A pair of SEC games have been postponed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t intriguing matchups on the schedule for Saturday.
The big one, of course, will be the “SEC on CBS” primetime game: No. 3 Georgia will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 2 Alabama, with the main storyline for that one surrounding Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban. All eyes will be online to see if he receives the 3 negative results (of COVID tests taken 24 hours apart) he needs to be on the sideline after originally testing positive for the coronavirus.
Here’s how ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) projects each of Saturday’s 5 SEC matchups:
- No. 2 Alabama (60.6 percent to win) vs. No. 3 Georgia
- No. 11 Texas A&M (64.2 percent) at Mississippi State
- No. 15 Auburn (66.2 percent) at South Carolina
- No. 18 Tennessee (64.6 percent) vs. Kentucky
- Arkansas (57.4 percent) vs. Ole Miss
Here is ESPN’s definition of the Football Power Index:
The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
