SEC Football has sizzle games in Week 3. Georgia at Tennessee and Texas A&M at Notre Dame will garner the most attention. Much will be learned about the prospects for each team's season.
Key SEC Football Week 3 Games
Less notice will be given to games for seven other SEC football teams. An Alabama Crimson Tide game never goes unnoticed. Alabama cannot get a statement win over Wisconsin, but the Crimson Tide can continue to dim the glare of the opening season loss to Florida State.
Three more games on Saturday are quietly important for six SEC teams. The winners will not be catapulted to the top of the SEC football pecking order. They will gain credibility. Except for possibly one team, the losers will have their ambitions tarnished. Seasons can pivot on the outcomes.
The games are Florida at LSU, Arkansas at Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt at South Carolina. The Gators and Billy Napier desperately need a win. After their trip to Baton Rouge, Florida will play Miami, Texas, and Texas A&M over the next month. Two of the three future Florida games are on the road. Saturday night is almost a must-win for Florida. An LSU loss would not mean dropping out of contention for anything. It would embarrass Brian Kelly and elicit an ugly backlash from LSU fans.
Arkansas has an opportunity in Oxford. As always, Sam Pittman needs a win. He might get one because the game's best quarterback is being tutored by Bobby Petrino, rather than Lane Kiffin. The Rebels should win and not just because of the home game. Ole Miss is believed to have the better roster. Arkansas is 2-0, after basically playing nobodies, which gives them a No. 125 SOS. The Ole Miss SOS is No. 50, but the Rebels did not impress in their road win over Kentucky. The Hogs can get a big bump in cred with a win. The Ole Miss Rebels' rep will plummet with a loss.
Arguably, the most interesting game of the weekend is South Carolina hosting Vanderbilt. Gamecocks' quarterback LaNorriss Sellers continues to be considered a Heisman possibility, but it is Vandy's Diego Pavia that has the most buzz about being one of the nation's top quarterbacks.
The Gamecocks have won 16 straight against the Commodores, going back to 2009. They should make it 17 in Columbia, but don't count out the Dores.
In other Week 3 SEC football games, blowouts can be expected. Oklahoma is at Temple, Auburn hosts South Alabama, Missouri hosts Louisiana, UTEP will be destroyed in Austin, Mississippi State will dismantle Alcorn State, and Kentucky (with a new QB starter) will de-cleat Eastern Michigan.