3 Ole Miss - WiseGuy Edge Play **
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Analysis - No. 25 Mississippi State (7-4) has jumped into the national rankings for the first time since 2001, had a six-game winning streak for the first time since 1999 and is bowl eligible for only the second time in a decade. The Bulldogs have had issues the past couple weeks, losing two straight games, including last weekend's emotional 38-31 double overtime loss to then-No. 13 Arkansas. Now the Bulldogs must travel to face an Ole Miss team that will certainly be ready for revenge after last season's humbling loss. Ole Miss (4-7) has suffered through a miserable season -- littered with embarrassing losses to Jacksonville State and Vanderbilt -- and won't make a bowl game for the first time in Houston Nutt's three-year tenure. The rivalry is traditionally dominated by the home team, which has won 10 of the last 11 Egg Bowls.* Mississippi State is struggling on defense and has given up 68 points over the past two games. The Rebels have been on a tear on the ground, running for 12 scores in the last four games with 236 yards coming last week against the fantastic LSU run defense. Mississippi State is 104th nationally in passing and mainly relies on running the ball but could have trouble against a Rebel defense that has only allowed 200 rushing yards three times this season. The Rebels are looking for revenge after last year's thrashing in Starkville and will throw everything they have at the Bulldogs.* Look for Ole Miss to shred the Bulldogs defense and pull off the win.
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Projected Score** Mississippi State 13* Ole Miss 28
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+2 Florida - Double Play
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Analysis - Toss out the records when Florida and Florida State get together. Regardless of what’s happened leading up to this point, it’s always a big deal when these two get together at the end of the season. This marks the 55th meeting between the schools, the last six won by the Gators. Urban Meyer has yet to lose to the Seminoles, winning the last five games with relative ease. It’s been an unusually rough year at Florida, which lost its bid for the SEC East two weeks ago and has uncharacteristically dropped three games in the Swamp. Florida State, on the other hand, is still in the running for the ACC title race. Naturally, this game will have no bearing on who plays Virginia Tech in a week, but there will be a fair amount of scoreboard watching, with first place NC State kicking off at the same time. Quarterback Christian Ponder and the passing game have not impressed and the line has done a poor job of protecting him. It won’t get any easier against a secondary that’s picked off 17 passes and is led by hard-hitting S Ahmad Black and lockdown CB Janoris *******. The key for Florida will be to generate more outside pressure, primarily from senior ends Justin Trattou and Duke Lemmens. With the Seminole pass defense vulnerable for a second straight year, there could be openings for John Brantley to find WR Deonte Thompson downfield. The Gators are still reeling after getting thumped at home to South Carolina and are eager to finish the season off the right way.*The Gators defense is only allowing 20 points per game and will shut down the Seminoles staggering offense.* The Gators continue their dominance over their instate rival with a big win.
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Projected Score** Florida 17* Florida State 10
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-15 Kansas State - WiseGuy Edge Play *
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Analysis - This was supposed to be the fail-safe for the Kansas State season with the potential to need this game for bowl eligibility. Instead, the Wildcats pulled off a stunning win over a bad Texas team a few weeks ago and it’ll be bowling, and now it’s record-padding time. The Wildcats have struggled down the stretch as it can’t find a consistent offensive identity losing four of its last five games, and when all is said and done, the only win this season over a bowl bound team might by the 17-13 victory over UCF. Even so, this has to be seen as a successful season for a KSU team that has found ways to win against bad teams, and North Texas is a bad team. The Mean Green has perked up since firing head coach Todd Dodge with Mike Canales leading the way to two wins in the last four games and with stronger play from the offense.* If last week was any indication, the Kansas State offense (32 PPG) is going to have a whole bunch of fun. The North Texas defense has been solid at times this season, but ULM went wild as Kolton Browning threw for 247 yards and five touchdowns and the ground game rumbled for 233 yards and two scores. The Mean Green defensive front isn’t going to take advantage of the porous KSU offensive line and it isn’t going to be able to provide the pressure needed to stop Kansas State running game averaging 190 yards per game. *The Wildcats simply have too much talent for a bottom tier sun belt team and will finish the season off with a big win.
