Forgive me for what you’re about to read. I promise that I have a point.

On Halloween weekend, it could get awfully scary in the SEC.

Here’s what I mean by that. Consider the following scenarios playing out for a pair of Playoff contenders.

What are the odds that Georgia fans are sweating out a 1-score game in the 3rd quarter against Florida, who has the best version of Anthony Richardson on display? And what about Tennessee? I wouldn’t rule out the idea of Kentucky’s passing attack forcing the Vols into a 60-minute game, which would make for an angsty Neyland Stadium knowing that Georgia still awaits.

Or alternatively, we could get a reminder that Georgia’s defense is still terrifying and that Tennessee’s offense is even scarier with Cedric Tillman back. Either way, a scary Saturday awaits.

Here are my early impressions of SEC games in Week 9:

Arkansas vs. Auburn — A bye week is the only thing that can save Auburn from its biggest weakness

That is, stopping the run. Nobody in the SEC is worse at it than Auburn. Perhaps a bye week will allow a thin defensive front to get the rest it needed to have a prayer against the Arkansas ground attack. Or perhaps the group who allowed 448 rushing yards against Ole Miss is about to get a full dose of Rocket Sanders and KJ Jefferson. At least one would think. Something tells me that duo got some much needed rest during the bye themselves.

This matchup has all sorts of potential to be a shootout because, well, that’s sort of who Arkansas is this year without Jalen Catalon. It’s a tricky spot for Eric Kiesau and Bryan Harsin because the best way to put pressure on Barry Odom’s defense is to try and stretch the field. If you do that and put the ball in Robby Ashford’s hands instead of Tank Bigsby’s, that’s only going to add to the growing criticism surrounding the stagnant offense, which still ranks No. 13 in the SEC after the improvement shown at Ole Miss. There might not be much that Harsin can do to save his job, but getting his second win in as many years against Arkansas would be a start.

Florida vs. Georgia — Stetson Bennett IV showed year-to-year growth in Jacksonville, so let’s see Anthony Richardson do it

Richardson was put in a brutal spot in this game last year. His first career start came against UGA, who might’ve been the best defense of the 21st century. We saw Richardson fumble deep in his own territory, throw an interception deep in his own territory and he also threw a pick-6. That was all in the final 2 and a half minutes of the first half. It was the ultimate “life comes at you fast” moment for the redshirt freshman.

This year against a lesser UGA defense, though, how much maturity will we see from Richardson? Will he pre-determine reads? Will he secure the football when he’s in space? Better yet, will he give Florida a chance? The Gators’ only chance if pulling off a massive upset in Jacksonville is if we get the Utah version of Richardson. Coming off the bye, could we see Richardson use his legs more than we have at any point since the Tennessee game? Florida fans can only hope.

Mizzou vs. South Carolina — Will either of these offensive play-callers have their some roles in 2023?

Eli Drinkwitz and South Carolina offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield probably shouldn’t search their names on Twitter during a given Saturday. It’s rough. There’s angst because both fanbases feel like their offensive weapons aren’t being properly used. Both offenses have benefitted from improved defenses and (mostly) stellar special teams play, but ultimately, both offenses have been a disappointment. That might sound strange considering Mizzou is only -11 in SEC play and the Gamecocks are in the midst of their longest winning streak of the Playoff era.

Drinkwitz’s team has yet to score more than 22 points against Power 5 competition this year and South Carolina having just 7 passing touchdowns through 7 games with arguably its most talent quarterback in program history is alarming. Unfortunately for these struggling offenses, these defenses are both in the top 1/4 nationally in yards per pass attempt. In other words, yeah, it’s not hard to figure out with the over/under is just 47.5 points. This has the makings of another day in which both fanbases are left calling for offensive changes at season’s end.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee — Say a prayer for these secondaries

Because we’re about to see Hendon Hooker and Will Levis sling it all over the yard just like they did last year when they combined for nearly 700 yards through the air. We know that Tennessee is at its best when it’s airing it out, and the fact that Cedric Tillman is expected to return will only add to the likelihood that the Vols are going to attack the Kentucky secondary that it torched in Lexington last year. And for Kentucky, this year’s squad is built better to air it out than last year’s. Why? In addition to Will Levis taking that next step, he’s got a deeper group of receivers than he had last year. As long as they’re healthy coming off the bye week, I expect Kentucky to attack a passing defense who ranked No. 129 in FBS entering Saturday.

There might not be a whole lot of empty possessions on Saturday. If Mark Stoops somehow contains this Tennessee offense, it might be the biggest feather in his cap to date.

Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M — Now is when we find out what Lane Kiffin’s squad is really made of

No, I didn’t call Ole Miss a fraud after Saturday’s collapse in Death Valley. They had weaknesses that were exposed, and a team lacking defensive depth was hurt by some key injuries to AJ Finley and Troy Brown. Ole Miss looked like a team who had never played from a deficit, which is sort of true. Think about this. Before Saturday, Ole Miss had played 420 minutes of football. It trailed for just 22 minutes and 27 seconds all year, and those deficits were in the second quarter against Tulsa and in the middle of the game at Vandy. Hence, why Ole Miss looked like a fish out of water when LSU when on its run on Saturday.

Against a reeling A&M squad, this is a perfect opportunity to show a little grit. We don’t know how healthy Ole Miss will be (hopefully Zach Evans returns?), but we do know that a 1-loss team in the SEC West is still very much in the national picture. Will Jaxson Dart bounce back after a rough second half? And will the Ole Miss defense that once looked like one of the surprise units in the SEC actually contain the SEC’s worst offense? This should set up well for Kiffin’s squad to answer the bell and quiet the “fraud” talk.