Western Division
No. 12 Arkansas (7-1, 4-0)This week: @ South Carolina, 6:45 p.m. on ESPN
Arkansas coach Houston Hutt said the return of players, such as running backs Felix Jones and Darren McFadden and wide receiver Marcus Monk, for this season made him confident that his team could compete for a Southeastern Conference championship.
“I thought we’d be much improved,” Nutt said. “With the offensive line coming back and the defense a year older, I thought we’d have a good team.”
No. 6 Auburn (8-1, 5-1)This week: vs. Arkansas State (5-3, 3-1 Sun Belt), 1:30 p.m.
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is the only person at Auburn with any connection to the state of Arkansas.
Tuberville coached defensive backs and linebackers from 1980-1984 at Arkansas State University.
“I do have some ties there and a lot of great memories of starting college football coaching,” Tuberville said in a news release. “It was an eye-opening experience. I’ve watched that program grow over the years, and they have done a good job.”
No. 13 LSU (6-2, 2-2)This week: at Tennessee, 2:30 p.m. on CBS
The Tigers will be searching for their first road victory this season going into the first week of November after losing to Auburn University and the University of Florida.
Getting that first road victory will not be easy in front of more than 104,000 fans Saturday in Neyland Stadium.
LSU coach Les Miles said he implements different mechanisms in practice that are designed to help his team deal with crowd noise.
“We pipe in noise [during practice],” Miles said. “And we make it more efficient to signal and/or audiblize so that we don’t necessarily have to hear what’s being said.”
Alabama (6-3, 2-3)This week: vs. Mississippi State, 11:30 a.m. on Lincoln Financial Sports
Mississippi State’s rejuvenated offense has caught the cautious eye of Crimson Tide coach Mike Shula.
The Bulldogs averaged just 13 points in their first six games.
“They’re averaging, I think, 33 points the last few games offensively,” Shula said. “It’s always been a very physical game, [a] very low scoring game.”
Ole Miss (2-7, 1-5)This week: vs. Northwestern State, 1 p.m.
Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron will be facing his alma mater, Northwestern State University, on Saturday at home.
“I’m very appreciative [of] my degree from Northwestern State,” Orgeron said in a news release. “They enabled me to coach, but we’re going to get ready for this football team just like every other football team.”
The Demons are a Division I-AA team, but Orgeron said his team is not good enough to take any game for granted.
“If you allow them to, which we won’t, we know that they are going to come in here and make a statement,” Orgeron said.
Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5)This week: at Alabama
Sophomore quarterback Michael Henig is making the most of his second chance at quarterback after breaking his collarbone earlier in the season.
Henig has thrown for 801 yards and four touchdowns in his past three games for Mississippi State.
“I thought Mike Henig had an outstanding game [against Kentucky],” Henig said. “He still has to be disciplined in some of his reads.”
Eastern Division
No. 7 Florida (7-1, 5-1)This week: at Vanderbilt, 11:30 a.m. on Lincoln Financial Sports
When the Gators and Commodores met one year ago in The Swamp, Florida needed two overtime sessions to steal a 49-42 victory.
One year later Florida coach Urban Meyer said his players have been convinced in their film studies that the Commodores are an impressive team despite their record.
“We had an excellent practice [Tuesday],” Meyer said. “And if we’re playing a bad team, you don’t have a good practice.”
No. 8 Tennessee (7-1, 3-1)This week: vs. LSU
The University of Tennessee and LSU have traded in their historically-successful running games this season for a high-powered passing attack.
The Volunteers possess the No. 9 passing offense in the nation behind junior quarterback Erik Ainge.
The Tigers are ranked 19th in the nation in passing offense under junior quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
“I think it would be very difficult versus [LSU’s] defense to score a bunch of points,” Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. “On either side of the ball, there is a chance for a big defensive play or a play in the special teams to have a chance to be the difference in the game.”
Georgia (6-3, 3-3)This week: at Kentucky, Noon
For the Bulldogs, November is usually the time to focus on winning an SEC championship and mulling the possibility of a Bowl Championship Series game.
But with a 3-3 conference record, Georgia coach Mark Richt said his team needs to re-gain momentum in the short term.
“All we’re doing right now… is trying to find a way to get win number seven,” Richt said. “That’s all that [the players] really ought to be concentrating on right now.”
South Carolina (5-3, 3-3)This week: vs. Arkansas
The Gamecocks will get another chance on ESPN’s primetime football slot to knock off a top-15 opponent at home.
The University of South Carolina lost 31-24 this past Saturday at home to the Volunteers on primetime television.
For the Gamecocks, sophomore quarterback Syvelle Newton is still suffering headaches from a concussion he sustained in the game against Tennessee.
“He hasn’t practiced yet,” Spurrier said before Wednesday’s practice. “But I think he’s going to try to practice today. He just had some headaches Monday and Tuesday. The CAT scan looked negative.”
Kentucky (4-4, 2-3)This week: vs. Georgia
Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said he sees much excitement and motivation among his players because of the Wildcats’ chances of making a postseason bowl game.
“Georgia is a team we’ve struggled with,” Brooks said. “[A win] would put us in a much better position going into the final three games. It would be huge to pull off the upset.”
A Kentucky win would catapult the team from No. 5 to No. 3 in the Eastern Division.
Vanderbilt (4-5, 1-4)This week: vs. Florida
The post-Jay Cutler era at Vanderbilt has not turned out as bleak as many football forecasters were predicting before the season.
The Commodores are two wins away from becoming bowl eligible, and Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said recruiting has begun to look up for his team.
“When we first got here, we were probably recruiting guys that not a lot of people were recruiting in our league,” Johnson said. “When we showed those prospects that we could play and compete, we started getting better players.”
—–Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]