NEAL'S PICKS PALATIAL HEADQUARTERS -- At one point this past Saturday, the decision had been made to move on from Isabelle.

She's a hard-working intern, and God knows how much she loves Neal's Picks.

However, we weren't getting results. We laid the points with Vanderbilt and came up a half-point short. We took Texas A&M and laid the points and missed by a mile. We then took Alabama and laid the points, only to see Ole Miss close the gap and cover the spread.

All of those picks were Isabelle's idea. Off to an 0-3 start, the machinations were in place here at Neal's Picks to move her out, conduct a national search for a new head intern and make a clean sweep. Maybe new blood is what was needed.

There was pushback, of course. Isabelle is a local girl. She's got strong support from some of the businesses in the immediate proximity of Neal's Picks Palatial Headquarters.

Then, just as all hope for Isabelle was lost, she rallied. Auburn covered the line against Mississippi State and South Carolina whipped Kentucky. That late flourish ensured at least another week for Isabelle as lead intern.

Sure, we're in last place, but we're just one game out of third, two games out of second and three games off the pace. Also, a source close to Neal's Picks has told us there's a strong chance we stray outside the SEC starting next week. There's pressure on Isabelle now.

Other interns aren't happy with her and they make fun of how she just sits and stares at the computer screen for hours, seemingly in a daze.

So with controversy out in the open, on to the picks...

Last Week:

Neal McCready: 6-0 overall, 2-3 ATS

Chase Parham: 5-1 overall, 2-3 ATS

Jeffrey Wright: 6-0 overall, 3-2 ATS

Zach Berry: 6-0 overall, 2-3 ATS

For The Season:

Neal McCready: 43-8 overall, 19-22 ATS

Chase Parham: 40-11 overall, 20-21 ATS

Jeffrey Wright: 42-9 overall, 22-19 ATS

Zach Berry: 41-10 overall, 21-20 ATS

Utah State (+23.5) at No. 5 LSU, 11 a.m., SEC Network

Neal McCready: Utah State is pretty solid, but after a week off, LSU is going to be fresh. That south Louisiana humidity is going to do work on the boys from Logan. Neal's Pick: LSU 49, Utah State 21

Chase Parham: It was snowing in Utah this past week. I never consider weather that big of a deal, but this seems like an extreme difference. Parham's Pick: LSU 42, Utah State 17

Jeffrey Wright: Until LSU proves me wrong, I will keep believing that they are on a quest to wreck souls.Wright’s Pick: LSU 52, Utah State 24

Zach Berry: Dave Aranda is still coaching defense and Joe Burrow is still erasing people's hope. Zach’s Pick: LSU 51, Utah State 23

No. 7 Auburn (-3.5) at No. 10 Florida, 2:30 p.m. CDT, CBS:

Neal McCready: Lay them. The Tigers' defense is going to give the Gators (and everyone else) fits. He's fun to make fun of, but Gus Malzahn has done a helluva job so far this season. Neal's Pick: Auburn 27, Florida 17

Chase Parham: I'm highly annoyed we didn't get this line at the first of the week, and I know Florida has some injured players returning this week. But Auburn defensively is so impressive. I'm sticking with the Tigers for the second week in a row. Parham's Pick: Auburn 34, Florida 17

Jeffrey Wright: This line absolutely stinks. Auburn has looked consistently better than Florida all year. However, sharps are on Florida. Mullen is weirdly good in this spot, home team against a team that he can get into the mud. Also, the power rankings say that the wrong team is favored. I will begrudgingly take the points and hate it.Wright’s Pick: Auburn 24, Florida 21

Zach Berry: Auburn is scary right now. Zach’s Pick: Auburn 30, Florida 16

Troy (+25.5) at Missouri, 3 p.m., SEC Network:

Neal McCready: This feels like a lot of points, as Troy is a solid offensive team. However, I'm high on the Tigers, and they're really playing well as of late. Neal's Pick: Missouri 42, Troy 20

Chase Parham: Missouri is plenty good enough to cover this by the end of the third quarter, but I expect a competitive first half. Troy can put up a few points and make the cover complicated. The Tigers should be in solid form when Ole Miss arrives next week, though. Parham's Pick: Missouri 45, Troy 24

Jeffrey Wright: Hold your nose, and pray that the back door is open. You will never like this bet, but the data says to take the points. Wright’s Pick: Missouri 45, Troy 21

Zach Berry: Look-ahead spot for Missouri with a get-able/big conference game next week with Ole Miss coming to town. I think Troy will hang around. Zach’s Pick: Missouri 44, Troy 24

No. 3 Georgia (-25) at Tennessee, 6 p.m. CDT, ESPN

Neal McCready: My goodness, the Vols are getting 25 points at home. Think about that. I have no issue laying them, either. Georgia's defense is going to stifle Tennessee quickly. That program is a mess. Neal's Pick: Georgia 38, Tennessee 10

Chase Parham: Tennessee can't score. So Georgia just has to score four touchdown in order to cover this thing. It's amazing how easy it is to lay more than three scores against Tennessee, isn't it? Brick by brick was better than what's currently going on with the Vols. Parham's Pick: Georgia 38, Tennessee 9

Jeffrey Wright: Sharps are all over Tennessee. However, sharps still miss 40-percent of their picks. Wright’s Pick: Georgia 38, Tennessee 10

Zach Berry: Ya hate to see it. Zach’s Pick: Georgia 45, Tennessee 14

Vanderbilt (+7.5) at Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network

Neal McCready: I'm dealing with a lot of stress these days, so the feeling I've got could be all screwed up. However, I have a feeling Ole Miss is about to have a breakout game of sorts. Neal's Pick: Ole Miss 37, Vanderbilt 13

Chase Parham: I think Ole Miss wins this game, but the line is a couple points higher than I prefer. I don't think Vanderbilt is good, and it may even be worse than expected, but Ole Miss is just 5-5 in this series the past 10 years and only 4-6 against the spread. I'll see it's reasonably close. Parham's Pick: Ole Miss 31, Vanderbilt 27

Jeffrey Wright: The data says to take Ole Miss. The eye test says take Ole Miss. I think Ole Miss is trending to play its best game of the year. Also, I don’t trust Riley Neal to pull the trigger to beat Ole Miss. Wright’s Pick: Ole Miss 31, Vanderbilt 21

Zach Berry: This has a similar feel to the 2017 edition of this game. I don’t think it matters who plays quarterback for Ole Miss because the Rebels have multiple options on offense that can expose this 2019 edition of the Vanderbilt defense. The run defense has been stout all season so unless Riley Neal can light them up, I like the home team here. Zach’s Pick: Ole Miss 48, Vanderbilt 17