Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Well, I’m 22-5 on the season (.814) and not especially proud of my performance from last week.

I was 7-2, missing Mississippi State’s win over Vanderbilt and Georgia’s win over Arkansas. But I was also battling flu-like symptoms. I just want to get that out there.

Wearing a mask and my hands dripping in sanitizer, here are my picks for Week 4 in the SEC:

THURSDAY

Ole Miss 24, South Carolina 21: You keep waiting for the Head Ball Coach to win one of these games and notch that signature win that has escaped him at South Carolina. The Rebels are ripe for an upset after playing a soft schedule to this point. But Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead isn’t going to stay average for much longer, and South Carolina has some guys banged up on defense. Until the Gamecocks win one of these, it’s just hard to pick them.

SATURDAY

Tennessee 31, Ohio 13: Remember the days when a 10-point loss to Florida had everybody calling for the coach’s job at Tennessee? Well, it’s a different day on Rocky Top. The Vols are trying to work their way back to elite status under Lane Kiffin and hope to build off their hard-fought 23-13 loss to the Gators. The best way to do that is play with the same pride, purpose and toughness they played with at the Swamp from here on out ... regardless of the opponent.

Auburn 42, Ball State 10: A year later, the euphoria is gone for Ball State. The Cardinals had a memorable run last season, but lost just about everybody from that team. They limp into Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 0-3 record, including a loss to the same North Texas team that was trounced last week by Alabama. Look for the Tigers to go to 4-0 and pour it on in this game, almost as hard as the rain poured last weekend on the Plains.

Vanderbilt 27, Rice 20: If the Commodores ever needed a win, they need one now. They were able to get by last season with a strong defense and key plays on special teams, which masked a limited offense. There’s been no masking that offense this season, but a simplified attack and a few big plays from sophomore quarterback Larry Smith should be enough to keep the Owls winless. They’ve given up 140 points in their first three games.

Georgia 34, Arizona State 17: With all the grumbling about Georgia’s porous pass defense, gone virtually unnoticed is the fact that the Bulldogs are 2-0 in the SEC. They step back out of conference this week and face another stiff challenge in Dennis Erickson’s Sun Devils. Georgia’s schedule gets harder every time you look at it. But this is a team that has rallied around each other and will find a way to get it done again Saturday, setting up what will be a huge showdown with LSU in two weeks at Sanford Stadium.

Florida 42, Kentucky 14: The Gators have scored at least 45 points in three of the four games in this series since Urban Meyer arrived in 2005. The Wildcats had serious problems hanging onto the ball last week in their win over Louisville. If you turn the ball over against Florida, what happens is what happened to the Wildcats last season when they were clobbered 63-5. It won’t be that bad this time around, but the Gators will still take out a little frustration after not having their "A" game last week against Tennessee.

LSU 21, Mississippi State 16: This is a dangerous game for LSU. The Bulldogs are a confident bunch after winning at Vanderbilt last week, and senior running back Anthony Dixon is running like he means business. This is also Mississippi State’s first game back home after two straight games on the road, so the cowbells will be ringing with renewed vigor. The difference will be an LSU defense that hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the past six quarters and appears to be rounding into shape under first-year coordinator John Chavis.

Alabama 38, Arkansas 21: Watching Ryan Mallett go up against Alabama’s defense will be a treat, although it might not seem that way to Mallett when he’s got Marcell Dareus, Dont’a Hightower and Rolando McClain chasing him. The Hogs’ passing game is the real deal, but so is Alabama’s defense. The Crimson Tide will get Mallett out of the pocket, where he didn’t look quite as effective throwing against Georgia last week.