5 best SEC games this weekend
Several SEC teams head out of conference this week. A little breather is necessary, and well-earned, for those teams who started their conference slates in Week 1 and 2.
For a good chunk of the league, though, Week 5 holds some keys to the season. Arkansas is holding to slim bowl-eligibility hopes. Tennessee hopes to hold a lead. South Carolina and Missouri don’t want near-bottom of the East. And those four teams aren’t even in the best three games.
So, without further ado, here are the best best SEC games this weekend.
5. South Carolina at Missouri
Well, there are five conference games in the SEC this week. Something had to be fifth. It’s this Fight For Columbia that fits as a top-fiver almost by default. Missouri has, mostly, looked like the worst 3-1 team in FBS. And now without three-year starter Maty Mauk (suspension) to start, the league’s worst offense may get worse. Not that the Gamecocks are all that much better (11th in both scoring and total offense). The game seems to mean more to South Carolina, which doesn’t want an 0-3 SEC start.
4. Arkansas at Tennessee
Really, this game is only slightly less intriguing than it was in July. And that’s not us being facetious. Back then those of us at SEC Media Days had this pegged as must-watch between two programs seeking the next step. Now it’s must-watch to see which program is in more peril. Arkansas has lost three straight games to the likes of Toledo, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Tennessee has blown two fourth-quarter leads. If this were 1995, we might predict a tie in this one.
3. Mississippi State at Texas A&M
This game is meatier than the two before it by far. A Texas A&M win and the Aggies can claim they belong with Ole Miss and LSU as the cream of the West Division crop. A Mississippi State win and chasm between have and have-not in the division grows even greater. Expect points and lots of them.
2. Ole Miss at Florida
Is Florida for real? Heck, is Ole Miss? While the Gators aren’t the stiffest test Ole Miss will face this season, the Gainesville bunch is far better than anyone outside north-central Florida figured. They’re still unbeaten and 2-0 in the East. Ole Miss is better than nearly everyone (except one person, ahem) figured, is scoring points in bunches and has beaten Alabama already. In all liklihood it’s the Rebels’ last test until the end of the month, too.
1. Alabama at Georgia
Mark Richt, this is your year. The longest-tenured coach in the SEC is well-liked and has kept Georgia among the top 15 programs in college football. He just hasn’t gotten them much higher than top 15. This might be his year to do it and beating Alabama would help. The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, will be looking to prove the loss to Ole Miss was a one-off thing and Alabama is still a national powerhouse. Enjoy this one, football fans.
“He just hasn’t gotten them much higher than top 15.”
I believe UGA finished ranked in the top 5 way back in 2012.
#6 but close enough. The more this game gets built up for Georgia, the more I’m worried that the blame will be put on Richt if Georgia loses. Simply a toss up game that comes down to turnovers.
This is a game UGA should win. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into last years UGA vs UF game.
You just compared Alabama to a bad Florida team that won 6 games. Not the same thing.
Last year’s game against Florida was a beat-down. He’s not so much comparing the teams as he his comparing the potential similarity of the results and how he doesn’t wish for it to be so.
Over the next two months, there will be several upsets in the SEC, mostly in the West. The winner of the West will have two losses. You heard it here first. One thing for sure is that MSU will not finish 0-6 in the West, as predicted preseason.
Georgia is in good shape. I think if they loose this game and win the rest and represent the east in the SEC championship game they will be facing a top 5 team. If they can manage to enter that game at 5-6-7, and win, they will claim a spot in the CFP. If they win this game, win out and loose the SEC championship, I don’t think they will be rewarded.
Because Olé Miss beat Bama head to head, LSU and Olé would have to loose 2 times or Olé Miss looses 2 games and Bama beats LSU head to head.. I don’t see Olé Miss loosing 2 games, but anything can happen.
This is an elimination game for Bama, lets see how Lane Kiffen calls the game.
Lastly, because it’s on the road, Between the Hedges at that, Bama better be prepared for adversity. Because it may very well occur in the 1st qtr.
Alabama – 27 (7pts scored with under a minute to go)
Georgia – 41
No one is talking about how this game is going to be a wet one. It’s supposed to be a torrential downpour with expected 2-3 inches of rain.
