College Football Predictions Week 3: 3 SEC Teams That Should Be Wary of an Upset

By (Analyst) on September 13, 2011

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COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 30:  Tyler Bray #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers against the South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 30, 2010 in Columbia, South Carolina.  (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

The SEC is easily the best conference in college football. With Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Auburn and Mississippi State taking up almost a third of the Top 25, the talent level is at an all-time high.

Even with all that talent, teams in the SEC do lose. Especially when they play each other.

Most of the SEC teams took two weeks to get in some tune up games. Others have taken on big time programs like Alabama and Georgia. Alabama survived. Georgia did not.

With so many teams at the top, teams will be gunning for them. With some SEC teams playing conference games this week, the intensity will only be that much greater.

These are the games that are primed for an SEC upset in Week 3.

No. 21 Auburn at Clemson

AUBURN, AL - SEPTEMBER 10:  Running back Michael Dyer #5 of the Auburn Tigers breaks for a first down run against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second quarter on September 10, 2011 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Butch Dill/Ge
Butch Dill/Getty Images

Auburn has survived some early scares this season. They needed a frantic comeback against Utah State and needed the last play of the game to keep Mississippi State from sending it into overtime.

The Tigers might not get as lucky against the Clemson Tigers. The Clemson offense is something to be reckoned with. Tajh Boyd and the Clemson Tigers are ranked 27th in the country in total offense.

Defense is another story. Clemson is 92nd in overall defense allowing teams like Troy and Wofford to score with ease and rack up yardage on them.

While the Auburn Tigers have an explosive offense and will certainly be able to score in Death Valley, the Auburn Tigers' defense hasn't exactly sparkled. They ranked 112th in total defense. Not exactly something a defending champ should have on their resume.

This will likely be a shoot out. Whether the Auburn Tigers have a third miracle win in them in as many weeks is to be seen.

 

 

 

Tennessee at No. 16 Florida

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 10:  Chris Rainey #1 of the Florida Gators runs for yardage during a game against the UAB Blazers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 10, 2011 in Gainesville, Florida.  (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

The Tennessee Volunteers have a very potent offense. They also faced some not so potent opponents.

Tyler Bray has looked incredible posting a 204.2 quarterback rating. Most of those passes have been caught by Justin Hunter and Da' Rick Rogers. The Florida Gators have a very young and inexperienced secondary, so the Volunteers could very easily exploit this.

The Gators have yet to give up a touchdown and the addition of Shariff Floyd should only make the defense better. Still, the Volunteers and Heisman dark horse candidate Bray will certainly be a much bigger test than the Gators have faced thus far.

The Volunteers' have not played a team of Florida's caliber. The Gators' also have some weapons on the offensive side of the ball in Chris Rainey and a rejuvenated John Brantley.

This one could truly go either way.

 

 

No. 3 LSU at No. 25 Mississippi State

AUBURN, AL - SEPTEMBER 10:  Running back Vick Ballard #28 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs catches a pass for a first down against the Auburn Tigers in the on September 10, 2011 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images
Butch Dill/Getty Images

The LSU Tigers take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the first conference match up for the Tigers.

The Tigers have already taken on and beat some top talent in Oregon, in their first game of the year, but they had a major talent drop off when they faced Northwestern State.

Mississippi State is not a powerhouse by any means, but they are a respectable program led by Dan Mullen, Vick Ballard and Chris Relf.

If not for some fluky plays against Auburn, Mississippi State would be a Top-20 team and undefeated.

The Bulldogs will be a home and will want to prove they have what it takes to hang with the elite of the SEC. LSU may come into this game with a sense of invincibility after defeating last season's national championship runner-up.

That would be a mistake. With Relf able to make plays on the ground and the air and Ballard tearing it up, the Bulldogs offense will be potent enough to give the Tigers a run for their money.

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