Last week featured several marquee matchups, but turned more into “Blowout Saturday” as several games featured margins of at least 30 points.
While some teams may be reeling from their blowout losses, everyone on tap for this weekend will look to get a big win as five of the six games will be between two SEC teams.
Here is the biggest storyline for each SEC team heading into Week 9.
Alabama – Following a loss to Ole Miss and an ugly win against Arkansas, the question arose: Was this Alabama team not as good as originally thought? Well, that’s no longer the right question to ask. The Crimson Tide dominated Texas A&M over the weekend 59-0 and now travel to Knoxville to take on rival Tennessee. While the Vols are improved this season, this game shouldn’t be much of contest, especially with how Alabama’s played recently. They are still very much in the playoff hunt.
Arkansas – After several weeks of close SEC losses, the Arkansas Razorbacks struggled against Georgia, falling 45-32. The Hogs are still searching for that precious first SEC win under Bret Bielema, but that’ll have to wait another week as UAB comes to town. Fortunately for Bielema and his team, this should be a good tune-up for Mississippi State next week. If the Hogs are to even think about upsetting the No. 1 team in the nation on the road, they’ll need a strong performance this week to build off of.
Auburn – This week will be Auburn’s first game back since suffering a tough loss to Mississippi State two weeks ago. The Tigers are still considered one of the most complete teams in the conference and shouldn’t have too much trouble with South Carolina this weekend. The Gamecocks’ defensive line hasn’t gotten much pressure on anyone this season, so Auburn’s high-powered offense should have a relatively easy time executing on Saturday. First-down yardage is an aspect head coach Gus Malzahn wants to improve, so this will be a good opportunity for Auburn to get off to a hot start.
Florida – Mercifully, the Florida Gators limp into a bye week, coming off an embarrassing home lost to Missouri. All eyes will be on Will Muschamp this week as the head coach’s hot seat has officially bursted into flames. The Gators have a ton of things to improve and figure out, so this will be a much-needed bye week for the embattled team.
Georgia – Georgia also has a bye week this week, but the Bulldogs are in a much different place than their next opponent — the Florida Gators. Despite Todd Gurley’s suspension, no team has arguably played better than Georgia. The emergence of Nick Chubb at running back has made it seem as if Gurley is no longer needed. UGA will benefit from the bye week as Keith Marshall and possibly Gurley could all return for the Florida game in two weeks to compliment Chubb in the backfield.
Kentucky – Kentucky surprised everyone so far this season. However, the Wildcats’ performance against LSU was more reminiscent of the Kentucky teams of the past decade rather than the athletic and much more improved Mark Stoops’ squad. A 41-3 loss could shake the confidence of this team, but they’ll need to bounce back quick with No. 1 Mississippi State coming to Lexington. After facing arguably the toughest adversity of the season, how Kentucky responds to an even tougher opponent in the coming week will be a big indicator of how far this team has come.
LSU – LSU’s big win over Kentucky following a close win at Florida two weeks ago vaulted the Tigers back into the top 25. While the last two weeks have gone LSU’s way, this week’s matchup with Ole Miss all but ruins the good vibes in Baton Rouge. It’s a home night game for LSU, which is normally a huge advantage, but the Tigers don’t seem to have the same edge this season as in years past. Ole Miss has proved night game atmospheres don’t hinder them, so the Rebels will be a tough challenge for LSU. It’s virtually impossible to see how the LSU quarterbacks will play well against Ole Miss’ stingy defense, but it’s going to be a game-changer come Saturday night.
Mississippi State – Fresh off a bye week, the No. 1 team in the nation travels to Lexington, Ken., for the 3:30 p.m. CBS game. For the Bulldogs, they’ve taken down three straight top-10 ranked opponents, but this weekend’s opponent is a unranked team, but in a lively environment on the road. Because this game is not as high-profile as their past three and it’s on the road, the Bulldogs may be vulnerable to a letdown against the Wildcats. Mental toughness will certainly be the most important aspect for Dan Mullen’s team this weekend.
Missouri – In what amounted to one of the stranger games of the season, Missouri blew out the Florida Gators on the road, despite totaling less than 100 yards of offense. The Tigers shined on defense and special teams as those two units scored four touchdowns between them. Moving forward, Missouri gets an easier opponent in Vanderbilt this weekend, so it’s an opportune time to improve the team’s offensive woes. Quarterback Maty Mauk needs to turn things around soon or Missouri won’t have a shot of winning the SEC East.
Ole Miss – It looked a little bit rocky for the Ole Miss Rebels this past weekend against Tennessee, but they eventually pulled away in a blowout win. The Rebels travel to Tiger Stadium for another game in a tough road environment. LSU has struggled this season, but two consecutive wins has the energy back within the program and it should be a great atmosphere this weekend in Baton Rouge. As always with the Rebels, it’ll be interesting to see if Good Bo or Bad Bo shows up this weekend, but more and more often Good Bo seems to be taking over each week.
South Carolina – The Gamecocks took care of business Saturday against Furman, but even their 41-10 victory didn’t seem all too impressive. At times, South Carolina looked shaky on defense and throwing the ball. This week, Steve Spurrier’s team faces off against Auburn. Since arriving at South Carolina, Spurrier is 0-5 against Auburn. Is this team talented enough to give him his first win as the Gamecocks head coach? It’s unlikely, but they’ll have to ride Mike Davis if they want to have a shot.
Tennessee – A strong start for the Vols kept things close against Ole Miss early on, but eventually Tennessee relented and the Rebels won 34-3. As improved as Tennessee looked at the beginning of the season, the fact remains that the Vols are 0-3 in SEC play this season. With Alabama upcoming, I doubt Tennessee gets that first win this weekend. How long will it take for fans to be unsatisfied with the “brick by brick” mentality if the Vols can’t win the big games? Time will only tell.
Texas A&M – After a hot start to the season, the Aggies are losers of three straight and now even their impressive season-opening win against South Carolina doesn’t look nearly as good. This upcoming bye week comes at the perfect time. Texas A&M is an incredibly talented team, but with a lot of younger players, it’ll be interesting to see how this rough stretch affects them moving forward.
Vanderbilt – The Commodores had an extra week to prepare for Missouri and Derek Mason’s team will look to claim its first SEC win. Vanderbilt continues to struggle with any sort of consistency at quarterback and the offense (and defensive) woes continue. There’s not much of a chance for an upset this weekend, but with Missouri’s offensive struggles, anything can happen.
Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.
