Let's re-focus, pick 'em one game at a time

It was bound to happen and it did. I was cruising along, picking winners as if I had a crystal ball hidden under my desk. I was picking winners like Bear Bryant and John Vaught used to win. Consistently. I was the cock of the walk.
Then, as they say — “on any given Saturday” — I lost my focus. I took my eye off the ball. I got overconfident, complacent. I quit picking them one game at a time. It happens to the best of them. It happened to Nick Saban once last season.
I picked 10 games, just four winners. How was I supposed to know Johnny Football was going to go otherworldly on us? How was I supposed know the officials in the Saints-Patriots game were going to lose their eyesight? And I still can’t believe Texas beat Oklahoma…
So you know what happens when you experience a weekend like this? You get back to basics. You try to shut out all distractions. You quit reading you press clippings. Get back to fundamentals. Knuckle down. Bow your neck. Focus, focus, focus… Keep your eye on the prize. Block out everything (except cliches).
(My record now stands at 55-18 and my winning percentage drops to 75.3.)
LSU 34, Ole Miss 24 — The Rebels are hurting defensively. LSU has too many Tigers (horses).
East Carolina 35, Southern Miss 14 — The nation’s longest winning streak gets longer with no end in sight.
Jackson State 48, Grambling 0 — What would Coach Rob say about this Grambling team?
Texas A & M 42, Auburn 34 — Johnny Manziel, period.
Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 24 — This has become a must-win for Georgia.
Missouri 27, Florida 17 — Neither team has its starting quarterback but Missouri has made a believer out of me.
Alabama 31, Arkansas 7 — Yeah, I know, it’s monotonous or consistent, your choice.
South Carolina 27, Tennessee 20 — The Gamecocks are hot.
Florida State 21, Clemson 17 — They are calling this the biggest game in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Seriously? The SEC has about two or three of these every year.
Southern Cal 30, Notre Dame 27 — Coach O, 3-21 in the SEC at Ole Miss, tries to go 2-0 at USC. He just might.