The SEC season is already rolling after Missouri’s blowout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday night, and the Saturday Down South staff wasted no time getting into Week 1 with five against-the-spread picks.
The crew split on a few games, but there was plenty of agreement too. Alabama drew the strongest consensus, Auburn got a full board of support, and the Louisville-Ole Miss matchup produced the sharpest disagreement of the bunch.
Against East Carolina, Alabama was the clear favorite in the picks. Spenser Davis backed the Tide to cover -28.5, pointing to how Kalen DeBoer has handled early-season tune-up games in Tuscaloosa.
He cited Alabama’s 63-0 win over Western Kentucky in 2024 and its 73-0 rout of ULM in 2025, then added that East Carolina’s Week 2 rivalry game with Appalachian State may be the one it’s actually built to target. Adam Spencer joined him, saying Alabama could cover by halftime if things go right.
Ethan Stone also stayed with the Tide, noting Alabama has outscored G6 opponents 286-23 across DeBoer’s first two seasons in Tuscaloosa, while Andy Olson took East Carolina +28.5 and said he could see a 41-14 game.
The Baylor-Auburn game in Atlanta brought a clean sweep for the Tigers at -7.5. Spenser Davis liked Auburn’s talent edge and expected an Auburn-heavy crowd to tilt things in the Tigers’ favor.
Andy Olson said the half-point bothered him, but still leaned Auburn, while also noting the comfort Byrum Brown brings with Alex Golesh’s offense. Adam Spencer said anything less than a 10-point Auburn win would be a red flag and pointed to Baylor’s coaching situation and DJ Lagway’s quote about feeling forgotten during his time at Florida.
Ethan Stone also stayed with Auburn, saying he trusted the Tigers to score more than anything else.
Clemson at LSU was the first split. Spenser Davis went with LSU -10, saying he wanted to buy low on Clemson but couldn’t get there because of Chad Morris at offensive coordinator and uncertainty at quarterback. Andy Olson took Clemson +10, saying LSU games can be an adventure against the number in big spots and that he expected the Tigers to keep it within a single-digit margin.
Florida’s matchup with FAU produced another split, though the majority stayed with the Gators. Spenser Davis backed Florida -26.5 and pointed to Jon Sumrall’s 32-17-1 mark against the spread in FBS regular-season games.
Adam Spencer also went with Florida, saying a heavy dose of Jadan Baugh should make the cover manageable and calling FAU No. 113 in ESPN’s Football Power Index. Ethan Stone echoed the Gators, saying there was no need to overthink a game in which Florida has the size and speed advantage.
Olson, though, took FAU +26.5, saying he wasn’t sold on Florida covering 27 in the debut and could see a result like 41-17.
The closest thing to a true debate came in Nashville, where Louisville and Ole Miss were set for a showdown at -6.5. Spenser Davis liked Louisville plus the points and said the Cardinals were live to win outright, citing the Rebels’ new faces on offense and Pete Golding’s relative lack of SEC head coaching experience. Andy Olson and Adam Spencer went the other way with Ole Miss, with Olson pointing to John David Baker’s familiarity with the program and Spencer buying into the Pete Golding era while highlighting Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy as two of the SEC’s top offensive pieces.
In Other News...
LSU Just Dropped Auburn Into A Fresh SEC Eligibility Fight
A Louisiana judges ruling in favor of LSU players Zxavian Harris and DaeQuan Wright has added another layer to the SECs eligibility headaches just as the season is getting underway. The court allowed both players to regain college football eligibility despite their recent NFL roster status, and it blocked the SEC, NCAA and LSU from taking actions that would hurt their standing, putting the conference in a spot Auburn fans know well: another rules fight with real on-field consequences.
Harris and Wright have already been practicing with LSU as the Tigers prepare for their opener against Clemson, and the final decision on whether to add them to the roster now sits with LSU. For Auburn, the broader significance is hard to miss. Anything that shifts the SECs eligibility landscape can ripple through the league, and this latest ruling only deepens the uncertainty around how schools and conference officials will handle similar cases moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Suddenly Has Another SEC Problem To Watch Closely
Auburns attention may be split between the usual late-summer roster questions and the broader SEC chessboard, because a new court ruling has suddenly opened the door for more than 40 athletes to remain eligible under NCAA and league rules. Among the players affected are former NFL players Zxavian Harris and DaeQuan Wright, both expected to land on LSUs football roster, a development that could ripple beyond Baton Rouge as conference programs monitor how the eligibility landscape is being handled.
The SEC is planning to appeal the injunction, and it has also filed a separate lawsuit aimed at enforcing new punishments against teams that add ex-professional players. For Auburn and the rest of the league, the practical issue is less about one roster move than the possibility of a longer fight over who can play, who can be added, and what penalties might follow while the legal process continues to work itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns First Captains Under Alex Golesh Just Sent A Clear Message
Auburn named five captains for its upcoming game against Baylor, giving Alex Golesh a first look at which players the team is leaning on as his tenure begins. Quarterback Byrum Brown, safety Champ Anthony, offensive lineman Cole Best, safety Cade Carlson and linebacker Elijah Melendez will wear the honors when the Tigers open at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as part of the Aflac Kickoff.
The list says plenty about how Auburn wants to frame this matchup: leadership on both sides of the ball, from the quarterback to the trenches to the back end of the defense. For Golesh, it is also an early snapshot of the voices in the room as he gets ready for a spotlight game that will serve as his debut on the Auburn sideline. [Read more 🡒]