Bama Bye Week: a Look Around the SEC

Alabama Football has a bye week this weekend. It’s a moment of calm between an impressive victory in Madison and a pivotal SEC matchup against Georgia, which will draw the likes of Former President Donald Trump in attendance. While Alabama recovers and prepares for this battle, the rest of the SEC keeps moving on, with some games having big implications for the Tide. Let’s take a look at the Saturday schedule:

Florida @ Mississippi State - 11 AM, ESPN (Line: FLA -6)

The first kickoff of the SEC slate pits two incredibly underwhelming squads at Davis-Wade Stadium in Starkville. Florida’s woes have been covered extensively; their starting QB entering the season, Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz, has struggled significantly in his 2 games this season (65.7 cmp%, 1 TD, 2 INT), and was sidelined in Week 2 due to injury. In those 2 games, the Gators were blown out by Miami (FL) and fell to Texas A&M, both at home in The Swamp. Mertz’s replacement in Week 2 was exciting Freshman DJ Lagway, who went for 456 yards and 3 TDs in Florida’s 45-7 rout of FCS squad Samford. These disappointing results have led to calls for Mertz’s benching and continue to foster rumors about Napier’s Florida future.

Mississippi State is going through the troubles of having a first-year head coach. They hired former Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby in November, and results have not followed. They, too, sit at 1-2, their only win coming against the FCS Colonels of Eastern Kentucky. In Week 2, they lost by a touchdown in Tempe against Arizona St, and Week 3 results were even more puzzling. The Bulldogs came home to face 12-time MAC champs Toledo and struggled mightily, falling 41-17. Baylor transfer Blake Shapen has been good under center this year, going for over 800 yards and tossing 7 TDs with one pick. The Bulldog defense has been statistically solid. Even when they gave up 41 points to Toledo, the Rockets barely eclipsed 450 all-purpose yards. Where they will have to improve is penalties. In weeks 2 and 3 alone, Mississippi State amassed 30 penalties (including 17 defensive) for a total of almost 275 yards. State fans need not panic; they’re still in the first year of a new regime headed by a young coach in his first head coaching gig.

Ohio @ Kentucky - 11:45 AM, SEC Network (Line: UK -20)

Ohio is led by exciting UCF-transfer QB Parker Navarro, who sits at almost 550 yards and 2 TDs. They took a tough loss to start the year against Syracuse, but have rebounded well with wins against South Alabama and Morgan State. They will look to give away the ball less, as they've already done so 6 times this year.

Kentucky has had a very up and down season, even through only three weeks. They started off the year with a shutout victory against Southern Miss, before being blown out at Kroger Field by South Carolina 31-6. Last week, they took Georgia down to the wire, losing only 13-12. On its face, this looks like a get-right game for the Wildcats, but MAC teams have surprised SEC teams before (see above).

UCLA @ (16) LSU - 2:30 PM, ABC (Line: LSU -22.5)

UCLA isn’t very good. But they can’t be that bad. Right? 22.5 points bad? Well, they lost last week to Indiana 42-13 at home in their Big Ten conference debut. Much like Mississippi State, the Bruins enter in the first year of a new regime, in their case that of former star RB Deshaun Foster, who’s only 44 years old. UCLA has an incredibly difficult schedule this year, with games against Oregon, Penn State, and USC in addition to LSU. Led by Washington transfer Ethan Garbers, they will likely make an upset at some point this season, but are not predicted to this week in Death Valley.

