Ole Miss @ Florida: (35-14 Ole Miss wins) (Ashton Summers)

Ole Miss v. Florida is going to be one of those games where people are on their toes. This is not because Florida is a team to be worried about but because Ole Miss is a team that can put its fan base through an emotional roller coaster.

Florida is no easy match, though. The Gators beat LSU — whom Ole Miss took to overtime in Death Valley earlier in the year — in the Swamp last week. This has raised a lot of eyebrows for Rebel fans.

However, Ole Miss will ultimately win this for a few reasons. First, it has been reported that Tre Harris will return. Second, the team coming off of a bye week, and lastly, the Rebels just came off of a major win against Georgia. At the end of the day, the Rebels have finally clicked on all sides of the ball, and it seems like they will come out screaming “Hotty Toddy!”

Kentucky @ Texas: (31-14 Texas wins) (Kharley Redmon)

I may be from Kentucky, but when football season rolls around, I am first and foremost an Ole Miss fan. After our nail biting defeat at the hands of the Wildcats — after which my neighbors back home placed a for sale sign in my parents’ yard — I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this team fall in the rankings. If Ole Miss hadn’t beaten Georgia, I might not be making such a bold statement — but after that historic win, I feel like we have a little room to talk.

All jokes aside, Texas is ranked No. 1 in the SEC and No. 3 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings. Kentucky, on the other hand, is not currently ranked in the CFP Top 25 and is second to last in the SEC next to Mississippi State. While the Wildcats need to have an exceptionally good game to beat the Longhorns, their win over Ole Miss and their narrow loss to Georgia show that they are still a threat. However, it is clear that Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian is fully aware of this and not making the mistake of dismissing Kentucky. 

“Kentucky’s a really good football team,” Sarkisian said in a recent press conference. “They have played their best football against the best teams they’ve competed against. Whether it’s been Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee, they’ve played really well.”

From this, it seems like Texas has spent the last week in serious preparation and will likely take home the win because of it. For my friends who attend the University of Kentucky and may be left in dismay after the match — don’t worry — you’ll always have basketball.

Alabama @ Oklahoma: (32-14 Alabama wins) (Caroline McCutchen)

While the Tide is rushing toward a national championship, Oklahoma is at risk of losing it all — if they lose both this one and their next game against LSU, they will be ineligible for a bowl game. 

I am not the most active spectator at games in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, as I am usually turned around chatting with friends in the row behind me and typically leave by the third quarter. 

However, anyone could see that their performance against Ole Miss demonstrated their poor offensive play, quarterback play and pass coverage, and this has continued throughout the season. 

Although the Sooners are fresh off of a bye week, no amount of time can heal the wounds of a fractured team that is simply unfit to face a top-tier SEC school. 

Not to mention, Oklahoma’s mascot is not the two charming crème white Welsh Ponies named Boomer and Sooner (with blue eyes and brown eyes, respectively) like I previously thought. Rather, the team’s official mascot is actually the “Sooner Schooner” — a wagon. But it is not just any wagon. 

The Sooner Schooner is modeled after the Conestoga wagon, a horse-drawn vehicle used to transport settlers as they seized control of Native American lands in the mid-19th century. One can argue that the Conestoga wagon directly contributed to the decline of Indigenous communities, as trains of western settlers disrupted the natural habitat of animals Indigenous people depended on as a food source. 

Statistics aside, rooting for an inanimate object that resulted in the displacement of Native American peoples over a majestic creature such as Big Al the elephant is simply in poor taste. Roll Tide.

Indiana @ Ohio State: (Arts and Culture Desk)

(Claire Reynolds, 4-0 Indiana wins) 

Furthering Indiana’s spotless track record this season, the mascot-less team from Bloomington will have yet another win in Columbus, adding THE Ohio State University to their list of defeated opponents. This win is far from contentious considering one of THE universities has a name associated with the phrase “skibbidi toilet rizz.”

The win will also be due in part to a major IU athletics update. 

The rumors are true: earlier this week, basketball coach Mike Woodsen announced that IU recruited every Hoosier on the football team for the men’s basketball team, solidifying their reputation as a “basketball school.” Despite the literal lack of competition on the field, there will be no luck for the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium. In the last 10 seconds of the 4th quarter, Kurtis Rourke, now a point guard, will walk onto the field and complete the first-ever four point conversion in football history. This is of course where the quarterback dribbles the football starting at the 50-yard mark and “dunks” it through the field goal.

(Sydney Stepp, 1,000-9 Indiana wins) 

Viewers of this weekend’s matchup of Indiana at The Ohio State University will probably be confused throughout the game, as both teams will sport their red and white colors. My prediction is that the game will start off rocky due to a pre kick-off argument over which team should change their colors. 

Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day will then continuously stare down Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti from opposing sides of the field in an attempt to defeat the Hoosiers via psychological warfare, and the first half will end with a 6-6 tie.

Though Ohio will be sporting the home field advantage, Indiana will use their perfect record and superior shade of red to blow the Buckeyes out of the water during the second half. Hoosier and Buckeye fans alike will storm the field waving pom poms and fabric swatches with new color suggestions.

Missouri @ Mississippi State: (45-0 Missouri wins) (Justice Rose)

I pride myself in being someone who has consistently kept my head out of the in-state rivalry between the flagship and the state school. Quite frankly, I applaud any person who seeks a higher education and goes through the trials and tribulations that come attached with being a student.

That being said, we are about a week and some change out from the premiere rivalry game in college football. That’s right — this University of Mississippi student thinks the Egg Bowl is more significant than the Red River game, the Iron Bowl and the many other longstanding traditional matches played yearly. 

The match on Saturday between two of the SEC pushover programs for the last decade will be yet another disappointing loss on the Bulldogs’ record. But here’s how this could greatly affect the Egg Bowl one week later. 

Despite utterly sucking, the Bulldogs have not been shutout this season. If there is any team left on the schedule that could do it, it might be the Missouri Tigers who have put out a nationally ranked defense this season. A crushing, embarrassing defeat to Missouri would ideally motivate the Bulldogs heading into what is their Super Bowl. Expect the week leading up to the Egg Bowl to be similar to that of bootcamp.

Come next Friday, the Bulldogs will be ready and motivated to match the Rebels and potentially spoil the ever-so fragile playoff hopes we have remaining. Any time the Egg Bowl actually has stakes, it tends to be a must-watch of a game. What’s more? A close, nailbiter match will satisfy the thousands of fans who leave Thanksgiving vacation early regardless of outcome. 

See how I got over 100 words into this article about a match between the University of Missouri and Mississippi State before I even referenced the Tigers’ performance this season? That should tell you how irrelevant this game is. If the irrelevance wasn’t made clear by that, the hypothetical rabbit hole of a scenario put forward to make a narrative out of this match should. Or maybe I’m just a poor gridiron analyst. Go Tigers.