I didn’t realize it until I sat down this morning, but a couple of the teams I was really looking forward to talking about in this week’s column – Florida and South Carolina – have the week off. By next time I’ll have forgotten what I wanted to say about their performances from last weekend, so I’m going to get that out of the way here.

Gross. Disappointing. Sad. There, now let’s move on.

At least the Gamecocks managed to win their game against Mississippi State, somehow. But every college football announcer in the country has been saying this all year: If something happens to Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina is going to be in deep trouble. And now something has happened. After the do-it-all running back suffered a season-ending knee injury last week, you can add me to that chorus. With Arkansas still on their schedule, South Carolina’s run at the SEC East title may be over.

Which mean that Georgia just started looking a lot more like the eventual champion in the SEC East, provided Florida lays another alligator egg when those two meet at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, Fla. on Oct. 29. For now, let’s stick with what’s going to go down this weekend in the SEC.

Tennessee at No. 2 Alabama
I hate to get caught up in the Heisman speculation already swirling around college football, but did you see Trent Richardson’s 73-yard touchdown run against the Rebels Saturday night? Wow. Nick Saban would curse on live TV before he’d admit it, but he has to love the attention – both for this year’s team and the Alabama program in the eye of future recruits – that comes with all the talk. Since there will be little else worth mentioning Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium, look for the crew televising the game to pounce on the Heisman angle. Right now, the ESPN experts have Richardson at No. 3, behind quarterbacks Andrew Luck (Stanford) and Russell Wilson (Wisconsin). Tennessee’s defense gave up 237 yards rushing to LSU last week. I’ve got a shiny new dime that says Richardson and the rest of the ‘Bama backfield will top that. Final: 45-7, Alabama

No. 9 Arkansas at Ole Miss
The Razorbacks are coming off a bye week, and the Rebels are coming off a demoralizing butt-kicking in front of their home crowd. I hope the Ole Miss faithful will be content with a good time in the Grove this weekend, because if they make the drive to Oxford looking for success on the gridiron, they’re going to be sorely disappointed. As usual. Last week, the Rebels got pounded on the ground by Trent Richardson and Co. After Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson (who leads the SEC in passing with 1,779 yards) gets finished with them, the Ole Miss defense will be exhausted from chasing down Jarius Wright and Co. – and not catching them very often, I’m afraid. Final: 38-20, Arkansas 

No. 20 Auburn at No. 1 LSU
Remember last week when I wrote that Barrett Trotter “is perfectly capable of running” the Auburn offense? Apparently, I have no idea what I’m talking about. Either that, or Trotter bumped his head on the way out of the tunnel last Saturday night. Trotter was 2-for-8 for 33 yards before being replaced by Clint Moseley, who has already been named the starter for this game. Throw in the fact that coordinator Charlie Weis has the most anemic Florida offense I’ve seen in years (only 66 yards rushing? Really?) and two things happen. 1) My choosing Florida as the winner last week makes me look mentally challenged; and 2) Auburn enters this game thinking it has a legitimate shot at dethroning the number one team in the land. The score might be close at halftime, but unlike the Gators, who seemed determined to give away last week’s game, LSU has turned the ball over only three times all season. Here's hoping LSU makes me look smarter than Florida did. Final: 31-14, LSU

No. 17 Texas A&M at Iowa State
Forget about the fact that, statistically speaking, Texas A&M’s pass defense is the worst in the nation. (The Aggies are ranked 120^th out of 120 bowl subdivision schools.) Why forget? Because the A&M rush defense is fifth in the nation (72 yards allowed per game), which means their opponents are forced to throw for their lives. Don’t forget the potency of the A&M offense under the direction of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, either. Combine those factors and you have exactly what you should expect from a team that combines an explosive offense with a tenacious run defense: high-scoring, aerial shootouts with plenty of excitement and the near-guaranty of a nail-biting finish. Not this week, though. Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads has a potential quarterback controversy on his hands. Whoever he picks to play better be able to heave it long, high and often. Final: 45-31, Texas A&M

Jacksonville State at Kentucky
I want very badly to pick the Gamecocks to win this game. We all know what Coty Blanchard and Co. did last year at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. – which was to kick-start the end of Houston Nutt’s career as head coach at Ole Miss. (It’s coming soon; trust me.) I believe Kentucky is awful in every aspect of the game, perhaps even worse than Ole Miss was last year. In the end, though, I figure even the lowly Wildcats are in the Southeastern Conference and SURELY were able to recruit football players who are stronger and faster, overall, than the players who landed at JSU. I realize that, based on that same line of logic, I would have been dead wrong about the Ole Miss game last season. Hell, I hope I’m wrong about this one, too. Final: 35-31, Kentucky

Army at Vanderbilt
At least with Army, you know the ground game should be hitting on all cylinders. The Black Knights lead the nation in yards per game (361). Unfortunately, they aren’t terrific at anything else. And these Commodores are honestly unlike any other Vandy team that has taken the field in Nashville for decades. These guys believe in their new coach, Jim Franklin, and almost stole a win from Georgia a week ago. As long as the Vandy defense can seal up the Black Knight running lanes and build up a lead, they won’t have to worry about attempting any last-minute heroics this week to get their fourth win of the season. Final: 30-21, Vanderbilt