Here’s our weekly look at the coaches with the most riding on this weekend’s games.

MOST TO GAIN

Jim McElwain: It’s been an extraordinarily rocky week for the Gators. Between the suspension of their starting quarterback to the arrest and ugly allegations levied against a reserve defensive back, Florida has had loads of distractions as it prepares for a showdown with unbeaten LSU. If McElwain can guide his team through this adversity and find a way to win at LSU on Saturday night, it will solidify the Gators’ hold on the SEC East and could galvanize the team as they head into the second half of the season.

Kevin Sumlin: Even though Texas A&M comes in ranked one spot higher than Alabama, Sumlin is the coach with more to gain in this matchup. In strictly on-field terms, its importance is equal for both sides, because both are in the thick of the hunt in the West. But in terms of perception, the Aggies become immediate playoff contenders with a win over the Tide. After knocking off Alabama in their first SEC season and giving the Tide a scare the following year, Sumlin and the Aggies were humbled in a 59-0 loss last season. That ugly defeat can be explained away as an anomaly if Texas A&M is still undefeated come Sunday.

Mark Stoops:  Kentucky is quietly lurking in second place in a division that now looks like it could be wide open. Given their history — both recent and long-range — the Wildcats remain on a quest to be taken seriously as a contender in the East. A win over a scuffling Auburn team on Thursday night wouldn’t immediately change that, but it would keep Kentucky trending in the right direction. The Wildcats avoid the West’s major powers this year and notching just their second win over the Tigers since 1966 would move Kentucky one step closer to getting bowl eligible for the first time in six years.

MOST TO LOSE

Nick Saban: It seems some in the media may have been a little overeager to bury the Tide. Just three weeks after Alabama’s home loss to Ole Miss, the Tide remain solidly in mix to represent the West in Atlanta this season — and once there, a playoff appearance is likely just one win away. That said, a loss to Texas A&M this weekend changes things dramatically. A second defeat in the division wouldn’t eliminate Alabama outright, but it would drop the Tide back to the middle of the pack and they’d need some significant help to climb out of that hole.

Shawn Elliott: It’s never easy to follow a legend, and that’s the situation Elliotts finds himself in this week following Steve Spurrier’s abrupt retirement. In his first game as the Gamecocks’ interim head coach, Elliott faces the double-edged sword that is a home game versus Vanderbilt. Win and you’ve only done what was expected. Lose and the fact that the Commodores have a solid defense won’t resonate with a fanbase that’s already looking elsewhere for its next HBC.

Mark Richt: The Bulldogs’ two-game slide is eroding the base of supporters Richt has built up over 14-plus seasons of winning football. And while it’s doubtful anything less than a total and utter collapse would be sufficient to chase him off the Georgia sidelines, the Bulldogs need a win to save face, if nothing else. The Georgia defense, which has yielded 76 points the past two weeks, should fare better against a struggling Missouri offense and a quarterback making his third career start. But Drew Lock has shown flashes of big-time talent and Missouri remains dangerous thanks to a stout defense.