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GAME OF THE WEEK
Auburn at Kansas State, Thursday, September 18, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Heads up, everyone. The best game of the week is actually on Thursday. The Wildcats don't put up gaudy numbers because they play at a slower pace, but their offense is efficient. They are a dangerous home underdog, and they could change how we think about this Auburn team—provided they tackle better than they did against Iowa State. If they don't, they're getting run out of the building.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Troy at Georgia, noon ET, SEC Network
The Bulldogs get to regroup against the burnt out husk of what was once a decent Troy program.
Florida at Alabama, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Will Muschamp has been saying that his team has some "things to clean up" after the triple overtime win over Kentucky. Those things better be clean enough to eat off of or else this will be a snuff film.
Texas A&M at SMU, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2
This game, on the other hand, will be terribly ugly no matter what.
Indiana at Missouri, 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network
With it dawning on people this week that Mizzou might actually have a chance to repeat as East champs—and given the potential for the CBS game to be over by the half—there will be some attention paid to this one. The all-offense, no-defense Hoosiers don't present a complete challenge, but they should push the Tigers in new ways for this season.
Northern Illinois at Arkansas, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
NIU is one of the best mid-majors, and it has already taken down Northwestern this season. If the Hogs are too high on their win over Texas Tech, this could get dicey.
Mississippi State at LSU, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
This "rivalry" is so one-sided that it's hard to even call it as such. Since divisional play began, the Bulldogs have only a single win—a one-point victory in 1999. This year seems to be a year with win potential for MSU, but give it careful thought before putting money on it.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Given Steve Spurrier's proclivity to losing a game he shouldn't even with his best teams, this would be a five alarm upset alert if this was a James Franklin Vanderbilt team. As it is, it's probably an old-style division-contender-versus-Vandy game where it's inexplicably close for three quarters before the Gamecocks pull away late.