NCAA picks: Where’s the big, bad SEC?

Oct. 10—Everyone was saying Texas and Oklahoma wouldn’t be ready for the Southeastern Conference once the news came out that the two football programs would be leaving the Big 12 for the bigger and better conference.

Well, where’s the big and bad SEC now?

Texas is the best team in the conference right now. Oklahoma is 1-1 in conference play and only lost to Tennessee by 10 — one of the top performing teams in the SEC as well.

UT has only played one conference game so far against Mississippi State, but its toughest test this season has been against the Big Ten’s fifth-best team at the moment in Michigan.

Let’s look at this scary conference that was supposed to have the Longhorns and Sooners shaking in their boots this fall.

The top two teams in the conference for the past eight years in terms of conference record and overall consistency have been Alabama and Georgia. The two duked it out in an offensive slugfest that ended with the Crimson Tide winning 41-34.

Turn back the clock one week and Georgia couldn’t even get in the end zone hardly against Kentucky. Sure, maybe the Wildcats play good defense, but does that mean Alabama can’t stop a nose bleed?

Maybe. Because the conference’s juggernaut allowed 40 to the well-known bottom feeder of the conference in Vanderbilt in Week 6 and lost. I don’t care what your case is, Alabama losing to Vandy is unacceptable.

Speaking of Vandy upsetting Alabama, the Commodores took Missouri to double overtime in Week 4 before falling by a field goal. The Tigers were supposed to be one of the best teams in this conference this year. Many believe the Tigers are CFP contenders.

Adding onto MU, it barely defeated a Boston College team as well. That BC team’s best win this year is over a Florida State team that is clearly not good with a 1-5 record. And then the Tigers go and lose by 30 to Texas A&M.

Vandy has been competitive for a couple of games in conference play, but don’t try to fool me for a second and say the SEC is just deep this year. Vanderbilt lost to a bad Sun Belt Conference Georgia State team that won’t even have a winning record in that conference.

As for Kentucky, that defense is legit. But not scoring more than 20 points, as one of the best offense’s in the nation — Ole Miss should be ashamed by that Week 5 loss. The Rebels were ranked sixth in the country to start the year and lose to a 3-2 Kentucky team that will finish below .500 in SEC play.

Look at Tennessee — a loss last week to an unranked Arkansas team that lost to Oklahoma State. OSU is 3-3 this year and 0-3 in the — supposedly — bad Big 12 Conference. That’s an embarrassing loss for an offense that was supposed to be top notch but only scored 14 on the Razorbacks, who allowed 31 to the Cowboys in regulation.

The Volunteers only beat OU 25-15 despite holding the Sooners to 222 yards, forcing three turnovers and controlling the ball for 11 minutes more than OU. Nearly 36 minutes of possessing the ball and 350 yards of offense only turned into 25 points.

Another note from the conference is that LSU lost to USC — not even among the top Big Ten schools this year with a 3-2 record and 1-2 in conference.

My predictions: Texas wins the conference and OU doesn’t lose more than two conference games.

Let’s dive into the Week 7 slate:

FRIDAY

No. 16 Utah (4-1) at Arizona State (4-1): The Utes are coming off a tough loss to Arizona. But the most points they’ve allowed in a game are those 23 in Week 5. Utah bounces back here.

SATURDAY (11 a.m. games)

No. 7 Alabama (4-1) vs. South Carolina (3-2): I could see Alabama being a little sluggish, but I think Kalen DeBoer makes sure his team responds here. Tide avoid consecutive upsets.

No. 10 Clemson (4-1) at Wake Forest (2-3): The Demon Deacons are no test for the Tigers.

No. 21 Missouri (4-1) at Massachusetts (1-5): The Tigers better wake up. This would be an ugly one to lose. I think MU does fine here.

AFTERNOON GAMES (2:30-3:15 p.m. start times)

No. 1 Texas (5-0) at No. 18 Oklahoma (4-1): The Red River Rivalry went from a major game in the Big 12 to being a major game in the SEC. I think Texas wins this one in a close game. Sooners will be the best defense Texas has seen.

No. 4 Penn State (5-0) at USC (3-2): The Trojans can keep this game close but I still think Penn State continues its streak of winning games by double digits. Nittany Lions by 10.

No. 11 Notre Dame (4-1) vs. Stanford (2-3): Notre Dame rolls in this home game. The Cardinal will whither away by halftime.

No. 22 Pittsburgh (5-0) vs. California (3-2): I think Pitt is on upset alert but Cal won’t be able to pull it off. Panthers stay perfect.

No. 23 Illinois (4-1) vs. Purdue (1-4): The Boilermakers haven’t been competitive at all since a Week 1 win over Indiana State. No reason to think that changes here.

No. 14 Brigham Young (5-0) vs. Arizona (3-2): BYU has been a pleasant surprise in the Big 12 this year. The Cougars keep rolling with this home game here.

No. 5 Georgia (4-1) vs. Mississippi State (1-4): It’s the battle of the Bulldogs. Georgia runs away with this one.

EVENING GAMES (6 p.m. start or later)

No. 8 Tennessee (4-1) vs. Florida (3-2): The Gators have looked much better the last two weeks scoring 45 on Mississippi State and holding Central Florida to just 13 last week. Give me the Vols to drop two in a row. UPSET.

No. 2 Ohio State (5-0) at No. 3 Oregon (5-0): Oregon has played well-rounded football the last three weeks. But Ohio State has been there since the start of the season. I think the Buckeyes are the more complete team. I’ll take them in a close one. BIG GAME.

No. 9 Ole Miss (5-1) at No. 13 LSU (4-1): It will be interesting to see which team comes out stronger in this one. I expect a ton of points to be scored. I’ll take the Rebels to take down LSU on its home field.

No. 11 Iowa State (5-0) at West Virginia (3-2): WVU may keep it interesting in the first half like Baylor did last week against ISU. But, the Cyclones prove why they’re undefeated and No. 11. Iowa State will be top 10, maybe top 5 by its Nov. 23 game against Utah.

No. 18 Kansas State (4-1) at Colorado (4-1): I’ve seen improvement from the Buffaloes but not against teams of this caliber. I think KSU takes this one on the road.

No. 17 Boise State (4-1) at Hawaii (2-3): The Broncos have dominated the last three games. Nothing changes here. LOCK PICK.

RECORDS

Overall: 89-26; Last week: 11-6; Big game: 2-4; Upset: 2-4; Lock pick: 5-1.