Site: Georgia Dome (Cap. 71,228
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: CBS
Somehow, someway, the Gators made it back to the Southeastern Conference Championship Game. SEC East champ and No. 18 Florida faces the tumultuous task of going against the beasts of the West in No. 2 Alabama. The Crimson Tide have a chance to make it to the College Football Playoff and UF is looking to spoil their shot at making it to a second straight CFP. If you’re one of the lucky few students who has tickets for the game, get ready for what will probably be a lopsided game in Atlanta.
Debating Saturday’s game between Texas and No. 12 Baylor is alligatorSports assistant editor Luis Torres and alligatorSports staff writer Graham Hack.
Texas will win because…
This game is simply about motivation. Although the Bears are the superior team, they have dropped two of their last three games, have lost their No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks and have nothing to play for in terms of conference or national aspirations. The Longhorns, meanwhile, are in a unique position despite the miserable season they’ve had to endure.
With so many bowl games this year, a handful of 5-7 teams will make postseason appearances, and a win will put Texas in that position. If forced to chose a 5-7, every bowl committee will be clamoring to chose the Burnt Orange and it’s enormous fan base.
The team that wants this game more will win, and that’s Texas.
— Graham Hack
Baylor will win because…
While Baylor is down to its third-string quarterback, Chris Johnson, the Bears are still good enough to beat Texas.
Hell, I could play quarterback for Baylor and I’d find a way to beat the Longhorns. After all, they’ve been pretty terrible outside of their fluke win against Oklahoma.
Baylor still boasts the nation’s top scoring offense, putting up 50.8 points per game.
Expect much of the same against Texas, especially since Baylor lost to rival TCU in overtime last week.
— Luis Torres
Now onto the picks!
In first place with a record of 55-47-2 is the Gator Country’s Nick "Punters Are People Too" de la Torre, who has had a borderline psychotic infatuation with redshirt sophomore punter Johnny Townsend. We get it, Nick. You loved hearing Edgar go on and on about KeKe, but that doesn't mean you need to go crazy, too.
In second place with a record of 54-48-2 is Alligator managing/online editor Jordan "Can you pick me up?" McPherson, who before each alligatorSports road trip this season has asked for someone to pick him up at his dorm. C’mon Jordan, when are you getting that license you’ve been talking about getting for the past two years?
We have a two-way tie for third place with records of 52-50-2.
First up is The Palm Beach Post’s Anthony "Mr. 305 LOL JK" Chiang, who says he's more Miami than music artist PitBull. C'mon Anthony, it's the last time we'll do this, but just give it up. Mr. #UnincorporatedDadeCounty.
Next is alligatorSports assistant editor Luis "Selfie on selfie" Torres, who upgraded his phone to the 128 GB version just so he can take more selfies of himself and his dog. C’mon Luis, maybe if you were so stoked to write a story each day like you are with taking selfies, maybe you wouldn’t be as terrible as a writer as you think you are.
In fifth place with a record of 50-52-2 is the Orlando Sentinel’s Edgar "Heavy Artillery" Thompson, who decided to pull out the big guns during this week’s media session to take videos: his iPad. C’mon Edgar, we already know you can’t take videos on your phone, why would you end up bringing something else to make a fool out of yourself?
In sixth place with a record of 46-56-2 is alligatorSports editor Graham "Delete your Twitter, bro" Hall, who has been making some terrible puns on Twitter ranging from Star Wars to Mark Richt. C’mon Graham, maybe the force will be with you when everyone comes after your recruiting news.
And STILL in dead-ass-last with a piss-poor record of 43-59-2 is alligatorSports writer Graham "For once not the most-hated Graham" Hack, who … ah man, who the hell are we kidding? You still are.
But wait! Hack isn’t alone at the bottom.
Joining Hack at the bottom of the picks column totem pole is 247Sports’ Thomas "Twitter chat" Goldkamp, who loves conversing with his legions of followers to spread his football wisdom. Hey Goldkamp, we know you spend all those hours watching film to look smart to the masses, but maybe you should devote some more time to getting your picks right. People won’t take your Twitter wisdom seriously if you finish behind Hack.
