SEC+3: Week Eight Picks

Last week, we saw a couple top five teams almost bite the bullet, but Clemson and Ohio State both used overtime to thwart potential upsets. Alabama, however, showed us all why the Crimson Tide is the top-ranked team in the country with a 49-10 domination of Tennessee. The play of freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts stimulated discussion of him being a serious Heisman Trophy contender. Alabama faces another big game with (6) Texas A&M Saturday in Tuscaloosa and is one of three games featuring top 25 opponents in the SEC West. Here's our standings after seven:

Griff: 65-18
Keister: 63-20
Godsey: 62-21

Here's our picks going into week eight:

Massachusetts vs. South Carolina

Keister: Regardless of who takes the snaps for the Gamecocks Saturday, South Carolina will get a big boost from young offensive skill players throughout the game. The teams will exchange scores a few times in the first half with Carolina pulling away mid way through the second half. That's when the Gamecocks will close this game out and get head coach Will Muschamp's squad a much needed win.

The Pick: South Carolina 33 Massachusetts 21

Godsey: The Gamecocks should come away with a much needed victory.

The Pick: South Carolina 38 Massachusetts 17

Griff: The Gamecocks host the Minutemen after a much-needed bye week. The rumor around Columbia is that South Carolina might start true freshman Jake Bentley over Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain. I don’t believe burning Bentley’s redshirt is the best idea, but if Will Muschamp and Kurt Roper think it gives the Gamecocks a chance to get to six wins, then maybe it’s a good idea. The Minutemen feature one of the worst pass defenses in the FBS, so perhaps it would be a good weekend to start a freshman. Anyways, if the Gamecocks can’t score points this weekend, things are worse than we thought for the South Carolina offense. The South Carolina offense has a good chance of scoring the most points of the year in this matchup.

 The Pick: South Carolina 31 Massachusetts 17

(6) Texas A&M vs. (1) Alabama

Keister: The Aggies will give the Tide a more tightly contested game than last week's top 10 matchup blowout victory. It won't be enough to pull out a victory in Tuscaloosa, though. The Alabama defense will create havoc and neutralize the dual threat abilities of Trevor Knight, making him one dimensional. Jalen Hurts will continue to wow fans and be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses.

The Pick: Alabama 37 Texas A&M 20

Godsey: Folks, Alabama is playing on a higher level than any other team in the country. Every team has flaws, but the Tide is playing almost perfect football. Aggie quarterback Trevor Knight has torched Alabama before as a Sooner, so I get he will start the game with confidence and make it good game. I have to pick 'Bama in this one, though.

The Pick: Alabama 34 Texas A&M 21

Griff: I'm not seeing a week where I go against Alabama for the rest of the year. The most complete team in the country gets a complete win this week over the Aggies.

The Pick: Alabama 38 Texas A&M 20

Middle Tennessee vs. Missouri

Keister: The Middle Tennessee passing attack gives Missouri fits in a upset special Saturday.

The Pick: Middle Tennessee 33 Missouri 24

Godsey: Middle Tennessee will have a hangover from a double overtime victory last week against Western Kentucky. Combine that with an SEC opponent on the road, and it will be a problem for the Blue Raiders. Missouri has their own issues, but the Tigers will be okay.

The Pick: Missouri 41 Middle Tennessee 27

Griff: Last week was an absolute disaster for the Tigers in Gainesville against the Gators, and this game isn’t particularly a “tune-up” where Missouri will be able to just destroy Middle Tennessee. This being said, the Tigers defense is good enough to get a nice non-conference win, but the game will be closer than most predict.

The Pick: Missouri 35 Middle Tennessee 27

(17) Arkansas vs. (21) Auburn

Keister: Neither offense will explode in this one at Jordan-Hare. Both defenses will be well prepared, and this will be a gritty game. In the end, it'll be the better quarterback play from Arkansas that wins this game for the Razorbacks down the stretch. This game will likely come down to a field goal miss or a mistake, allowing Arkansas to head back home with a big conference win.

