“The Week Ahead” is our weekly Monday piece, covering any relevant news from the weekend and taking a first look at all the games coming up this weekend.
Week 7 News
Harsin Watch continues. Auburn lost again to fall to 3-4, but the Tigers showed good fight on the road against Ole Miss. The team has not quit on Bryan Harsin. If he’s not fired on Monday, then he will likely be Auburn’s coach when the Hogs head to the Plains in two weeks, as Auburn has an open date as well on Saturday. Harsin’s switch to Robby Ashford at quarterback was shrewd: the gamble has paid off as Ashford has improved every week, and now Harsin has the “my talented QB is young” card he can play. Boosters still want him gone, and the longer Auburn leaves him hanging, the worse things will be for the program (the Tigers’ 2023 recruiting class is currently ranked 48th).
Tennessee started a GoFundMe to pay for the field storming. The Vols beat Alabama for the first time in 16 years in what was the Game of the Year in college football, so forgive them for not knowing how to act. Despite having ample resources to pay for new goalposts plus the $100,000 fine, the Vols have been aggressively fundraising ever since the game ended, apparently trying to get more money. Credit for striking while the iron is hot.
Week 8 in the SEC
UT Martin at Tennessee. This is brilliant scheduling. The Vols are due for a monster letdown, so they added an FCS opponent to the schedule. Just like the UAPB game helped the Hogs stop the slide last year, the Vols can use this game to refocus for the rest of the season.
Vanderbilt at Missouri. It’s the SEC Pillow Fight of the Year! Mizzou is favored by two scores and this is an absolute must-win if the Tigers want to make a bowl, as they still need three SEC wins.
Texas A&M at South Carolina. The Aggies followed up a valiant performance in Tuscaloosa with an open date. The Aggies need to, at a minimum, go 8-4 to salvage any optimisim of Jimbo Fisher’s tenure. That only allows them one more loss, and they still have to play Ole Miss and LSU. They cannot afford to lose this one. South Carolina, meanwhile, probably needs either this one or Mizzou next week along with Vanderbilt to reach 6-6.
Mississippi State at Alabama. The Bulldogs’ Air Raid was grounded by Kentucky last week, and now State draws a really angry Alabama team. Good luck, Bulldogs.
Watch This One
Ole Miss at LSU (2:30 pm, CBS). Tennessee stomped LSU in vaunted Death Valley, so now the Tigers get another shot to beat a top-10 team at home. If Ole Miss hopes to reach a New Year’s Six bowl for the second straight year, they really need this win, as they’re behind the Georgia-Tennessee loser in that battle at the moment.
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