“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
Bryan Harsin is out at Auburn. One day before his 46th birthday, Bryan Harsin has been fired at Auburn. We all knew it was coming. It came down to which loss would be the final straw, and as it turned out, that loss came to the Hogs. Harsin finishes 9-12 in two-plus seasons, lasting one fewer game than Chad Morris at Arkansas. He was bad at everything. Auburn lost both coordinators after last year, struggled to recruit, and the offense (Harsin’s baby) was always able to move the ball but struggled to finish drives. Harsin is known to be difficult to work with and for – a reputation apparently widely-known when he was at Arkansas State – and this hire just never had a chance to work out. Auburn hired an athletic director over the weekend. Expect them to target big names like Lane Kiffin, Hugh Freeze, or Deion Sanders.
Hogs open as 13.5-point favorites against Liberty. AP voters stuck Liberty in the top 25 because after about 20th, voters don’t know what to do with the rest of their spots. They stuck South Carolina in the poll last week despite the Gamecocks’ best win coming against a Will Levis-less Kentucky team, and Carolina promptly repaid them by getting pasted at home by Mizzou. Now Liberty, whose best win came at home against 4-4 BYU, is in at 23rd. Vegas is smarter, opening the Hogs as two-touchdown favorites. Liberty is a good team, and the intrigue around the quarterback position is interesting, so we may see some interesting action on that betting line this week.
Dominique Johnson is out, Quincey McAdoo could start at corner. A couple of roster news. Dominique Johnson has torn his ACL for a second team. That stinks. He had a nice 2021 as a third-down back before tearing his ACL in the Outback Bowl. He has eight carries for 43 yards this season but now is out again. The Hogs have great depth behind Rocket Sanders in AJ Green and Rashod Dubinion, but this stinks for Johnson. Meanwhile, on defense, Malik Chavis should be back for Liberty after missing the Auburn game in the aftermath of an apparent concussion suffered against BYU. That’s great news, but Sam Pittman said that Chavis is fighting for the starting job with Quincey McAdoo, the freshman who was recruited as a receiver but started taking reps at corner a few weeks ago. I feel like Pittman might be bluffing here – unless McAdoo is truly a natural, it’s not a great sign that he’s even with Chavis after only a few weeks of practicing at corner – but it is still interesting.
Games of Note
Kentucky at Mizzou. Mizzou has fought its way back into the bowl eligibility discussion with that road win over South Carolina. The Tigers need to win either this one or the finale against Arkansas to become bowl-eligible. For Kentucky, a season full of promise is now on the brink. The Wildcats lost close and then they weren’t so close on Saturday against Tennessee. They still have to play Georgia and a surging Louisville, so if they lose this one, 6-6 isn’t out of the question.
Florida at Texas A&M. Speaking of seasons on the brink, the Aggies are in huge danger of missing a bowl if they can’t get this one. At 3-5, with a game against LSU still on the docket, the Aggies basically have to have a win Saturday. Florida is just 4-4, and with remaining games against South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Florida State, anywhere from 8-4 to 5-7 is still realistic.
Auburn at Mississippi State. Weird trend this year: teams that fire their coach in-season often get much better immediately. Georgia Tech and Nebraska are two big ones – each have looked significantly better since dismissing their coach – but Colorado also upset Cal after dismissing Karl Dorrell. Does Auburn have an upset in them? Or are the players just ready for this year to end?
South Carolina at Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks turned around their season by leaning on the run game and defense – basically, everyone other than Spencer Rattler – but Mizzou forced Rattler to actually try and win the game Saturday and it went badly for Carolina. Still, the Gamecocks are 5-3 and will reach bowl eligibility with a win over Vandy.
Watch These
Liberty at Arkansas (3 pm, SEC Network). Hugh Freeze and the Flames are 7-1 against a hilariously-weak schedule. They might be getting their star quarterback back after he’s missed all season. There will be plenty of storylines.
Tennessee at Georgia (2:30 pm, CBS). It’s a 1-versus-2 matchup after the Vols moved into a tie with Ohio State for 2nd in the latest poll. Tennessee’s offense has been unsolvable so far, but Georgia’s got dudes that no one else – even Alabama – have. This is the game of the year in the SEC.
Alabama at LSU (6 pm, ESPN). It took Brian Kelly a few weeks, but he’s got the Tigers humming now. LSU has a very strong defense and a chaotic offense that thrives on broken plays (mostly Jayden Daniels scrambles). Daniels is the type of quarterback that has historically caused Nick Saban-coached defenses fits, but does LSU actually have enough pieces to pull this upset?
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