It is time for the Georgia at Kentucky Preview and SEC Predictions here at Last Word on College Football. Mark Stoops‘ club continues on to be on a roll winning four of their last five and sit in second place in the SEC East. Two games into the season fans were calling for Stoops’ job and now, going into Week 10 he is in the running for Coach of the Year honors.
Smash Mouth Football
The Wildcats went into Columbia and thoroughly dominated Missouri 35-21 in a game that wasn’t that close. Behind Stanley “Boom” Williams and Benny Snell the Cats ran for 374 yards and controlled the ball for 2/3 of the game. Kentucky set records on Saturday rushing for more than 250 yards against three straight SEC opponents for the first time since 1977.
It’s the first time in school history that Kentucky had two players rush for 175 yards apiece in an SEC game.
— Jen Smith (@ByJenSmith) October 29, 2016
The Dynamic Duo now has 1,482 yards rushing on the season and 11 touchdowns.
Uncharted Territory for the Wildcats-
Kentucky has only finished at .500 in the SEC four times since the league expanded to 12 teams in 1992. They are 1993, 1998, 1999 and 2006.
The last time Kentucky finished above .500 in the SEC was 1977 when they went 6-0 in the league and 10-1 overall. That was also the last time the Cats won four in a row in the conference.
Since Kentucky joined the SEC in 1993 they have only won four or more games 13 times. Here courtesy of Kentucky Sports Radio is a breakdown.
Georgia at Kentucky- (7:30 SEC Network)- After a fast start things have gone downhill quickly for Kirby Smart’s team. The Bulldogs have lost four or five after starting 3-0.
Nick Chubb has been somewhat of a disappointment this season and Jacob Eason has struggled under center.
For the Cats to continue their winning ways they will have to control the ball behind Snell and Williams. With a game against winless Austin Peay in two weeks, the Cats are in the unique position of having all but clinched a bowl bid.
Now the Cats can spend the next three weeks trying to improve their position. With a few breaks Kentucky has a punchers chance of making the SEC Title Game.
The last time Kentucky beat Georgia was 2009 and the last time they won in Lexington was 2006. The roll continues for Stoops and the Cats pull out a close win.
Kentucky 21-17
SEC Prediction Time
Last week was another good one for the Old Krystal Ball going 5-1 with the Tennessee-South Carolina game being the only loss. That makes the season record 62-11. Some big games this weekend and we will start in Baton Rouge.
Alabama at LSU- (8:00 CBS)
To no one’s surprise the top ranked Crimson Tide is in the drivers seat for another run to a National Championship.
The Tigers are 3-0 under interim coach Ed Orgeron and have a healthy Leonard Fournette in the back field. However Fournette has struggled against Nick Saban’s club rushing for only 31 yards last season.
When you have lost five in a row to Alabama like LSU has the last thing you want to do is poke the bear. Yet Tigers cornerback Dwayne Thomas did just that.
Dwayne Thomas is confident #LSU's gonna end that losing streak vs #Bama. How confident?
"We're going to dominate."https://t.co/2GnVG2MNwa
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 26, 2016
This one will be close for three quarters before the Tide pulls away.
Alabama 31-20
Georgia Southern at Ole Miss- (NOON ESPNU)
At 3-5 the Rebels are reeling and are going to have a difficult time making a bowl game. They will face an Eagle squad who is nothing like past squads who have nearly upset some Power Five schools.
Hugh Freeze’s club keeps their bowl hopes alive with an easy win.
Ole Miss 45-20
Texas A&M at Mississippi State- (NOON SEC Network)
To the surprise of many the Aggies checked in at Number 4 in the first college football rankings. They will get a chance to impress the committee with a road game in Starkville.
The Bulldogs gave up 41 points and 627 yards to FCS team Samford last Saturday. This doesn’t bode well going up against the SEC’s second best offense.
Texas A&M 49-31
Vanderbilt at Auburn- (NOON ESPN)
Much like Mark Stoops, the hot seat rumors about Gus Malzahn are now a thing of the past. The Tigers take a five game winning streak into Nashville to face the Commodores.
Behind sophomore Kamryn Pettway the Tigers have rushed for over 200 yards in their last four games. The strong Vandy defense keeps this one close but the Tigers win their sixth in a row.
Auburn 31-21
Florida at Arkansas- (3:30 CBS)
Coming off a 24-10 win over Georgia the Gators are firmly in the drivers seat in the SEC East.
The Razorbacks have had two weeks to think about the 56-3 loss at the hands of Auburn in which they gave up an SEC record 543 rushing yards.
This game will come down to Austin Allen versus the Gator defense. Look for Florida to get a tough road win.
Florida 23-17
Missouri at South Carolina- (4:00 SEC Network)
After the huge upset win over Tennessee last week, the Gamecocks are thinking bowl game.
Losers of five of the last six the Tigers are reeling. Carolina has been a different team since putting true freshmen Jake Bentley in a quarterback. Will Muschamp’s club will get one step closer to a bowl game.
South Carolina 24-13
Tennessee Tech at Tennessee- (4:00 SEC Network)
The wheels have completely come off down in Knoxville. Butch Jones’ team has lost three in a row and now have lost star running back Jalen Hurd who announced he was transferring.
For Tennessee it is next man up and that is John Kelly. The sophomore ran for 94 yards against South Carolina and should have a field day against the FCS Eagles.
Tennessee 45-10
