There are good questions, and there are not-so-good questions to be asked about teams in late October.

A good question is like one Ole Miss is asking — what’s the path to Atlanta?

A not-so-good question is like the one that South Carolina is asking — what’s the path to a bowl game?

Well, I suppose there are worse questions to be asking like the one Arkansas is asking — how much is it to buy out Sam Pittman?

Fortunately for Razorback fans, they get a bye week instead of watching that offense. We’ll save the Hogs discussion for another time.

Instead, here are my early impressions (and questions) for all 10 of the SEC teams in action in Week 9:

South Carolina at Texas A&M — This matchup is exactly what the doctor ordered for A&M

On Saturday, it’ll have been nearly a month since the Aggies won a game. They’ve seen dominant defensive fronts against the likes of Alabama and Tennessee, both of whom got to Max Johnson regularly. They’ve also seen talented secondaries who could make them pay for rushing throws. This matchup against South Carolina will have a much different feel for A&M. Coming off the bye week, we don’t know what the health of the Aggie defense will be after Edgerrin Cooper, Walter Nolen and Albert Regis all went down in the Tennessee game, but even shorthanded, it’s advantage A&M against South Carolina’s depleted offensive line.

Spencer Rattler has been everything Gamecock fans hoped he’d be. The problem? Like, besides his offensive line? Breakout star Xavier Legette was banged up in the Mizzou loss and he’s questionable for Saturday, as is 4th-leading receiver Ahmarean Brown. Barring a stunning breakout game from freakishly athletic true freshman Nyck Harbor, it’s hard to imagine an up-and-down A&M secondary getting picked apart like we saw against Miami and Alabama. It’s also hard to imagine a South Carolina defense that’s allowing an average of 6.2 yards/play (No. 115 in FBS) consistently getting stops in a hostile atmosphere.

There’s a reason why a struggling A&M team is a 2-touchdown favorite. Or rather, there are several reasons.

No. 1 Georgia vs. Florida (in Jacksonville) — The Brock Bowers-less Georgia offense will be ________.

“Effective.”

That’s not “explosive” or “dominant.” We could see flashes of those things, but I’m not expecting the Dawgs to consistently light up the scoreboard without the All-American tight end. What I am expecting is that an emerging Carson Beck, in a homecoming game for him, finds other ways to keep the chains moving. I’m on board with Oscar Delp taking a nice step forward at the tight end position, and I’d expect Dillon Bell to be even more prevalent as a hybrid player to help Georgia disguise looks. Now would be a good time for those transfer receivers, Dominic Lovett and RaRa Thomas, to become legitimate go-to weapons, especially against a Florida defense that’s No. 21 in FBS against the pass.

Bowers will be missed in the run game, both as a blocker and as an occasional ball carrier. You can bet Florida DC Austin Armstrong will feel more comfortable dialing up pressures knowing that he won’t be potentially leaving a defender on an island to cover Bowers in space, and if the Gators put more defenders at the line of scrimmage, it wouldn’t be surprising. But even without Bowers, let’s remember the blueprint. Georgia has won 35 consecutive games under Smart in which it hit 27 points. The last loss? The 2020 Florida game, which was also the Dawgs’ last regular season loss.

In other words, this doesn’t need to be a game in which UGA looks like an offensive juggernaut in a Bowers-less world.

Mississippi State at Auburn — Set your “forward pass” expectations low … and then drop them even lower

If passing is your jam, find another song to listen to. This won’t be the song for you.

Auburn’s well-documented passing game struggles have been on display all year, and against a Mississippi State secondary who just bottled up KJ Jefferson in Fayetteville, it’s hard to expect any sort of turnaround. After all, Auburn’s passing game ranks:

  • No. 130 in FBS 10-yard pass plays
  • No. 124 in FBS in yards/game
  • No. 108 in FBS in passing TDs
  • No. 103 in FBS in QB rating
  • No. 101 in FBS in yards/attempt

The only teams with fewer 10-yard passes than Auburn (36) are service academies. Yuck. Even more yuck? Auburn is averaging just 1 20-yard pass play per game against Power 5 competition. Even the frustrating Mississippi State passing game is averaging nearly 3 per Power 5 game.

Who starts at quarterback in this game? That’s a legitimate question on both sides, albeit for different reasons. Hugh Freeze continues to stick with a maddening 2-quarterback system, which saw Robby Ashford start but split series with Payton Thorne against Ole Miss. Mississippi State went with Mike Wright in place of an injured Will Rogers in a 7-3 barnburner at Arkansas, and while the former Vandy transfer did enough to win the game, he had a very Auburn-like line of 8-of-12 for 85 yards. Even if Rogers is out there, the Bulldogs are still barely a top-100 passing offense and they’ll face a Tigers defense that’s in the top half of the SEC against the pass.

We might not see 200 passing yards combined in this one.

No. 21 Tennessee at Kentucky — The Vols have some troubling recent road trends

So here’s something that no Tennessee fan wants to hear. Josh Heupel has a road game problem. Ever since the Vols earned that No. 1 ranking in the first Playoff poll of 2022, they’ve been a bit of a disaster in true road games:

  • 1-4 (lone win at Vandy)
  • 4 double-digit losses
  • 30.6 points allowed/game
  • 5.5 yards/play allowed
  • 8 penalties for 55 yards/game

That’s not ideal. And sure, 2 of those games were at Georgia (2022) and at Alabama (2023). But still, double-digit losses at South Carolina (2022) and at Florida (2023) are troubling.

That’s why the Vols are only a slight favorite (-3 as of this writing) on the road against a reeling Kentucky squad that most recently lost by 3 scores at home against Mizzou. Tennessee played 2 totally different halves in its 2 road losses this year, and more inconsistency would be a troubling development against a potentially desperate Kentucky team. The Cats are searching for their first win in a month, but they’re doing so at home at night, where they’ve won 17 of 23 since the start of 2017. It’s by no means a given that this is a “get-right game” for the Vols after the blown Alabama opportunity.

Vanderbilt at No. 12 Ole Miss — Thoughts and prayers to Vandy’s defense against a healthy Quinshon Judkins

I thought Judkins looked like his 2022 self at Auburn. Off the bye week, he had that burst that was lacking throughout most of the first half of the schedule. Perhaps a bit healthier behind an improving offensive line, Vandy will need a miracle to slow down the Ole Miss back. SEC teams averaged 201 rushing yards on 6 yards per carry against Clark Lea’s defense. And by the way, that was with star defensive player CJ Taylor, who is unlikely to play in this one because he got hurt on his interception return against Georgia. That’s bad news bears for a group that most recently surrendered 291 yards on the ground against Georgia and 215 yards at Florida.

Judkins has 3 consecutive games with a run of 20 yards after his longest rush in the first 4 games was 14 yards. After his quiet start, he’s now leading the SEC with 18 carries per game. Something tells me he’ll hit the “over” in a comfortable Ole Miss win.