The alligatorSports crew will pile into the car today for a road trip to Nashville, Tenn., to watch Florida take on Vanderbilt. While we're on the road to the "Music City," what better way is there to pay homage to the county seat of Davidson County than by putting together a killer playlist for the ride? We could always crank up a little Elvis as we make detour to Graceland. Perhaps we'll all sit in stony silence as "Party in the U.S.A." plays on the radio while secretly freaking out in our minds. Nashville native Miley Cyrus is still hip, right? And then, who knows? We've been on the road at all hours of the night covering this beat like a bunch of "Ramblin' Men" and "Midnight Rider(s)," just like the Nashville-based Allman Brothers Band. There will be music, and there will be football. Nashville seems like a nice place.
Now, onto the picks...
Lubbock, Texas, will be almost heaven for West Virginia (-3.5) because...
This song is a one-note tune: Geno Smith! Geno Smith! Geno Smith! Geno Smith! Geno Smith! Geno Smith! Geno Smith! And, uh, Geno Smith! Forget football.
- GREG LUCA
Texas Tech (+3.5) will take West Virginia into the "Ring of Fire" on Saturday because...
West Virginia doesn't believe in defense. The Mountaineers allow 35 points per game — double what the Red Raiders have given up. Although West Virginia has Heisman frontrunner Smith, they continue to "Walk the Line" of potential upset with a defense softer than a slice of "Country Pie." West Virginia will fall victim to the "Death and Hell" that awaits visitors in Lubbock, Texas.
- ADAM PINCUS
Leading the pack with a 29-19 record is Rivals' Bryan "Richard Simmons is my homeboy" Holt, who thought it was a good idea to follow up a morning jog with a pepperoni pizza from Domino's. No wonder you're only bagging the beefy babes.
Sporting a 26-22 record is The Miami Herald's Matt "Too old for Gainesville" Watts, who has decided at 27 that his lackluster nightlife career is over. Watts has resorted to long, crazy nights of Netflix and cuddling with his cat. It's sad to see. We already miss his welcoming frown and generally pissed-off nature. OK, not really.
Tied with Watts at 26-22 is The Associated Press' Mark "Chris Prosinski will start vs. Oakland" Long, who has decided to keep tweeting about the Jaguars even though nobody gives a crap. Just cut it out, man. The tarps can't follow you on Twitter.
Rounding out the winning crowd at 25-23 is The Palm Beach Post's Jason "Do it! You won't" Lieser, who was pumped to stir up some mischief when a colleague left his phone unattended at a recent interview session. Unfortunately, the best fake tweet Jason could come up with was "Just ate a whole jar of mayonnaise. Feeling really sick." Uhhh, good one!
Right at .500 with a 24-24 record is alligatorSports editor Greg "I love a good latte!" Luca, who was way too excited when a barista at Karma Cream suggested he order a coconut caramel latte. Instead of asking for a latte suggestion, how about you ask for her number next time? Man up!
Sitting at 23-25 is alligatorSports writer Adam "I can't find it!" Pincus, who came into the office with his fly open and could not locate his, uh, his friend Richard. Let's not be too hard on the guy. He always struggled with those "Where's Waldo" books. Sometimes, you just need a magnifying glass.
Also at 23-25 is alligatorSports writer Josh "Look at my hands!" Jurnovoy, who always makes gestures while talking — even on the radio. I guess it's healthy. He's got to do something with his hands besides type, eat and play with his joystick.
And in dead-ass last with a piss-poor record of 21-27 is alligatorSports assistant editor Joe "I still can't believe its over" Morgan, who has spent most of this week staring at the Chipper Jones page on Baseball Reference. He got through the "anger" phase when he threw out a friend's Cardinals hat and berated Major League Baseball through every form of social media, but the sadness lingers. It's OK, bud. You'll get through this.
