[Nickelicious]

I like Tennessee -3 at home against Kentucky.
Tennessee has been steadily improving since their loss to Alabama and I have picked up three winners in a row backing them the last three weeks. At 5-6, they need this home victory to get first-year coach Dooley into a bowl game, and with the momentum and confidence they have been building up for the past month, I expect them to roll to a comfortable win here.

Kentucky has been very competitive this year, but they already have their six wins, this is not a Rivalry game, they seem to start sluggishly in most games, and they haven't beaten Tennessee in over 25 years. Wildcats coach Joker Phillips even admitted before their last game with Vanderbilt that it was important for Kentucky to become bowl eligible before heading to Knoxville. He said that because he knows how tough it will be to win against the Vols. Yet Kentucky still trailed lowly Vanderbilt at halftime of last week's game before rallying for a win and securing a bowl game.

Tennessee will ride the crest of their momentum and 100,000 hometown fans to cover the small spread and get into a bowl game of their own.

I like Mississippi State -2.5 on road against Ole Miss.
Ole Miss has been up and down all year and they will play hard for coach Nutt, but the Bulldogs are going to be too much for the Rebels. Mississippi State has lost two in a row to Alabama and Arkansas, but after facing two top 15 teams the Bulldogs will be licking their chops to face a team that is below average on defense against both the run and, especially, the pass.

If you've watched much of the Bulldogs games this year, like last week against Arkansas, you know they have quite a bit more talent than an Ole Miss team that is already out of the bowl picture and still a year away from being competitive again. With a win this Saturday, the Bulldogs are probably playing on New Year's Day, but who knows where they might end up with their third straight loss. The home crowd in this intra-state rivalry will not be much of a factor if the Bulldogs get up early as I expect them to.

[Nickelicious]

My post about these games didn't get any replies but there were a fair number of reads, so I thought I would come back to crow about two relatively easy wins on my two college football picks this Saturday. I had minor plays on several other college teams and split wins and losses, but these were the two I was most confident about. They both played out almost exactly as I expected, especially with the Bulldogs getting up big in the 1st half and then holding off a late charge by Ole Miss.

These two wins were key factors in several big parlays I have that will wrap up with the NFL on Sunday, so hopefully my good luck continues.