A.) that means this game will not be very high scoring
B.) comes down to the trenches and who can run most effectively
C.) who holds on to the ball and doesnt make costly turnovers.
Cant wait for this old fashioned hit you in the mouth SEC game.
Roll Tide!
I think the rain will be on Georgia’s side. Being at home with a vicious crowd will all but win it for Georgia. Alabama fans better be doing hocus pocus to keep that rain away from Athens.
Man, y’all Georgia fans act like this should be an automatic win. Its 50-50 for real.
Best SEC weekend to date. The whole day is spread with good games to watch. Can South Carolina pull what Missouri did last year(Missouri lost to Indiana in 2014 to come back and win the east). Missouri barely beat UConn and lost to Kentucky. Can Missouri bounce back like they did last year?
The loser of the Arkansas/Tennessee game will officially have their hype bubble popped for the season.
Is Texas A&M the same team from last season generating a lot of hype at the beginning of the season to only see it disappear as the back end of the season approaches.
Florida has been rejuvenated and appears ready to get back into national talks. Will Ole miss be able to handle a road game in the Swamp? (Sorry but @Florida at night is more of a home field advantage than @Alabama at night)
Can Georgia handle winning a highly ranked SEC game that they are SUPPOSED to win?
Can Alabama win a game against an SEC East team that’s actually built to grind out a game in the trenches? (Alabama vs South Carolina 2010 comes to mind)
Good stuff; excited about tomorrow.
You’ve obviously never been to good Alabama night game, which the players (not fans/media) named the best environment in the conference this past summer. And if we are talking trenches, its not like Wisconsin’s lines are bad and Bama crushed them. Doesn’t mean Bama wins but Georgia isn’t ‘supposed’ to win this game. Its more of a toss up than anything.
I feel like just this post did a better job than a lot of the SDS articles.
“The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, will be looking to prove the loss to Ole Miss was a one-off thing and Alabama is still a national powerhouse.”
It doesn’t matter if we lose to Georgia, we’d still be a powerhouse….. So sick of this “the sky is falling” bullcrap.
Georgia looks like a good, solid team. No serious deficiencies now that Lambert has proven to not be a dud. But they haven’t been tested yet against what I would consider a strong team to see just how good they are.
Alabama IMO at this point is a good and very dangerous team with a couple of deficiencies/inconsistencies… namely at QB and kicking. The QB play might be good, or not, and that lack of consistency cost them against Ole Miss. But to give up 5 turnovers, a luck TD play of the decade, and a blown ref call that cost them another 7 points, and keep pulling back into the game with solid drives down the field after another blow to the gut time after time after time and pull within a score at the end is remarkable. There’s serious talent and grit there. If they play solid and relatively mistake free they are going to be hella hard to beat. I’m hoping for a few turnovers, ref help, and divine intervention when they come to Starkville! :)
Cmon StateGrad give Ole Miss some credit for once in your life. The only reason it was a one score game in the end was a lucky onside kick. Anyone can claim anything was lucky. Ole Miss was and is the better team and it showed.
See, I’m not sure if that game was a case of Ole Miss being that good or Bama having a bad game. The Crimson Tide has some issues at QB and it showed in that game. Ole Miss struggling like they did the very next week at home against Vandy makes me think that, maybe, it was the latter. We will see how things shake out. There is a lot of football left to play and anything can happen at this point.
Thebeardo: according to your logic, woulda, shoulda, coulda only counts if you are a Bama fan, and they only lose when they play a “bad” game, and not when the other team plays better ! You will never convince me that Bama doesn’t give it’s all when they play ! They are too good and dedicated to give less than their all ! Even the best make mistakes at times! Of course, it happens that Bama happens to be less prone than others in making mistakes! That is the reason they are so formidable!
My logic? I was simply putting out the scenarios. Everybody is prone to an off day. Even the best. I was impressed with Ole Miss winning in Tuscaloosa but the way they struggled against Vandy at home gave me pause. Like I also said, there is a lot of football left to play. We will see how things shake out.
My logic looks to be a little more sound at the moment, huh?