OTHER PICKSKentucky 24, Missouri 21Texas A&M 52, UL-Monroe 7Pittsburgh 20, Duke 19Va. Tech 24, Boston Coll. 19Miami 27, North Carolina 20Syracuse 21, N.C. State 14Notre Dame 31, Navy 16Brigham Young 28, MTSU 27Oklahoma 42, Iowa State 13East Carolina 45, Temple 16TCU 38, West Virginia 31Nebraska 34, Purdue 7Baylor 48, Kansas 9Oregon 23, Stanford 10Kansas St. 37, Oklahoma St. 28Ohio State 38, Illinois 13Arizona 35, UCLA 31
The Kentucky Wildcats need one more victory to attain bowl-eligibility under second-year coach Mark Stoops.
They've been needing one more win for nearly three weeks now, having dropped their past two games against LSU and Mississippi State. Kentucky is 5-3 entering Saturday's trip to Missouri, a far cry from the 2-10 records of 2012 and '13, but about that elusive sixth win.
"We really don't want to get into that discussion right now," Stoops said Wednesday. "It's too early, and we've always taken the approach of getting one and then two and so forth. Obviously now that we're at five, I think we all know the importance for our program to get to a minimum of six, but I try to stay away from that so I can focus on week-to-week preparation."
The Wildcats took a 5-1 mark to Baton Rouge, where they were throttled 41-3. They returned home to host No. 1 Mississippi State this past Saturday and were within 38-31 in the final minutes when the Bulldogs returned an onside kick for a touchdown.
Missouri attained bowl eligibility for a second consecutive season as an SEC member with last Saturday's 24-14 win over visiting Vanderbilt. The Commodores also lost by 10 at Kentucky back in late September.
So who would Vandy coach Derek Mason pick?
"Missouri is a good football team, and Coach (Gary) Pinkel does a good job, but I just think Kentucky right now has a little more offensive firepower and defensively has shown me more in what they can do in their fronts, stunts and coverages," Mason said. "It's going to be a fairly even matchup, but I will give the edge to Kentucky."
Pasquali's Pix:
Florida State at Louisville: The Cardinals have the nation's top statistical defense under first-year coordinator Todd Grantham, but has there been a better defender of players this season than FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher? Seminoles 17, Cardinals 10.
UTC at Western Carolina: The Mocs are 5-0 against the Catamounts under coach Russ Huesman, scoring 138 points in the past three meetings. Mocs 38, Catamounts 27.
Florida vs. Georgia: Hutson Mason could become the first Bulldogs starting quarterback to defeat the Gators in his first try since Greg Talley in 1989. Bulldogs 23, Gators 16.
Virginia at Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are bowl-eligible for an 18th consecutive season, just like rival Georgia but with a few more trips to El Paso. Yellow Jackets 27, Cavaliers 24.
Old Dominion at Vanderbilt: It's a shame the College Football Playoff Committee only voted for a top 25. Commodores 19, Monarchs 17.
Auburn at Ole Miss: Two really good teams with senior quarterbacks who still have a way of making their fan bases nervous. Rebels 26, Tigers 24.
Arkansas at Mississippi State: The Razorbacks will make college football history this week by facing a fifth consecutive ranked conference opponent, a streak that should get to seven with LSU and Ole Miss next in line. Bulldogs 34, Razorbacks 25.
Tennessee at South Carolina: The Gamecocks will be wearing all-black uniforms 30 years after the late Joe Morrison made them popular during the 10-1 regular season of '84. Gamecocks 23, Volunteers 20.
Last week:
Winners......................20
Mettenberger selfies....5
Pasquali is now 181-44 overall (80.4 percent) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.