after taming, and then embarrassing, the Gators two Saturdays ago. Everyone knew the Tide would be good defensively again this season, but the new found offensive effectiveness was not anticipated. The offensive explosion against a very good Gator defense was particularly impressive.

The Tide rolls into the Grove to battle the homestanding Rebels. These Rebels aren’t very good at attacking or defending. Anything can happen on a given Saturday, but “given” Saturdays don’t come that often during a season.

Defensively, the Tide should be able to shut down an anemic Rebel offense. Offensively, the Tide offense should roll against a no-better-than average Rebel defense. Tide rolls 31-6.

AUBURN at ARKANSAS

All the Tigers have to do to win this game is to be able to control the Hog ground attack, which can be explosive on any play. The Hogs have two great freshmen tailbacks and two good veteran tailbacks. All four have recorded 100-yd performances in at least one game this season.

The Tiger offense has been getting better week by week and shouldn’t have much problem with a subpar Hog defense. The Tiger defense shouldn’t have much problem with an anemic Hog passing attack.

The Tigers jaunt into Fayetteville and quickly get the Hogs squealing, 35-13.

GEORGIA at VANDERBILT

Needless to write, the Dawgs have a huge talent advantage in this contest. Man for man, the Commodores just don’t match up with the Dogs. However, these Commodores don’t raise the white flag as quickly as they have in most of their past.

The Dawgs have to be feeling good after passing their biggest test (Tennessee) of the season. Their biggest problem against Vanderbilt may be their focus. Realistically, only Auburn and Florida are good enough to deny the Dawgs an undefeated season. But, the Dawgs cannot think that way. If they are focused, they will win this game by 10 or more points.

The Commodores were dominated statistically last Saturday in their game against LSU. However, they hung tough on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. Even while the Tigers were putting points on the board, the Commodores were still giving very good effort.

Even though the Commodores will play with a lot of heart, that heart won’t be able to overcome the Dawgs’ decided talented advantage. Dawgs win 30-10.

FLORIDA at LSU

This is a game that will separate the pretenders from the contenders. Neither team is living up to preseason expectations.

Even though the Gators are 5-1, they have been getting it done without an offense that can compete with the better defenses. The Gator defense has been above average.

The LSU defense is coming off its best performance of the season and has made tremendous strides in pass defense. It will be a stiff test for a Gator offense that is giving up a lot of QB sacks and has problems running the ball. The Tiger defense blitzed veteran and coaches’ preseason All-SEC QB Jay Cutler silly last Saturday.

The Tigers are much more physical than the Gators. They will harass Gator QB all game long and stymie the Gator ground game. This game will be close only if the Gator defense plays to the top of its game.

Tigers win 24-13.