LSU, on the other hand, enters this game on the back of a huge comeback win in Columbia, South Carolina. They rebounded well after a tough 27-20 loss to USC in their opening game, beating Nicholls State 44-21 between that game and South Carolina. Their QB is Garrett Nussmeier, who has the challenge of following Heisman-winner Jayden Daniels in Baton Rouge. He’s been up to the challenge so far, with almost 900 yards passing and 10 TDs. LSU will face its biggest challenges later in the season, with bouts against Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

Arkansas @ Auburn - 2:30 PM, ESPN (Line: AUB -2.5)

This game is expected to be one of the more hotly contested ones of the day, having the closest line by 3.5 points. Arkansas has had something of a tumultuous offseason and first weeks. Their starting QB from last season, KJ Jefferson, transferred to UCF, while star RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders went to South Carolina. Coming in under center is Boise State transfer Taylen Green, a talented dual-threat player. The Razorbacks started the season with a massive 70-0 triumph over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, before falling in heartbreaking fashion in overtime against Oklahoma State. They rebounded last week with a win over UAB. With a number of tough battles coming up later in the year, Saturday’s faceoff in Auburn will play a huge part in how 2024 is perceived by fans.

Auburn has been disappointing. That much is clear. They come in at 2-1, with wins against Alabama A&M and New Mexico, and a depressing defeat against Cal at home. They face Arkansas deep in a QB controversy. Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne was the Tigers’ starter last season and for the beginning of this one, but was benched last week for Redshirt-Freshman Hank Brown. Brown went for 235 yards and 4 TDs last week against New Mexico, and was announced Friday as the team’s starter moving forward. Auburn’s loss against Cal was disheartening for a variety of reasons, especially considering the challenges the Tigers will face later in the year, like Georgia, Missouri, and Alabama.

Vanderbilt @ (7) Missouri - 3:15 PM (Line: MIZ -20)

Considering their rough history in the SEC, Vanderbilt has performed well above expectations this year. They started the year with a victory over ACC contender Virginia Tech before beating Alcorn State 55-0. Last week, they were brought down to earth with a tight loss to Georgia State. New Mexico State transfer QB Diego Pavia is the Commodores star, going for almost 740 all-purpose yards with 6 TDs in his 3 games. Though he’s never played an SEC team as a member of the conference, Pavia has some history against the SEC; he was the architect of New Mexico State’s 31-10 victory over Auburn last year.

Missouri is one of the more under the radar Playoff contenders in the country. Even though their biggest challenge this year has been Boston College, they’ve put up a total of 116 points in only 3 games. The Tigers are in capable hands. They’re led by veteran QB Brady Cook and his star targets Luther Burden III and Theo Wease, who have a combined 34 receptions for 413 receiving yards. Missouri’s defense is perhaps their greatest strength; they’ve only given up 21 points in their 3 games, with 2 shutouts against Murray State and Buffalo. It’s a little hard to pinpoint just what makes Missouri good, they’re just really good.

(6) Tennessee @ (15) Oklahoma - 6:30 PM (Line: TENN -6.5)

This game is the only real heavyweight matchup in this week’s SEC slate. Saturday will mark the 2nd time the Sooners will welcome the Volunteers, the first being a 34-10 Oklahoma victory in 2014. Oklahoma leads the overall series 3-1, with Tennessee’s only win coming in 1938. The Volunteers enter this game at 3-0, but haven’t had any real tests yet. Their star is RB Dylan Sampson who, though he only sits at 357 rushing yards, has 9 TDs already in 3 weeks. The Vol defense has given up only 13 total points in 3 weeks, and has 3 turnovers. Their biggest win comes against then-ranked NC State, who they beat 51-10.

Oklahoma has had great success against Group of 5 teams this year, beating Temple, Houston, and Tulane by a total of 101-34. Their starting QB is Sophomore Jackson Arnold, who’s gone for almost 500 yards and 7 TDs so far. He replaces star Dillon Gabriel, who’s now at Oregon. Arnold is actually the Sooners’ leading rusher as well, which may signal that they need to get their ground game going with tailbacks. Leading receiver Deion Burks sits at 169 yards and 3 TDs. A win against Tennessee would be a vital statement win for third year head coach Brent Venables, who’s faced significant scrutiny in his time.

