Football 2016: Week Nine

After last week's big confrontation with Number 1 Alabama, which exposed every area of vulnerability on the team, Texas A&M faces New Mexico State (2-5) as a 43.5 point favorite. There's no reason this shouldn't be a get-well-quick game for the Aggies and College Football News forecasts a 50-13 romp. UPDATE 9:56 PM SATURDAY: The prediction was pretty close. Texas A&M won 52-10, and looked fairly solid in all phases, considering that several starters were sitting out with injuries. I like to watch games in which Sumlin is able to play most of his team, and tonight I was impressed by the performance of a freshman RB named Bussey.

The CBS showcase game at 2:30 is Florida vs Georgia at Jacksonville. The Gators are the favorite at 7.5 points, but CFN thinks Georgia will win a 23-20 upset. UPDATE: Florida came away with a 24-10 victory.

Auburn (5-2) plays Ole Miss (3-4) as a narrow 4.5 point favorite. This game is on TV at the same time as the A&M game, so I won't see much of it, if any. Ole Miss has a good offense, and I've been worried about them all season. CFN predicts this will be a 37-30 win for Auburn. UPDATE: That A&M win against Auburn is looking more impressive now. Ole Miss falls to 3-5 in a 40-29 loss. The Rebels may be more beatable than I expected.

The other SEC games and the CFN score predictions~

• Kentucky (4-3) at Missouri (2-5) - Missouri wins 37-31. UPDATE: Thank you, Kentucky, for beating Missouri 35-21. I hate Missouri.
• Mississippi State (2-5) vs Samford (6-1) - Mississippi State gets the win 44-27. UPDATE: It wasn't dominant but MSU got a crucial win 56-41. That defense gave up 627 yards to go with the 41 points, so I'll be interested to see what A&M can do next week.
• Tennessee (5-2) at South Carolina (3-4) - The Volunteers win easily 31-14. UPDATE: Hold on there. Hard as it is to believe, South Carolina stuns the SEC with a 24-21 upset win. Tennessee hasn't been the same since losing to A&M in overtime. 

In the BDF, Baylor is at Texas (2:30 PM on ABC). God, I hate 'em both, but my preference would be the bears stomping the Strong horns in Austin, just on general principles. This is a must-win game for the Strong horns, and CFN expects they'll prevail in a shootout 41-37. UPDATE: Fuck Baylor. This is the only game I wanted them to win, and they blew it out their ass. The Strong horns steal a 35-34 win, ending Baylor's national championship fantasy.