THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER

We hit a little speed bump last weekend, going 4-4 in our overall picks. Not our best but we did hit on our UPSET SPECIAL with South Carolina upending the hapless Vols, 15-9, in one of the worst displays of game management in the last 2 minutes of that contest.

The good news: we're still sitting at a lofty 69% overall with season to date picks (see the nifty chart). That's a pretty stout percentage and it's making us a heaping, steaming pile of freshly printed greenbacks. Cha ching.

Week Eight brings us some top games that have championship ramifications as the season heads into its second half. Southern Cal visits the Vatican. Michigan heads to Happy Valley. Louisville plays in Tally Town.

We've seen our share of this great Classic

And, of course, it's the Third Saturday in October which features the annual match up of Tennessee and Alabama.

While this may not be the marquee game of seasons past, it's still a special game featuring two of the South's oldest rivals. No question that the series has been streaky, and Bama has had the upper hand of late. But most of the games between these two schools have been pretty tight. And if you like college football, then you'll love watching the Big Orange and the Crimson Tide knock heads.

The Master and the Pupil. Dig the game-day attire.

My first "live" experience was in 1973 at Legion Field in Birmingham. ABC, with Keith "Whoa Nellie" Jackson, was on hand to broadcast this nationally televised game. #10 Tennessee, coached by Bama alum Bill Battle (one of the youngest coaches at the time), entered the game at 5-0. The Vols were led by the legendary quarterback, Condredge Holloway, from nearby Huntsville, Alabama.

The atmosphere was thick with excitement with fans hanging from the upper decks of rickety Legion Field. And it was loud! And oh so hot!

The Vols played Bear Bryant's #2 Crimson Tide nose to nose and entered the fourth quarter, 21-21; an upset in the making. Then all hell broke loose.

Seldom used player, Robin Cary, returned a Tennessee punt for 64 yards for pay dirt. Then one of the biggest tailbacks I've ever seen, #80 Wilbur Jackson, broke off an 80 yard touchdown run. After a fumbled kickoff was cashed in for another Tide touchdown, Alabama was sitting on top of a 42-21 victory.

It was a tough loss for us Vol fans, and made for a long ride back to Knoxville. But it was a helluva experience to witness first hand what great Southern football was all about and one that this guy will never forget. A tip of the houndstooth hat to my Alabama friends.

We couldn't let this weekend slip by without getting some words of wisdom from two of our worthy members, Kenny Clyde from Alabama-land.

INSIDE INSIGHT FROM KENNY CLYDE

Kenny Clyde: he may run for office

Well it's the Third Saddidy in Hoctoba, the traditional date of one of the most traditional match-ups in college football history:  UT/Bama!

All over K'ville this week, snot-nosed English majors are runnin' around with puke orange tee shirts saying BEAT BAMA!

I only bring that up to show the difference between those east Tennessee booger-eaters and our fine young men and women in Tuscaloosa, who's shirts read "BEAT EVERYBODY!"

But, I digest...

The real story heah is the Vol's semi-annual trip down to The Capstone of Higher Education for their (mostly) annual ass whuppin. (Since this clash began in 1901, Bama leads the series 54-38-7, with UT's last win coming in 2006.) More to the point, ole Sgt. Carter's beady little pitbull eyes haven't seen a winning number on his side of the Bryant-Denny scoreboard since.....never!

And I 'spect he'll leave teary-eyed this Saddidy, knowing that it will be his last trip.

The Tide is again on a roll again this year, with a #1 SEC rankings in yards and points per game, at 484 and 42.7.  UT brings up the SEC rear at #14 with 320 and 21.7.

The sad fact is that UT's great RB John Kelly's rushing total is 6 yards behind Bama's QB! (552 to 558, for those of you mathematically inclined but unable to remove your work boots right now to count it yourself.)  And Damien Harris has 622 by hissef!  (Expect to see him plus our other 3 All-Americans all day.)

'Bout now, if you are one of those orange overall wearing checkerheads you're thinking, "yeah, but we might get some critical turnovers to upset the Champs."  Well sorry Trafficcone, Bama leads in interceptions 10-2, and sacks 19-13.

However, there is a bright spot for UT in the kicking game, despite the unusual drought in the Colquit gene pool.  Returner Marquez Callaway is #2 in the SEC.  And punter Trevon Daniel is #3 SEC, with a 48 yard average in 35 attempts.

