SEC & Big Ten Week 6 Preview: Gators, Tigers set for Top-10 showdown at the Swamp

No. 7 Auburn (5-0) at No. 10 Florida (5-0) at 3:30 p.m. on CBS

The Auburn Tigers head to the Swamp for a Top 10 matchup with the Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon. Both teams enter the week at 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

The Tigers are looking to win their fourth straight against the Gators, while the Gators look to improve 24-9 all-time at home against Auburn. This matchup is the first between the two teams since 2011, and the first Top 10 matchup in Gainesville since 2011.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the teams:

Auburn Quick Hits:

• The Tigers lead the all-time series with Florida 43-38-2.
• A win this weekend would give head coach Gus Malzahn a victory over every SEC team during his time at Auburn. The only other team to accomplish this since 2013 is Alabama.
• Auburn has held three of its first five opponents under 100 yards rushing (Oregon – 90 yards; Kent State – 92 yards; Texas A&M – 56 yards).
• Auburn is averaging 251.0 rushing yards per game, tied for 14th among FBS schools.
• Auburn has converted 299 consecutive PAT attempts (dating back to 2013), an SEC record and the longest active streak in FBS.
• Click here to see Auburn’s complete game notes.
• Click here for the Tigers’ Week 6 depth chart.

Florida Quick Hits:

• The Gators’ current nine-game winning streak is their longest since Florida won 22 in a row across the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
• Florida already has three 300-yard passing games this season, making it the first time since 2009 that the Gators have posted 3 or more such games in a season.
• Since taking over as the starting quarterback, Kyle Trask ranks fourth nationally in completion percentage (77.3 percent), 10th in yards per attempt (9.8), and 13th in passing efficiency (178.56).
• The Gators defense has been fantastic in the red zone this season and leads the FBS in red zone defense, allowing only five scores in 13 trips on the year (38.5 percent).
• Click here to see Florida’s complete game notes.
• Click here for the Gators’ Week 6 depth chart.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the other top games from this weekend’s slate:

No. 3 Georgia (4-0) at Tennessee (1-3) at 7 p.m. on ESPN

The Georgia-Tennessee series, which dates back to 1899, is currently knotted at 23-23-2. The Bulldogs are looking to take theall-time  lead over the Vols for the first time since 1981, when the ‘Dawgs won 44-0 in Athens to go up 9-8-2.

Vanderbilt (1-3) at Ole Miss (2-3) at 7:30 p.m. on SECN

Ole Miss will rely heavily on its young core, as 82.1 percent of the Rebels’ offense (1,737 of 2,116 yards) has come from freshmen, the most by any team in the country.

Purdue (1-3) at No. 12 Penn State (4-0) at Noon on ESPN

Purdue (351.0 yards per game) and Penn State (316.0) rank first and second in the Big Ten in passing yardage, but the Boilermakers will be without starting quarterback Elijah Sinclair, who was injured last week. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Plummer will make his first career road start.

No. 14 Iowa (4-0) at No. 19 Michigan (3-1) at Noon on FOX

Saturday is Michigan’s 119th homecoming game, and the Wolverines are 91-27 in those matchups. However, the Hawkeyes have bested the Wolverines on their last two trips to Michigan on Homecoming (2002, 30-27; 2010, 38-28).

Maryland (2-2) at Rutgers (1-3) at Noon on BTN

Nunzio Campanile, a native of New Jersey and currently in his second year at Rutgers, takes over as interim head coach/offensive coordinator for Rutgers this week. Before coming to Rutgers, Campanile served as head coach at Bergen Catholic High School from 2010-17.

Illinois (2-2) at Minnesota (4-0) at 3:30 p.m. on BTN

The Gophers have now won six straight (dating back to last season) and are tied for the seventh longest winning streak in the nation behind Clemson (20), Ohio State (11), Appalachian State (10), Florida (9), Wake Forest (7) and Iowa (7).

Northwestern (1-3) at Nebraska (3-2) at 4 p.m. on FOX

The past two matchups between the Huskers and Wildcats have been decided in overtime, and six of the eight meetings between the two schools as Big Ten opponents have been decided by seven points or fewer.

No. 25 Michigan State (4-1) at No. 4 Ohio State (5-0) at 7:30 p.m. on ABC

This Top-25 matchup will feature two of the nation’s top defenses as the Buckeyes rank second nationally in total defense (223.8 yards per game) and fourth nationally at 8.6 points per game. The Spartans rank seventh nationally, allowing just 253.8 yards per game, and are 15th in scoring defense, allowing 15.0 points per game.