ANDY’S PICKS: How big Missouri game is for Hogs looking back

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On this holiday season ol’ Abe Lincoln created during the Civil War to have warm feelings for friends and foe, it’s turned into a plethora of food and hate. Both of those seem to go well with college football.

As usual this time of the year, Pete Morgan is claiming victory of the HitThatLine Trophy, but he’ll have to do like Arkansas did with the 1964 trophy they claimed after Alabama already had it and get a knock-off version made. He just won’t have to wait nearly 60 years to do it. Since Bear Bryant and I are both from Southeast Arkansas about 20 miles apart, there’s a tradition that possession is 9/10 ownership in the eyes of the law.

No, seriously, I am thankful for Pete’s contributions to HitThatLine, which is now concluding it’s eighth year of existence with a lot of changes over the years. If you’ve never started one of these from scratch, you have no idea the late nights and early mornings involved with that. Now they are just happy memories. Stay tuned for more and better things.

But on to the purpose of this entire stab in the dark on who will be winning the games this week. Much like the previous offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks, Pete’s season was over before Halloween. In reality it was probably a couple of weeks after Labor Day, but you have to play along with the kids at times.

The Hogs will make the journey to Columbia, Mo., on Saturday to play a game that’s traditionally been played on the day after Thanksgiving. For some reason the SEC managed to screw up long-standing holiday plans for four fan bases with just a couple of decisions.

First, they moved the Arkansas-Missouri game to Saturday. That was a gut punch to a lot of fans. It’s turned into a routine that’s factored into some families’ planning  every year. Then, to add chaos to more fans, somebody with no sense of respect for tradition moved the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State from Thanksgiving Day to the Friday slot.

Personally, I know of three families that had to re-arrange everything because of these decisions and they don’t even go to the games. They watch on TV and now entire deer cabins and duck hunting clubs have had to alter their schedules because somebody thought this was a good idea. Okay, we’re done with that rant.

The Hogs may have their biggest hill of the season at the end. About the only thing consistent with both of these teams this year is wild inconsistency. That’s been the standard across college football, too. The old ways of handicapping games sailed into the trash can this crazy season.

For me, the difference (as usual) comes down to quarterback play. You can analyze line play, defensive secondaries, running backs and everything else, but the quarterback that wins adjusts to good and bad, then figures out a way to win the game.

Brady Cook has shown the ability to do that with Mizzou. The Hogs are still searching for that quarterback with the intangibles to just figure out how to win consistently. Don’t throw the Tennessee game out there about Malachi Singleton because the Volts were trying to let them score. For every great play Taylen Green has made, there’s one or two that leave you scratching your head.

That along with the Tigers just simply having better players leads to my pick this week. Oh, and throw in this is the only game of the year where the opposing coach is motivated to beat the Hogs as bad as possible. Whether he will admit it or not, this is the game he wants his team to win. And win it big if at all possible.

Missouri by 13

SEC Picks for Week 14

There are some games that should be blowouts, but we’ve seen this year that can get turned around fast. There are, however, several league games that will have playoff implications one way or the other. Looking for motivation? That’s about the best you can get this year.

Mississippi State at (14) Ole Miss – Neither side is enthusiastic about playing this game on Black Friday. The Bulldogs are terrible while the Rebels’ faithful are just completely ticked off. Last week’s loss put Ole Miss in a deep hole for the playoffs and the only way to dig out is hang a memorable number on State. The Bulldogs don’t have the talent this year to do a whole lot about it, either, unless the Rebels just tank. Ole Miss by 34.

Georgia Tech at (7) Georgia – The Ramblin’ Wreck have had some moments this year (like everybody), but in the end they are still just a middle of the road team. Georgia somehow has played its way solidly into the SEC Championship game and is solid in the playoffs. Unless something really crazy happens. It won’t, but don’t expect some huge number because Georgia will play backups as soon as possible because they have bigger games coming up. Bulldogs by 17.

Louisville at Kentucky – Nobody is giving the Wildcats much respect this year and likely deservingly so. You have to wonder if they’ve let go of the rope after beating Ole Miss and playing Georgia to the last minute. This is probably going to be closer than some think because of Kentucky’s defense, but everybody in Lexington is thinking basketball already. Cardinals by 2.

(15) South Carolina at (12) Clemson – If you want chaos in the playoffs, this is the game to watch. South Carolina has shown they are quite capable of doing that this year and are making a claim they should be there. The Tigers are still trying to build a team the old-fashioned way and as badly as I want to pick the Gamecocks, the roster comparison says something else. Tigers by 4.

(8) Tennessee at Vanderbilt – For whatever reason, the Commodores’ smooth sailing has hit ground lately. As the season has gone on, their talent depth has finally reached the point where they just don’t have enough players at the end. Vols by 9.

Oklahoma at LSU – Two teams headed in different directions over the course of the season. While LSU is on a doward trend, Oklahoma has shot upwards, especially last week with a surprising win over Alabama where they just dominated the Crimson Tide. Look for them to do that again this week. Sooners by 13.

Florida at Florida State – “Good Grief Game:” Fellow UCA alum Mike Norvell probably isn’t in danger of getting sent placking after he did just that with his offensive and defensive coordinators a couple of weeks ago. But he does have a rivalry game this week and not the team to do much with maybe the hottest team in college football the last few weeks in the Gators. Florida by 26.

Game of the Week

(3) Texas at (20) Texas A&M – There is probably more money riding on this game than nearly all of the county budgets in the state of Arkansas. It’s a battle everywhere from the oil patch to the cattle auctions in Texas over this one and there is over a decade of arrogance, bragging and downright hate built up. Trust me, it will translate to some of the players on both sides. Don’t even look for this one to turn into any kind of a blowout game because there have been some absolutely crazy things happen over the years. But the correct team usually wins it. Hook Em! Longhorns by 5.