Ranking the Best SEC Matchups of Week 8
The slate of games is smaller, and the quality is certainly down compared to the past couple of weeks, but it's still not going to be difficult for SEC football fans to find something entertaining to watch this weekend.
There's only one game involving two ranked conference opponents, and that will take place in Oxford, Mississippi, as the sliding Ole Miss Rebels try to end their recent skid against Texas A&M, which lost its first game of the year in lopsided fashion last week against Alabama.
Those same Crimson Tide players will return home to renew one of the most storied rivalries in all of college football when the Tennessee Volunteers come to Bryant-Denny Stadium for the "Third Saturday in October" showdown on the fourth Saturday of the month.
Kentucky will travel south to take on its second consecutive SEC West opponent, and Auburn will try to capitalize off the momentum of winning in Lexington last week on the road in Starkville.
There's also a defensive struggle shaping up in Nashville between Missouri and Vanderbilt, and LSU must face an upstart out-of-conference opponent.
Some potentially intriguing storylines are possible this weekend, so even though it isn't a banner week for SEC showdowns, there could still be twists and turns. Let's take a look at the top games of the week.
6. Missouri at Vanderbilt
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When Missouri travels to Vanderbilt this weekend, somebody's going to have to score to win. That's the way football works in a world with no ties and overtime.
But this game may be a case of whoever gets to 20 first wins.
The Tigers and Commodores are the two lowest-scoring teams in the SEC. Dealing with the nagging injuries of running back Russell Hansbrough and breaking in a brand-new receiving corps for Maty Mauk and freshman Drew Lock at quarterback, the Tigers are scoring just 16.6 points per game.
In the team's second year under coach Derek Mason, the Commodores aren't much better at 19.3 points per game, and both are in the bottom 10 nationally in scoring offense.
No matter the opponent, neither team has scored much.
Now, they must face teams that have solid-to-strong defenses, so it should be a slugfest and a pretty boring offensive game. Of course, when you expect that, a lot of times it ends up being a high-scoring affair, so who knows?
It won't be if Mizzou defensive end Charles Harris has anything to say about it, though. The Tigers are sixth nationally in scoring defense, and they're coming off a heartbreaking 9-6 loss to Georgia.
"It’s very frustrating, but we’re built for times this like this, defensively," Harris told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Dave Matter. "These are the times we ask for: Our defense vs. their defense. Obviously it was a defensive game all-around. We wouldn’t ask for no better situation against no better team. They just happened to come out on top."
The bottom line is Mizzou needs to turn around what has been an extremely disappointing season thus far after representing the SEC East in the conference championship game the past two years. Meanwhile, VU has taken baby steps this year, but still can't seem to break through.
5. Western Kentucky at LSU
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LSU just got finished winning a knock-down, drag-out shootout against the Florida Gators in a battle of unbeatens, and the Tigers hope they don't get into a scoring match this week.
The high-flying Western Kentucky Hilltoppers visit Death Valley this week, and coach Jeff Brohm's team, led by senior quarterback Brandon Doughty, isn't going to be a pushover opponent.
WKU has already beaten one SEC opponent this year in a season-opening victory over Vanderbilt, and while there's a huge difference between the Commodores and the Tigers, this isn't an offense LSU can take lightly.
Even though Florida was without starting quarterback Will Grier a week ago, Treon Harris lit up an LSU secondary that is one of the best in the league. The Tigers need to shore that up this week.
"To be honest, their quarterback is an NFL quarterback," LSU defensive end Lewis Neal told ESPN.com's David Ching of Doughty. "He’s a great player."
The Tigers have their own great player in Heisman Trophy front-runner Leonard Fournette, who reached 1,000 rushing yards faster than any back in SEC history. There are other weapons beyond him, and against the Gators, quarterback Brandon Harris proved he can get things done through the air, too.
It's hard to envision the Hilltoppers being good enough defensively to hang with the Tigers on the road, but it isn't out of the question.
Last weekend, Ole Miss got a firsthand look at what dealing with a high-scoring out-of-conference opponent can look like in a loss to Memphis. LSU will try to avoid falling into that same trap.
4. Kentucky at Mississippi State
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Kentucky had a major opportunity last Thursday night against Auburn to prove to a national audience that the program was turning a corner.
The Wildcats dropped that chance.
Now, they'll have another one this weekend when they travel to Starkville, Mississippi, to play a winnable game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. MSU received a bit of a first-half scare last week against Louisiana Tech before Dak Prescott and the defense put a stop to that.
Speaking of defense, the Bulldogs have some issues with all the injuries they've endured, and they are also struggling to consistently run the football, but winning this game against UK would keep things going at an upward trajectory.
At 5-2, the Bulldogs have withstood the losses of running back Josh Robinson, a bunch of quality offensive linemen, most of its defensive front seven and defensive coordinator Geoff Collins and still sustained a good start to the season. That's a testament to the program head coach Dan Mullen has built.
