In Week 4, the SEC was on the biggest stage possible. And the nine games on the conference slate delivered. No. 1 Texas took down Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, Florida took down then-No. 4 Ole Miss and Mississippi State continued its red-hot start to the season. Now, the Alligator’s Florida football beat reporters, Ava DiCecca, Max Bernstein, Curan Ahern and Riley Orovitz, are back to make picks for this week’s seven-game slate.
Each reporter earns a point for a correct pick and three bonus points if they predict the score accurately. That three-point bonus came into effect for the second straight week this past Saturday, when Ahern correctly predicted Mississippi State would defeat Missouri 31-24.
Here’s a look at the current standings from Weeks 1-4.
1: Curan Ahern - 54
T2: Ava DiCecca - 46
T2: Max Bernstein - 46
4: Riley Orovitz - 44
Now, here are the picks for all Week 4 SEC bouts, including two ranked matchups.
No. 7 Alabama (4-0) at No. 16 Mississippi State (4-0)
This week's only SEC battle between two undefeated teams is the biggest game at Davis Wade Stadium in years. The Crimson Tide have dominated this series and enter this contest on a 16-game winning streak over the Bulldogs. The last time Mississippi State beat Alabama was in 2007, when Nick Saban was in his first season as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. On Saturday, Alabama demolished South Carolina 49-18, while Mississippi State bested then-No. 19 Missouri 31-24.
DiCecca: Alabama 42, Mississippi State 31
Bernstein: Alabama 35, Mississippi State 27
Ahern: Alabama 34, Mississippi State 27
Orovitz: Alabama 38, Mississippi State 24
Vanderbilt (3-1) at No. 2 Georgia (4-0)
Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs have been red-hot through four games this season, outscoring their opponents a combined 219-53. On Saturday, Georgia dominated Oklahoma 41-13. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, fell 21-15, ending its six-game regular-season winning streak. Georgia leads this series 61-20-2 all-time, and the Commodores have only won three battles against the Bulldogs since 1995. The last time this game was in Athens, Georgia, the Bulldogs shut out the Commodores 55-0.
DiCecca: Georgia 41, Vanderbilt 14
Bernstein: Georgia 38, Vanderbilt 13
Ahern: Georgia 34, Vanderbilt 10
Orovitz: Georgia 42, Vanderbilt 10
No. 8 Florida (4-0) at No. 25 Missouri (3-1)
How about those Gators. Jon Sumrall’s Florida demolished then-No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 in The Swamp on Saturday and shot up 13 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll. Running back Jadan Baugh became the quickest Florida player with 10-plus touchdowns in a season, breaking Tim Tebow’s record. Missouri, meanwhile, fell for the first time this season at the hands of Mississippi State. The Tigers lead this series 7-6 all time, but the two teams split their 12 SEC contests from 2012-23. The home team has also won the last four games in this series.
DiCecca: Florida 45, Missouri 34
Bernstein: Florida 37, Missouri 27
Ahern: Florida 41, Missouri 21
Orovitz: Florida 42, Missouri 28
Auburn (3-1) at No. 17 Tennessee (3-1)
For the first time since 2020, Auburn and Tennessee will battle, and its been since 2013 that the Tigers have played at Neyland Stadium. For Auburn head coach Alex Golesh, this is a personal one, as he was UT’s offensive coordinator from 2021-22. The Tigers are fresh off beating Vanderbilt, while then-No. 14 Tennessee fell to No. 1 Texas at home. Tennessee has only defeated Auburn once this century, as the Tigers have taken seven of the last eight games in this series.
DiCecca: Tennessee 35, Auburn 28
Bernstein: Tennessee 30, Auburn 24
Ahern: Tennessee 27, Auburn 20
Orovitz: Tennessee 32, Auburn 28
No. 24 Kentucky (3-1) at South Carolina (2-2)
In year one under Will Stein, Kentucky has been a revelation, cracking the Top 25 for the first time since 2023. After upsetting Texas A&M on the road, the Wildcats took care of South Alabama 45-21. Now, they head to South Carolina, where Shane Beamer is on one of the hottest seats in college football after consecutive losses to Mississippi State and Alabama. The Gamecocks, however, have won four straight games in this series, including a 35-13 home win over UK last season.
DiCecca: South Carolina 24, Kentucky 21
Bernstein: South Carolina 27, Kentucky 26
Ahern: Kentucky 28, South Carolina 24
Orovitz: South Carolina 21, Kentucky 18
Arkansas (2-2) at Texas A&M (2-2)
While this series has historically been a staple in Arlington, Texas, Arkansas will head to College Station for the first time since 2020 in a true Texas A&M home game. Both teams have had major ups and downs this season: the Razorbacks have wins over North Alabama and Tulsa but were crushed by Utah and Georgia, while the Aggies have lost two consecutive games to Kentucky and LSU. Texas A&M leads the series 42-37-3 and has won 13 of the last 14 games between the sides.
DiCecca: Texas A&M 38, Arkansas 10
Bernstein: Texas A&M 28, Arkansas 20
Ahern: Texas A&M 27, Arkansas 20
Orovitz: Texas A&M 37, Arkansas 14
McNeese (2-3) at No. 11 LSU (3-1)
While the other six SEC games this week are between two conference opponents, Death Valley will play host to the McNeese Cowboys. Lane Kiffin’s Tigers bounced back from their loss to Ole Miss with a 35-6 blowout win over Texas A&M. McNeese is 2-3 this season, beating Texas Wesleyan and East Texas A&M but losing to Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State and UT Rio Grande. These two teams have played twice, and LSU won both games.
DiCecca: LSU 48, McNeese 6
Bernstein: LSU 45, McNeese 7
Ahern: LSU 49, McNeese 10
Orovitz: LSU 52, McNeese 10
Contact Ava DiCecca at adicecca@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @avadicecca24.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @maxbernstein23.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Contact Riley Orovitz at rorovitz@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @rileyorovitz.
Ava DiCecca is a senior sports and media journalism student and a Fall 2026 sports editor and football beat reporter. Now in her fifth semester with The Alligator, she previously served as the Summer 2026 assistant sports editor, Spring 2026 sports editor, Gators volleyball beat reporter and an enterprise writer. In her free time, she watches Boston sports (Brad Marchand we still love you).
Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn't working, he's usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.
Curan is a senior sports journalism student in his sixth semester at The Alligator. He is currently a sports editor and football beat reporter for the Gators and the Jaguars. He previously served as a men's tennis and sports enterprise reporter, and he is pursuing a public relations minor.
Riley is a junior sports journalism student and a Fall 2026 sports editor and Gators football beat reporter. Currently in her third semester with The Alligator, she has previously covered Gators swim & dive and Gators gymnastics. She is an avid South Florida sports fan and enjoys playing/following all sports in her free time.
