Week 5 was our worst one yet as a staff. On aggregate, the record was 21-29 (42%). I was the only one above water at 6-4. Tom and the Commentariat were spluttering at the surface at 5-5. VU 04 forgot to wait an hour before getting in the water and cramped along to 4-6. I think Cole and CDA tried to drown themselves with those 3-7 results.

The staff majority missed on Auburn hanging close with UGA, Kentucky beating Florida by way more than a FG, Jimbo’s Aggies not choking on Hogs, Rebels raiding the bayou, Tennessee aggressively beating the ‘Cocks, Oklahoma easily taming the Cyclones, and Beavers chewing up Utah. Yes, the majority was wrong in 7 of 10 contests. As painful as watching a first half Joey Lynch offense.

Week 6 has even fewer matchups to pick. There are 5 SEC-SEC games, the Red River Shootout, WMU-MSU, and Notre Dame-Louisville. Tennessee, South Carolina, and Auburn all have the week off. We have 2 unanimous picks and 3 others picked 4 to 1. What can go wrong?

The Rules

1. Normally, the picks are for all SEC games with one dealer’s choice where I get to choose another game to make us pick. With two new teams set to join in 2024, Texas and Oklahoma will have all of their games picked, too.
2. The picks will be made AGAINST THE SPREAD. Too many games are easy to pick heads up. Also, this will serve as a PSA for why you should not get into sports gambling, which is especially important with sports gambling being legal in Tennessee now.
3. The lines will be taken from Oddshark’s consensus spread some time Monday, so they may not match what is listed at the time this article is published.

The Standings

The Picks

GAME	DotP	Cole	Tom	VU04	CDA
Vanderbilt (+18) @ Florida
LSU (-6.5) @ Missouri
Western Michigan (+20.5) @ Mississippi State
Alabama (-2.5) @ Texas A&M
Kentucky (+14.5) @ Georgia
Arkansas (+11.5) @ Ole Miss
Oklahoma (+3.5) @ Texas
Notre Dame (-6.5) @ Louisville