Bowling Green @ (25) Texas A&M - 6:30 PM (Line: TAMU -22.5)

12-time MAC champs Bowling Green have already had a Power 4 battle this year: a tight 34-27 loss against Penn State. They beat Fordham in Week 1, so they sit at 1-1. Starting QB Connor Bazelak already has significant SEC experience, playing in 24 games while at Missouri. He transferred to Indiana in 2022, and came to Bowling Green last season. The 6th-year Senior already has 3 2000-yard seasons and 50 passing TDs under his belt, and looks to add to his resume.

Texas A&M enters this game at a low point for their program. First year head coach Mike Elko lost his debut against Notre Dame and his former QB Riley Leonard. This loss looks even worse following Notre Dame’s defeat at the hands of Northern Illinois. Connor Weigman entered the season as starting QB, but a combination of injury and bad play has led to his benching in favor of Redshirt-Freshman Marcel Reed. Reed is a gifted runner who’s already gone for 126 yards on the ground this year. A&M will look to take care of business Saturday at Kyle Field.

Akron @ South Carolina - 6:30 PM (Line: SC -27.5)

1-2 Akron is headed by former Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead and led by journeyman QB Ben Finley, who’s spent time at NC State and Cal. Finley’s gone for over 500 passing yards this year, with 5 TDs. They’ll look to shore up their defense and improve their turnover margin, which currently sits at -3 on the year.

South Carolina enters this game after a heartbreaking loss to LSU, which could have catapulted them in the rankings had they won. Previously, they had a colossal 31-6 win at Kroger Field against Kentucky. RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders leads the Gamecock backfield, joined by dangerous dual-threat QB LaNorris Sellers, who went down with injury midway against LSU. Auburn transfer Robby Ashford will start against Akron, looking to salvage his college career.

Georgia Southern @ (5) Ole Miss - 6:45 PM (Line: MISS -36.5)

Georgia Southern enters at 2-1, with a loss in their opening week shootout against Boise State. They went on to beat Nevada and South Carolina State, who are admittedly not the toughest competition. Their largely pass-focused offense is led by QB JC French, who has 6 TDs and is yet to throw an interception. Their biggest downfall is penalties, of which they have almost 50 through 3 weeks. These penalties have cost them a total of 473 yards this season, which is monumental.

Ole Miss, on the other hand, have rolled through their 3 games so far. Superstar QB Jaxson Dart leads the SEC with 1172 passing yards, adding 11 all-purpose TDs. Dart’s leading receiver is Tre Harris, who’s gone for over 400 yards already. Tailback Henry Parrish Jr. has 338 yards on the ground, with 6 rushing scores. The Rebels look to continue to steamroll opponents on Saturday.

UL-Monroe @ (1) Texas - 7 PM (Line: TEX -44)

Louisiana-Monroe enter Austin on a 2-game win streak, with wins against solid teams Jackson State and UAB. They put up 30+ points in both contests. Winning games has not generally been Monroe’s forte; their last winning season came in 2012, the only bowl appearance in the program’s 38-year history. They’re led by all-name team starter General Booty, whose stat sheet has not wowed through 2 games. The Warhawks run their offense mostly on the ground, and employ a committee approach in their backfield.

Texas, in contrast, knows all about winning. Steve Sarkisian’s squad was lifted to the number 1 spot in the AP poll following wins against Colorado State, UTSA, and, most notably, Michigan (in the Big House no less). Their starting QB is Quinn Ewers, who won’t start Saturday due to injury. Texas has the luxury of having one of the best backup QBs in the country in Arch Manning, one of the most anticipated college players ever. The Longhorns are one of the most well-rounded teams in the country. They have a great defense, led by LB Anthony Hill Jr, who sits on 22 total tackles, 2.5 for loss, and a sack. The offense has almost too many weapons to count. Jerrick Gibson leads the backfield with 178 rushing yards and 2 TDs, while the receiving corps contains the likes of Isaiah Bond, Gunnar Helm, and Isaiah Wingo.