It’s light, but it’s loaded with intrigue.

That’s how I’d describe the Week 8 SEC slate. We’ve only got 9 SEC teams in action, which includes a strange midseason Army-LSU game.

But there’s intrigue galore. We’ve got the Tennessee-Alabama rematch that figures to have a much different feel than last year with a pair of inconsistent offenses. We’ve got Lane Kiffin traveling to Auburn after last year’s late-season speculation that he’d leave Ole Miss to take the job on The Plains. And we’ve got the suddenly electric Mizzou offense taking on the worst passing defense in America.

Oh! We’ve also got a battle of teams who are winless in SEC play. Don’t let anyone tell you that Week 8 in the SEC is lacking.

Here are my early impressions of this Saturday’s slate:

Mississippi State at Arkansas — Will Will Rogers and Woody Marks going be healthy enough to play?

Both of the Bulldogs’ skill players suffered injuries that forced them out of the Western Michigan game. Rogers suffered an apparent left shoulder injury while Marks returned to the sideline in a walking boot. Zach Arnett didn’t provide any update last week beyond that they were day-to-day. Arkansas is favored by a touchdown in Fayetteville, so one would think that line would be even greater if both were expected to be out. At the same time, Rogers has had a slow transition to Kevin Barbay’s offense so far. He’s 10th in the SEC in quarterback rating (138.7) and the Mississippi State passing game ranks No. 81 nationally in yards/game.

Marks has been the more valuable player. Even though he left the Bulldogs’ last game early, he’s still averaging 99 scrimmage yards per contest and he’ll be the focal point of the offense if he’s out there. Mississippi State needs all the help it can get against an Arkansas defense that’s better than what that 5-game losing streak would suggest. A pair of winless teams in SEC play desperately need to get on the board to keep bowl hopes alive.

No. 17 Tennessee at No. 11 Alabama — The biggest mismatch favors the Vols

Tennessee’s defensive front against that Alabama offensive line is a lopsided matchup. If you don’t believe that, perhaps you missed Alabama becoming the first SEC team in the last 20 years to have 6 consecutive games allowing at least 4 sacks, or you haven’t watched Tennessee live in opposing backfields with 8.7 tackles for loss per game (No. 2 in Power 5). James Pearce Jr., Aaron Beasley and Tyler Baron average a combined 4 tackles for loss per game. They’ve been the strength of this unique Tennessee team, which has only allowed 105 rushing yards per contest (No. 21 in FBS).

The question isn’t whether that’ll be an advantage for the Vols. It’s how much will that factor into Saturday’s result. It’s a revenge game for Alabama, and after allowing half a hundred to that explosive Vols offense last year in Knoxville, you can bet that Tide defense will be set on flipping the script. Whatever the case, it’s expected to be a much different feel than last year’s shootout. An over/under of 48 points — a year removed from a 52-49 game for the ages — means we should bank on the defense being the star of the show this time around.

South Carolina at No. 20 Mizzou — All signs point to this being an ideal time for Brady to cook

Sorry. Had to do it.

Brady Cook had his least efficient game of the year at Kentucky, and Mizzou still stormed back for a 17-point win in Lexington. Barring some major changes in the South Carolina secondary, that should be an extremely favorable matchup for Cook. After looking solid against Drake Maye and Carson Beck, we’ve since watched the Gamecocks secondary get torched at home for over 400 yards apiece by the likes of Will Rogers and Graham Mertz.

Cook has been better than both of those quarterbacks, especially at home. Cook also has more weapons to work with. Luther Burden III, even after a quiet 15-yard game at Kentucky, is still No. 1 in Power 5 in catches and No. 2 in the nation in receiving behind only Malik Nabers. Theo Wease turned into a perfect complement on the outside and Mookie Cooper also emerged with his increased role. And you have to respect Cody Schrader in the ground game, so drop-8 coverage probably won’t fly for a struggling South Carolina defense, who plummeted to dead last in FBS against the pass after the collapse against Florida.

In other words, Brady should keep cooking on Saturday.

No. 13 Ole Miss at Auburn — Lane Kiffin’s reception at Auburn will be ________.

“Awkward.”

Let’s be clear. Kiffin opted not to take an Auburn job that was reportedly his if he wanted it. You can debate how real Kiffin’s interest in it was, but the reality is the same. He stayed at Ole Miss and Hugh Freeze, ironically enough, became Auburn’s target. With Kiffin in the house, I’d expect a little extra juice at Jordan-Hare Stadium. You know, not that it needs it. We saw that place rocking against No. 1 Georgia, and with bowl hopes hanging in the balance, I’d expect another elite atmosphere.

Kiffin’s best SEC road win might’ve actually been his golfball-filled Tennessee reunion in 2021, and while this isn’t the same situation, perhaps a hostile crowd with some personal, anti-Kiffin ties will bring out the best in the Ole Miss coach and he’ll keep those slim SEC West hopes alive. Alternatively, Ole Miss fans will long for the Freeze era by day’s end and Auburn will get on the board in SEC play.

Army at LSU — Army does actually throw now … but not well

The “gun option” offense definitely is a pivot away from the triple option offense that we’ve grown to expect from Army. The Black Knights have nearly doubled their passing attempts per game all the way up to … 16.2. Believe it or not, the output (143.5 passing yards/game) is extremely similar to what LSU just faced against Auburn. It’s more efficient, too. Army averages 8.9 yards/pass attempt and it has 5 passing plays of 40 yards compared to Auburn’s 2.

Unfortunately for Army, throwing the ball all over the place against a vulnerable LSU passing defense seems a bit ambitious. Why? It’s not just that LSU held Auburn to 154 passing yards in a blowout win. Army had just 1 passing play of 30 yards in its 2 Power 5 games this season, and it has yet to hit 200 passing yards against FBS competition. Most recently, the Black Knights were held to 78 passing yards on 9-for-18 passing in a shutout loss to Troy. Army QB Bryson Daily has PFF’s worst passing grade (40.8) among FBS quarterbacks and leading receiver Isaiah Alston missed the last 2 games with injury.

If you were assuming we’d see a world in which LSU was getting gashed by the Army passing game, maybe wait a decade or so.