SEC Football Gameday: Reinforcing SEC Dominance

SEC football has a couple of opportunities to establish its dominance as a conference this week, with Alabama traveling to Austin as the headliner.

SEC Football: Marquee Matchups

Texas hopes Steve Sarkisian can return the program to prominence, but the pressure is turned up a little bit after a disappointing 2021 season. In one of its biggest games in several years, Texas will welcome Alabama, the no. 1 team in the country, into Austin. Clearly the standard for Texas has changed over the last decade, as much of the fan base will happily settle for a close game and a moral victory. On the flip side, Alabama fans hope to dominate the Longhorns and give them an early and unfriendly welcome into the conference.

In one of this week’s top-25 matchups, Tennessee goes to Pittsburgh for the second leg of a home-and-home series. Pittsburgh won the ACC in 2021, and beat the Vols 41-34 in Knoxville in week two. Tennessee is expected to be the better team this season and hopes to return the favor. Pitt is coming off an emotional comeback victory against rival West Virginia, while Tennessee blew out Ball State in week one.

SEC Football: Underrated Games

Vanderbilt hosts Wake Forest in a game that is made a little more exciting by the early season buzz around Vanderbilt. The Commodores are off to a 2-0 start and, led by electric dual-threat quarterback Mike Wright, are averaging over 50 points per game so far. They will face their toughest test yet in the Demon Deacons, who won the ACC Atlantic division a year ago. Wake Forest also welcomes back Sam Hartman, their own star quarterback, for this matchup.

Texas A&M hosts Appalachian State in what could be a tricky game. App State has always been a thorn in the side of the big boys, but they don’t seem to match up well against the Aggies. The Mountaineers are coming off of an emotional loss against North Carolina in which their defense was absolutely shredded.

Texas A&M has yet to show that it has an explosive offense, but the talent discrepancy between these two teams should make itself apparent. App State will not have its home crowd behind it this week, as this game is in College Station. A&M will have home-field advantage, and an even bigger edge in the trenches. Still, the upset potential here provides some intrigue.

The SEC has two more lower-profile matchups against Power Five opponents this weekend. Missouri travels to Manhattan, Kansas to take on Kansas State in the renewal of an old Big 12 North rivalry. Mike Leach and Mississippi State go to Tucson, Arizona for a late-night West Coast kickoff against the Arizona Wildcats. Missouri-Kansas State could be a competitive game, but Arizona should not be able to keep up with Mississippi State’s high-octane offense.

SEC Football: Conference Games

Two of the week’s biggest games will happen within the conference, and should give us a better idea of how the SEC will shake out this season. Arkansas, who is supposed to be one of the West’s best teams, hosts South Carolina in a cross-divisional matchup. The Razorbacks already have a top-25 win under their belt and look to make a statement in this early season conference game. The Gamecocks struggled with Georgia State last weekend, and will need a big game from transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler to compete in Fayetteville.

Later in the evening, the Florida Gators will take on the Kentucky Wildcats in the Swamp. This SEC East bout between two ranked teams will help to determine who can challenge Georgia in the division. Both teams feature star quarterbacks with Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis, but the Wildcats will be missing running back Chris Rodriguez, who is probably their best player. Rodriguez remains suspended due to an off-field incident.

Several SEC teams will take on lower-classification teams this weekend. Georgia hosts Samford, Ole Miss hosts Central Arkansas, Auburn welcomes in San Jose State, and LSU takes on Southern.

Objective college football fans will acknowledge the superiority of SEC football. The conference has several chances to assert itself this week.