A little earlier than I’d meant, but I imagine I’ll be in a hurry in the morning tomorrow. On to the picks (as always, straight up):

• GEORGIA over Kentucky. The good news for Kentucky: win out and they go to a bowl. The bad news: if the Wildcats can’t beat Vanderbilt in Nashville in front of a half-dozen fans, they certainly can’t win inside the hedges in Athens.
• TENNESSEE over Vanderbilt. Then again, the Commodores are on a one-game conference winning streak…
• ARKANSAS over Mississippi State. Time is running out on the Jackie Sherill farewell tour, and I don’t think the parting gifts will be nice from Fayetteville, particularly with Arkansas trying to sneak into the Cotton Bowl with a late surge.
• Clemson over SOUTH CAROLINA. If Tommy Bowden’s team can stay focused, they should beat their in-state rival. But SC is a dangerous football team nonetheless; ask Florida, who by all rights should have lost to the Gamecocks last week.
• Alabama over AUBURN. Yes, “on paper” Auburn outclasses Alabama in almost every phase of the game. But with Alabama having nothing to play for except punching Auburn’s ticket to the EV1.com Houston Bowl, all the pressure is on Tommy Tuberville, Jason Campbell, and Carnell Williams, who were supposed to be wrapping up the regular season on their way to the Sugar Bowl at this point. Look for Tubby’s squad to find another way to lose.

And, last but not least:

• OLE MISS over Louisiana State. Forget about Eli Manning; the real story is that the 21 other starters around him have battled through adversity, injury, and early-season embarassments. Nobody gave the Rebels a chance to be where they are today at the beginning of the season. Eight weeks ago, most fans thought the best thing that might happen in this season was another trip to Shreveport. At that time, sophomore receiver Taye Biddle, who dropped sure TDs against Memphis and Texas Tech, was less popular in Oxford than Osama Bin Laden. Now I don’t know if the Rebels are a team of destiny. But I do know that this game is for all the marbles. And every time since September 27 when it’s been put-up-or-shut-up time, someone has stepped up and made the key play, whether it’s Eli making a key QB sneak to run out the clock on South Carolina, Lorenzo Townsend—the fullback—catching a 49 yard pass on 3rd and long against Auburn deep in the 4th quarter, or Eric Oliver picking off Chris Leak to stop a late drive by Florida. The Rebels haven’t always won pretty. They haven’t kept the proverbial boot on the neck at times. They’ve been burned on freak plays. But still, somehow, they keep finding a way to win. And I think they’ll do it again Saturday. Not because Ole Miss outmatches LSU in any phase of the game—frankly, they don’t—but because the Rebels are on a mission that they’re not quite done with yet. And they’ll have the largest crowd ever to witness a sporting event in the state of Mississippi on hand to help carry them over the goal line.

What, you were expecting X’s and O’s?

Also of interest: a New York Times profile of Manning.