SEC Week Four Preview

LSU (3-0, 0-0 SEC) faces rival Auburn (1-2, 0-1 SEC) in the annual Tiger Bowl. Last year’s 45-10 blowout win for LSU was the largest margin of victory in the series since it began in 1901. Auburn boasts a talented stable of running backs but will be challenged by an LSU defense that has held opponents to a mere 47 yards rushing per game.

Florida (3-0, 2-0 SEC) welcomes Kentucky (1-2, 0-2 SEC) to the Swamp looking to extend a 25-game winning streak against the Wildcats. The resurgent Gators have outscored opponents 50-13 in the second half this season, while UK QB Maxwell Smith leads the SEC in passing yards with 322 per game.

Missouri (2-1, 0-1 SEC) squares off with South Carolina (3-0, 1-0 SEC) for the first time since the 2005 Independence Bowl, a 38-31 win for the Tigers. Both starting QBs are questionable with shoulder injuries, however, each team’s backup has played well in relief. Mizzou hopes its spread attack can keep Carolina’s seventh-ranked scoring defense off balance.

Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) enters SEC play against Vanderbilt (1-2, 0-1 SEC) a week after Aaron Murray and company scorched Florida Atlantic for a school-record 713 yards. The Commodores, on the other hand, are still searching for a starting QB. Wyoming transfer Austyn Carta-Samuels supplanted Jordan Rodgers in last week’s 58-0 win over Presbyterian, but coach James Franklin has said pegging a starter will be a game-time decision.

After two difficult losses in a row, Arkansas (1-2, 0-1 SEC) may be welcoming back QB Tyler Wilson for the Razorbacks’ first-ever meeting with Rutgers. The all-SEC signal caller, who is recovering from a concussion, will face a difficult test against a Scarlet Knights team that has allowed the fifth-fewest points in the country.

In other SEC action, Ole Miss (2-1, 0-0 SEC) travels to Tulane and Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC) hosts FAU. Also on the docket is South Carolina State at Texas A&M (1-1, 0-1 SEC), Akron at Tennessee (2-1, 0-1 SEC) and South Alabama at Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0 SEC).