5 things I can’t wait to see today in and around the SEC
By Chris Wright
Published:
The party’s in Jacksonville today, but the SEC’s headliner is in Oxford, where Ole Miss has an opportunity to right a lot of wrongs and wreck Auburn’s quest to reclaim the West.
Can the Rebels do it? That’s just one of five things I can’t wait to see today in and around the SEC.
1. Is Auburn really for real?
This is becoming a weekly hot topic. There’s no denying Rhett Lashlee has infused the Tigers’ offense. The Tigers are running over and around everybody in their path. Lashlee has found a way to mask Sean White’s deficiencies as a runner while incorporating his passing accuracy into an all-out running assault. None of it makes sense, but it’s been money.
Given Auburn’s rushing ability and Ole Miss’ inability to stop said run, would it surprise anybody if Auburn topped 400 yards today?
And Auburn’s defense is allowing fewer points than Alabama’s … to much less fanfare. Maybe we should have paid more props to the Tigers after they held Heisman contender Deshaun Watson and Clemson to 19 points in the opener.
They’ll be challenged today. Chad Kelly and the Rebels can score on anybody and are coming off their worst performance.
Ole Miss’ season is largely done, but the Rebels have a huge opportunity to wreck the Tigers’ postseason plans.
2. Statement game for Florida
Does anybody outside of Gainesville really believe the Gators are going to run the table and finish ahead of Tennessee in the East?
Questioning the Gators has become a hobby. It started in the preseason and has continued. The Gators are a touchdown favorite today and have won two straight in the series, yet it’s as though analysts are just waiting for the inevitable slip-up.
Clearly the matchup everybody wants to see is Jacob Eason vs. the Gators’ cornerbacks.
I think he’ll stay away from them and look to his emerging tight end, Isaac Nauta, instead. It’s a much safer option than throwing deep jump balls, which Eason likes to do, against the Gators’ ballhawks.
Teez Tabor (below) shares the SEC lead with four interceptions and Quincy Wilson has three. No need to invite trouble.
It’s been a rocky debut for Kirby Smart, but what better way to erase the taste of the Vandy loss than by knocking your rival out of the SEC East title race?
3. Kentucky going for fourth SEC win
That’s a significant number in Lexington, and the Wildcats will get to 4-2 today if they can knock off Missouri on the road. How significant is 4 SEC wins? The Wildcats haven’t finished with a winning record in the SEC since 1977; they’ve gone longer without posting a winning conference record than any Power 5 team in America. Worse, they’ve reached 4-4 just four times in that span.
A fourth win today also would equal Mark Stoops’ SEC victory total in his first three years — more tangible proof of progress.
4. Clemson-Florida State will impact Playoff race
FSU can’t prevent Clemson from getting to the ACC Championship Game, but a Noles victory tonight in Tallahassee sure would make the College Football Playoff race more interesting.
FSU has two ACC losses, so its conference hopes are done. Louisville’s only loss was at Clemson, and remember, the Cardinals were one play from being undefeated. They drove inside Clemson’s 10-yard line but couldn’t punch it in.
That’s why the Cardinals’ are the highest-ranked 1-loss team at No. 5 in both polls and a serious playoff contender.
Clemson owns the tiebreaker, however, so the Cardinals’ only hope to get to Orlando for the ACC title game is to have Clemson lose twice. Not happening. But a loss to FSU could change the way voters view Clemson and Louisville.
It could set up a situation in which the playoff committee takes a team that didn’t reach the conference title game over a conference champion.
The first CFP Ranking is Tuesday (7 p.m., ET, ESPN). The Clemson-Louisville debate will be front and center the rest of the way.
5. B1G drama in Madison
I joke plenty about the Big Ten, primarily because the league never disappoints. It starts fast, fades faster.
Nebraska is this year’s Iowa. The Cornhuskers are undefeated, No. 7 in the country and their signature moment was a 3-point home victory over a No. 22 Oregon team that has lost five consecutive games.
Is Nebraska any good? Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings list Nebraska No. 24. Sagarin has 3-4 Ole Miss at No. 12 and 4-3 Stanford at No. 22.
Like Iowa last year, the ‘Skers don’t pass many eye tests, but they have an opportunity tonight to silence a lot of skeptics.
No. 11 Wisconsin is offensively challenged, but the Badgers’ defense is one of the best in the country. A typical Big Ten 17-14 slugfest wouldn’t surprise anybody. Unfortunately for the ‘Skers, it might not impress many, either, but it would be a road victory over a ranked team — something they can’t yet claim on their resume.
Chris Wright is Executive Editor at SaturdayDownSouth.com. Email him at cwright@saturdaydownsouth.com and follow him on Twitter @FilmRoomEditor.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
