At this point in the SEC football season, nearly every game is important. The Alabama Crimson Tide needs a road win to maintain momentum. The South Carolina Gamecocks have a good defense and a suspect offense, and desperately need a win.
The Crimson Tide's trip to Columbia will interest every Alabama fan, but it will not be one of the SEC's most interesting games of Week 9.
Most Interesting SEC Football Games Week 9
The three most interesting games in the Week 9 schedule are Texas A&M at LSU, Ole Miss at Oklahoma, and Auburn at Arkansas. According to FanDuel, the Aggies are favored by 2.5 points in Baton Rouge; Oklahoma is favored by 4.5 points in Norman; and Arkansas is a 1.5-point favorite in Fayetteville.
Coming off a road loss to Georgia, Lane Kiffin's team cannot afford to lose more ground in CFB Playoff contention. For both teams, a second loss before November would erase any margin of error in the future. Lane can bring game-week sizzle to any contest, and he did so this week. Kiffin said Brent Venables' Oklahoma defense is good at sign-stealing. Venables deftly responded by saying he took Kiffin's statement as a "weird kind of compliment."
Brian Kelly, in his third LSU season, has a huge buyout that should get him a fourth season in Baton Rouge. Plenty of LSU fans are already fed up with Kelly, who, in the offseason, talked about the Bengal Tigers in the next National Championship Game. A third loss on Saturday would effectively take the Bengal Tigers out of the Playoff picture.
Then there are the Auburn Tigers. At the center of attention in Fayetteville will be Hugh Freeze. Swirling rumors coming out of Auburn include one that claims that should the Tigers lose to the Hogs, Freeze will not coach another Auburn game. Arkansas' interim head coach, Bobby Petrino, will gladly provide the tipping point in Hugh's coaching career.
Auburn should beat Arkansas. Auburn is not a good offensive team, but the Hogs are a woeful defensive team. Auburn has not scored more than 17 points in a game since beating South Alabama in Week 3, 31-15. If the Tigers can't run up points against the Hogs, the Auburn power brokers still supporting Freeze could cave.