Football expert Phil Steele is the owner and publisher of Phil Steele’s College Football Preview, regarded as the college football bible. Get in-depth coverage of college and pro football 24/7/365 at PhilSteele.com.
Florida (-8) over VANDERBILT: When your 2012 preseason pick to win the SEC East was just 3-5 in conference action last season you get great value on them. The Gators have gone 3-0 for me on these pages and I will continue to ride them. Though they are off a tough home win against LSU, Vanderbilt was on the road and won a close game thanks to Missouri losing its quarterback to an injury. Last season, Florida went 1-4 away from home versus SEC foes, so there will be no looking past any opponents.
LSU (-2 1/2) over South Carolina: Last week, South Carolina produced one of the season’s best “game grades” with its 35-7 win over Georgia. LSU, meanwhile, lost for the first time in 18 regular-season games, falling at Florida. The public perception is the Gamecocks are the superior team. Las Vegas posts a line where it hopes to draw equal action, but in the summer, LSU was favored to win by 14 points and now it’s under a field goal. Tiger Stadium is a magical place at night, and under Les Miles, LSU is 30-1 in night-time kickoffs while going 15-1 off a loss.
LAST WEEK: 1-1.
SEASON: 6-6.