Ranking Best SEC Football Matchups of Week 9
Several of the SEC powers are off this week including top-ranked Alabama, but that doesn't mean the rest of the league will be dormant.
There are still a couple of potential marquee games, and a couple of upstart teams that appear to be real contenders to make it to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game can further solidify their status.
Those two would be Florida, which currently leads the SEC East thanks to back-to-back losses by Tennessee. The other one is surprising Auburn, which, after dominating Arkansas a week ago, all of a sudden looks dominant and perhaps the biggest contender to the Crimson Tide in the West.
After a bye week, the Volunteers are back in action as well, and Texas A&M will be back on the field following its first loss of the season in Tuscaloosa.
This won't be the best weekend of the season, but there are still plenty of reasons to watch. Let's break down the top games in the SEC for Week 9.
5. New Mexico State at Texas A&M
1 of 5
The Texas A&M Aggies are still licking their wounds (and trying to find their teeth) after being hit in the mouth by Alabama last weekend in a 33-14 loss that got out of hand in the second half.
But that doesn't mean they're down for the count.
They're still ranked ninth nationally, and there are still plenty of reasons to think head coach Kevin Sumlin's team could finish strong, considering the only real challenges remaining on the schedule are against Ole Miss and LSU.
This weekend won't be much of a contest as 2-5 New Mexico State heads to College Station in a battle of the Aggies.
It's not quite a bye week for Sumlin's team, but it's a much-needed break to be able to work on some things for the stretch run. It's also a chance to prove they're not the same fade artists they've been in each of the past two seasons when they started 5-0 and wound up 8-5.
"Hopefully by now, the country is starting to realize that we just play for each other and we keep battling and battling and battling," quarterback Trevor Knight told ESPN.com's Edward Aschoff. "When adversity comes, we look our brothers in the eyes and say, 'Let's go do this.' We're only going to get better from here."
Indeed, this year's Aggies look different, and a major statement Saturday without getting anybody hurt could set the tone for the stretch run. Don't watch this one for a close match; watch it to see how A&M responds to adversity.
4. Kentucky at Missouri
2 of 5
After a horrific start to the season, Kentucky is suddenly 4-3 and sitting at second place in the SEC East with a 3-2 league record.
Now, the Wildcats have the chance to up that to four wins and inch a step closer to bowl eligibility for the first time under fourth-year head coach Mark Stoops with a win on the road against a sputtering Missouri team.
The Tigers just lost to Middle Tennessee State, and they found out this week a couple of starters in defensive lineman Terry Beckner Jr. and linebacker Michael Scherer will miss the remainder of the season with torn knee ligaments.
Scherer was the team's leading tackler, and Beckner is the most dynamic talent on a defense full of guys who could play on Sundays despite the unit allowing nearly 30 points per game this season.
That's not going to help a defense that already has been a massive disappointment in 2016 after the offense let the team down a season ago.
"It's tough," defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross told the Missourian's Colton Pouncy. "You're losing not only production and leadership, you're losing emotion and experience."
Kentucky, on the other hand, is experiencing the other side of the coin after a sputtering start that saw the Wildcats lose to Southern Miss and Florida to start the season. Last weekend, kicker Austin MacGinnis drilled a 51-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Cats to a 40-38 win over Mississippi State.
UK may have feasted on some struggling SEC teams in the Bulldogs, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, but three wins in the SEC is three wins.
"You're going to have some tight games," Stoops said, according to GridironNow.com. "So you'd better win some."
Saturday could be another one.
3. Tennessee at South Carolina
3 of 5
Tennessee's nightmarish stretch of football is over, but the lingering effects will be felt for the remainder of the season in the form of injuries.
This week, the Vols will be without running back Alvin Kamara, and defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie joins linebackers Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Quart'e Sapp with season-ending injuries.
But after a bye, UT gets back several players, including middle linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr., a couple of starting offensive linemen and defensive tackle Kendal Vickers, so the Vols will be at fuller strength than they were in a lopsided loss to Alabama.
