We kick off the back half of the year with six crucial games this Saturday. Here’s one thing we want to see from all 12 teams.
Alabama (vs Texas A&M): Avoid rock bottom
Despite what you may have heard, Bama isn’t burning. They are, however, out of mulligans this season.
The offense that was so efficient and explosive at the start of the year has taken a massive step back in the last two weeks. A loss to Texas A&M would be rock bottom.
The good news is, matchup-wise, this game favors Alabama and their offense.
Auburn (vs LSU): Byrum Brown’s legend continue to grow
Brown already slayed one giant last week in Athens. Imagine if he does it back-to-back weeks.
He’ll face a team that’s had more trouble on the road over the last two seasons than Clark Griswold on a family vacation.
Kentucky (vs Vanderbilt): “Avoid the trap,” Jimmy Dugan
First of all, that’s a great quote from A League of Their Own.
Second, every team in the SEC has been snake bitten at least once this season. Kentucky has everything in front of them, and could potentially crash the College Football Playoff party.
LSU (at Auburn): A freaking road win
No explanation needed. Win a conference game on the road. Please.
Mississippi State (vs Oklahoma): Kamario Taylor
State’s offense has been a shell of itself since Taylor’s injury.
They desperately need him back, but they’ll especially need him to beat a defense as good as Oklahoma’s.
Oklahoma (at Mississippi State): An offense that isn’t inept
My goodness, this experiment with Ben Arbuckle has continued to fail. The third year of John Mateer was supposed to be different, and it has been. It’s been worse.
They’re facing one of the worst defenses in the conference.
Ole Miss (at Texas): End Texas’ season
The Rebels have silenced most of their doubters this season.
They have a tough game against a ranked opponent on the road. Who cares? That’s where Pete Golding has thrived for literally more than half the games he’s coached so far in his young career.
Now, he has a chance to end Texas’ playoff hopes before November.
South Carolina (vs Tennessee): Fireworks
The last time these two teams met in Williams-Brice, South Carolina scored so many points they ran out of fireworks in the stadium.
The Gamecocks are favored in this game, and while it’s highly doubtful they’ll be able to score 63 on Jim Knowles’ defense, what a sight that would be.
Tennessee (at South Carolina): Win with offense
It’s hard to be critical of a young quarterback who’s 2-0 with a Top 10 win under his belt in his first two career starts. However, this game feels like it may be one George MacIntyre has to win for the Vols.
Can he do that on the road?
The defense is good enough to win for them, but if the Vols are going to be a playoff team they’ll need to show they can beat teams with their offense, too.
Texas (vs Ole Miss): Return on investment
A $50 million roster hasn’t yielded anything close to a return on investment so far this season.
With games against Ole Miss and LSU still ahead of them, this season for Texas could be hanging in the balance.
Texas A&M (at Alabama): Competence
That may sound simple, but it’s not something we’ve seen a ton of out of Texas A&M this year.
Winning in Tuscaloosa isn’t easy for teams that are better than the Aggies, but it wouldn’t be the first time they went into Bryant-Denny and shocked the world.
To make that happen again, they’ll need to play competent football on both sides of the ball for a full 60 minutes. For once.
Vanderbilt (at Kentucky): Some defense for the love of God
Head coach Clark Lea is a defensive coach. So why do the Commodores rank 15th or worse in rushing yards allowed, rushing yards per carry allowed and points per game allowed?
Expect a heavy dose of the Kentucky run game right at the ‘Dores defense in Lexington on Saturday.
