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A drama-filled Week 3 in the SEC taught us a few important things:
That it’s hard to beat Nick Saban three times in a row, even if Ole Miss had every chance to do just that. That Jacob Eason just might have that collegiate star quality that the folks in Athens believed (or hoped) he possessed. That Danny Etling could be an effective starter for LSU on a primetime SEC stage (with a little help from Leonard Fournette’s return). And that Texas A&M could take their impressive early season show on the road and prevail in a hostile environment.
Through three weeks, the teams we thought had SEC championship dreams still do, even if they haven’t looked impressive (Tennessee) and even if they have a loss out of the conference (LSU). And now we get Week 4, the final Saturday of September, with four conference showdowns that will reshape the title picture one last time before the calendar flips to October.
Kent State at Alabama, noon: If there ever was a trap game for Saban’s team, coming off the wild road conquest of Ole Miss, it’s here against the Golden Flashes. This is a Kent State team whose lone win is against Monmouth last week, though it does have talents on defense in defensive end Terence Waugh and free safety Nate Holley.
The comeback and escape act in Oxford was fantastic, riveting and character building. But you better believe Saban will be drilling into his team this week that it needs to start a whole lot better if it wants to keep those repeat dreams alive, with road games against Arkansas and Tennessee coming in a few weeks.
Georgia at Ole Miss, noon: The noon showdown in Oxford is the first of the four quality SEC showcases in Week 4, and the story here is momentum, or a lack thereof. Pretty simple: Georgia has a lot of it, coming off its thrilling win at Missouri, and Ole Miss has none, coming off its second agony-filled collapse of the season.
But giddy Bulldog fans beware: When you look closer at what happened last Saturday, Georgia was one failed fourth-down play from losing to an ordinary Missouri team and Ole Miss was in position to slay Bama for a third consecutive year until it froze with a 24-3 second-quarter lead. Throw in the game being in Oxford and an angry Chad Kelly and Co., and you have all the ingredients for a Rebel uprising. So, in this scenario, that momentum can be very fleeting.
And picturing Ole Miss with three losses in the month of September is just difficult. One thing is for sure: We’ll find out a lot about how mentally tough Hugh Freeze’s team is.
Florida at Tennessee, 3:30 p.m.: The two old SEC East rivals hooking up means it’s almost October. The national TV showcase in Knoxville features two talented but flawed teams that have severely lacked style points in going 3-0. The Vols get a third chance to play an impressive game in front of the Neyland faithful, after uninspired wins against Appalachian State in Week 1 and Ohio last week sandwiched around their best showing in the Battle at Bristol.
But the luster on this matchup took a hit, literally, on Saturday when Gators starting quarterback Luke Del Rio sustained a sprained MCL in his left knee after a low hit by North Texas’ Joshua Wheeler. Del Rio will reportedly miss at least the next two games, so Jim McElwain will call on Purdue graduate transfer Austin Appleby to lead the Gators in a hostile environment in their first road game of the season.
Appleby is more athletic than Del Rio and has a stronger arm, and he looked OK against North Texas. But Tennessee, as ordinary as they’ve looked so far, isn’t North Texas, and Neyland Stadium won’t be the friendly confines of The Swamp with a cushion like UF had when Del Rio went down late in the third quarter last Saturday.
Mississippi State at Massachusetts, 3:30 p.m.: After the nightmarish Week 1 home loss to South Alabama, the Bulldogs have come back with a solid home win over South Carolina before nearly rallying from a 23-3 deficit at LSU last Saturday. They also discovered that backup quarterback Damian Williams is capable of rallying the team in a place like Death Valley, after he came in for an ineffective Nick Fitzgerald and almost pulled off a stunning comeback against the Tigers.
Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen said Fitzgerald remains the starter though, and this is a game the Bulldogs need to win if they have hopes of reaching a bowl. The Minutemen are no joke, either. They trailed the Gators 10-7 going into the fourth quarter at The Swamp in Week 1.
Delaware State at Missouri, 4 p.m.: This is an early season lesson in maturity for Barry Odom. His team was talented enough to be one play from beating Georgia last Saturday. But his team is also too flawed to think it can just roll out of bed and win. Yes, it’s Delaware State, which has given up 90 points in losing its first two games. Missouri will win. But how will it win? In lazy, sulking fashion after last week? Or in dominant fashion, showing signs of progress with trips to LSU and Florida coming up?
Vanderbilt at Western Kentucky, 4:30 p.m.: It’s getting ugly in Nashville already, with fans calling for Derek Mason to be fired after Vanderbilt allowed a whopping 511 yards against Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack. What do you think a loss to Western Kentucky would do to the Commodores faithful? And a win here is anything but certain. The Hilltoppers are 2-1, and they irritated Saban in his infamous shouting spree at Lane Kiffin in their lone loss at Alabama.
LSU at Auburn, 6 p.m.: Auburn will get a third crack at a home upset against a ranked team, but its offense failed miserably in losses to Clemson and Texas A&M last week, combining for just 29 points in the two games. Yes, it can score against Arkansas State, but that won’t help against the elite. Sean White struggled against the Aggies’ defense, and here comes LSU’s quality defense, with a resurgent Fournette and Etling gaining confidence each week running the offense.
South Carolina at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m.: Last week, the offensively challenged Gamecocks beat East Carolina despite being outgained 519-312, and the defensively challenged Wildcats got their first win despite giving up 42 points and 500 yards to New Mexico State. The Wildcats scored 62 points and half that should be enough at home against the Gamecocks, whether it’s Stephen Johnson or the hobbled Drew Barker at the helm.
Arkansas vs. Texas A&M, 9 p.m.: It’s appropriate these 3-0 teams meet on a neutral field at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The national TV game pits two SEC West teams that would like to come along for the ride with Alabama and LSU in contending for the division title. The winner will have a shot.
Call this suddenly enticing Top 25 showdown a late September playoff game to see who will be 4-0 with big dreams intact. Bret Bielema would love to get another signature win in the state of Texas after the rousing Week 2 road win against TCU.
Cory Nightingale, a sports copy editor at the Miami Herald, lives for Saturdays. He especially enjoys the pageantry, tradition and history of SEC football.
