Ranking the Best SEC Matchups of Week 6
After a weekend stocked with top-shelf matchups last week, it's an extremely light slate this week in the SEC.
It's not quite the midway mark, but Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Auburn and Texas A&M are all on byes. There are only six games in the conference, and while just four of them involve two league teams, really just three of them have the potential to be competitive.
With the way LSU and South Carolina are playing, that one looks like it's going to be one-sided. However, if this season has taught us anything, it's you don't always see what you expect.
Has Arkansas woken up after a convincing, run-oriented win at Tennessee? Is Alabama mighty again after embarrassing Georgia? Will the Dawgs or the Vols rebound? Can Florida take another step toward setting up a Cocktail Party winner-take-all with a big road win at Mizzou?
There are still some intriguing storylines to watch this week. Let's take a look at the weekend ahead and rank your SEC viewing options from bottom to top.
6. New Mexico State at Ole Miss
1 of 6
The New Mexico State Aggies are one of the nation's worst teams.
Despite losing a lopsided outcome on the road against Florida last weekend, Ole Miss is still arguably one of the best.
This one won't go well for NMSU.
In the season opener, the Gators manhandled the Aggies 61-13. It's obvious that they've gotten progressively better since then, culminating with running back Larry Rose III's 260 rushing yards against New Mexico last weekend.
Despite that great individual effort, New Mexico scored 24 unanswered points to win 38-29.
The Rebels are angry following a 38-10 thumping to UF at the Swamp, where the Gators' swarming defense overwhelmed Ole Miss' offensive line and quarterback Chad Kelly, knocking them from their No. 3 ranking. This game could get extremely ugly, and by ugly, the Aggies could lose by 70.
Rebels coach Hugh Freeze has proven this year he doesn't care to run up the score.
Kelly told the Clarion-Ledger's Daniel Paulling that the Rebels are focused on fixing whatever went horribly wrong in Gainesville:
"Just weren't executing. The coaches had a good game plan put together for us. Being a leader of the offense, it starts with me. People look look to me when things go wrong. I have to do a better job making sure everybody’s on the same page. It starts (Saturday night) when we watch film. We're going to correct mistakes and make sure it doesn’t happen again because losing is the worst thing ever.
"
They won't have to feel that this weekend, for sure.
5. Troy at Mississippi State
2 of 6
Mississippi State is searching for its true identity right now.
Is it the team that hung play-for-play with LSU and beat Auburn? Or is it the team that got down big to Texas A&M in the first half last weekend and couldn't climb back into it?
Coach Dan Mullen's team is led by star senior quarterback Dak Prescott, and that says a lot, but there are major holes on the Bulldogs roster. There are even more after a recent rash of injuries.
Senior safety Kendrick Market tore his anterior cruciate ligament against the Aggies, as Mullen told the Sun Herald's Robbie Faulk. Receivers Joe Morrow and Gabe Myles, cornerback Will Redmond and left tackle Rufus Warren were injured in the second half. Tight end Gus Walley is hurt, too.
Under first-year head coach and former Kentucky offensive coordinator Neal Brown, the Troy Trojans are struggling at 1-3. They just lost a close one to South Alabama, along with lopsided defeats to North Carolina State and Wisconsin.
This one won't be a blowout, but with the Bulldogs likely trotting out a bunch of second-teamers while giving some of those banged-up guys breaks, it may be closer than expected.
Still, expect MSU to win by double digits.
4. LSU at South Carolina
3 of 6
In the midst of what will probably be a forgettable season for South Carolina and head coach Steve Spurrier, the 2-3 Gamecocks appear to have found their quarterback of the present and future.
Lorenzo Nunez, a 6'3", 210-pound true freshman, took over for Perry Orth, who took over for injured starter Connor Mitch, and Nunez has shown immense promise.
Even though he looked like the first-year player he is in a two-score loss to Mizzou, Nunez still had flashes of brilliance.
He finished 15-of-24 for 172 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 60 yards on 15 carries. He also threw three interceptions. It's those kinds of ups and downs that you expect with a new, young starter. Nunez went down with a fourth-quarter injury against the Tigers, and his status is unclear.
Carolina will need him this week. The Gamecocks must face SEC blue blood LSU in Columbia. They'll need to try to avoid losing to another set of Tigers.
