Huck’s Fearless Forecast

Darrell Huckaby is a syndicated columnist and author of six books including two about Georgia football. Read Huck’s Wit and Wisdom every Wednesday and Sunday. Subscribe at https://dhuck.substack.com/.

Homecoming weekend in Athens and rain is said to be on the way. Bummer. I graduated from the University of Georgia, hallowed be thy name, in 1974. Hard to believe it has been 52 years. We had Homecoming concerts back in the day—in The Coliseum—back when the Stegeman name was relegated to the gymnasium/natatorium that sat where the Tate Center parking deck now sits. There were no lights in Sanford Stadium in those days, and certainly no television for a Georgia-Vandy or Georgia-Kentucky or Georgia-Mississippi matchup. Those three teams were our designated Homecoming opponents. Every game started at 2 pm, as God intended. Vince Dooley believed that passing the ball more than ten times a game was a venial sin, so without pesky clock-stopping incompletions or television time-outs to impede progress, games were generally over by 4, allowing some of us to have one date for the Homecoming game and a different date for the concert. Then you just had to hope that Date A and Date B’s paths didn’t cross during the latter. All that to say that Saturday’s game, with a possible lightning delay, might not be over until well past the concert time, so come prepared. But What the Huck! It’s Friday, so let’s pick a few games.

(Last week we went 4-3; 3-4 against the spread.)

Georgia Tech at Bye Week. I like Tech this week, and I like ‘em to lose. Jackette coach, Brent Key says he is starting from scratch and rebuilding his football team after a 1-3 start to the season, including losses to bottom-feeders Colorado and Stanford. I’m betting that Tech loses this week against nobody, but I’m not laying any points.

Crimson Tide at Cowbell U. Kalen DeBorer is having his Tuscaloosa Pachyderms bus over to the Starkville jungle Saturday morning. They better not have a flat tire because the game already starts at 11 am, Central time, and if the team hits that gameday traffic they might be late for the pregame warmups. The boys in the desert started this one out with Bama being favored by three, but the wagering public has run that line out to about a touchdown. Bama may be looking ahead to next week when they play the real Bulldogs. They’d better not be because the ones in Starkpatch will give them all they can handle—but handle them they will.
Tide 28 Maroons 21

The Barn on Rocky Top. The Volunteers couldn’t quite pull off the upset against Horns Down last week. Meanwhile, on the Plain, Sybil was eeking one out over the Nashville Navy. I look for the Vowels to bounce back this week, and the Tigers/Plainsmen/War Eagle will be back at the old drawing board Sunday morning.
Tennessee 35 Auburn 24

Giant Water Lizards at Columbia West. The Florida Crocodiles seem to have a little extra pep in their collective step since Jon Summrall arrived at the Gainesville aquarium. They arrive at Missouri on a four-game win streak with their heads in the clouds after an emotional dismantling of the team that derailed the Lane Train just one week earlier. A lot of prognosticators are looking for a sizable letdown this week against Eli Drinkwich’s black-and-gold Tigers, but I think the orange-and-blue will leave the home team black-and-blue and return to the Sunshine state with their win streak intact.
Florida 31 Mizzou 21

KY at USC. Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? If so, I can’t imagine why. This is a lyric by Chicago, the band that played at our Homecoming concert when I was a sophomore at Georgia. I ditched my game date and took another date to the concert; a girl I met at the concession stand at halftime. Didn’t go well. Ran across the first date walking into the Coliseum for the second date. Things got ugly and I spent the concert and the rest of the evening alone. All this to say, does anybody really cares who wins this game outside of Lexington and Columbia East? I’m thinking the Sandstorm team wins.
Cocks 27 C-A-T-S 21

Commodores at Georgia. Speaking of Homecoming, Vandy QB Jared Curtis, to misquote John Denver, is coming home to a place he’s never played before. But he could have, if he hadn’t decided to take the NIL money and run at the last minute—after insisting for months that he was 100% committed to pursuing higher education at the University of Georgia. I wish I knew what the weather was going to do Saturday because sometimes rain can become the great equalizer and affect the point spread. It won’t affect the outcome, however. Dawgs on top.
Georgia 38 Vanderbilt 12

Look for me Saturday. I’ll be the good-looking guy in the red shirt—or the gray poncho, depending on what is or isn’t falling out of the sky. I won’t be at the post-game concert, though. My lovely wife, Lisa, doesn’t let me date anymore.

Darrell Huckaby