SEC Week Four Preview
Tennessee (2-1) and No. 18 Florida (1-1) open SEC play in Gainesville. Both teams are coming off road losses with Tennessee falling at Oregon this past weekend, and Florida suffering a setback at Miami two weeks ago. The Gators have won eight-straight in the rivalry, their longest such streak against the Vols.
No. 7 LSU (3-0) hosts Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC) in a battle of Tigers under the lights in Death Valley. LSU has started 3-0 for the seventh-straight season, while Auburn has started strong, beating Washington State and Mississippi State. Auburn faces their first road test of the season, however, in a place where they have not won since 1999.
Arkansas (3-0) travels to Rutgers (2-1) for its final nonconference contest. The Razorbacks allowed only a field goal in a 24-3 win over Southern Miss this past weekend, while Rutgers handled Eastern Michigan at home. The only loss for the Scarlet Knights came week one in overtime at Fresno State. The two teams met for the first time in 2012 with Rutgers winning, 35-26, at Arkansas.
Missouri (2-0) takes on Indiana (2-1) in Bloomington as the teams meet for the first time in 21 years. Missouri was idle in week three, while Indiana rolled over Bowling Green, 42-10. The Tigers have not beaten the Hoosiers since 1954, going 0-6-2 over the last eight meetings.
Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 SEC) welcomes SMU (1-1) to College Station. Aggies wide receiver Mike Evans leads the nation in receiving yards after a breakout performance against Alabama, catching seven passes for 279 yards and a touchdown. The Aggies are averaging 53.0 points per game, while SMU averages 27.0 points. A&M defeated SMU 48-3 in 2012.
Vanderbilt (1-2, 0-2 SEC) travels to Massachusetts (0-3) for its second nonconference game. The Commodores’ rally fell short against South Carolina in week three, falling 35-25, while the Minutemen have lost to Wisconsin and Kansas State by a combined score of 82-7.
No. 10 Georgia (1-1, 1-0 SEC) returns to action after a bye week, hosting North Texas (2-1). Bulldogs’ QB Aaron Murray passed for 309 yards and four touchdowns in the win over South Carolina in week two. UGA faces No. 7 LSU next week, making North Texas their only September opponent to not be ranked in the top-10.
No. 1 Alabama (2-0, 1-0 SEC) returns home after a thrilling win at Texas A&M to face Colorado State (1-2). QB AJ McCarron completed 20 of 29 passes for 334 yards and four touchdowns against the Aggies. The Rams are the first non-BCS opponent for Alabama this season and the two teams have never met before.
Mississippi State (1-2, 0-1 SEC) hosts Troy (2-1, 0-1 Sun Belt) for the first time since 2002. Both teams are coming off losses in their conference openers with Mississippi State dropping a heartbreaker to Auburn and Troy falling to Arkansas State. The Bulldogs and Trojans have met three times with Mississippi State claiming the past two matchups.