississippi State while Vanderbilt is clearly a top-10 caliber team. What’s more, Arch Manning has a concussion and is, at best, questionable to play this week. If Vegas is going to give me an whole point and a half, you better believe I’m hammering the Commodores to win outright in Austin.
Cincinnati (+9.5) @ Utah
I’m not quite sure what Cincinnati has to do to earn some respect from Vegas. Last week they were only 4.5 point favorites against a bad Baylor team. (We picked Cincy and they rewarded us.) Well, we’re going to jump back on the Bearcats this week as their getting 9.5 points against a, to be honest, pretty underwhelming Utah team. I’m not sure Cincinnati will win this game in Salt Lake City, but I am pretty sure they’re not going to be beat by double digits.
Worth a look
Georgia (-7.5) vs. Florida
Typically picking rivalry games like this one is a fools errand. I’m not above being called a fool and if this game ends up closer than I think, then feel free to toss that term my way. Even though they lost a lot, Florida always seemed to play hard for Billy Napier. Well, Napier is gone so I’m not really sure what the Gators have to play for at this point. I think Georgia off a bye is going to smoke the Gators.
Mississippi St. @ Arkansas (-4.5)
As alluded to earlier, this is the most depressing SEC game of the year (and probably the last three or four years.) I’m not crazy about the spread being all the way up to 4.5 points as Arkansas exclusively plays really close games. That said, I’m not sure how the Bulldogs bounce back from such a devastating choke job against the Longhorns in the fourth quarter last week. I think the Hogs finally find a win here in what may be their last of the season.
Oklahoma @ Tennessee (-3.5)
Oklahoma hasn’t scored more than 27 points in an SEC game since they joined the conference. Tennessee, on the other hand, hasn’t allowed less than 31 points in an SEC game this year. It’ll be really interesting to see if the Sooners can actually put up some points this week. That said, this one is in Knoxville and I think the Volunteers will be able to score enough on this really good Sooners defense to win by at least a touchdown.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See sportsbook.fanduel.com for details.
