Beaird’s ACC, SEC picks for Week Seven

Brent Beaird

October 11, 2013 at 10:39 am.

Tyler Murphy has played great after stepping in for Jeff Driskel at quarterback. (Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports)

Let’s take a look at some of the action around the SEC and ACC this Saturday:

SOUTH CAROLINA 21 ARKANSAS 13:  For a team to be 4-1, the Gamecocks have lost too many fumbles and can be dismal on special teams. They lost big leads at home in wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky and beat UCF by three points. The Gamecock secondary has had a rough start, giving up 10 touchdown passes on the year. South Carolina has not won at Arkansas since 2005. They are only 2-8 at Arkansas since 1992. Arkansas has losses to Rutgers, Texas A&M and Florida. Hog quarterbacks have only completed 51 percent of their passes. When Arkansas runs for 251 yards or more this year they are 3-0. When they run for 250 or less they are 0-3.

TEXAS A&M 45 OLE MISS 35: Last season, the Rebels blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in their loss to the Aggies. The Rebels have lost two straight to Alabama and Auburn. Ole Miss has scored only two touchdowns in the last eight quarters. Bo Wallace, who did not throw an interception in the first two games, was picked off twice against Auburn. The struggling Rebel offense could take advantage of an Aggie defense that ranks No. 112 nationally.

GEORGIA 37 MISSOURI 27: Georgia has lost only to Clemson despite giving up 30 or more points in four of its five games. Missouri scored on its first eight possessions against Vandy. Tiger quarterback James Franklin is one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC.  The Tiger secondary has been torched by Indiana, Arkansas State and Vanderbilt. Yet, Georgia’s secondary has only one pick in 164 pass attempts. Bulldog freshman safety Tray Matthews continues to battle hamstring issues. Missouri receivers Dorial Green-Beckham, L’Damian Washington and Maurice Lucas, who are all at least 6-foot-4, present some mismatches. Tiger defensive end Michael Sam had three sacks against Arkansas State and Vanderbilt.  Injuries have ravaged the Bulldogs. After the loss of tailbacks Keith Marshal and Todd Gurley, the Bulldogs are down to true freshman J.J. Green at tailback.

LSU 24 FLORIDA 20: LSU has been one of the country’s top scoring offenses at 45.5 points per game. Florida has been one of the country’s top scoring defenses at 12.2 points per game. Gator quarterback Tyler Murphy is completing 72.2 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and only one interception. LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger leads the SEC in touchdown passes (15) and yards per attempt (11.1). The Gators are allowing a league-low 152.0 passing yards per game, and a league-low 65.0 yards rushing per game. Florida leads the nation in time of possession averaging 37:39 a game.  The kicking game favors LSU. The Gators have hit just 5 of 9 field goal attempts, while LSU’s Colby Delahoussaye has hit all seven of his tries.  LSU taiback Jeremy Hill has at least 100 yards in three of the last four games and has scored nine touchdowns. Florida has won four of the last seven games at LSU going back to 1997.

ALABAMA35 KENTUCKY 10: Kentucky has given three straight top-15 teams-Louisville, Florida and South Carolina- a tussle. The Crimson Tide struggled to stop Texas A&M’s high-powered attack, but has allowed only one touchdown (Virginia Tech) in its other four games.

VIRGINIA TECH 17 PITT 13:  Pitt has three wins in a row after losing to Florida State in the opener. Virginia Tech has won five in a row. Hokie quarterback Logan Thomas hasn’t thrown an interception in two games and has completed at least 67 percent of his passes. Despite returning eight starters, Pitt ranks tenth in the ACC in total defense and has forced just seven turnovers — and recorded nine sacks in four games. A big concern for the Panthers will be an offensive line that has allowed 13 sacks this season. The Hokies lead the ACC in total defense (263.7 ypg) and have 19 sacks and 16 turnovers.

CLEMSON 35 BOSTON COLLEGE 17: Boston College running back Andre Williams leads the ACC with 153.6 rushing yards per game. Clemson’s defense is ranked No. 12 in the conference against the run. Clemson allowed Syracuse to run for 323 yards last week. Quarterback Tajh Boyd has completed 66 percent of his throws and is averaging 289.8 yards per game. Boston College’s defense has allowed at least 27 points in each of its last three games, including 48 to Florida State. The Tigers have won 13 straight games by at least 10 points against unranked opponents, the second-longest streak in the nation behind Alabama.