Bama and AU in classics on Saturday. The Tide and State battle it out for major playoff implications. The Tigers and the Dawgs renew the 118th game between the two storied programs. It’s the oldest rivalry in the Deep South. Auburn has to win here. So does Georgia. Some other excellent SEC match ups and some key national games on tap. Here’s a look at what’s in store Saturday as the playoff conversation has gone radioactive.

Last week: 17-3; Overall: 126-48 (72%)

All rankings are College Football Playoff rankings

 

No 1 Mississippi State (9-0, 5-0 SEC)  @ No.5 Alabama (8-1, 5-1)

2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET

CBS

Verne, Gary, Allie

Line: Bama by 8 1/2

Bama fans may be a bit ticked off that their team is not in the top 4, but it’s irrelevant. The Tide has complete control of their destiny and wins over State and Auburn and in the SEC title game insures they will be in. That’s a lot of heavy lifting though, so a lot of work to do for Alabama. T.J. Yeldon has been practicing this week, so he should be good to go on Saturday. He has a high ankle sprain. It may be time for S and Lane to try Tyren Jones and Altee Tenpenny to see what they can do in giving Yeldon and Derrick Henry a blow. Another guy S may really want to consider getting on the field is Reuben Foster. Wow, he de-cleated LSU’s Leonard Fournette last Saturday night on a kickoff return late in the game. What a physical player. When he hits you, the next thing you see is the turf. Foster deserves a shot to play some at linebacker. Reggie Ragland and Trey DePriest are excellent linebackers, but Foster has to get in there. Talk about a guy who can force some fumbles. He epitomizes the term “laying the wood”. He will lay some serious Yella Wood on opponents.  Dak Prescott has completed 146-of-239 passes (61.1%) for 2,231 yards, 18 TDs and seven ints. He’s also run for 779 more and 11 TDs. He’s quite a player and right up there with Marcus Mariota for the lead in the Heisman race. But he has thrown seven interceptions and can be inaccurate at times. Running back Josh Robinson is an awesome player as well. He’s rushed for 984 yards and 11 TDs. He’s a bull. Wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson has caught 22 passes for 367 yards and six TDs. Wilson is 6’5″, 225 and is a load to cover. Cyrus Jones,  Eddie Jackson and Tony Brown will be tested at the corners. Robinson is 5’9″, 215 and fast. He’s definitely capable of house calls. Prescott is 6’2″, 230. On defense, linebacker Benardrick McKinney is the Bulldogs leading tackler with 55 on the season. Defensive end Preston Smith leads the team with seven sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. Linebacker Richie Brown leads the team with three interceptions, all of which came against Texas A&M. State allows 126 rushing yards per game and 3o0 passing yards. They give up a lot of yards, but are pretty good in red zone. They are 26th in the country in that category. Alabama is 2nd. Wisconsin leads the country. Blake Sims has completed 151-of-245 passes (62%) for 2,243 yards and 17 touchdowns against only three ints. Blake really takes care of the ball well and led the Tide on that epic drive last Saturday night in Death Valley. That’s  one that could go down in Crimson Tide lore if the team wins another national title. Amari Cooper has 79 receptions for 1,215 yards and 10 TDs. There are some serious Heisman candidates in this game with Prescott, and Amari.  Blake could get his name in the conversation with a big performance. With the playoff on the line, especially for the Crimson Tide, and most likely for State, I like the Tide to get it done at Bryant-Denny.

Alabama 37, Mississippi State 28

 

No.9 Auburn (7-2, -2) @ No.15 Georgia (7-2, 5-2)

6:15 PM CT/7:15 PM ET

ESPN

Brad, Todd, Holly

Line: Dawgs by 2 1/2

It’s going to be pretty chilly at Sanford Stadium in Athens on Saturday night. With a cold ball, ball security will be a factor. The big story is that Todd Gurley is back for the Dawgs and the Dawgs ground game will now feature Gurley along with stellar freshmen Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, though Michel is questionable for the game with a bad ankle. The AU defense really has their hands full in this one even with just Gurley and Chubb. Both are exceptional.  This will come down to who can score the most points. Nick Marshall has been playing well lately. So has Cameron Artis-Payne. But I don’t think the Tigers defense can do enough to stop that ballistic running game of the Dawgs. Should be a good game, but have to go with the Dawgs here.

Georgia 35, Auburn 31

 

No. 3. Florida State (9-0, 6-0 ACC) @ Miami (6-3. 3-2)

7 PM CT/ 8 PM ET

ABC

Chris, Herbie, Heather

Line:FSU by 1 1/2

Duh U will be gunning for the Noles @ home in Sun Life Stadium. Everybody ratchets their game up for Jameis and the Noles. While Miami will give FSU a  hard fought game, like the Noles to survive and advance like they have all season. Particularly if Jameis wears his contacts.

Update: Friday, Nov. 14th @ 4 PM CT:

The two starting cornerbacks for Florida State, P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby, were involved in a hit and run accident in October after the Seminoles defeated Wake Forest, 43-3. Williams was driving with a suspended license and the Tallahassee Police and the Florida State security officers gave him pretty much a pass. He was fined for two tickets totaling $392, but has yet to pay them. It’s just another case of dysfunction at the penitentiary that uses a college as its mask. The worst part about it is the university and its head football coach,  Jimbo Fisher, enable these kids to break rules whenever they want without any accountability or repercussions. It’s really disturbing when you think about it. Fisher keeps saying he’s got a high character group. At some point, he’s gong to become a joke, maybe as soon as this goes viral. I picked Florida State yesterday, but after this latest incident, which was reported by ESPN and SI.com, I don’t trust this group to overcome the latest in a rap sheet of offenses. The disastrous personal behavior of this team finally catches up with them in Coral Gables, Florida.

