And here we are.
No McNeese to invade the world of SEC football. Just 7 league-on-league games in Week 6, none with a point spread (currently) over 2 scores.
You could argue that all of these games are somewhere between interesting and must-see. But as usual, we’re trying to simplify your weekend.
Here’s the SEC slate, where to watch, and what you simply can’t miss, whether you’re a one-game casual fan or a marathon Saturday watcher.
Snooze-fest ⭐ (1-star games)
These are the games you can fall asleep to:
None. Sleep some other weekend.
A bit compelling ⭐⭐ (2-star games)
Not the best the weekend has to offer, but mildly intriguing:
Tennessee at Arkansas (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Not the most exciting of games, largely because Arkansas is awful. Tennessee isn’t, and the up-in-the-air QB situation should be fun to watch. Is it George MacIntyre’s team now or is Faizon Brandon going to get another shot?
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
After a week off, the Ole Miss Rebels can start their bounce back by thumping the Commodores. Yes, Vanderbilt hung around a bit longer against Georgia than had been expected. But it doesn’t seem likely to mean much in the big picture.
Now we’re listening ⭐⭐⭐ (3-star games)
If you’ve got nothing else going on, relax and check these games out:
South Carolina at Florida (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
The Florida Gators now need to begin their bounce-back and a horribly slumping South Carolina team is a good opponent for the task. That said, Gamecock Nation’s patience is short and getting shorter. Financial issues will allegedly keep Shane Beamer around, but a thumping at Florida might lead USC fans to start passing the proverbial hat.
LSU at Kentucky (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Kentucky pulled off the tough scenario of being ranked in the top 25, winning on the road in conference as an underdog, and falling out of the top 25. The Wildcats will need the chip on their shoulder as they host a nationally dangerous LSU team. Kentucky has had relatively good success in recent years in Lexington against LSU… but not as much with Lane Kiffin, 2024 upset aside.
Break out the guacamole ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4-star games)
Invite some friends over to watch these matchups:
Texas A&M at Missouri (Noon ET, ABC)
One of the most competitive matchups of the weekend has a Missouri team coming off a glorious thumping of Florida, but now meeting a dangerous Texas A&M squad that surely can’t remain as bad as it had been against Kentucky and LSU. The Tigers are a slight home favorite, but the Aggies are dangerous… or Mike Elko might start to feel his seat warming by the minute.
Texas vs. Oklahoma (in Dallas) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Speaking of underwhelming, here’s Oklahoma. The most offensively decrepit team in the SEC takes on the No. 1 team in the nation at the Texas State Fair and is badly in need of a victory. Meanwhile, Texas hasn’t exactly been the 1980s San Francisco 49ers in its own offensive exploits, but seems to offer both an opportunity and a danger to see the season slip away for OU.
Block off the time, turn off the phone, pop the popcorn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5-star games)
You’re not going to want to miss a single second of these matchups:
Georgia at Alabama (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Game of the Year? At least so far, that’s the case. Two likely CFP teams try to get a leg up for the SEC regular-season title. The winner of this game, depending on how Texas plays, has a reasonable claim to the No. 1 ranking for next week. Is Alabama actually back? Or does Kirby Smart‘s big-game mojo give Georgia the edge in the series with Nick Saban‘s shadow hanging over it? Everybody will be watching.
The Game to See
Is this even a question? Tide. Bulldogs. We’re all in.
Dark Horse Game to Watch
LSU and Kentucky should be 2 top 25 teams and if LSU is a bit unfocused, that battle has real potential. If A&M is as hungry as it ought to be, its battle with Missouri is the other likely suspect here. Austin Simmons is quietly one of the most effective quarterbacks not just in the SEC, but in all of college football. Meanwhile, Marcel Reed might have the conference (or world’s) worst ratio of talent to results so far.
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Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
