College Football Picks: South Carolina vs Alabama

The SEC is known for stellar football matchups, and this week will be full of them once again.

One such game is the contest between South Carolina and Alabama. The Gamecocks come into the game at 5-1 and ranked No. 22 in the country. The Crimson Tide come in at 6-0 and have moved all the way up to No. 2, ahead of Texas.

As far as free college football picks go, if the Tide can take care of business, they will be one step closer to a National Championship game. Nick Saban’s team has played good football lately and dominated a ranked opponent in Mississippi last weekend. Will the Tide keep rolling to a victory this weekend against South Carolina and “The Old Ball Coach”?

South Carolina Gamecocks Picks: Steve Spurrier is having one of his best years in South Carolina and is creating some belief in his program. They have already played some great games and managed to beat No. 4 Mississippi a few weeks back. The strength of their team lies in the defense, as they are ranked 15th in the country.

They are a scrappy team and hope to keep the game close. Their formula for winning so far in the season has been to keep it close and then make some plays at the end of the game. It’s worked so far with only one loss on the year. Not many people think they’ll beat Alabama in this game, but if they play like they are capable of playing, it will be a tight game.

Alabama Crimson Tide Picks: The Crimson Tide come in as favorites in this game, and many people think they will coast all the way to the National Title game. They are very strong on both sides of the ball with the No. 17 ranked offense and the No. 2 ranked defense in the country. Anytime you can get that kind of balance, you know you’ve got a pretty good chance to beat anyone.

They only allow 12.5 points per game and have a habit of making you do things you don’t want to do on offense. Their sophomore running back Mark Ingram is a beast out of the backfield and has been running well for them all year. He racked up 172 yards rushing last week against Mississippi and scored on a 36-yard touchdown run.

Many people questioned whether or not Nick Saban would be able to repeat last year’s amazing performance. He has erased any doubters as they now have complete control of the SEC West race. If they keep playing well, there should be no problem getting to a matchup with Florida for the SEC Championship Game.

Outlook: The Crimson Tide come into this game with a lot of hype surrounding them. They are a very good team and if they play their game, there will be no stopping them. If you're looking for free football picks, however, the Gamecocks are not just going to roll over and die. Steve Spurrier will have his team ready to play much like they did against Mississippi. If the game stays close until the final quarter, anything can happen in the SEC.

Check out Vernon Croy’s Expert College Football Picks this week.