December 22, 2024

SEC games to watch in week four

Week four in the SEC is full of high-stakes games with big division implications. Here are the games you should watch for this weekend.

Checker Neyland

Neyland Stadium fans participating in "Checker Neyland" during the Tennessee-Florida game in Knoxville on Oct. 4, 2014.

No. 19 Florida at No. 14 Tennessee

Florida at Tennessee is the biggest SEC game on tap this weekend.

Florida has won the last eleven meetings between the teams, but could this year finally be the year Tennessee ends the streak?

It can be argued that the Vols have had the more talented team in the last two to three matchups, but they have still come up short. This is due in large part to not closing out games. The Vols have had a late-game lead on Florida in each of the past two games only to see themselves snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This year, the Vols are at home while wearing their “Smokey Grey” alternate uniforms, and the crowd will once again checker the stadium. The Vols will be missing star cornerback Cam Sutton and starting middle linebacker Darrin Kirkland. This would be a viable excuse, but Florida is missing its starting quarterback Luke Del Rio. The game is fair a matchup, and if anything, it favors the Volunteers.

Let’s put the trash talk to rest and see what these two teams are really made of.

No. 18 LSU at Auburn

This SEC west game will prove which team is really here to stay.

LSU is coming off a close win against Mississippi State last week while Auburn is coming off a two-touchdown loss to a talented No. 10 Texas A&M team.

LSU is clearly the more talented team in this matchup, mostly because of running back Leonard Fournette. LSU has also found a quarterback that (at the least) doesn’t seem to turn the ball over. Both teams boast a strong defense, and Auburn will have the home field advantage. The underlying implications of this game could be colossal with both Les Miles and Gus Malzahn potentially on the hot seat. If Auburn wants to keep its season going, Malzahn will have to settle on just one quarterback.

No. 12 Georgia at No. 23 Ole Miss

Georgia is coming off a close last minute win against an upstart Missouri team while Ole Miss will look to rebound after a four-quarter effort a 48-43 loss against No. 1 Alabama.

The Dawgs enter the contest with a perfect 3-0 record. Ole Miss comes in at just 1-2, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks they are only as good as that record shows. The main question will be if Chad Kelly is still motivated following a devastating loss against the Crimson Tide. Kelly threw for an incomprehensible 421 yards while tacking on three touchdowns and no interceptions. After that kind of performance in a loss, it should be interesting to see if Kelly will be motivated to get an SEC win this week.

No. 17 Arkansas vs. No. 10 Texas A&M

This game will take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for the third year in a row.

Both teams have surprised the SEC by starting 3-0 with new quarterbacks, the Hogs led by Austin Allen while the Aggies are led by Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight.

Although the game is played in Texas, it seems logical to think A&M would end up with home field advantage, but the crowd should be a evenly split one. Like the LSU-Auburn game, this game will also say a lot about the SEC West going forward. Look forward to seeing a back-and-forth game between two high-scoring offenses.

Edited by Nathan Odom

Featured image by Nathan Odom