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Projected Score** Kansas State 45* North Texas 14
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-13 Georgia - WiseGuy Edge Play
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Analysis - Not since 1996 have Georgia and Georgia Tech met with a combined record of .500 or worse. Still, it’s Georgia and Georgia Tech, so neither program will have any problem getting up for this one. The Bulldogs, who’ve won 8-of-9 in this series under Mark Richt, have the most at stake. The only thing that could make this calamitous season in Athens even worse would be missing the postseason for the first time in 14 years, which will happen if the Dogs don’t win Saturday night. Georgia Tech is bowl eligible, but barely, needing last weekend’s 30-20 defeat of Duke to become eligible. It’s been a far cry from a year ago for Tech, which won the 2009 ACC title, but has just a single win over a quality opponent this season. The Yellow Jackets lost starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt to injury and are struggling passing the ball (86 YPG, 119th nationally). Ever since WR A.J. Green returned from a suspension, the Bulldogs have been the next best thing to Auburn and Arkansas in an SEC offense averaging 33 points per game. *QB Aaron Murray is banged up pretty good, but he expects to play and build on strong debut, throwing three touchdown passes in each of the last three games. Out of the backfield, Washaun Ealey and Caleb King have been quiet, but that’s had more to do with a lack of reps than anything else. Well-rested, both will put a dent in a Georgia Tech defense that’s soft on the interior and giving up 25 points per game. Georgia will be at full speed after a bye week and should dominate the line of scrimmage.*Georgia knocks off their instate rival and wins big. *
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Projected Score** Georgia Tech 7* Georgia 38 *
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-5.5 Vanderbilt - WiseGuy Edge Play *
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Analysis - *Wake Forest is in a bad place these days, sinking to a low point of the Jim Grobe era. After showing glimpses in the first two games, the Demon Deacons have lost their last nine, failing to make much progress along the way. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 10-30 loss at Clemson and have not been able to get anything going offensively.* The passing game is especially bad only averaging 150 yards per game. Vanderbilt’s winless streak is not quite as long, though dropping six in-a-row is hardly a moral victory. The Commodores did beat Ole Miss on the road back on Sept. 18, which is sure to stand out as the high point of Robbie Caldwell’s first season as the head coach. *The best unit in Nashville on Saturday? That’d probably be the Commodore defense, which is not quite as bad as the numbers indicate. Yeah, it’s bowed to the likes of Arkansas and Florida, but Wake Forest doesn’t have anywhere near the talent of those two schools. Vandy is actually seventh nationally in tackles for loss, which will cause problems for a leaky Deacon offensive line. It’ll create a consistent push, getting support from each level of the D, including DT Rob Lohr, Chris Marve, and S Sean Richardson. As a whole, this is an underrated group that’ll rise up with a chance to face lighter competition for a change. Vanderbilt really needs this win to end the season in a positive way. *The Commodores should have little trouble scoring on a defense ranked 114th nationally. Vanderbilt finishes the season with a win and easily covers the spread.
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Projected Score** Wake Forest 3* Vanderbilt 24 *
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Analysis - No. 25 Mississippi State (7-4) has jumped into the national rankings for the first time since 2001, had a six-game winning streak for the first time since 1999 and is bowl eligible for only the second time in a decade. The Bulldogs have had issues the past couple weeks, losing two straight games, including last weekend's emotional 38-31 double overtime loss to then-No. 13 Arkansas. Now the Bulldogs must travel to face an Ole Miss team that will certainly be ready for revenge after last season's humbling loss. Ole Miss (4-7) has suffered through a miserable season -- littered with embarrassing losses to Jacksonville State and Vanderbilt -- and won't make a bowl game for the first time in Houston Nutt's three-year tenure. The rivalry is traditionally dominated by the home team, which has won 10 of the last 11 Egg Bowls.* Mississippi State is struggling on defense and has given up 68 points over the past two games. The Rebels have been on a tear on the ground, running for 12 scores in the last four games with 236 yards coming last week against the fantastic LSU run defense. Mississippi State is 104th nationally in passing and mainly relies on running the ball but could have trouble against a Rebel defense that has only allowed 200 rushing yards three times this season. The Rebels are looking for revenge after last year's thrashing in Starkville and will throw everything they have at the Bulldogs.* Look for Ole Miss to shred the Bulldogs defense and pull off the win.
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Projected Score** Mississippi State 13* Ole Miss 28
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+2 Florida - Double Play
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Analysis - Toss out the records when Florida and Florida State get together. Regardless of what’s happened leading up to this point, it’s always a big deal when these two get together at the end of the season. This marks the 55th meeting between the schools, the last six won by the Gators. Urban Meyer has yet to lose to the Seminoles, winning the last five games with relative ease. It’s been an unusually rough year at Florida, which lost its bid for the SEC East two weeks ago and has uncharacteristically dropped three games in the Swamp. Florida State, on the other hand, is still in the running for the ACC title race. Naturally, this game will have no bearing on who plays Virginia Tech in a week, but there will be a fair amount of scoreboard watching, with first place NC State kicking off at the same time. Quarterback Christian Ponder and the passing game have not impressed and the line has done a poor job of protecting him. It won’t get any easier against a secondary that’s picked off 17 passes and is led by hard-hitting S Ahmad Black and lockdown CB Janoris *******. The key for Florida will be to generate more outside pressure, primarily from senior ends Justin Trattou and Duke Lemmens. With the Seminole pass defense vulnerable for a second straight year, there could be openings for John Brantley to find WR Deonte Thompson downfield. The Gators are still reeling after getting thumped at home to South Carolina and are eager to finish the season off the right way.*The Gators defense is only allowing 20 points per game and will shut down the Seminoles staggering offense.* The Gators continue their dominance over their instate rival with a big win.
