If college football rivalry games were measured by their number of nicknames, Texas and Oklahoma is the top rivalry in SEC Football. The game in Dallas' Cotton Bowl is known as the Red River Rivalry, the Red River Showdown, and the Red River Shootout.
Whether showdowns or shootouts, more than the Sooners and Longhorns have big games in college football's Week 7. According to FanDuel, the Longhorns are favored by 1.5 points against the Sooners. There are small point spreads in two other SEC football games. The road teams, Alabama and Georgia, are favored by only 3.5 points against Missouri and Auburn.
Though the spreads are higher in three other SEC football games, at least four of the six teams are in must-win situations.
Week 7 has just one cupcake opponent for an SEC team. The Ole Miss Rebels host Washington State in Oxford. Lane Kiffin's team is favored by 33.5 points.
SEC Football Showdown Games
- Texas Longhorns (3-2) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (5-0) - Both teams need a quarterback. John Mateer is injured for OU. Sark has more than a short-term problem with a healthy Arch Manning. Both teams are strong defensively. I'm thinking it might not take 20 points to get a win, but my pick is Texas 20 - Oklahoma 19.
- Arkansas Razorbacks (2-3) at Tennessee Vols (4-1) - The Vols are better on both sides of the ball. My pick is Tennessee 42 - Arkansas 24.
- Florida Gators (2-3) at Texas A&M Aggies (5-0) - The Gators will battle, but in College Station, it will not be enough. The Aggies will win 28-17.
- Georgia Bulldogs (4-1) at Auburn (3-2) - The Tigers are good on defense and can keep the game close, but Hugh Freeze does not have enough offense to win. My pick is Georgia 24 - Auburn 13. A bonus thought is that the Auburn team could implode at any time. If it happens Saturday, Jordan-Hare will not save them from a three-touchdown beating.
- South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2) at LSU Bengal Tigers (4-1) - Both teams need a win badly. Both teams are also missing enough key ingredients that would enable them to be upper-tier SEC football teams. Except when Alabama is in the building, it is hard to win in Tiger Stadium, so I'm going with the Bengal Tigers 24-17.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Missouri
After considering several computer model score predictions for the Alabama Crimson Tide against Missouri, I sense that, as the better team, Alabama will win. Missouri has impressive stats against a weak schedule. The Tigers were losing in the 4th quarter against Kansas and South Carolina. The offenses for the Jayhawks and Gamecocks are less potent than Alabama's. The flip side is that Missouri has had weeks of preparation for the Crimson Tide. In a potentially breakthrough game for the Missouri program, it could be a tough out for Alabama. My guess is the Crimson Tide wins by a touchdown, maybe 27-20.
Note: Game details provided by ESPN