A Hogs win could offer dilemma

Friday, January 1, 1904

Should Arkansas win at LSU on Friday and Alabama win at Auburn on Saturday, voters across the country will have to decide how to rank the three elite SEC West teams.

OTHER PICKSMiami 24, Boston College 12N.C. State 28, Maryland 9Virginia Tech 23, Virginia 20North Carolina 35, Duke 21Texas A&M 26, Texas 23Mich. St. 19, Northwestern 14West Virginia 31, Pittsburgh 26Baylor 40, Texas Tech 25Boise State 42, Wyoming 7Nebraska 17, Iowa 10Michigan 20, Ohio State 19Fla. International 24, MTSU 10Oklahoma 55, Iowa State 24Wisconsin 38, Penn State 13Southern Cal 41, UCLA 16Stanford 37, Notre Dame 28Oregon 52, Oregon State 31

Those voters include six SEC coaches who participate in the USA Today poll. The six are Alabama's Nick Saban and LSU's Les Miles -- two who would be involved in the dilemma -- as well as Auburn's Gene Chizik, Georgia's Mark Richt, South Carolina's Steve Spurrier and Vanderbilt's James Franklin.

"To me, they would all be about the same," Spurrier said Wednesday. "Of course, LSU has played the tougher schedule, so you've got to give them credit for that. They've played West Virginia and Oregon, but I don't know. I think I'm going to wait until Sunday morning and figure out who to vote for depending on what happens."

Franklin's Commodores could have made this a moot point had they not fumbled inside the Arkansas 5-yard line with a 28-20 lead on Oct. 29, but he wouldn't have a problem moving the Hogs past LSU.

"You would have to consider it given the success that they've had and what they've done," Franklin said. "They've got an opportunity this week."

Pasquali's Pix:

Arkansas at LSU: Then again, what if the Tigers keep winning and look impressive doing it? Tigers 38, Razorbacks 23.

Georgia at Georgia Tech: This should be a nice half-and-half crowd to prepare the Bulldogs for next week's SEC title game. Bulldogs 35, Yellow Jackets 24.

Tennessee at Kentucky: UK second-year coach Joker Phillips was a senior Wildcats receiver in 1984, which was the last time they defeated Tennessee. Volunteers 26, Wildcats 13.

Alabama at Auburn: The Tigers have won 14 straight at Jordan-Hare and have captured a national championship since the last time Bama came to town. Crimson Tide 34, Tigers 9.

Vanderbilt at Wake Forest: One Commodores trend Franklin could stand to reverse is their November record, which is 5-44 over the last 15 seasons. Demon Deacons 24, Commodores 21.

Ole Miss at Mississippi State: MSU tackle Addison Lawrence added some spice to the Egg Bowl when he said of the reeling Rebels, "If we jump on them, I think they'll kind of lay down." Bullies 31, Rebels 12.

Florida State at Florida: Spurrier on whether he and Bobby Bowden could have shared a beach condo like Will Muschamp and Jimbo Fisher do: "We didn't get along with them as well as they do now, that's for sure." Seminoles 27, Gators 20.

Clemson at South Carolina: Both teams have nine wins for the first time in the history of this rivalry that has been played 108 times. Tigers 19, Gamecocks 16.

Last week:

Winners.....................19

BCS hopes ended.......6

Pasquali is now 236-64 (78.7 percent) this season.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.