​COLUMBIA, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 03: Head coach Eli Drinkwitz of the Missouri Tigers reacts during the first half against the Florida Gators at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on October 03, 2026 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images The staff followed a stellar Week 4 with a Week 5 that was … acceptable. The overall record was 21-21 for the current and former staffers and on one was worse than 3-4 for the week. Cole, Tom, Andrew, and Import were all at that mark. I managed to be one result better at 4-3. Christian was even better at 5-2, which you hoodlums managed to match.Everyone except my weirdly negative self was right about Vanderbilt covering 24.5 points by only losing to Georgia by 24. Andrew was the only one brave enough to take South Carolina as 2.5-point favorites over Kentucky, and he was burned by the Wildcats going to overtime with the Gamecocks then winning on a 2-point conversion for a 1-point win. Mississippi State and Auburn let 4 staffers each down. Oh, and literally none of us thought Missouri could stay within 5.5 points of Florida, much less win by 28.It is another truncated schedule with 7 SEC-SEC matchups and 2 SEC teams on byes. The very traditional B1G matchup of UCLA at Oregon is the dealer’s (aka my) choice. The staff is synching our thinking in a way that makes me glad I was in the minority 3 times of the 6 times a game had a majority leaning one way or the other. There are no unanimous choices, but 3 games did only have 1 deviant. There were 5 more with a 4-2 split. Only 2 games have no “favorite” from our choices.The RulesNormally, the picks are for all SEC games with one dealer’s choice where I get to choose another game to make us pick. The picks will be made AGAINST THE SPREAD. Too many games are easy to pick heads up. Also, this will serve as a PSA for why you should not get into sports gambling, which is especially important with sports gambling being legal in Tennessee now.The lines will be taken from FanDuel, who SB Nation has partnered with this season, some time Monday, so they may not match what is listed at the time this article is published. I may also use a backup for FBS-FCS matchups if the line is available elsewhere when I get the spreads.The StandingsWRITERSEASONWEEK 4WLWLImport412934Commentariat362652Cole403034CDA373352Tom363434Patrick333743VU 04284234The PicksGAME
DotPColeTomVU04CDAImportOle Miss (-10.5)@VanderbiltTexas A&M (+3.5)@MissouriSouth Carolina (+13.5)@FloridaTexas (-7.5)@OklahomaTennessee (-13.5)@ArkansasLSU (10.5)@KentuckyGeorgia (+1.5)@AlabamaUCLA (11.5)@Oregon