The last time Arkansas went into an atmosphere like the one they’re getting ready to face at Alabama the opponent was Georgia, and it was a battle of unbeaten Top 10 teams.
The Bulldogs have stayed on track since beating the Razorbacks 37-0 on Oct. 2 in Athens, finishing 8-0 in league play and rising to the No. 1 ranking.
Coach Sam Pittman’s Razorbacks, however, have had their ups and downs en route to a 7-3 record overall and 3-3 mark in SEC play and enter Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa a three-touchdown underdog (-20.5).
“Hopefully we learned some things from that (Georgia) game,” Pittman said. “It’s a little bit different circumstances …. Now, we’re veterans of playing a lot of really good teams.”
Pittman, who recruited many of the current Georgia offensive linemen, has his Razorbacks on a three-game win streak over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (45-3), Mississippi State (31-28) and at LSU (16-13, OT).
Arkansas ranks No. 6 in the nation with 233.5 yards per game and feature a dual-threat quarterback in KJ Jefferson, who ranks second on the team with 474 yards on 107 attempts.
Alabama, meanwhile, is No. 5 in the country in total defense (290.3 yards per game) and No. 4 against the run (83.5 yards per game).
The No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide can clinch their spot in the SEC Championship Game at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (TV: 4 p.m. CBS) on Dec. 4.
Tide coach Nick Saban’s focus, however, is completely on the hard-nosed Pittman has built.
“It has a trademark of playing with great intangibles, great toughness, give great effort, hit you in the mouth every chance they get,” Saban said. “We need to have the right mindset playing a game like this, we need to have the right mindset in preparation and how we practice and how physical we need to be, in terms of how we need to play in a game like this.
“That’s the kind of game this is going to be.”
The pick: Alabama 45, Arkansas 10
Florida -9 at Missouri
There are questions about the job security of Gators’ coach Dan Mullen after last Saturday’s 70-52 win over Samford, a game Florida trailed 42-35 at the half before prevailing.
The Gators are dealing with a great deal of scrutiny, with social media suffocating coaches and players like never before.
“We worry about what we can control and worry about the realty and not the perception,” Mullen said. “Social media is very perception oriented, and all media is that way. What you have to do is worry about what you can control and what your reality is.”
The mother of Florida quarterback Emory Jones is dealing with the reality of fans saying things about her son during games, per Gators QB coach Garrick McGee, and that’s never an easy thing for a parent or a program to deal with.
Winning is the only remedy for Florida at Missouri, and then at home to close out the season against Florida State.
The pick: Florida 37, Missouri 27
Auburn -7.5 at South Carolina
The Tigers will be playing without quarterback Bo Nix (ankle) and kicker Anders Carlson (ACL) on the road at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Good thing for Auburn, South Carolina’s run game is on life support, managing just 57 yards on 35 carries in a 31-28 loss at Missouri last Saturday.
The pick: Auburn 28, South Carolina 13
Vanderbilt at Ole Miss -36.5
The Rebels are red-hot and vying for a New Year’s Six Bowl bid if they can close out the season with wins over the Commodores and at Mississippi State next week.
It should be one game at a time, but it’s hard to not overlook Vanderbilt, as it has lost 19-straight SEC games. It’s also Senior Day for Ole Miss, and while Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Corral isn’t a senior, it figures to be his final performance in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The pick: Ole Miss 45, Vanderbilt 10
Other SEC teams’ games:
South Alabama at Tennessee -28
The pick: Tennessee 49, South Alabama 13
Louisiana-Monroe at LSU -29
The pick: LSU 41, Louisiana-Monroe 38
Charleston Southern at Georgia -54.5
The pick: Georgia 62, Charleston Southern 3
Prairie View at Texas A&M
The pick: Texas A&M 45, Prairie View 7
Tennessee State at Mississippi State
Mississippi State 44, Tennessee State 17
New Mexico at Kentucky
Kentucky 41, New Mexico 10