Though they need Florida to lose again to make it to Atlanta, the rest of the schedule is more than manageable beginning with this weekend's trip to South Carolina, followed by home games against Tennessee Tech, Kentucky and Missouri before finishing the season at Vanderbilt.
The Gamecocks are trying to find their way offensively after struggling on that side of the ball throughout the first half of the season. Though it was only against UMass, there were some reasons for excitement last weekend as head coach Will Muschamp pulled the redshirt off freshman quarterback Jake Bentley.
He answered the call with a solid debut, throwing for 201 yards and two touchdowns as Carolina eclipsed 20 points for the first time this season.
"It really gave everybody a lift," tight end Hayden Hurst told the Associated Press' Pete Iacobelli. "He's very poised and confident."
But can he pull the upset against the Vols? That depends on if UT can hit the road and play its most complete game of the season after sluggish starts to begin the year. If the Vols can, they've got too much talent.
This divisional battle has recently yielded plenty of close outcomes, however, so it's worth a watch.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
2. Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville, Florida)
4 of 5
This is the game that will forever be "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," regardless of how badly some want to rename it, and it is usually a big-time battle between two hated rivals with an unpredictable outcome.
Sure, Florida is more than a touchdown favorite against the Bulldogs after head coach Kirby Smart's first season has hit a bit of a ditch following its last-second loss to Tennessee, but that doesn't mean much. They're still talented, and they're still perfectly capable of upsetting the Gators.
With the return of Luke Del Rio at quarterback, UF looked more in sync offensively in a convincing victory over Missouri before an off week last weekend gave the signal-caller another few days to heal, so expect the Gators to be firing all their bullets this weekend.
If there isn't a sense of urgency against a rival and controlling its own destiny in the SEC East, there will be plenty of reason to worry about Florida. Del Rio is looking forward to playing in one of these important games after being injured against Tennessee and the LSU game getting postponed due to Hurricane Matthew.
"You never really know the rivalry until you play in it and get your feet wet," he told the Independent Florida Alligator's Ethan Bauer.
Georgia has to refind reasons for excitement.
The Bulldogs are 4-3 and lost a shocking game against Vanderbilt two weeks ago. But that's in the past; this weekend will be a rivalry, and that's not lost on Smart, a former Bulldogs standout.
"This game's a lot more important to me now than it was back then," Smart told the Telegraph's Jason Butt.
It's important to a lot of people, and that's why it has the CBS slot as the marquee game.
1. Auburn at Ole Miss
5 of 5
The most intriguing game of the weekend involves upstart Auburn traveling to Oxford to take on Ole Miss.
Regardless of their 3-4 record, the Rebels are explosive with quarterback Chad Kelly, and they still worry plenty of defenses around the SEC. So, if a Tigers defensive unit that has been downright dominant can shut them down, there's reason to believe that Auburn is back.
Head coach Gus Malzahn's team certainly looked the part in a 56-3 annihilation of Arkansas on the Plains, running over, around and through the Razorbacks while shutting them down on defense.
Looking at AU's resume, its only two losses came against Clemson and Texas A&M. There are still reasons to think the Tigers can be 9-2 when the Iron Bowl showdown occurs, but they've got to get past a road test this weekend.
"You have to be mentally tough," Malzahn said, according to AL.com's Wesley Sinor. "You have to be confident. But at the same time you have to understand that you have to keep working and have the same mentality each week…you can't pat yourself on the back, not in this league."
Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze is just trying to prevent things from spiraling out of control. There have been injuries, fights on the sidelines—and that's not to mention the NCAA issues looming, which was brought up again in an Oxford Eagle editorial:
"With an NCAA cloud lingering overhead, scholarship losses in the future and a bowl ban could put Freeze and the Rebels into a dry period more prolonged than this season’s slump. Freeze has been a popular coach because of his upbeat persona and ability to build upward from lower expectations. Well, the elite talk regarding Ole Miss is now gone, and Freeze is back in the role of underdog leader. It will be interesting to see where he takes the Ole Miss program from here.
"
That potential turnaround could start this week, or Auburn could keep rolling toward that showdown with the Tide.
Quotes and information gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics obtained from CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.
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")
