This year has been a really weird contest. While it has been mostly close, first and last have each been in sole possession of a staffer since after Week 4. For the entirety of that time, the gap between first and last hasbeen 7 games or less. The gap is down to 4. That was bound to happen when the leader goes 5 weeks without being better than 0.500. It would be like Derek Mason leading the SEC standings at any point.

Anyway, Cole actually had a good week at 6-4. He was matched by Andrew. Tom was a respectable 5-5. We avoided any truly awful performances by having CDA, yous guys, and myself all go 4-6. It was a nice 25-25 for the staff overall.

First and foremost, yes, we did pick 11 games last week. The Ole Miss-Texas A&M game was a push. Only 1 of the 3 games picked unanmously went the staff’s way. Both 4 to 1 contests were owned by the majority, thankfully. The positive side took 2 of the 4 games that had the closest split a 5-man group can have. Yay mediocrity.

The lone unanimous game is Alabama-Kentucky where the Crimson Tide are only 10.5-point favorites. We also only have 3 games where 1 person went against the grain. The remaining 6 games are 3 to 2.

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(+13.5) @ South Carolina
Auburn (+3) @ Arkansas
Alabama (-10.5) @ Kentucky
Tennessee (-1) @ Missouri
Ole Miss (+11) @ Georgia
Florida (+13.5) @ LSU
Mississippi State (+18.5) @ Texas A&M
WVU(+12.5) @ Oklahoma
Texas (-10) @ TCU
Michigan (-4.5) @ Penn State