The 2017 season is beginning to take shape. Five key SEC matchups headline another exciting week of football this Saturday down south.

Here are all the SEC games and the area where push comes to shove in each:

Texas A&M (2-1) vs. Arkansas (1-1)

Noon (at Arlington, Texas)

Arkansas defensive front vs. Texas A&M run game: An Arkansas defense that is yielding 137.5 yards per game on the ground must contain the Aggies’ run game, which ranks second in the SEC at 252 yards per game. Trayveon Williams, who surpassed 1,000 yards on the ground last season for Texas A&M, is expected to play after sitting out last week’s game with an ankle injury.

UMass (0-4) at Tennessee (2-1, 0-1)

Noon 

UMass QB Andrew Ford vs. Vols pass rush: It would behoove the Vols to put some pressure on Ford. The UMass signal-caller ranks 20th in the nation in passing yards at 301 per game. But that’s sort of playing to Tennessee’s strength. The Vols are 16th nationally against the pass, yielding only 141.7 yards over the first three games.

Alabama (3-0) at Vanderbilt (3-0)

3:30 p.m.

Bama QB Jalen Hurts vs. Vandy run defense: The Commodores are giving up 103 rushing yards per game. Hurts averages 104. If the ’Dores can keep Hurts in check, it would play into the hands of their SEC-leading pass defense, which allows just 95.3 yards per game.

Louisiana Tech (2-1) at South Carolina (2-1, 1-1)

3:30 p.m.

Battle of QBs: Fireworks will be on display at Williams-Brice Stadium when Bulldogs QB J’Mar Smith lights it up with Gamecocks counterpart Jake Bentley. Smith (240.7 passing yards per game) goes against a South Carolina pass defense that ranks 12th in the SEC, yielding 276.3 yards per game. Bentley is third in the SEC in passing at 235.3 yards per game and fifth in the conference with six touchdown passes.

Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0) at Georgia (3-0)

7:30 p.m. 

Nick Fitzgerald vs. Georgia pursuit: Containing the Mississippi State quarterback will be priority No. 1 for Georgia’s defense. Fourth in the SEC in passing (181-yard average) and eighth in the conference in rushing (80-yard average), Fitzgerald leads the SEC’s most productive offense. Mississippi State is scoring 47.7 points per game. Georgia’s defense ranks second in the conference against the rush, allowing only 71 yards per game.

Syracuse (2-1) at LSU (2-1, 0-1)

7:30 p.m.

Syracuse up-tempo offense vs. LSU’s suddenly porous defense: The Orange can move the football. Averaging nearly 500 yards per game so far this season, Syracuse poses a huge threat to a Tigers defense that was shredded a week ago by Mississippi State. Slowing down Syracuse QB Eric Dungey, who has rushed and passed for four yards shy of 1,000 already this season, will certainly be a key for the LSU defense.

Auburn (2-1) at Missouri (1-2, 0-1)

7:30 p.m.

Auburn run game vs. Missouri front line: Kerryon Johnson is expected to return to the Auburn backfield for this one. He isn’t quite 100 percent from a hamstring injury that kept him out of Auburn’s last two games. He’ll rejoin workhorse Kamryn Pettway to make one of the league’s top 1-2 punches at running back. That’s not good news for a Missouri defense ranks 11th in the SEC against the run, yielding 172 yards per game, and last in scoring defense, giving up 36.3 points per game.

Florida (1-1, 1-0) at Kentucky (3-0, 1-0)

7:30 p.m.

Gators run game vs. Wildcats stingy defensive front: Kentucky could make things very difficult for the Gators if they can continue to stuff the run. Leading the SEC against the rush, the Wildcats are giving up only 57 rushing yards per game. Couple that with a Florida run game that ranks 12th in the SEC (89.5-yard average), and it could put tremendous pressure on Gators freshman QB Feleipe Franks, who is tied for 10th in the SEC in passing (143.5-yard average).