Poor ole Bama's punter doesn't get as much practice, and has only made 22. All in all, it looks like its gonna be a clear, blue sky Bama perfect day in T'town, and a safe bet to take Bama despite the 34 point odds. 

I pawned old Momma Hendrick's teeth to do it--so should you.

THE GREAT EIGHT™ for WEEK EIGHT

When you lose Food Lion

TENNESSEE @ #1 ALABAMA...the Vols haven't scored a touchdown in the last ten quarters and are turning to their red shirt freshman QB, hoping to generate some kind of offense. But that's only part of the problem. The bigger issue is the peculiar game decisions made by Butch Jones in which often the best playmakers are not being utilized, or running the same plays that defenses know are coming. All of which have landed Jones squarely on the hot seat. This could be another blow out for the Tide as Saban is fine tuning their game for another championship run. The line is too tempting (35.5 points) and we think that Tennessee will somehow keep the Tide from covering. So take Tennessee and the points. Bama wins; does not cover.

#11 SOUTHERN CAL @ #9 NOTRE DAME...oh what a difference a year makes! This time last year Irish head coach Brian Kelly was close to being run out of South Bend. Now his 5-1 team are poised to make a serious run for the College Football Playoff. But first they need to knock off the emerging Trojans (6-1). While both teams can put up points, the defenses will set the tone with the Irish coming out of top. Take Notre Dame over the Trojans.

OREGON @ UCLA...the wounded Ducks will flap their way to Pasadena having lost their last two games while UCLA is coming off of a loss to Arizona. The once high flying Ducks have scored just 7 and 10 points respectively in their previous two games. Meanwhile Josh Rosen has been a bright spot for the Bruins as he averages over 400 passing yards per game and has 17 passing TDs so far. The downside for UCLA: their defense which gives up an average of 523 yards per game. Ouch. We think Rosen will have a strong outing and the Bruin defense will do just enough to trim the wings of the Ducks. Take the Bruins over the Ducks.

#19 MICHIGAN @ #2 PENN STATE...the undefeated Nittany Lions are starting to roar under the leadership of head coach James Franklin but they face a killer stretch with Michigan, Ohio State, followed by Michigan State. Penn State's rb Saqoun Barkley has emerged as a Heisman candidate and qb Trace McSorely is coming into his own. But this game will be decided by defense. Penn State is number one in the FBS scoring defense, allowing only 9 points per game. The Wolverines are number one in total defense, giving up just 223 yards per game. So this game has a little of everything: strong offense and even stronger defense. We think the Wolverine offense will continue to struggle. Penn State chews the Wolverines.

WAKE FOREST @ GEORGIA TECH...the Jackets are still stinging after a close, soggy loss to Miami. If losing the game wasn't bad enough, Tech's leading tackler, lb Brant Mitchell will miss this game due to injury, as well as the starting kicker, Shawn Davis, loss for the season with a torn ACL. The good news, KirVonte Benson is cleared and ready to pick up where he left off as one of Tech's leading rushers. The series with the Deacs is pretty lopsided with the Bees owning Wake 22-8. It should be a perfect, dry night and a fast track for Tech's triple option. Jackets sting the Deacons at Bobby Dodd.

#24 LSU @ MISSISSIPPI...can Coach O keep it happening? The guy was on the hot seat just two short weeks ago and now is winning the hearts and souls of the LSU faithful after beating Auburn and Florida. Remarkable. But if LSU thinks it can waltz out of Oxford with an easy win, they better think twice. Ole Miss has a high flying aerial game; the best passing game in the SEC, averaging over 357 yards per game. And the Rebel run game ranks 6th in the conference with 191 yards per game. We think the Rebs will be up for this game. Take Ole Miss over the Tigers.

LOUISVILLE @ FLORIDA STATE...this game was originally projected to be a slug fest between two Top Ten teams. Well, that was back in August. Louisville (4-3) limps into Tallahassee coming off of two straight losses and searching for answers. Meanwhile FSU (2-3) is trying to find itself as well. If anything, the Cardinals can put up points, which we think they will do on Saturday. In an UPSET SPECIAL, Cardinals fly high over the 'Noles.

IOWA @ NORTHWESTERN...this game features two teams that are so evenly matched. If you look at all the metrics - offense, defense - and personnel, the numbers are all very close. So what will make the difference? The Wildcats qb Thorson is prone to throwing INTs; 9 so far. And that could make a huge difference as turnovers could decide this game. Take the Hawkeyes over the 'Cats.

MAKE MO' MONEY with MARK™