Looking forward to Week 10′s great slate of college football games?
Get geared up for the upcoming action with my predictions for the Top 10 games of Week 10, which will be divided up by conferences (the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and the conference that’s still king — the SEC).
Last Week: 4-6 (54-36)
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No. 15 Texas A&M (6-2) at No. 21 Mississippi State (7-1) – 12:00 p.m.
Johnny Manziel and A&M look to produce much more offense in Starkville than what they did against the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers and are also likely to do against Alabama. Not looking ahead to next week’s tough test in Tuscaloosa or getting overconfident after annihilating Auburn 63-21 on the road is important for the Aggies’ chances to advance in Saturday’s showdown with the Bulldogs.
Going to the ground game early and often, forcing Johnny Football and co. to make mistakes and keeping DE Damontre Moore (18 1/2 tackles for loss) away from MSU QB Tyler Russell are the keys to victory for Mississippi State. Aggies advance and look to likely finish third in the always tough SEC West. Prediction: Texas A&M 31, Mississippi State 27
Ole Miss (5-3) at No. 11 Georgia (7-1) – 3:30 p.m.
The Rebels didn’t have much to hang their hat on through the first five weeks of the season with wins over Central Arkansas (49-27), Texas El-Paso (28-10) and Tulane (39-0) and losses against Texas (66-31) and Alabama (33-14).
Then the team found its swagger, however, under first-year coach Hugh Freeze. After a fourth-quarter collapse against Texas A&M (lost 27-30), the Rebels have won two straight games against Arkansas (30-27) and Auburn (41-20).
A win for Aaron Murray and company moves the Bulldogs a step closer to clinching their second straight SEC East title, while a win for Ole Miss would place the program comfortably in the Top 25 and already bowl-eligible.
Murray must have a bounce-back performance against Ole Miss in order to avoid what some are suggesting looks like a letdown game for Georgia. Beating the Bulldogs will be a tall task for the Rebels, but this is a team that’s playing with confidence, making smart adjustments and displaying an uncommon amount of resiliency and week-to-week improvement. Prediction: Ole Miss 34, Georgia 28
No. 1 Alabama (8-0) at No. 6 LSU (7-1) – 8:00 p.m.
This is the Game of the Week with BCS and SEC West implications on the line. The Tide leads the Tigers 46-25-5 in the series. Nevertheless, remember, remember the fifth of November when LSU won 9-6 at Alabama last year before getting rolled 21-0 by the Crimson Tide in the BCS National Championship Game.
LSU may have lost more than half a dozen starters for various reasons this season and already has a loss against the Gators, but the Tigers control their own destiny in the SEC and will be in perfect position to advance to Atlanta for their second straight conference championship with a win on Saturday evening.
Takeaways have been the final piece to the puzzle for the Tigers the last two weeks, as the team has forced a total of seven turnovers in its wins against Texas A&M (24-19) and South Carolina (23-21).
The Tigers are at their best whenever they have home-field advantage under the lights at night. However, Alabama has a huge edge on offense, as the Tigers have plenty of problems on their paws in regards to pass protection and getting things going consistently with their passing game. Moreover, ‘Bama has better balance and QB AJ McCarron has yet to toss an interception this season. Prediction: Alabama 24, LSU 10
Michael Gartman is a College Football and NFL Senior Writer, the AFC South and NFC West Lead Writer and the Founder, CEO of GridironGrit.com. He’s also about to start reporting on topics across all sides of the political spectrum and analyze important issues in the liberty movement for a political website. Follow him @_MichaelGartman on Twitter.
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