By: Amber Pennycuff
Missouri (5-0, 1-0) @ Georgia (4-1, 3-0)
The Tigers will make their first appearance at Sanford Stadium on Saturday as they take on 3-0 in the SEC, Georgia. The Bulldogs have not lost a game yet on the home turf and are going 15 strong.
After an absence from Todd Gurley in the Tennessee game, head coach Mark Ritch announced on Sunday that Keith Marshall and Justin Scott- Wesley would be out for the rest of the year on ACL injuries. And after winning just by one field goal, Georgia will need a hard fight this week.
Missouri took a big win over rival SEC opponent Vanderbilt last week to spoil its Homecoming game. However, seventh-ranked Georgia will be no cake-walk.
The Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel says he expects Georgia to be moving full-force. “They’ve done a great job recruiting,” stated Pinkel, “They might not have any experience but they have good athletes on the field.”
In Georgia’s last three games, quarterback Aaron Murray was sacked just one time. Pinkel says Georgia’s offensive line has improved immensely since Clemson, where Georgia allowed four sacks.
“This’ll be a challenge, no question about it and I’ve got a great respect for their offensive line,” noted Pinkel.
On Georgia’s side, Richt says Missouri is a very hot team. “They just moved up to Top 25 for good reason,” noted Richt.
We will see just how good of a reason that may be on Saturday afternoon as the Tigers kick-off over in Bulldog territory at 11:00 a.m. on ESPN.
Florida (4-1, 3-0) @ LSU (5-1, 2-1)
The swamp will be heating up this weekend as the Florida Gators make their way down the bayou into Tiger territory for a deep-south match-up on Saturday.
After a win at home last week against Arkansas, the Gators will face LSU for the 60th time in the school’s history. Florida has a 31-25-3 advantage over the Tigers. However, Baton Rouge holds a 16-14 record over the Gators, and the two teams are now at an even 5-5 match-up.
No. 10/11 ranked LSU will face a tough challenge against no. 17 Florida on Saturday at the 2:30 kick-off. LSU has won five straight and 27 of its last 28 games in Tiger Stadium. For the 10th year in a row, both teams will be entering the game as a Top 25 opponent.
The Tigers have averaged 489 yards per game and only 66 plays per game. The dominant LSU offense is generally very consistent and on-point. However, Florida’s defense could be a threat.
The Gators allow just 217 yards per game. They have picked off eight passes and allow only 2.8 yards per carry and 65 rushing yards each game.
It will be a toss-up between the two and most definitely a game to keep your eye on.
The Gators will kick-off in Baton Rouge at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Texas A&M (4-1, 1-1) @ Ole Miss (3-2, 1-2)
Ole Miss will kick-off a six-week home-game streak against Texas A&M on Saturday. Coming off a 22-30 loss from Auburn, the Rebels will have another challenging conference meet this weekend.
Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin addressed the bye-week that Texas A&M took on last week and said it was a good break for his team. “I think our players need it,” stated Sumlin, “…playing at this level is hard…the stress to perform and be consistent is difficult.”
On Ole Miss, Sumlin says that he doesn’t think they are much different than last year. “They have a lot of their main pieces back,” noted Sumlin. “Whenever you have a quarterback that returns for you, you’re very excited as a coach. That’s one less thing you’ve got to worry about as far as experience.”
Sumlin also stated that they very talented and well-coached as a team.
The Rebels have taken one SEC win over Vanderbilt in the beginning of the season and added a “W” from Texas in September.
This past week head coach Hugh Freeze addressed the media and opened his statement reflecting on the Auburn loss. “Obviously we’re not happy with where we are, but we thank God we’re not where we used to be. The journey continues.”
Freeze stated, “Texas A&M, certainly, is very deserving of its ranking. Kevin (Sumlin) has done a tremendous job in the short time he’s been there…They have a lot of good players. They know who they are…they know what they want to do…”
The coaches respect for one another is very adamant and gives a breath of fresh air to good-competitive football.
The Aggies will head over to The Grove to take on Ole Miss at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Here’s a look at your other SEC schedules:
-South Carolina (4-1, 2-1) will be making its way over to Arkansas (3-3, 0-2) as the Razorbacks travel back to home turf. The game will kick-off at 11:21 a.m. on SEC TV.
-Auburn (4-1, 2-1) will return home this week to take on Western Carolina (1-5) at 1p.m. and viewers can order it on PPV.
-Keeping an undefeated record, Alabama (5-0, 2-0) will travel north to Lexington to take on the Kentucky (1-4, 0-2) Wildcats. The game will be featured on ESPN 2 at 6 p.m.
-After a tough loss to LSU last week, Mississippi State (2-3, 0-2) will remain at home in Starkville to take on Bowling Green (5-1) at 6:30 p.m. on FSN.
-The Vols (3-3, 0-2) will take a bye-week this weekend, after last week’s hard fight against Georgia. Tennessee will return next week at home against South Carolina.
-Facing a tough loss to undefeated Missouri last week at home, Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-3) will take a week off before its game against Georgia next week.