Miami 35, Entitlement U 31

 

 

South Carolina (4-5, 2-5) @ Florida (5-3, 3-3)

11 AM CT/ Noon ET

SEC Network

Dave, Andre, Laura Rutledge

Line: Gators by 6 1/2

This has been a tough year for the Ball Coach, who was cautiously expecting great things from this team as the season started. He goes back to the Swamp where he had major success as a head coach at Florida. But he’s been at South Carolina since 2005, so this is now routine for him. Ball Coach’s defense has been sub-standard all season. Not sure if defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward can get through to the players, or the players just aren’t very good. They should be good though. They were all rated pretty highly in the recruiting rankings. Florida hit their stride in the Georgia game two weeks ago and they’re clicking on all cylinders right now. They are going to try and  ram it down the Gamecocks throat on the ground with their outstanding running backs, Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor, and Treon Harris can do some good things with both his arm and his legs. The Gators defense has really come on, too, in the last two weeks. They had a pretty easy win over Vandy last week, 34-10, and I’m a believer in what Will Muschamp has got going right now. Like the Gators to keep the momentum going and move closer to a pretty good bowl game.

Florida 38, South Carolina 31

 

No.17 LSU (7-3, 3-3) @ Arkansas (4-5, 0-5)

7 PM CT/ 8 PM ET

ESPN2

Tess, Brock, Shannon

Line: Arkansas by 2

There is a chance of snow and 12 MPH winds, so the running game and defense will be at a premium, along with protecting the ball. Both teams can really run the football. The Hogs are trying to snap a 17 game conference losing streak. I say they do it here.

Arkansas 21, LSU 17

 

Missouri (7-2, 4-1)  @ Texas A &M (7-3, 3-3)

6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET

SEC Network

Brent, Jess, Maria

Line: A&M by 5 1/2

Aggies freshman quarterback Kyle Allen went off against Auburn last week throwing for 277 yards and four TDs. Missouri is still in the hunt for  the East title, but I think the Aggies keep their momentum going. Their season looks like it might turn out pretty well with a lot of young players playing. Bodes well for next year in College Station, too. Expect a pretty good game though.

A&M 34, MIzzou 28

 

Kentucky (5-5, 2-5) @ Tennessee (4-5, 1-4)

3 PM CT/ 4 PM ET

SEC Network

Line: UT by 8

Butch Jones has his team young playing very well now. Sophomore quarterback Joshua Dobbs is becoming an excellent signal caller who can generate big plays with his throwing accuracy, his big play potential and his outstanding wheels. The Vols have a young team like A&M and they’re getting better and better.

UT 37, UK 27

Off in the SEC: Ole Miss, Vandy

 

No.4 TCU (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) @ Kansas (3-6 ,1-5)

2 PM CT/ 3 PM ET

FOX Sports 1

Line: TCU by 28

TCU is averaging 47 points per game. Their quarterback, Trevone Boykin, is lighting it up with 23 TD passes through the air and seven more on the ground. He’s certainly in the Heisman mix. And one of the best under the radar backs in the country is Aaron Green. He’s run for 549 yards in nine games, but is averaging 8.7 yards per carry. This team is for real. They’ve got an aggressive pretty effective defense, too. It might snow Saturday in Lawrence (90% chance of snow as of today) and that may slow the Horned Frogs offense down a little, but not enough.

TCU 38, Kansas 7

No.8 Ohio State (8-1, 5-0 Big Ten) @ No.25 Minnesota (7-2, 4-1)

11 AM CT/Noon ET

ABC

Line: Buckeyes by 12

This could be an interesting game. Ohio State is back in the conversation for the playoff after their huge victory at Michigan State last Saturday night, 49-37. Quarterback J.T. Barrett has been superb. He’s thrown for 26 touchdowns and run for eight more. It’s going to be cold with a temperature of 22 at kickoff, and it’ll feel like 14, but these teams are pretty used to this kind of weather in November.  Still may be a factor somewhat as it will cut down on the scoring and could lead to more turnovers with a cold, hard ball. The Buckeyes will escape and matriculate in their improving playoff hopes, but not by much.

Ohio State 28, Minnesota 24

No.6 Arizona State (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) @ Oregon State (4-5, 1-5)

9:45 PM CT/ 10:45 PM ET

ESPN

Mark Jones, Rod Gilmore, Jessica Mendoza

Line: Zona State by 9 1/2

Oregon State has struggled mightily in the Pac-12, but I see them giving the Sun Devils a run for their money in this one in Corvallis. Like ‘Zona State to survive and advance, but Oregon State will make them work for it.

Arizona State 37, Oregon State 31

 

Other games:

No.22 Georgia Tech 30, No.19 Clemson 28

11 AM CT/ Noon ET on ESPN

No.21 Duke 31, Va Tech 28

11 AM CT/ Noon ET on ESPNU

No.12 Michigan State 34, Maryland 21

7 PM CT/8 PM ET on the Big Ten Network Channel 610 on Directv, around channel 821 on Charter

No.18 Notre Dame 31, Northwestern 27

2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET on NBC

No.20 Wisconsin 28, No. 16 Nebraska 27

2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET on ABC

Texas 31, Oklahoma State 28

6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET on FOX

No.14 Arizona 42, Washington 14

2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET on FOX

No.23 Utah 28, Stanford 24

5 PM CT/ 6 PM ET on Pac-12 Network

Penn State 28, Temple 24

11 AM CT/Noon ET on ESPN2

Boise State 34, San Diego State 17

9:15 PM CT/ 10:15 PM ET on ESPNU