The most anticipated Saturday of the Southeastern Conference football season is here. That’s largely because of what will take place in Oxford, MS. on Saturday night between LSU and Ole Miss, however there are some other massive games taking place around the league as well
Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s upcoming games.
The Slate
11:00 a.m. (ABC) Georgia at Arkansas | Georgia -24.5 | O/U 53.5
11:45 a.m. (SEC Network) NC State at Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt -3.5 | O/U 53.5
2:30 p.m. (ESPN) Kentucky at Texas A&M | Texas A&M -16.5 | O/U 48.5
2:30 p.m. (ABC) Florida State at Alabama | Alabama -19.5 | O/U 50.5
3:15 p.m. (SEC Network) Mississippi State at South Carolina | South Carolina -4 | O/U 58.5
6:00 p.m. (SEC Network+) Troy at Missouri | Missouri -26.5 | O/U 50.5
6:00 p.m. (ESPN) Florida at Auburn | Florida -2.5 | O/U 53.5
6:30 p.m (ABC) LSU at Ole Miss | LSU -3| O/U 58.5
6:30 p.m. (ESPN2) New Mexico at Oklahoma | Oklahoma -22.5 | O/U 48.5
6:45 p.m. (SEC Network) Kennesaw State at Tennessee | Tennessee -35.5 | O/U 59.5
7:00 p.m. (SEC Network+) UTSA at Texas | Texas -30.5 | O/U 57.5
Lane State U vs. Police State U
It feels like this game has been broken down a million times already thanks to the offseason hype it’s generated. There are a million numbers to know in this one. Breakdown Trinidad Chambliss’ accuracy or Sam Leavitt’s inaccuracy issues. Dive into the fact that this LSU team currently leads the country in total defense, while also gaining more offensive yards in the first two games than any other team in program history. All of those are fascinating numbers, but there’s one number that tells the story of this game better than anything else.
Oxford police said they will have to increase the amount of security more than any other “normal” home game by drawing additional officers from at least two other cities including New Orleans and Mobile. That also includes extra mounted horse patrols to keep things safe for the game.
This game brought to you by the Spiderman Pointing Meme
Two of the most underrated games in the entire country will also take place in the SEC. There also may not be a pair of games with more similarities and look-in-the-mirror feels than South Carolina-Mississippi State and Auburn-Florida.
South Carolina and Mississippi State are almost carbon copies of each other on paper. They run a flex nickel defense that keeps them in a 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 base. They each have a high ceiling, and ridiculously athletic quarterbacks, that can keep them in any game they play. And, if that wasn’t enough, they also have offensive minded staff members who are literally family. That’s right, Kendal Briles and Jeff Lebby not only come from the same Baylor/Art Briles school of offensive philosophy, they’re also brother-in-laws.
Then there’s the incredibly odd sense of familiarity that we’ll see in the Auburn-Florida game. Those teams might not play the same type of style or scheme like State and South Carolina, but both head coaches were final candidates at several of the same jobs this past hiring cycle.
Don’t poke the bear and beware of the Dawg
Ryan Silverfield hasn’t had a great start to his tenure in Fayetteville. He got dragged online this summer for his media guide photos and his team got dominated on the field a week ago at Utah. The more appropriate term for his 43-10 loss to the Utes may be getting dog walked, but something tells me Kirby Smart and Georgia are going to take care of that analogy this weekend.
There’s an old song and saying “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit in the wind.” The next lyric was written roughly 60 years ago, so there sadly wasn’t enough foreshadowing to have penned “and you don’t piss off Kirby Smart.”
Silverfield did just that a season ago when he was at Memphis. And, if you think Smart forgot about it, or that he’ll take it easy on Arkansas since they’re the worst team in the league, then I’ll remind you that a year after Vanderbilt cancelled their 2020 game against UGA on what would have been the Dawgs’ Senior night, he responded with a 62-0 win where he left the defensive starters in and held the Commodores to 77 total yards and four first downs.
