Previewing Week 6 in the SEC

October 4, 2019 J.C. Dickinson

Another week of mediocre matchups around the conference, outside of Auburn at Florida. There are 6 teams on a bye this week, leaving only 3 of the 5 matchups being conference games. I’ll dive into those games a little later, but first here are this week’s SEC power rankings entering week 6 of the football season.

Week 6 Power Rankings

Alabama – The Tide get a bye this week before they play on the road at Texas A&M next Saturday. Tua and his 3 best friends (Jeudy, Ruggs, Smith) are continuing to light up the scoreboard, it’s hard to see that stopping anytime soon.
LSU – Joe Burrow’s emergence in the passing game has been a welcomed addition to an offense that’s had problems in that aspect throughout this decade. If LSU can figure things out on the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers become a real title contender.
Auburn – Jumping the gun on this one? Probably but when you have the best defensive line in the country and a competent offense to go along with it, you’re rarely going to lose. Looking at you, Mississippi State… Oh and Auburn has the best wins of any team in the country to this point.
Georgia – Yes, Georgia is undefeated. Yes, they did beat Notre Dame at home but it wasn’t convincing. D’Andre Swift is really good, but if your QB can’t throw it over the top of a defense you’re going to have problems the way Georgia did against Notre Dame. Georgia will have a chance to prove their doubters wrong.
Florida – I’m not sure if this says how good Florida is, or if this says the SEC isn’t as good top to bottom as people think since Florida is still the 5th best team in the conference with a backup QB. Either way, Florida can make a huge statement on Saturday when Auburn comes into The Swamp. Also, this is a game Dan Mullen had trouble winning at Mississippi State so we’ll see if his big game woes followed him to Gainesville or not.
Texas A&M – 6-11 is where this gets really tricky because it’s hard to see much of a difference from team to team. A&M has more talent than anyone they’re in front of, yet they’re still struggling in games they need to win and win big in. Throw the Arkansas game out of the window, that game is close every year and will continue to be until they stop playing neutral site games.
Missouri – Is Missouri good? They have the talent to win in the SEC this year, especially at QB with Kelly Bryant. They’ve looked better week after week following that embarrassing loss at Wyoming, hop on the Mizzou bandwagon while you still can.
South Carolina – A simple case of “What have you done for me lately?” fits here. Last week’s blowout win against Kentucky at home is a little more impressive than State’s win over Kentucky at home, but not by much. Really like how Hilinski continues to get better every week, plus his story makes him an easy guy to root for. South Carolina gets Georgia and Florida in back to back weeks soon, so we’ll get a good look at the Gamecocks.
Mississippi State – Disappointed doesn’t even feel like the right word, but if Garrett Shrader isn’t the starter the rest of the way then I’m sure State fans across the country will pay Joe Moorhead’s buyout for Rutgers.
Ole Miss – Probably jumping the gun on this one, too, but the Ole Miss offense actually looks competent with Plumlee as the QB. No reason Matt Luke should go back to Corral unless Plumlee gets hurt.
Kentucky – Benny Snell isn’t walking through that door, Kentucky. Josh Allen isn’t walking through that door either. Man, do the Wildcats miss Terry Wilson or what?
Vanderbilt – Ke’Shawn Vaughn is probably a top 4 RB in the SEC but since he plays for Vandy, he doesn’t get the attention he deserves. Really hoping Vandy’s game plan for the remainder of the year will be to get Vaughn the ball in any way possible.
Tennessee – Yeah, they’re bad and the poor Vols have to play Georgia, Miss. State, and Alabama the next 3 weeks. Does Fulmer come out of retirement and coach that Alabama game, if Pruitt can’t beat Mississippi State? Would not shock me if that’s the case.
Arkansas – They’re going 0-8 in the conference, that game vs Texas A&M doesn’t change that because that game is always competitive.

Predictions for Week 6

Utah State at LSU – LSU is going to win this game, but this is a really intriguing matchup for scouts around the NFL because of Utah State’s QB Jordan Love. Not getting a lot of hype right now, but if he can put some points on the board at LSU, that will change. For LSU, this is a game where the defense has to make a statement and be the more physical team. Prediction: LSU 59, Utah State 24
Auburn at Florida – Can Bo Nix follow up last week’s performance against Mississippi State with a similar performance at Florida? I believe he can, simply because Auburn is such a good running team and they can use Grantham’s aggressiveness against him. Prediction: Auburn 27, Florida 20
Troy at Missouri – Should be another big Kelly Bryant game and another Missouri win before they get into the meat of their conference schedule. Prediction: Missouri 45, Troy 17
Georgia at Tennessee – This is the sequel to the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones, if we’re being honest. Prediction: Georgia 49, Tennessee 13
Vanderbilt at Ole Miss – This game is always a toss up, no matter how good or bad the other team is. Since this game is in Oxford and the emergence of the 3 freshmen at Ole Miss, the edge goes to the Rebels. Prediction: Ole Miss 34, Vanderbilt 23