Alabama has a key game against Mississippi State Saturday morning. The SEC's afternoon slate has Missouri hosting Florida, South Carolina hosting Kentucky, and Tennessee hosting Auburn. Though in different situations, all six of those teams have games that may be pivot points for their seasons.
Jon Sumrall has quickly brought the Florida Gators back to relevance. From 4-8 last season, the Gators are 4-0 and ranked No. 8 in the traditional polls. Sumrall already gained an emphatic win by blowing out Ole Miss 52-28. The Missouri Tigers are a worthy foe, but a legit top-10 team should be able to go into Columbia and win.
The Tigers can ill afford a home loss to the Gators. The record would be 3-2, with future games against Ole Miss, Texas, and Georgia.
The Kentucky Wildcats need another SEC win to maintain the belief that, similar to Sumrall, Will Stein has rapidly turned the Wildcats around. Kentucky will be playing for momentum and reputation. South Carolina, or at least Shane Beamer, will be battling for survival. LaNorris Sellers' expected revival has fizzled. Shane Beamer rightly suspended his best defensive player, Dylan Stewart, indefinitely. The South Carolina locker room may not be rallying around Beamer. A loss in Saturday afternoon's game could become Beamer's final nail.
One SEC football coach will definitely get a reality check
Saturday also has a Neyland Stadium tussle that neither coach can afford to lose. The Vols are favored and should win. If Auburn pulls off an upset, Josh Heupel can kiss his Playoff chances goodbye for this season. This is Heupel's sixth season in Knoxville. His best team was in 2024, when the Vols lost badly in the Playoff's First Round to Ohio State, 42-17. Tennessee fans are closer to angry than antsy.
The question for Auburn is not whether a reality check will come, but when. A probable Saturday loss would make the Tigers 3-2. The Golesh honeymoon might quickly acquire a taint. The minority of Auburn fans, those with sensible perspectives about the Tigers, could look at future games against Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Alabama and worry the Tigers could be looking at a 5-7 season.
I suspect I am not alone among Alabama fans who are conflicted when the Tigers play the Vols. I always want the impossible: for both teams to lose.
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