Here’s our weekly look at the coaches with the most riding on this weekend’s games.

MOST TO GAIN

Mark Richt: Georgia fans are accustomed to winning. Richt has won 140 games since arriving in Athens in 2001 and has guided the Bulldogs to nine 10-win seasons with a 10th a distinct possibility in 2015. But Georgia fans are also accustomed to coming up short in a couple of big games a year. That hasn’t always been Richt’s fault, but there’s a segment of the fan base that believes he’s incapable of beating good teams in crucial spots. A win this week against Alabama would do serious damage to that theory. Even though the Bulldogs come in as a favorite in Las Vegas, this feels very much like a proving-ground game for Georgia.

Jim McElwain: The degree of difficulty has been turned up each week of the season, and each week the Gators have responded — albeit by ever-dwindling margins. This week’s game against No. 3 Ole Miss represents another leap forward in terms of the challenge presented, but also in the opportunity afforded. Last week’s win over Tennessee showed that Florida will be a factor in the East this season; a win over the Rebels would elevate the Gators yet another notch in the conference pecking order and make McElwain the first Florida coach to win his first five games at the school since Steve Spurrier in 1990.

Nick Saban: Even though Alabama remains an opponent no team relishes facing, the Tide’s recent slide to No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 and the fact that they come in to the Georgia game as an underdog for the first time since 2009 is evidence of a damaged dynasty, at least in terms of perception. In fact, many pundits are asking if Alabama’s reign of dominance is in its dying days. If the Tide go into Athens and knock off a top-10 team, that narrative loses a good bit of steam. More importantly, a win would keep Alabama in the thick of the hunt for another SEC West title entering the heart of the 2015 season.

MOST TO LOSE

Butch Jones & Bret Bielema: The parallel paths of these coaches will intersect Saturday in Knoxville, and the aftermath could be hazardous for the loser. Both coaches are in their third years at their current schools. Both struggled in Year 1, showed promising growth in Year 2, and have bitterly disappointed so far this season. Both squandered fourth-quarter leads a week ago in games that had the potential to turn their fortunes. And both are staring down the barrel of an 0-2 start to conference play after basking in glowing prognostications for the better part of the summer. The winner will salvage some hope as they enter the teeth of unforgiving schedules. The loser will be left at the edge of despair.

Kevin Sumlin: Last season the Aggies rallied for an emotionally taxing overtime win over Arkansas, then promptly lost three straight, falling from No. 6 to unranked in the course of one miserable October. This year, pollsters have been a little slower to buy in, but at No. 14, Texas A&M remains well-positioned if it makes the right kind of noise this month. Saturday, the Aggies will face a dangerous Mississippi State team before taking on Alabama and Ole Miss later in October. Perhaps just as threatening as the Bulldogs is the let-down/look-ahead spot Texas A&M finds this weekend. If Sumlin can guide the Aggies to victory against the Bulldogs, they’ll enter the bye week with a full head of steam, with two weeks to prepare for Alabama’s visit. But if Mississippi State walks into Kyle Field and leaves with an upset win over the Aggies for a second straight year, memories of last year’s mid-season collapse could start creeping in.