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We’ve entered the last weekend of October for the 2025 college football season and for AL.com’s staff picks. Alabama and Auburn both play road SEC games this week, but the biggest showdown of the weekend actually takes place in Nashville. Elsewhere in the state, South Alabama and Troy face Sun Belt competition (UAB and Jacksonville State both have open dates). In our “off-field” standings, Andrew Hammond has stretched his lead to three over Michael Casagrande and Patrick Greenfield. Scroll along below to find out how the various AL.com sports staffers see this week’s big games playing out, along with predicted scores for the Alabama and Auburn games. A reminder that these picks are AGAINST THE SPREAD. That means that each person’s selection doesn’t necessarily mean he or she thinks that team will win outright, just that it will cover the point spread. On with these week’s picks (all games Saturday unless noted and all times Central): South Alabama (-6.5) at Georgia State, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, ESPN2 Thomas Ashworth: South Alabama Michael Casagrande: South Alabama Ben Flanagan: Georgia State Izzy Gould: South Alabama Patrick Greenfield: South Alabama Andrew Hammond: Georgia State Jerry Humphrey: South Alabama Mark Inabinett: South Alabama Nick Kelly: South Alabama Peter Rauterkus: South Alabama Creg Stephenson: Georgia State Ole Miss (+4.5) at Oklahoma, 11 a.m., ABC Thomas Ashworth: Ole Miss Michael Casagrande: Ole Miss Ben Flanagan: Ole Miss Izzy Gould: Ole Miss Patrick Greenfield: Ole Miss Andrew Hammond: Oklahoma Jerry Humphrey: Ole Miss Mark Inabinett: Ole Miss Nick Kelly: Ole Miss Peter Rauterkus: Ole Miss Creg Stephenson: Ole Miss UCLA (+24.5) at Indiana, 11 a.m., Fox Thomas Ashworth: Indiana Michael Casagrande: Indiana Ben Flanagan: UCLA Izzy Gould: UCLA Patrick Greenfield: UCLA Andrew Hammond: Indiana Jerry Humphrey: UCLA Mark Inabinett: Indiana Nick Kelly: UCLA Peter Rauterkus: UCLA Creg Stephenson: UCLA South Florida (-3.5) at Memphis, 11 a.m., ESPN2 Thomas Ashworth: Memphis Michael Casagrande: South Florida Ben Flanagan: South Florida Izzy Gould: South Florida Patrick Greenfield: South Florida Andrew Hammond: South Florida Jerry Humphrey: South Florida Mark Inabinett: South Florida Nick Kelly: South Florida Peter Rauterkus: South Florida Creg Stephenson: South Florida Missouri (+3) at Vanderbilt, 2:30 p.m., ESPN Thomas Ashworth: Vanderbilt Michael Casagrande: Vanderbilt Ben Flanagan: Vanderbilt Izzy Gould: Missouri Patrick Greenfield: Vanderbilt Andrew Hammond: Vanderbilt Jerry Humphrey: Vanderbilt Mark Inabinett: Missouri Nick Kelly: Vanderbilt Peter Rauterkus: Vanderbilt Creg Stephenson: Vanderbilt Texas (-7) at Mississippi State, 3:15 p.m., SEC Network Thomas Ashworth: Texas Michael Casagrande: Mississippi State Ben Flanagan: Texas Izzy Gould: Texas Patrick Greenfield: Texas Andrew Hammond: Mississippi State Jerry Humphrey: Texas Mark Inabinett: Texas Nick Kelly: Texas Peter Rauterkus: Mississippi State Creg Stephenson: Mississippi State Texas A&M (-2.5) at LSU, 6:30 p.m., ABC Thomas Ashworth: LSU Michael Casagrande: Texas A&M Ben Flanagan: Texas A&M Izzy Gould: Texas A&M Patrick Greenfield: Texas A&M Andrew Hammond: Texas A&M Jerry Humphrey: Texas A&M Mark Inabinett: LSU Nick Kelly: Texas A&M Peter Rauterkus: Texas A&M Creg Stephenson: Texas A&M Louisiana (+9.5) at Troy, 6 p.m., ESPN+ Thomas Ashworth: Troy Michael Casagrande: Troy Ben Flanagan: Louisiana Izzy Gould: Louisiana Patrick Greenfield: Troy Andrew Hammond: Troy Jerry Humphrey: Troy Mark Inabinett: Louisiana Nick Kelly: Troy Peter Rauterkus: Troy Creg Stephenson: Troy Auburn (-1) at Arkansas, 11:45 a.m., SEC Network Thomas Ashworth: Auburn 34, Arkansas 23 Michael Casagrande: Arkansas 28, Auburn 17 Ben Flanagan: Arkansas 31, Auburn 30 Izzy Gould: Auburn 20, Arkansas 17 Patrick Greenfield: Auburn 32, Arkansas 21 Andrew Hammond: Auburn 28, Arkansas 24 Jerry Humphrey: Arkansas 24, Auburn 21 Mark Inabinett: Auburn 29, Arkansas 27 Nick Kelly: Auburn 24, Arkansas 20 Peter Rauterkus: Arkansas 35, Auburn 31 Creg Stephenson: Arkansas 28, Auburn 19 Alabama (-13.5) at South Carolina, 2:30 p.m., ABC Thomas Ashworth: Alabama 34, South Carolina 14 Michael Casagrande: Alabama 31, South Carolina 21 Ben Flanagan: Alabama 27, South Carolina 20 Izzy Gould: Alabama 31, South Carolina 10 Patrick Greenfield: Alabama 37, South Carolina 17 Andrew Hammond: Alabama 45, South Carolina 17 Jerry Humphrey: Alabama 35, South Carolina 17 Mark Inabinett: Alabama 31, South Carolina 16 Nick Kelly: Alabama 27, South Carolina 17 Peter Rauterkus: Alabama 31, South Carolina 14 Creg Stephenson: Alabama 34, South Carolina 6 Standings After Week 8 Andrew Hammond — 46-34 (7-3 last week) Michael Casagrande — 43-37 (6-4 last week) Patrick Greenfield — 43-37 (7-3 last week) Mark Inabinett — 41-39 (5-5 last week) Jerry Humphrey — 41-39 (8-2 last week) Thomas Ashworth — 39-41 (4-6 last week) Izzy Gould — 39-41 (5-5 last week) Nick Kelly — 39-41 (7-3 last week) Creg Stephenson — 39-41 (8-2 last week) Peter Rauterkus — 34-46 (5-5 last week) Ben Flanagan — 29-51 (2-8 last week)
