Mark Edwards: Picking the Tigers to get their first SEC win

Oct. 28—Alabama is off, while Jacksonville State finally gets a break from mid-week games, not having to play again until next Saturday.

Auburn, however, must host Mississippi State, and it marks the Tigers' best chance to win a conference game. If not this week, there's Vanderbilt and Arkansas the next two weeks.

Mississippi State (4-3) at Auburn (3-4): The Bulldogs may be without quarterback Will Rogers, who has an injured left shoulder. Without him, MSU scored only seven points last week against Arkansas, but still won 7-3.

By this point in the season, you're pretty much who the numbers say you are, and the Tigers' numbers say they aren't very good. They're 12th in the league in scoring offense, 13th in total offense, 10th in scoring defense and 10th in total defense. They're last in passing efficiency and in pass offense. Only three other SEC teams have thrown more interceptions.

But, Auburn is at home, and Mississippi State is a struggling team with quarterback issues piled on top. ... Auburn 24, Mississippi State 17

No. 1 Georgia (7-0) vs. Florida (5-2): Georgia's strength of schedule has been so bad this year that either the Gators or Kentucky will be the Bulldogs' strongest opponent so far this season. It will change. After facing Florida, they'll play No. 16 Missouri, No. 12 Ole Miss and No. 21 Tennessee. ... Georgia 34, Florida 21

Brigham Young at No. 7 Texas (6-1): Did you know BYU is in the Big 12 now? Yeah, I forgot about that, too. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers sprained the AC joint in his shoulder last week against Houston and is slated to miss this game. Maalik Murphy — not Arch Manning — will start in his place.

This is the same injury Alabama's Bryce Young endured last year. He missed only one game, but it was a good month before he looked like himself again. ... Texas 31, BYU 18

No. 8 Oregon (6-1) at No. 13 Utah (6-1): ESPN's College Gameday program will broadcast from this game. Utah has one of the top defenses West of the Southeastern Conference, and Bryson Barnes is surging at quarterback for the Utes. But, again, Oregon's Bo Nix has become a better quarterback than he ever was at Auburn. He has 19 touchdown passes against one interception this year. ... Oregon 31, Utah 17

No. 24 Southern California (6-2) at California (3-4): Cal isn't very good. They lost at home to Auburn earlier this year. USC is still in the Pac-12 race, although that's not much of a consolation for a program that had national title hopes until losing to Utah last week. ... Southern California 42, California 24

No. 21 Tennessee (5-2) at Kentucky (5-2): If Vols fans are to be believed, their team should be 6-1 after all those supposed missed calls by the officials in last week's loss to Alabama. Sorry guys, if you get outscored 27-0 in the second half, the officials should be the last folks you look at. ... Kentucky 27, Tennessee 24.

Colorado (4-3) at No. 23 UCLA (5-2): Deion Sanders has done a great job of getting the attention of the sport to his school and team. Win or lose, they're always exciting.

Even so, it's concerning that Colorado is only 66th in the 247sports.com recruiting rankings. The transfer portal is nice, but you'd think all this attention would result in some high-profile commitments. ... UCLA 45, Colorado 44, 3OT

No. 6 Oklahoma (7-0) at Kansas (5-2): The Sooners haven't lost to the Jayhawks since 1997. ... Oklahoma 45, Kansas 35

No. 5 Washington (7-0) at Stanford (2-5): Washington has won 14 straight, and Michael Penix Jr. is the best quarterback you haven't heard about. After this one, the Huskies will have to handle USC on the road, Utah at home and Oregon State on the road. ... Washington 51, Stanford 22

Vanderbilt (2-6) at No. 12 Ole Miss (6-1): Vanderbilt has allowed more points than anyone in the SEC, and the Rebels are averaging nearly 40 a game. ... Ole Miss 80, Vanderbilt 12

Last week: 9-1. Missed on Utah's win over Southern California. I picked USC 38-35, but Utah won 34-32.

Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.