There’s no such thing as a bad week. Not even you, Week 8.

Yes, I understand that we’ve got 5 SEC teams on bye. It’s the most popular bye week in the conference, and coming off the Saturday we just got, that feels like the calm after the storm.

But make no mistake, we’ve got storylines and long-term implications galore. We’ve got a trio of SEC teams in the AP Top 10 who’ll be in action. Well, Tennessee isn’t really in “action” against FCS Tennessee-Martin, but technically, the Vols will be in uniform and playing in a football game.

Here are some early impressions for each SEC matchup in Week 8:

Tennessee-Martin vs. Tennessee — Leave Cedric Tillman out another week

Because if you can beat Alabama without him, you can sure as heck beat an FCS team without the star receiver. Tillman hasn’t played since Week 3 against Akron, and yet, the Vols are sitting there with the No. 2 scoring offense in FBS having just put up more points on Alabama than anyone has in the last 115 years. Jalin Hyatt emerged into a superstar and Bru McCoy has been everything Vols fans could’ve hoped for.

That’s why I would assume that with Kentucky and Georgia following the UT-Martin tuneup, we won’t see Tillman back. Josh Heupel said leading up to the Alabama game that he wouldn’t play unless he was at 100%. We know that the route tree demands that. Getting Tillman back for a potential Playoff push is a top priority. There’s no need to risk injury on Saturday.

Ole Miss vs. LSU — Did LSU’s passing offense really turn the corner? Or was it just Florida?

Jayden Daniels took what he wanted all night against the Gators. Six touchdowns (3 rushing, 3 passing) highlighted his best game at LSU by a mile. But the question is whether that was a “turn the corner” game or an outlier game. I’d be a bit skeptical of it considering the Gators allowed 9.2 yards per passing attempt against Power 5 competition in the first half of 2022. But at the same time, we never questioned the talent of LSU’s receivers and the potential upside if Daniels could settle in and take command of the offense.

AJ Finley and the Ole Miss pass defense has been quietly one of the SEC’s top units. On the year, Chris Partridge’s defense allowed just 200.5 passing yards per game against Power 5 competition. Granted, those road games were against Vandy and Georgia Tech. Containing the mobile Daniels and limiting the emerging connection with Kayshon Boutte and Brian Thomas Jr. (Malik Nabers was his go-to in the first half of the season) is a different story.

Vanderbilt vs. Mizzou — Eli Drinkwitz could lose his job with a loss (but I don’t think that happens)

Do I think Drinkwitz is getting a pink slip on his door on Sunday? No, I don’t. But if Drinkwitz, coming off a bye week, falls to 0-4 in SEC play against a Vandy team who hasn’t won an SEC game in the 2020s decade, those odds skyrocket. Let’s not forget that Drinkwitz has a different athletic director than the one who hired him. He would be owed 70% of his remaining contract if fired, and his current deal has 3 years and $12 million left on it after the 2022 season, which would put that somewhere in the $8.4 million range. In other words, that’s relatively affordable for a Power 5 athletic department in this era.

More likely, however, is that Drinkwitz comes out swinging against a horrendous Vandy pass defense and he finally gets his team on the board after a trio of close losses to kick off conference play. But struggle offensively in a game like this — even in a win — and it’ll only add to the notion that Drinkwitz needs to give up play-calling duties at season’s end.

Alabama vs. MSU — Coming off a regular season loss, Alabama is ___________.

“Darn near unstoppable.”

Here are all the instances of Alabama’s response after a regular season loss under Nick Saban since 2008 (excluding bowl games that follow regular season losses):

  • 2021: W 49-9, at MSU
  • 2019: W 38-7, at MSU
  • 2015: W 34-0, vs. Louisiana-Monroe
  • 2014: W 14-13, at Arkansas
  • 2012: W 49-0, vs. Western Carolina
  • 2011: W 24-7, at MSU
  • 2010: W 23-10, at Ole Miss
    • W 30-10 at No. 17 MSU

To repeat, that’s 8-0 with an average margin of victory of 25.6 points. Want to limit that to just SEC foes? It’s still 6-0 with an average margin of victory of 20.3 points per game. What’s the spread? Alabama -21.5. Fittingly, MSU has dealt with the post-Alabama loss wrath more than anyone under Saban. Half of those games are MSU, in part because that used to be right after Alabama played LSU.

We’ve never seen an Alabama team under Saban have to respond from a Tennessee loss. Will that be any different? Probably not.

Texas A&M vs. South Carolina — Is it Conner Weigman time for A&M?

There’s a whole lot of buzz that we’re about to see the 5-star true freshman get his first career start. I’d imagine that Jimbo Fisher will try to downplay how banged up Haynes King is. If that is the case, it would certainly add some intrigue to this one. Weigman was the National Quarterback of the Year as a high school senior, and as we know, true freshmen signal-callers are mortal locks to redshirt under Fisher. But Weigman, who has yet to play a snap in Year 1, could be called upon with A&M already without Max Johnson. I’d expect a ground-heavy approach with plenty of Devon Achane either way.

If it’s Weigman, it’d mark the second consecutive game in which South Carolina got to face a quarterback in his first career start. We saw Tonka Hemingway and that Gamecock front take over that game in Lexington. Coming off a bye, I’d expect that group to again look the part, regardless of who starts at quarterback for the Aggies.