As for Kentucky, it still sits at 4-2 with a strong chance to make the postseason for the first time under Mark Stoops, and the first time as a program since 2010.
With Vanderbilt and Charlotte still on the schedule, that looks likely, but getting one of these next two against Mississippi State or Tennessee could really set up a positive season.
“The truth is we’re a better football team,” Stoops told the Associated Press' David Brandt (via the Washington Times). “I think our body of work through half the season makes that pretty evident.”
In order to do that, quarterback Patrick Towles needs to play a lot better than he did against Auburn, and the Wildcats receivers need to quit dropping passes.
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3. Auburn at Arkansas
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It's a far cry from competing for the College Football Playoff like many predicted before the season, but Auburn's road win at Kentucky at least showed the first glimmers of hope in a dismal season.
Quarterback Sean White did some positive things at the helm of the offense, Peyton Barber continued to run with authority, Ricardo Louis proved he can be a top receiver with Duke Williams booted off the team and Will Muschamp's defense showed signs of life.
Can they keep it going on the road at Arkansas?
The Tigers still sit at 4-2, and even though they have a daunting schedule ahead of them, games against the Razorbacks and Ole Miss, in particular, don't look as daunting as they once did.
Though the Hogs showed up in an overtime loss to Texas A&M and a road win at Tennessee, they've still limped to a 2-4 record and aren't the team many expected them to be.
This is going to be a pivotal game for both teams' seasons.
Even if you throw out the importance of the game for each team, it's still an exciting matchup. There's simply no love lost between head coaches Bret Bielema and Gus Malzahn.
"Probably doesn't need to be said in here how much I hate Auburn," Bielema said this summer, according to Arkansas News Bureau reporter Eric Bolin.
It stems from everything from the differing styles of offense to the gamesmanship during games to recruiting, but it's a big game for both teams. It just so happens to be bigger because the Hogs and Tigers both need a victory.
2. Tennessee at Alabama
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Though the Iron Bowl has taken over as the conference's biggest rivalry recently, it's actually a pretty close race historically as to whether Auburn or Tennessee is Alabama's biggest archrival.
In recent years, the Volunteers haven't held up their end of the bargain.
Ever since Nick Saban took over in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide have owned UT, winning eight consecutive games by an average of 23.5 points per game. Five of those times, UA was ranked either No. 1 or No. 2.
That's domination.
Last year, the Vols inserted dual-threat quarterback Joshua Dobbs after falling behind 27-0 and wound up only losing 34-20. It was still lopsided, but fighting back against such a strong opponent catapulted Tennessee into what wound up being a bowl run down the stretch.
This year, Alabama still has playoff aspirations as a one-loss team that is playing as well as it has all season. Despite an early-season loss to Ole Miss where the Tide gave the game away with five turnovers, the offense is getting better and better, and the defense looks dominant.
Bama may have the best front seven in all of college football, and with Eddie Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick solidifying the back end, it's going to be tough for anybody to score on the Tide.
Tennessee, meanwhile, cultivated a little bit of hope with a 21-point come-from-behind victory over Georgia entering a bye week. That erased some of that sour taste from blowing double-digit leads against Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas.
The Vols are a better team than what their 3-3 record indicates, but they'll have to play the game of the year to beat the Tide in Tuscaloosa. Still, it'll be interesting to see just how much (if any) the Vols can close the gap against one of the nation's best.
1. Texas A&M at Ole Miss
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Letdowns come in all shapes and sizes, and the ones Ole Miss and Texas A&M endured last week were both massive in different ways.
For the Rebels, a season that was once so full of promise took an ugly turn when hated little brother to the north, Memphis, upset them in impressive fashion at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to give coach Hugh Freeze's team its second loss in three games.
Texas A&M entered last week's game against Alabama undefeated and full of swagger, but wound up with its tail between its legs after receiving a thorough beatdown from the Crimson Tide.
Now, both teams will try to remain in the hunt for the SEC West this weekend. The Rebels still control their own destiny, but they'll likely need to win out and must still play the Aggies and LSU, among others.
Coach Kevin Sumlin's team needs some help, but it isn't like the Aggies are out of it. They have to prove they're better on defense than they showed a week ago against the Tide, but the offense still appears to be in good hands.
Ole Miss will welcome back star left tackle Laremy Tunsil this week, and the Rebels definitely need him after all the offensive line woes they have faced this season came to a head against Memphis. He'll probably have to knock off some rust, but Tunsil's talent is needed against Myles Garrett.
This is definitely the biggest game in the league this week, and while it doesn't hold the clout it would have had if Ole Miss had taken care of business against the Tigers and A&M whipped Bama, but that doesn't make it irrelevant.
Both teams need this win to stay in the SEC title game picture.
All stats gathered from CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.
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