College football picks: Georgia is looking for faster start against Auburn after loss to Alabama

It's bounce-back week for two of the Southeastern Conference's top teams.

No. 5 Georgia, coming off a 41-34 loss at Alabama, hosts an Auburn team that will be playing its first road game. The Bulldogs have won 26 straight in Athens for the nation’s longest active home streak.

The Bulldogs are looking for a better start. It took them until the third quarter to score its first touchdown against Clemson in the opener, they were shut out until late in the second quarter against Kentucky and they were down 28-0 to Alabama before getting on the board.

No. 12 Mississippi has a tricky game at South Carolina following 20-17 home loss to Kentucky. Remember, the Gamecocks went on the road and beat Kentucky 31-6 in Week 2.

“Really hard place to play, going on the road here to South Carolina with a team really good, that really easily is one penalty away from being undefeated and probably ranked really high," Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said, referring to the Gamecocks' 36-33 loss to LSU.

The only game matching Top 25 teams is No. 9 at No. 25 Texas A&M.

The picks, with all games Saturday unless noted, and lines from BetMGM Sportsbook:

No. 1 Alabama (minus 23 1/2) at Vanderbilt

Alabama has won 23 straight against Vandy since 1985 and outscored the Commodores 148-3 over the last three meetings. Kalen DeBoer surely will remind his players how Vandy pushed a top-10 Missouri team to the limit two weeks ago.

Pick: Alabama 45-17.

Iowa (plus 19 1/2) at No. 3 Ohio State

The Buckeyes haven't been tested yet. Is this the week? Iowa's offense is better than it was a year ago, if only because of the emergence of RB Kaleb Johnson. His 171 yards per game rank second in the nation.

Pick: Ohio State 35-21.

No. 4 Tennessee (minus 13 1/2) at Arkansas

The teams haven't met since 2020, and the Volunteers haven't won in Fayetteville since 2001. Nico Iamaleava and Dylan Sampson and the rest of the Vols' playmakers are ready to rev up their 54-points-per-game offense.

Pick: Tennessee 37-20.

Auburn at No. 5 Georgia (minus 24 1/2)

The “Deep South's Oldest Rivalry” has leaned heavily in Georgia's favor the past 20 years. Both teams are coming off tough losses. If Georgia carries over its play from the second half against Alabama, this one shouldn't be close.

Pick: Georgia 44-17.

Michigan State at No. 6 Oregon (minus 24)

Dillon Gabriel is completing better than 81% of his passes and averaging just under 300 yards per game going into Friday's matchup. The Ducks haven’t lost to an unranked opponent at home since 2016. The Spartans have lost seven in a row against top-10 opponents.

Pick: Oregon 42-14.

UCLA (plus 28) at No. 7 Penn State

Penn State should be able to open up its offense a bit after letting its ground game dictate the pace against Illinois. Drew Allar could put up big numbers against a defense that has just five sacks and lets opponents complete 71% of their passes for 291 yards per game.

Pick: Penn State 42-16.

No. 8 Miami (minus 10 1/2) at California

Cam Ward takes his show on the road for the Hurricanes' first regular-season game on the West Coast since 2000. Cal couldn't muster a touchdown against Florida State, and Miami's defense is far superior.

Pick: Miami 37-10.

No. 9 Missouri (plus 2 1/2) at No. 25 Texas A&M

Tigers will need to be better than they were against Boston College and Vanderbilt. Freshman Marcel Reed has led the Aggies to three straight wins in place of injured QB Conner Weigman, who will be a game-time decision.

Pick: Missouri 27-23.

No. 10 Michigan (plus 2 1/2) at Washington

Wolverines go on the road for the first time and get back CB Will Johnson from injury. The Huskies are going to load the box and make Alex Orji beat them. He's thrown for fewer than 100 yards two straight games.

Pick: Washington 21-20.

No. 11 Southern California (minus 8 1/2) at Minnesota

Trojans look to carry over their second-half performance from last week, when they outscored Wisconsin 28-0. Gophers are in danger of their first 0-3 Big Ten start since 2018.

Pick: USC 33-17.

No. 12 Mississippi (minus 9 1/2) at South Carolina

Mississippi WR Juice Wells' return to South Carolina is a great storyline. He was the Gamecocks' hero in a win over rival Clemson in 2022. His transfer to Ole Miss in the offseason was a messy breakup.

Pick: Mississippi 31-21.

No. 15 Clemson (minus 14 1/2) at Florida State

Clemson, held to three points in its season-opening loss to Georgia, has scored 165 over the last three games. The Seminoles lost 10 players to the NFL draft, but no one expected this 1-4 start after winning the ACC championship.

Pick: Clemson 45-26.

Baylor (plus 11 1/2) at No. 16 Iowa State

Scary game for the Cyclones? Baylor is looking to vent some frustration following narrow losses to Colorado and BYU. Iowa State's defense, among the Big 12's top three five straight years, is playing its best right now.

Pick: Iowa State 21-16.

Utah State at No. 21 Boise State (minus 26 1/2)

It's hard to imagine Broncos star Ashton Jeanty putting up bigger numbers than he already has — but he just might against the nation's 115th-ranked run defense.

Pick: Boise State 55-10.

SMU (plus 7) at No. 22 Louisville

Louisville turned the ball over three times in the first half of its loss at Notre Dame last week. ACC newcomer SMU is tied for the national lead with 14 takeaways and is first with four defensive touchdowns.

Pick: Louisville 35-31.

No. 23 Indiana (minus 13 1/2) at Northwestern

Hoosiers' best start since 1967 continues. Their 48.8 points per game are tied with Ohio State for the Big Ten lead. Northwestern's 17.3 per game ranks 17th out of 18.

Pick: Indiana 38-16.

Syracuse at No. 25 UNLV (minus 6 1/2)

The Rebels are 4-0 for the first time since they went Division I in 1978 and ranked for the first time in program history going into Friday's game. Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord is throwing for a nation-leading 365 yards per game for the Orange but has been intercepted twice in each of the past two games.

Pick: UNLV 33-24.

AP predictions scorecard

Last week: Straight-up — 16-6; Against spread — 9-13.

Season: Straight-up — 86-23; Against spread — 56-53.

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This version corrects Baylor's past opponent to BYU instead of Utah in the Baylor-Iowa State pick.

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Eric Olson, The Associated Press