SEC Football Preview: Week 2

Week one of the college football season was one for the history books. Stellar comebacks and shocking upsets littered the weekend. For the SEC, the first week of football was a mixed bag. On one hand, Alabama and Georgia showed that championship potential still lies within the SEC; while teams like Kentucky and Mississippi State made outsiders believe that the conference is losing it’s depth.

The slate for this weekend is considerably weaker than last week. All the top match-ups from the opening weekend left this week dry. The SEC will still have some meaningful games:  Tennessee will take on Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway (in front of what’s expected to be the largest crowd in football history), Arkansas will travel to Texas to face #15 ranked TCU, and Mississippi State will look to redeem themselves in a SEC match-up against South Carolina.

Here’s a look at the rest of the SEC schedule:

Georgia will open things up at noon versus the Nicholls Colonels. The Bulldogs are coming off an impressive opening weekend by beating the, then ranked, North Carolina Tar Heels. Running back Nick Chubb had an impressive 222 yard ,two touchdown performance in his return from last year’s knee injury. According to head coach Kirby Smart, the teams ability to run the ball won them the game.

Unlike Georgia, the Florida Gators had a less than impressive win over UMass. The Gators struggled finding a rhythm offensively. The good news is the defense looked stout by only giving up 187 total yards. Florida will have to face Kentucky this week in a SEC East contest. The Kentucky Wildcats suffered a devastating defeat at home versus Southern Miss after being up 35-10 in the second quarter. History is also not on Kentucky’s side as the Gators have beaten 29 straight times—which is the longest active winning streak over a single team in the country.

The  Texas A&M Aggies will get a more relaxing week after beating the UCLA Bruins 31-24 in OT last week. The Aggies will play host to the Prairie View A&M Panthers.

The Ole Miss Rebels will have an opportunity for a tune up game after giving up a 28-6 lead to FSU on Monday night. The Rebels get to take out their frustrations at home against the Wofford Terriors.

The Vanderbilt Commodores suffered a sloppy loss against division foe, South Carolina. The Commodores had a 10-0 lead over the Gamecocks, then the offense sputtered to a halt. Things won’t be so simple this week as the Commodores play host to the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. Last year, Vanderbilt had to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to snag a 17-13 comeback win against Middle Tennessee State.

After a disappointing loss in Lambeau Field, the LSU Tigers look to rebound in a game against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Unfortunately for LSU, the Tigers have to tread carefully against the Gamecocks. Last year, the Gamecocks were three minutes away from upsetting Auburn. Les Miles needs to come with a more aggressive offensive game plan, or Jacksonville State might have a chance to pull of an upset.

"One loss can't define us."
– Sr. Tre'Davious White in this week's Inside the Huddle pres. by @CommunityCoffee. pic.twitter.com/9n0itdb9SH

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 8, 2016

There was not much you could say about the Missouri Tigers after their loss to West Virginia last week. The one positive thing is that Missouri gets to face Eastern Michigan this week. The Eastern Michigan Eagles have one the worst winning percentages in the FBS.

There’s one thing you can say about Nick Saban, he never overlooks anything. Despite Alabama rolling over USC 52-6, Saban says that he won’t overlook Western Kentucky. There is merit to Saban’s concern. Mississippi State lost to South Alabama last weekend; and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are a better team than South Alabama. In fact, last year the Hilltoppers went 10-2 in the regular season. However, I don’t see anyone betting against Alabama here.

One of the biggest heartbreaks from last weekend was Auburn’s ditch effort to knock off the #2 ranked Clemson Tigers. Down 20-13, Auburn had a chance to tie the game at the last second with a hail mary in the end zone—that was swatted down. Auburn gets a chance to get back on a winning path against the Arkansas State Red Wolves. After a solid 9-3 season in 2015, the Red Wolves started off the season with a disappointing 31-10 loss to the Toledo Rockets. Fortunes would have to turn around for the Red Wolves if they want to be competitive for Auburn.

Make sure to check on ESPN Gainesville 95.3 FM to get the latest on Gators and SEC football.