It appears Tom is still dead, so let’s hear what the rest of the writers think.
Andrew VU ‘04
The only thing likely to keep this from being a bloodbath is the rain, which will wash most of the blood away, preventing it from pooling in a bath-like fashion. Anyway, I fully expect Trinidad “Saxby” Chambliss and Kewan Lacy to run us ragged. Rain should keep them from throwing on our secondary, at least.
The Pick: Vanderbilt 23, Ole Miss 38.
The SEC Upset Pick of the Week: We all agree it’s patently ridiculous that Ramajama
is favored over Ugga, right? So yeah, look no further than Ugga +1.5.
Patrick Sawyer
Weather could be a factor. Weathern Channel is predicting about a quarter inch of rain during the game with winds up around 15 MPH with gusts in the 20s. Accuweather is a little lighter on the winds at 9 MPH with gusts around 15. The rain expectations are about the same. I wonder who a sloppy game benefits. If Jared Curtis is back, the offenses will probably want to pass about the same percentage. Vanderbilt may be more comfortable with the read option runs in ugly weather, especially if it is Berlowitz behind center again, but wet turf fields favor the better athletes, unlike sloppy natural fields where mud can mitigate speed advantages.
My hopeful expectation is that Beck is figuring out how to use the players he has. With either QB, the game plan needs to look more like it did against Georgia. There may be slight tweaks with Curtis, but the key plays were deep sideline throws he can obviously make. Curtis has also shown enough elusiveness and athleticism that he can be a ball carrier and creator.
Ole Miss is a team that I felt a lot more sure about 2 weeks ago. But maybe I should not have been so high on them. That 41-38 win looks much less impressive since the Cardinals have lost to Wake Forest at home and to NC State on the road. The Rebels then had their big emotional win over LSU before getting beaten 52-28 by Florida while giving up 302 yards rushing.
Trinidad Chambliss throwing to Deuce Alexander scares me though. Dynamic RB Kewan Lacy is questionable after not playing against Florida. If Ole Miss is without him, that would be a big loss for Ole Miss. I picked Ole Miss to cover, but this may be closer than I was thinking. Or not.
The Pick: Vanderbilt 17, Ole Miss 28
The SEC Upset Pick of the Week: Missouri broke a 9-game losing streak to ranked opponents by unloading on Florida. This feels like a game where Marcel Reed actually shows up after some rough games against Kentucky and LSU. He is that type of weirdly inconsistent but supremely talented QBs.
I may also just not see any other potential upset bids outside Georgia beating Alabama, but that feels weird to call an upset as a 1.5-point spread between Top 10 teams.
Cole Sullivan
We are a team on the up-and-up (I still beLeave) and Ole Miss is a team on the down-and-down. I think we take lessons learned from the Georgia game, apply them, and put together a winning showing.
The Pick: Vanderbilt 30, Ole Miss 24
The SEC Upset Pick of the Week: I hate Kentucky, but they’ve looked better than in years past and they got LSU at home. I think they do it by a score or two.
