Tennessee football has a tough act to follow at Neyland Stadium on Nov. 7.

And I’m not just referring to its 26-10 victory over Alabama in its most recent home game on Oct. 17. That performance was measured in decibels as much as points.

UT fans made so much noise that its stadium is being recognized as the nation’s loudest college venue.

You know what happens when a fan base gets a reputation like that?

Answer: It tries to get even louder.

Tennessee 27, Kentucky 20: The Wildcats have a better record and a higher national ranking than the Vols. Moreover, Kentucky is clearly headed in the right direction under first-year coach Will Stein.

But history tells us that Tennessee is always the wrong direction for Kentucky football, which has lost 38 of the previous 41 games in the series.

South Carolina 31, Texas A&M 23: Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer, aka Hot Seat Beamer, was predictably exuberant after a 42-25 victory over Oklahoma.

“Nobody in the SEC has been able to do what we did – a big win followed by another big win,” he told reporters.

South Carolina also is the only SEC team to lose games by blowing 17- and 16-point leads this season. But that’s ancient history.

In fact, the Gamecocks have had three consecutive “big wins.” A victory over disappointing Texas A&M will count as a “little win.”

Florida 26, Oklahoma 20: The Gators and Sooners are coming off bad losses. But that’s not all they have in common.

Both teams should be ecstatic that they don’t have to contend with South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

He accounted for five touchdowns in South Carolina’s 38-19 victory over Florida on Oct. 10. Three weeks later, he accounted for another five touchdowns in a 42-25 victory over Oklahoma.

Auburn 30, Arkansas 19: If you’re looking for excitement, don’t go near this matchup.

Excitement for Auburn is quarterback Byrum Brown running over somebody. Excitement for Arkansas is not getting run over by anybody.

LSU 31, Alabama 17: The Tide have won 13 of the past 15 games in this series. But you don’t need that much history to know how this game will turn out.

Just check what happened to Alabama on Oct. 17. Tennessee’s defense dominated the Tide from start to finish.

Alabama could have just as much trouble against LSU’s defense, which has allowed only 44 points in five games at Tiger Stadium.

Mississippi State 20, Vanderbilt 18: Bulldogs coach Jeff Lebby spent most of last week trying to decide whether AJ Swann or Billy Puckett should be his starting quarterback.

In fact, neither one is a good option, as the 31-3 loss to Texas proved.

The Bulldogs have scored only 18 points in their past three games as they struggle to replace injured quarterback Kamario Taylor. He was being mentioned in the same sentence with Heisman before suffering a season-ending injury.

Vanderbilt has problems of its own, including a penchant for penalties (nine per game).

But rather than dwell on the negatives, please note that both teams have good kickers.

Georgia 27, Ole Miss 23: If Bulldogs fans belabor comparative scores, they should be terrified at the possibility of facing the Rebels on the road.

A week after Auburn upset Georgia, Ole Miss beat the Tigers by 30 points.

But comparing scores can leave you spinning in circles. For example, Florida beat Ole Miss by 28 points. And Georgia just beat the Gators by 19 points.

Rather than get caught up in numbers, I prefer to focus on motivation. And what’s more motivating than revenge?

Ole Miss knocked Georgia out of the College Football Playoff last season.

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Missouri 23, Texas 20: Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning routinely takes a beating from critics. But he took a physical beating in a victory over Mississippi State.

Beating aside, he didn’t throw an interception. That’s progress, especially since he has a habit of throwing deep into double coverage.

Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons isn’t a running threat like Manning. But he protects the football.

Simmons has thrown 16 touchdown passes but only two interceptions.

Record: 69-16 (.812), 56-29 (.659) against the spread.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: History, noise favor Tennessee football vs Kentucky, other SEC picks | Adams

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