“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.
News of Note
Hogs open as 3.5-point favorites at Auburn. Per Andrew Hutchinson, the Hogs haven’t been favored on the Plains since 1998, when they won 24-21. Arkansas’ road wins in 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2012 all came as underdogs.
Why is South Carolina ranked? Look, I get that Shane Beamer is a feel-good story. He’s a likeable guy who has done a great job, and the Gamecocks are now 5-2 with a good shot to win eight games. But you can’t watch South Carolina play at any point this year and actually think this is a top-25 team. They beat Kentucky (missing Will Levis), Texas A&M, Georgia State, Charlotte, and South Carolina State. But here they are, 25th in the newest AP poll. The only argument for ranking Carolina over Arkansas is that two losses is better than three, but if that’s the argument, then where’s Cabot High School in the poll?
Keep an eye on Liberty. The Flames get an open week to prepare for their trip to Fayetteville, but their health is worth watching. Hugh Freeze has used several quarterbacks this year, and the guy who started the season as the fourth-stringer started and won the BYU game. But original starter Charlie Brewer – a former four-star recruit who helped turn Baylor around under Matt Rhule – is expected to be healthy and there’s a decent chance he starts in Fayetteville. Brewer saw a few snaps at the end of the BYU game but did not attempt a pass. He hasn’t thrown a pass since the first quarter of the opener when he broke his hand. Liberty was missing several other contributors in that game as well, and some of them might be back by next weekend.
Games of Note
Florida vs. Georgia. Fortunes have turned quickly in this rivalry, as Georgia is now favored by 22 points this season. The Gators’ big win over Utah continues to fade, and they haven’t done anything since.
Missouri at South Carolina. Lots on the line for this one in the Battle of Columbias. Mizzou is 3-4 and still has Tennessee and Kentucky on the schedule. If they can win this one, they’ll likely be 5-6 heading into the season finale against Arkansas, so bowl eligibility may depend on this game. For South Carolina, a slim chance to go 9-3 is still there.
Cincinnati at UCF. The Bearcats haven’t lost since their trip to Fayetteville and are 6-1 despite some sloppy play at times. Gus Malzahn’s Knights are 5-2 after a surprising blowout loss to East Carolina. ESPN’s FPI thinks the Knights win this game.
East Carolina at BYU. That 41-14 loss to Liberty might have you convinced that BYU is actually horrible (not just “bad”, as we thought during the game). They might be! But wait to make that judgment until after this game against a decent ECU team. The Cougars had to travel across two time zones to play at Liberty, and over the last several seasons, teams that travel across two or more time zones almost always play terribly. See: Oregon-Georgia (Ducks are unbeaten since that 49-3 loss) and Utah-Florida (Utah is actually pretty good and Florida is actually not).
Illinois at Nebraska. Bret Bielema’s Illini are 6-1 and will have almost total control of the Big Ten West if they can win in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers have won two conference games since firing Scott Frost, so they are still very much in the division race. The Barry Lunney-coordinated offense has done a good job of not hurting itself, but the Illini defense is among the nation’s best.
Watch These
Arkansas at Auburn (11 am, SEC Network). This is a huge game for both programs. A loss and the Hogs might have to scrap just to make a bowl. A win and somehow climbing back to 8-4 (or even 9-3!) is not out of the question. For Auburn, meanwhile, Bryan Harsin could be shown the door at any point, and a home loss to a 4-3 team might just be what does it.
Ole Miss at Texas A&M (6:30 pm, SEC Network). As noted on Sunday, are the Aggies actually going to make a bowl? If they lose this one and the LSU game in a couple weeks, they’ll need to go 2-0 against Auburn and Florida. That’s not a guarantee. They can really help out their chances against an Ole Miss team with a ton of offensive firepower, but also a bad defense and a mediocre offensive line that got exposed in Baton Rouge.
Kentucky at Tennessee (6 pm, ESPN). The Vols are on top of the college football world, but they can’t afford to look ahead to Georgia next week. This would be an especially scary matchup if it wasn’t in Knoxville, because Kentucky is well-equipped to exploit Tennessee’s vulnerable defense and has a strong defense of its own that might be able to keep the Vols from scoring at will. But at Neyland, the Wildcats are going to need a lot of things to go their way.
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