To think of what LSU running back Leonard Fournette could do against the Gamecocks is a scary thought. Fournette is the clear-cut leader for the Heisman Trophy in this early season, and he may just bust out for another 200-yard effort in this one.
Meanwhile, a strong Tigers defense has to be licking its chops to play a first-year quarterback and an offense struggling to find playmakers.
This is just a bad draw for Spurrier's team.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
3. Georgia at Tennessee
4 of 6
The wheels on the Big Orange Bus haven't fallen off, but the lug nuts have been loosened.
After shouldn't-have losses to Oklahoma and Florida, the Vols were pushed around in the second half of a 24-20 loss to Arkansas, and there is immense frustration on Rocky Top. A team that has played well enough to be 4-1 sits at 2-3, and there aren't a lot of happy folks around the program.
Now, Tennessee must play Georgia and Alabama back-to-back, and there is a real possibility UT could start the season 2-5.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are trying to pick up the pieces after Alabama demoralized them at home in a game that brought up the same ol' whispers about head coach Mark Richt's ability to win a big game.
This one isn't as big, but it certainly isn't small, either. Tennessee is a capable team that desperately wants to save its season. If Georgia loses, it is staring up at a two-game margin to catch Florida in the SEC East.
With Tennessee's struggles stopping the run that it displayed against Arkansas and its offensive continuity that it has shown throughout the entire season, it looks like Georgia has a distinct advantage.
But wacky things have happened in this series, and even though the Bulldogs have won the last five, they're rarely in convincing fashion despite having far more talent than UT during that time.
It'll be interesting to see which team plays with the most sense of urgency.
2. Florida at Missouri
5 of 6
Hello, Florida. You win the early-season award for "Biggest College Football Surprise of the Year So Far."
First-year coach Jim McElwain was always a sterling hire for athletic director Jeremy Foley, and he is proving it on the field so far. The Gators are 5-0, ranked 11th in the AP poll and gaining their swagger back with every win.
Former coach Will Muschamp had zero issues recruiting defensive talent, and now the offense is overachieving under McElwain. You could see redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier growing up before your eyes in the second half against Tennessee, then he went out and walloped Ole Miss.
This team with its nasty defense just may be for real.
The Gators will get a big early-season test Saturday as they travel to Columbia, Missouri, to take on a newly revitalized Mizzou Tigers team. With Maty Mauk suspended, this became freshman quarterback Drew Lock's team against South Carolina, and he didn't disappoint.
Coach Gary Pinkel didn't put too much on the youngster's shoulders in his first game, and he went 21-of-28 with two touchdowns and 136 yards. He's capable of doing more, too.
With a quarterback under center who is capable of stretching the field, a stagnant Tigers offense has new life, and Mizzou may just be on the way back to contention after a setback at the hands of Kentucky.
This is a massive game for both teams. If Mizzou wins, it is right back in the SEC East picture. Currently, Florida sits in the catbird seat, though.
1. Arkansas at Alabama
6 of 6
This game is perhaps a little more full of intrigue than anybody could have imagined a week ago.
Look, Alabama is still going to be the heavy favorites, and the Crimson Tide should win fairly easily. But somewhere in the midst of that atrocious 1-3 start to the season, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema remembered that he still has Alex Collins, and he still has the best offensive line in the country.
Oh, and Rawleigh Williams III showed against Tennessee that he isn't a bad Robin to Collins' Batman, either.
If the Razorbacks start playing football like the Razorbacks are supposed to play and played at the end of last year, this could be a football game.
Alabama has proven this year that it can lay a massive crimson egg. It turned the ball over five times in a loss to Ole Miss, and the Tide looked bad doing it.
But things clicked against Georgia. Quarterback Jake Coker looked confident in piling up 218 total yards and a pair of touchdowns, Derrick Henry won the battle of the running backs over Nick Chubb (by two yards) and the Tide may have found a go-to receiver in freshman star Calvin Ridley.
The Tide's defense was nasty, and they really played like a national championship contender for the first time this season.
Bielema certainly noticed, saying of the UA defensive linemen, according to AL.com's John Talty: "There's a machine that just creates them."
Last year's game in Fayetteville was a close one (14-13), and this year's could be, too. You get the feeling that the Hogs just needed to win a game to get going, and even though it was an ugly one against the Vols, it counts just the same.
It'll be interesting to see if they can continue their winning ways against a well-oiled machine.
Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
