Pick’em: Week 9

AUBURN | Each week the AuburnSports.com staff and friends make their predictions on Auburn and top college football games from around the country.

GAMES	J LEE	BILL	CALEB	JAY G
USF at MEM	USF	USF	USF	USF
KSU at KAN	KAN	KAN	KAN	KAN
USU at NM	NM	NM	NM	USU
BYU at ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU
GASO at ARST	ARST	ARST	ARST	ARST
OM at OKL	OKL	OM	OM	OKL
MIZ at VU	VU	VU	VU	VU
TEX at MSU	TEX	TEX	TEX	MSU
TAMU at LSU	TAMU	LSU	TAMU	TAMU
AUB at ARK	AUB	ARK	AUB	AUB

JEFFREY LEE (8-2, 49-21)

Auburn 25-23: No SEC offense has scored more than 22 points in regulation against Auburn’s defense. Neckbrace’s certainly could be the one to do it, but it would not be by much. Can Auburn’s offense score 23 or more? Can Auburn finally win a close game? It will need to find a field goal kicker in order to do so. I think Auburn does. Tigers by two.

BILL CAMERON (9-1, 44-26)

Arkansas 31-20: The Hogs’ offense has been really good all year, but even better since Bobby Petrino has gotten his second chance, and with a couple of wins he can make the most of it. Will the Tigers play Ashton Daniels if Jackson Arnold struggles? No matter, it seems unlikely that Auburn will be able to both slow down the Arkansas offense and score enough to stop the Tigers’ skid.

CALEB JONES (9-1, 42-28)

Auburn 24-20: I’ve picked against Auburn in every single SEC road game this season, but that ends today. With rain forecasted for the game, it may force Hugh Freeze to keep it on the ground a bit more, which I think favors Auburn. I think Auburn can win this game convincingly if it doesn’t force too much. Lose this game? John Cohen might be forced to move quickly…give me the Tigers, though.

JAY G. TATE (6-4, 42-28)

Auburn, 24-21: I’m skeptical about this pick, to be honest. Bob Petrino can score and Hugh Freeze can’t. Yet I genuinely think the Tigers are the better team. So I’ll go with that. As Tub used to say: “Nothing smells like a wet hog.”

GAMES	DAN	JUSTIN	BMATT	COLE
USF at MEM	USF	MEM	USF	USF
KSU at KAN	KAN	KAN	KAN	KAN
USU at NM	NM	USU	USU	USU
BYU at ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU	BYU
GASO at ARST	GASO	ARST	ARST	ARST
OM at OKL	OM	OKL	OKL	OM
MIZ at VU	VU	MIZ	VU	VU
TEX at MSU	TEX	TEX	MSU	MSU
TAMU at LSU	LSU	TAMU	TAMU	LSU
AUB at ARK	ARK	AUB	ARK	AUB

DAN PECK (6-4, 40-30)

Arkansas 27-17: Petrino stuck a dagger in the Tuberville era with an upset win at Auburn in 2008, and Arkansas put an end to Harsin with a thumping in 2022. Will the pigs eat another Auburn coach? 

JUSTIN HOKANSON (8-2, 38-32)

Auburn 27-21: Do I have faith in this pick? Not really. Let’s say Auburn’s running game finds some traction and the defense forces two turnovers.

BRYAN MATTHEWS (8-2, 37-33)

Arkansas 31-20: I’m not sure I’ll pick Auburn against Kentucky or even Mercer. This team is poorly coached on offense and Bobby Petrino will find a way to exploit any weaknesses on defense. Bryan Harsin was fired two days after a 41-27 loss to the Razorbacks. It could be the same for Freeze with a similar result.

COLE PINKSTON (7-3, 37-33)

Auburn 27-21: I’ll take the Tigers again.. Why not? At this point, I think they’re due. I want to see them win one and finish a game, too. So, there is some wishful thinking involved. Then again, Petrino has that offense humming. If Auburn is still dealing with the same offensive issues, we’ve got another dog fight in store.