It is Week Five in 2025, and SEC Football is starting to warm up.
Leave it up to Andy Hodges to get a zinger on me even when I am plagiarizing song lyrics. The “Lyin’ eyes” reference from the Eagles was a nice touch. I will also give him his props.
He picked the game to be a two-point Razorbacks’ victory, and had we not turned the ball over late in the red zone, the look seemed to be a field goal to give us exactly that margin.
But as fate would show me once again I may never have a good football team for which to cheer, the Hogs lost to Memphis. Yes, Memphis.
Given how poorly Arkansas fared against the Tigers Saturday, instead of the initial soft rock I had stuck in my head earlier in the week, I ended up singing the blues.
Honestly, I have never been so mad after a loss as I was the one to Memphis this past weekend. It really soured me on not only the state of Arkansas football, but at least one member of the coaching staff and/or administration as well.
And that’s hard to do for me.
Many could correctly check the “Homer” box next to my profile and be almost completely accurate. You could also choose the “Needs to Diet” option to further increase your average.
But the season rolls along, and so do we. Let’s get into the chaos that is the SEC, shall we?
SEC Picks for Week 5
(22) Notre Dame at Arkansas – I will save this for my piece on the upcoming game.
Utah State at (18) Vanderbilt – The Commodores are ranked, and they are undefeated. [See my Mississippi State take below for more information.] They host the Aggies this weekend in Nashville, and Utah State is almost as hard to predict as Vanderbilt. The Aggies play up and down as far as their overall performance goes. A team they should easily beat stays withing respectable distance to them, but then they put up a decent effort against Texas A&M in the second half. Maybe I simply have them overrated in my head. Regardless, Vandy is favored to win this game by 22.5 points, and while I would have guessed a letdown by the Commodores at this point in the season, I think this season’s team has enough to get off to a 5-0 start. Vandy by 18.
Auburn at (9) Texas A&M – The Tigers hopped into and back out of the Top 25 quicker than a lady friend of Hugh Freeze into his hotel room. This does not mean Auburn is a slack team the No. 9 Aggies can take for granted as a ‘W’. A&M head coach Mike Elko has done a phenomenal job repairing the mess Jimbo Fisher left him. If I am not mistaken, this is the Aggies’ 14th year in the SEC. Right now, mildly dependent upon how Notre Dame looks against Arkansas, this season is A&M’s best shot to get to get into the playoffs. They are not allowing the Tigers to stand in their way. Aggies by 14.
PETE’S SEC GAME OF THE WEEK
(4) LSU at (13) Ole Miss – Man, two of the three most obnoxious (or dare I say “dorky”) coaches in the SEC square off in an early season match-up which will be a factor in who will win the SEC Championship and earn a berth into the playoffs. Bonus points if you can guess the third.
Who will win this one? Let’s look at some subjective aspects. The balance of talent favoring the Tigers is offset by the fact the game is being played in Oxford. The Rebels are hard to beat at home, especially with that annoying habit by the announcer every time they get a first down. Hate it as I might, his drawn-out “Ooooooole Miss” can get into the heads of the opponents thus creating an advantage.
To make this game even more difficult to pick, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has starting quarterback Austin Simmons available following his ankle injury. Second string quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has been playing exceptionally in keeping the Rebs undefeated. He did, as many of you know, lead the Ferris State Bulldogs to a D-II National Championship last season, so the lack of a drop-off at the QB position was no surprise.
LSU is tough, but they are not the juggernaut that generally comes with a national No. 3 ranking. In fact, their performances against three schools who have all proven to be in the bottom half of the nation have all been less than stellar. Clemson, LA Tech, and Florida have a combined record of 5-7, and LSU has only outscored them by a total of 33-points. Take LA Tech out of the equation, and that drops to 2-6 and 17-points. That’s not good folks.
Ole Miss has a lot of talent and momentum. LSU is struggling slightly under the radar. I hate to call it an upset, but I will. Rebels by 10.
(15) Tennessee at Mississippi State – Mississippi State, like Vandy, is unbeaten four weeks into 2025. Unlike the Commodores, they are not ranked. However, let that sink in for a moment. The Bulldogs, in just four games, have tied the number of wins they have had in the past two seasons combined, and both they and Vandy are undefeated. If it were not for Florida being so bad, and South Carolina underachieving, the Hogs would be underneath their comfort zone of third from the bottom of the cellar in the SEC
But this game is not about records nor Razorbacks. No, it is State’s first conference test of the season, and they could not have drawn much worse than a talented Volunteer team which is playing better with their second choice at quarterback (as opposed to one of the opportunistic Iamaleava brothers), Joey Aguilar. The Vols have far superior talent, and, for the time being, somewhat of a better coaching staff, but the Bulldogs have grit. I am just not certain it is enough to overcome Tennessee. Hang with them? Yes. Beat them, even at home? No. Vols by 7.
(17) Alabama at (5) Georgia – Nine seasons out of ten this would by my “SEC Game of the Week”, but not so fast, my friend. Neither of these teams are the same as they were two seasons ago. Yes, the Bulldogs have their undefeated record, but they are not showing the dominance as we have become accustomed to under Kirby Smart. They seemed to have defensive lulls against Tennessee leading up to overtime, and they even let Austin Peay hang around until the end of the third quarter. Granted, the latter was due to their offense.
This is not your Uncle Saban’s Crimson Tide team either. In the season opener against Florida State, they looked like they were still hungover from the loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. A beatdown over a cupcake and a decent showing against a very down Wisconsin Badgers team does not instill the confidence in the fans nor the players for Alabama. The Tide will hang high, but they will eventually crash. Georgia by 18.
“Good Grief Game”
UMASS at (20) Missouri – Missouri’s offense will … Who am I kidding? Tigers by 40.
Kentucky at South Carolina – The loser of this game is moving to the bottom of the SEC rankings, because Florida is off, the Hogs are playing non-conference, and Tennessee is not going to lose. Man, what a difference a few weeks can make. It is like watching a Kardashian get married. Happy for a week or two, then misery until a divorce springs new hope. Who will no longer be an SEC coach first, Mark Stoops or Shane Beamer? Place your bets folks… Uh, not you, Sam Pittman. Gamecocks by 10.
Here’s to a boy named Eddie and his Grandma! Love, like Prayer, has no limits.
Go HOGS!!!
