No. 1 Mississippi State at Kentucky
After three consecutive wins over top-10 teams vaulted Mississippi State to No. 1 in the country, the Bulldogs will get their first taste of what it is like to be the hunted. Despite being ranked in the top-15 and then the top-five in each of its last two games, Mississippi State has yet to be the favorite as a ranked team. With Heisman hopes for junior quarterback Dak Prescott and national playoff hopes for the Bulldogs, Dan Mullen’s squad can lay low no longer. Their first game as the top team in the nation comes against a Kentucky team that was a surprise story waiting to blossom this time last week. Following a 41-3 thrashing at the hands of LSU, expectations for a young Wildcat team may need to be tamed. The Wildcats are 5-0 at home this season, however, and the Bulldogs rank last in the SEC in both pass defense and total defense. A flawless game from sophomore quarterback Patrick Towles may be Kentucky’s only hope.
No. 3 Ole Miss at No. 24 LSU
Ole Miss held Tennessee to three points Saturday in a 34-3 rout, marking the third time this season the Rebels have surrendered a lone field goal to their opponent. The Rebels have played this year with a defense-first mentality, and it appears to be working. They face yet another test in the brutal SEC West this week when they travel to Baton Rouge to take on an LSU team that has rather quietly won two in a row to climb back into the top-25. Meanwhile, the Rebels have slowly molded their offense into a similar shape to that of in-state rival Mississippi State. In the past three games, senior quarterback Bo Wallace has carried the ball 42 times, compared to 25 times over the first four games. Wallace has not thrown an interception in the last three games, meaning we should expect another grind-it-out effort from the Rebels on Saturday.
Vanderbilt at Missouri
Missouri hosts Vanderbilt this weekend in what very well could turn into the latest chapter of Tiger quarterback Maty Mauk’s quest to find out how few passing yards he can have and still win a football game. The sophomore completed six of 18 attempts for 20 yards and an interception in a blowout win over Florida last week, thanks to four touchdowns by Missouri’s defense and special teams. Saturday marked the fourth time this season that Mauk threw for under 150 yards. Luckily for the Tigers, Vanderbilt isn’t particularly fond of scoring, either. The Commodores, who narrowly escaped Charleston Southern a couple weeks ago, rank last or second-to-last in the SEC in every major offensive category. Their 17.6 points per game are almost seven points worse than every other team in the conference. Much to the Tigers’ chagrin, Mauk and the rest of Missouri’s offensive unit should have to impose minimal damage to keep their SEC East hopes afloat.
No. 4 Alabama at Tennessee
Things we learned in Alabama’s 59-0 demolishing of Texas A&M: Do not, under any circumstances, make Nick Saban angry. Also, the Crimson Tide is doing just fine. The Crimson Tide hung 45 on the Aggies in the first half, leaving everyone who claimed Alabama’s dynasty was over to collectively bite their tongues. Junior running back T.J. Yeldon looked as explosive as he has looked all season, rushing for 114 yards on just 13 carries, and his first two rushing touchdowns since the season opener. With a bye week separating this weekend’s contest with the Volunteers and a big two-game stretch against LSU and Mississippi State, Alabama figures to be all business in Knoxville. The recipe to success for Tennessee likely includes a clean game on the offensive side of the ball to give its defense and the fans at Neyland Stadium a chance to make some noise. Senior quarterback Justin Worley has thrown five interceptions in the Volunteers’ last two losses, and a similar performance will only hurt his team’s chances.