It’s one last week of SEC football that’s fairly light on significant matchups. Part of the issue is bye weeks — there’s only a 10-game slate this week. Still, there’s definitely some SEC action worth watching in Week 4.
These rankings are subjective, but also account for league and national impact along with how exciting and how close the games will be. Games are ranked on a 1-to-5 star scale, with 5 being the most watchable game and 1 being the least.
Note that the entire league schedule is on Saturday, so no days will be listed below.
5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The game worth cancelling your plans, faking a cold, and to quote the legendary Lane Kiffin, getting your popcorn ready.
No. 22 Auburn at No. 11 Oklahoma (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
What’s not to love? Auburn has the chance make a massive statement, particularly QB Jackson Arnold, who ended up on the Plains because of his struggles at Oklahoma. Yes, the fighting John Mateers are still making their case as a potential Playoff team and he’s a plausible Heisman Trophy winner. It’s the lone ranked showdown of the day and the whole Jackson Arnold subplot is irresistible.
4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not quite as electric as the 5-star game, but still excellent quality college football.
Arkansas at Memphis (Noon ET, ABC)
Taylen Green has been absolutely electric for the Razorbacks and came an untimely fumble from leading Arkansas to a massive upset last week. But the Hogs are just 7.5-point favorites over Memphis, who is 3-0 and has the highest FPI ranking of any Group of 5 team. The SEC story is only a part of what’s going on here, but it’s all adding up to a potentially consequential and deeply competitive game.
Tulane at No. 13 Ole Miss (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Much like the last game, it’s a battle between a hard-to-figure but offensively explosive SEC squad, this time Lane Kiffin’s Rebels and Tulane, where Jon Sumrall has made the Green Wave a legitimate G5 contender. The Rebels are a 13.5-point favorite and seeing who is at QB for the Rebels alone is a big subplot. The Green Wave will have their hands full to win, but Kentucky and Arkansas both played 1-score games with the Rebels.
Florida at No. 4 Miami (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Here Florida is again, with Billy Napier clinging to his job. The Gators are just a 9.5-point dog at Miami, which suggests that maybe Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes aren’t getting a ton of respect. Surely, DJ Lagway will have a bounce-back game from the 5-pick fiesta of last week, right? Last season should have shown us all that one thing we know about the Gators is generally that we know absolutely nothing about the Gators.
3 stars ⭐⭐⭐
A game with some intriguing aspects, but generally not as competitive or interesting as those above.
South Carolina at No. 23 Missouri
With LaNorris Sellers now apparently playing, South Carolina really needs to avoid a second September loss. The home Tigers are a 9.5-point favorite and seeing how Beau Pribula does against an SEC defense is a major Mizzou storyline to watch. If Carolina had looked less hopeless last week, this could well be a 4-star game. As it is, the Tigers seem to come in looking pretty good.
2 stars ⭐⭐
Mostly reserved for quality teams in deeply mediocre matchups.
UAB at No. 15 Tennessee (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Not a ton to see here, except how Tennessee bounces back from a heart-breaking loss. The Vols are 38.5-point favorites, so it’s not like UAB can do much damage even if the Vols are pretty dozy.
Northern Illinois at Mississippi State (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
The other SEC Network game of the day is a tick above completely snooze-worthy. The Bulldogs are 21.5-point favorites, but need to make sure to catch every win possible ahead of the SEC run. The MAC has laid better teams to waste.
1 star ⭐
Only for the diehards.
Georgia State at No. 20 Vanderbilt (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
The fighting Diego Pavias basically get a glorified week off as a 28.5-point favorite over a 1-2 Georgia State team. Expect revenge from last year’s inexplicable loss. A 4-0 Vanderbilt is soon to be a thing.
SE Louisiana at No. 3 LSU (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
The Tigers didn’t even play an FBS team. This might be worth a look to see if Garrett Nussmeier can get a hot start and break out of his passing slump.
Sam Houston at No. 8 Texas (8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Likewise for Manning and Texas. The Horns are favored by 39.5 points, so winning and losing are basically outside of contemplation on this one.
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.
