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Through three weeks of the 2015 season, there are seven conference games in the books.
Four teams have yet to begin SEC play, and of the 10 that have, only four remain unbeaten entering Week 4.
With five conference games on the slate this week, those numbers are sure to shift as the four teams without a SEC record play their first conference games. And ultimately, the SEC championship picture will become a little bit clearer.
Here are some things we can learn about the SEC championship picture from those games:
SEC WEST
- Mississippi State at Auburn: With the SEC West champion likely to be a team that has two losses or less, it is safe to say that this meeting between a pair of 0-1 teams is very important to the chances of sticking in the race for both programs. An 0-2 start to the year isn’t a death sentence, but it is close in this division. Mississippi State hasn’t beating the Tigers at Jordan-Hare since 2007, though the Bulldogs did get the best of Auburn at Davis Wade Stadium last season. After benching Jeremy Johnson, Auburn will trot a brand new quarterback (Sean White) out there to face off with the best quarterback in the league (Dak Prescott). If nothing else, that dynamic of the matchup will make it must-see television.
- Texas A&M vs. Arkansas: Though both programs have had polar opposite starts to the 2015 season, the Aggies and Razorbacks stand on even ground this Saturday in terms of the SEC West standings. Both teams will make their conference debuts in Week 4 in Arlington for a “neutral-site” contest. It is safe to say that the Razorbacks would benefit from a 1-0 start to league play after losing two of three non-conference games, but the Aggies (3-0) have the look of a team that could be a serious contender to play in Atlanta in December. A win against Arkansas is the first step to making that a reality.
- Vanderbilt at Ole Miss: With Vanderbilt largely out of the picture in the SEC East, we’ll look at this game from an SEC West perspective. The Rebels hold a huge advantage in the division after a big-time win at Alabama last week, so the last thing they need is a letdown game at home against the Commodores. There should be very little to worry about for Ole Miss fans this week, though the fact that Vanderbilt has won five of the last eight meetings, including the last three in Oxford, surely sticks in the back of their minds no matter how big of a favorite the Rebels are supposed to be on Saturday.
SEC EAST
- Tennessee at Florida: This isn’t your typical Steve Spurrier vs. Phillip Fulmer matchup, when the winner was likely a shoe-in to represent the SEC East in Atlanta, but this early-season rivalry may have finally regained some divisional relevance. The Vols, which are 2-1 with a loss to Oklahoma, are looking to get their feet wet with the first road game and the first SEC contest of the season. Florida enters this game at 3-0, including a conference win against Kentucky already in the books. Missouri is the reigning division champ and Georgia is the prohibitive favorite, but both Tennessee and Florida see an opportunity to be contenders in a division that has been wide open in recent years. A win on Saturday brings one of the two closer to making contention a reality.
- Missouri at Kentucky: The Wildcats were hard-luck losers in close game against Florida last week, dropping them to 1-1 in the conference. Meanwhile, Missouri scraped by 9-6 in a non-conference meeting with UConn. Both will look to move past ugly offensive performances in a game that could play a big role in the SEC East race. If Kentucky is able to win, it would reassert them as a potential threat with a 2-1 record, while also handing the two-time defending division champs a loss in their first game. If the Tigers are able to win, it probably spells the end of including Kentucky in the SEC East discussing, narrowing the competition down to as few as four teams, given the early-season struggles of South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
