Year2's Week 8 Picks

Last week: 6-1 straight up, 2-4 against the spread

Season: 58-6 straight up, 31-22-1 against the spread

As always, the point spreads come from the Yahoo! game unless otherwise noted.

Georgia (-7) over Vanderbilt 35-31

UGA is banged up and might be reeling from the loss last week. Meanwhile this is kind of like a Super Bowl for Vandy, which is coming off of a bye, is at home, and could really use a win to right the ship in 2013. I don't think VU quite has the defense to get the big stop at the end, but they'll come close here.

South Carolina (-7.5) over Tennessee 31-27

It's hard to predict which South Carolina team will show up week-to-week, just as it's hard to predict which Tennessee team will show up week-to-week. UT seems to be a different team at home, so I'll take the Vols to cover against a South Carolina team that might be feeling too good about itself after last week and might be looking ahead to next week.

Florida (-3) over Missouri 18-17

On the one hand, that idiot you used to play at football video games could coach the Tigers to a win because you pretty much just have to blitz every down to keep the Gators from scoring. On the other, I don't like the idea of a young guy like Maty Mauk making his first start against this defense. I will go with the defense here, but I don't have a good read on this game at all.

Texas A&M (-13.5) over Auburn 38-34

I can't believe the line on this game is this high. I know it's in College Station, but A&M's run defense is awful and AU is a respectable fifth in the league in rushing average when you ignore stat-skewing I-AA games. I don't do a lock of the week, but if I did, this one would be it. No way does Auburn lose by two touchdowns here.

LSU (-9) over Ole Miss 31-24

The line on this in the Yahoo! game opened at 7.5 and inched up to 9 over the past couple of days. I'll take it the extra buffer, thanks. It's in Oxford, it's a rivalry game, and Ole Miss actually has an offense to speak of, so I see this not going quite as well for LSU as last week's game did. The Tigers will still win, but I don't see a blowout.

Alabama (-28) over Arkansas 40-10

Bama has cranked its buzz saw up a couple of gears in the past few weeks, and Arkansas is not doing so well. This pick of a Bama cover might well an overreaction to recent events, but it's in Tuscaloosa.