The Pick: Arkansas 23 Auburn 21

Godsey: This is a big game for both teams. Auburn needs to win if the Tigers want to remain near the top of the division, and Arkansas wants to get back to .500 in SEC play. I expect this to be a really good game, but that Auburn defense will slow the Hogs. Auburn will win this one, and there'll be toilet paper in the trees at Toomer's Corner.

The Pick: Auburn 37 Arkansas 31

Griff: The Razorbacks gained some nice momentum to the 2016 season last week at home with a 4-point victory over Chad Kelly and Ole Miss. This game is the second scheduled top 25 matchup in the SEC West this weekend, and each remaining week of the regular season will have at least one of these exciting games. I like Auburn in this game because of the Tigers ability to run the football out of multiple looks, and if Auburn can get consistent quarterback play out of Sean White for four quarters, the Tigers will get another win. This game could easily go either way, and whichever team wins will take a nice step forward.

The Pick: Auburn 31 Arkansas 30

Mississippi State vs. Kentucky

Keister: Inconsistent quarterback play plagues both teams as well as defense. The one-two punch of Boom Williams and Benjimen Snell propels the Wildcats to a big home victory Saturday night to make Kentucky 3-2 in the conference play.

The Pick: Kentucky 27 Mississippi State 17

Godsey: Mississippi State has been really struggling this season. I’m going to go out on a limb and pick Kentucky at home.

The Pick: Kentucky 24 Mississippi State 20

Griff: The Bulldogs have had a tough two-game skid and are on the road for a second-straight week. Luckily for Mississippi State fans, the Bulldogs will travel to Lexington to face a less-talented Kentucky team. The Bulldogs will need to turn to the running game, and Kentucky will have trouble with Mississippi State up front.

The Pick: Mississippi State 45 Kentucky 27

Tennessee State vs. Vanderbilt

Keister: Coach Mason will avoid the let down game after last weeks win against Georgia.

The Pick: Vanderbilt 35 Tennessee State 10

Godsey: There is no reason why Vanderbilt should lose this game, unless the Commodores play iron man football or forfeit. I should be safe with picking Vanderbilt.

The Pick: Vanderbilt 35 Tennessee State 13

Griff: Vanderbilt strings together a second win in as many weeks.

The Pick: Vanderbilt 31 Tennessee State 13

(23) Ole Miss vs. (25) LSU

Keister: After last week's tough loss to Arkansas, it doesn't get any easier for Ole Miss traveling into Baton Rouge against a former Ole Miss coach at that. The Tigers will be up and amped for this one and will find big success in the power running game. The Rebels will leave an opponent's field dissapointed for the second week in a row.

The Pick: LSU 27 Ole Miss 23

Godsey:  The difference in this game will be the LSU defense. I think the Tigers slow the Rebel offense down, and LSU should be able to move the ball well. It should be a good, low scoring game.

The Pick: LSU 27 Ole Miss 24

Griff: Another Ole Miss loss by a late mistake for the second week in a row. Plus, we get to see Leonard Fournette back this week.

The Pick: LSU 28 Ole Miss 27

North Carolina State vs. (7) Louisville

Keister's Pick: Louisville 41 North Carolina State 23

Godsey's Pick: Louisville 37 North Carolina State 28

Griff's Pick: Louisville 34 North Carolina State 17

(10) Wisconsin vs. Iowa

Keister's Pick: Wisconsin 33 Iowa 13

Godsey's Pick: Wisconsin 30 Iowa 20

Griff's Pick: Wisconsin 41 Iowa 20

(2) Ohio State vs. Penn State

Keister's Pick: Ohio State 42 Penn State 17

Godsey's Pick: Ohio State 41 Penn State 24

Griff's Pick: Ohio State 48 Penn State 20

If you missed out on the podcast, check out the week eight podcast by pressing the play button below.

Be sure to like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/GriffinsStartingLineup

Follow us on Twitter: @griffaldo @GSL_SECPlus3

As always, thanks for reading!!!