LITTLE ROCK — With Alabama and LSU off this week, the SEC schedule seems to be a little more serene, but not necessarily predictable.
Ran the table last week to put the total at 44-13, but there is at least one trap game this week, maybe two.
Vanderbilt at Arkansas - The Razorbacks are favored by almost three touchdowns but could be without Joe Adams. Plus, Ryan Mallett is not 100 percent and defensive tackle D.D. Jones was arrested earlier this week and isn’t expected to play.
The Commodores have changed offensive coordinators, but their offensive struggles are more likely personnel than play-calling.
Knile Davis should have established himself as the premier back for the Razorbacks and even if Mallett can’t go, Tyler Wilson has his old confidence back. There is usually a good crowd for homecoming, and the Razorbacks Nation is making a name for itself for making their home a hostile environment. Arkansas 42, Vanderbilt 21
Auburn at Ole Miss - This could be one of the trap games because a No.
1-ranked team has lost three weeks in a row and the Tigers are the latest team to be top-ranked, which has a hint of irony in it.
Razorbacks fans were told by Frank Broyles - in support of Houston Nutt - that Gus Malzahn’s hurry-up, no huddle offense wouldn’t work in the SEC.
Now Auburn, where Malzahn is the offensive coordinator, is 8-0 and No. 1 and going against Nutt and the Ole Miss Black Bear Rebels. The game is in Oxford, but the Rebs are 2-2 at home and 0-2 since adding the Black Bear as their mascot.
This is a showdown of mobile quarterbacks between Auburn’s Cam Newton and Ole Miss’ Jeremiah Masoli.Newton started the season off the radar but is now the early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. Just the opposite of Masoli. The Ole Miss coaching staff will be ready for Malzahn, who is 28-9 as an offensive coordinator in the SEC. Newton is the difference in this cliffhanger. Auburn 21, Ole Miss 17
Florida vs. Georgia (at Jacksonville, Fla.) - This once infamous cocktail party was something to behold, but this year it is more about survival and sanity than for the SEC East lead.
The Gators have lost three in a row. The Bulldogs have won three in a row, but lost four consecutive before that, including a loss to Colorado. The Gators were off last weekend, so they’ve had a chance to regroup after losing to Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State, which leaves no doubt the West is the best of the SEC this year.
Georgia has improved but has beaten three of the weaker teams in the league, and the Gators will be looking to rebound. Florida 30, Georgia 21
Kentucky at Mississippi State - The Wildcats have won only one SEC game but still have a shot at being bowl eligible, which is exactly what the Bulldogs are after moving to 6-2 on the season last week. They have been under the radar and may be able to stay there this week. Mississippi State 28, Kentucky 14
Tennessee at South Carolina - Possibly another trap game, especially if the Volunteers understood Derek Dooley’s weird speech this week about his team and the invasion of Normandy, and that it was a message they need to quit looking around for him and go play hard. Or maybe he wasn’t calling them Nazis. The Gamecocks will be looking to get bowl eligible at home. They won’t be looking ahead to Arkansas, and Stephen Garcia should pick the Vols apart. South Carolina 35, Tennessee 21
Sports, Pages 21 on 10/29/2010