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Projected Score** Florida 17* Florida State 10
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-15 Kansas State - WiseGuy Edge Play *
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Analysis - This was supposed to be the fail-safe for the Kansas State season with the potential to need this game for bowl eligibility. Instead, the Wildcats pulled off a stunning win over a bad Texas team a few weeks ago and it’ll be bowling, and now it’s record-padding time. The Wildcats have struggled down the stretch as it can’t find a consistent offensive identity losing four of its last five games, and when all is said and done, the only win this season over a bowl bound team might by the 17-13 victory over UCF. Even so, this has to be seen as a successful season for a KSU team that has found ways to win against bad teams, and North Texas is a bad team. The Mean Green has perked up since firing head coach Todd Dodge with Mike Canales leading the way to two wins in the last four games and with stronger play from the offense.* If last week was any indication, the Kansas State offense (32 PPG) is going to have a whole bunch of fun. The North Texas defense has been solid at times this season, but ULM went wild as Kolton Browning threw for 247 yards and five touchdowns and the ground game rumbled for 233 yards and two scores. The Mean Green defensive front isn’t going to take advantage of the porous KSU offensive line and it isn’t going to be able to provide the pressure needed to stop Kansas State running game averaging 190 yards per game. *The Wildcats simply have too much talent for a bottom tier sun belt team and will finish the season off with a big win.
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Projected Score** Kansas State 45* North Texas 14
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-13 Georgia - WiseGuy Edge Play
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Analysis - Not since 1996 have Georgia and Georgia Tech met with a combined record of .500 or worse. Still, it’s Georgia and Georgia Tech, so neither program will have any problem getting up for this one. The Bulldogs, who’ve won 8-of-9 in this series under Mark Richt, have the most at stake. The only thing that could make this calamitous season in Athens even worse would be missing the postseason for the first time in 14 years, which will happen if the Dogs don’t win Saturday night. Georgia Tech is bowl eligible, but barely, needing last weekend’s 30-20 defeat of Duke to become eligible. It’s been a far cry from a year ago for Tech, which won the 2009 ACC title, but has just a single win over a quality opponent this season. The Yellow Jackets lost starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt to injury and are struggling passing the ball (86 YPG, 119th nationally). Ever since WR A.J. Green returned from a suspension, the Bulldogs have been the next best thing to Auburn and Arkansas in an SEC offense averaging 33 points per game. *QB Aaron Murray is banged up pretty good, but he expects to play and build on strong debut, throwing three touchdown passes in each of the last three games. Out of the backfield, Washaun Ealey and Caleb King have been quiet, but that’s had more to do with a lack of reps than anything else. Well-rested, both will put a dent in a Georgia Tech defense that’s soft on the interior and giving up 25 points per game. Georgia will be at full speed after a bye week and should dominate the line of scrimmage.*Georgia knocks off their instate rival and wins big. *
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Projected Score** Georgia Tech 7* Georgia 38 *
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-5.5 Vanderbilt - WiseGuy Edge Play *
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Analysis - *Wake Forest is in a bad place these days, sinking to a low point of the Jim Grobe era. After showing glimpses in the first two games, the Demon Deacons have lost their last nine, failing to make much progress along the way. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 10-30 loss at Clemson and have not been able to get anything going offensively.* The passing game is especially bad only averaging 150 yards per game. Vanderbilt’s winless streak is not quite as long, though dropping six in-a-row is hardly a moral victory. The Commodores did beat Ole Miss on the road back on Sept. 18, which is sure to stand out as the high point of Robbie Caldwell’s first season as the head coach. *The best unit in Nashville on Saturday? That’d probably be the Commodore defense, which is not quite as bad as the numbers indicate. Yeah, it’s bowed to the likes of Arkansas and Florida, but Wake Forest doesn’t have anywhere near the talent of those two schools. Vandy is actually seventh nationally in tackles for loss, which will cause problems for a leaky Deacon offensive line. It’ll create a consistent push, getting support from each level of the D, including DT Rob Lohr, Chris Marve, and S Sean Richardson. As a whole, this is an underrated group that’ll rise up with a chance to face lighter competition for a change. Vanderbilt really needs this win to end the season in a positive way. *The Commodores should have little trouble scoring on a defense ranked 114th nationally. Vanderbilt finishes the season with a win and easily covers the spread.
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Projected Score** Wake Forest 3* Vanderbilt 24 *
