Should be epics in Tuscaloosa and Baton Rouge this Saturday with the Tide hosting the strong Ole Miss Rebels under the lights at Bryant-Denny and the Tigers heading into Death Valley for an afternoon showdown with The Hat and LSU. The Dawgs and Gamecocks face off between the hedges and the Gators head to Lexington to play a resurgent Kentucky Wildcats team. Should all be classics. There is plenty of other SEC action and some key national match ups on the slate tonight, Friday and Saturday. Here's a look at the action with predictions.
Last week: 13-4; Overall: 32-6
No.15 Ole Miss (2-0) @ No.2 Alabama (2-0)
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa (101,821)
8:15 PM CT/9:15 PM ET
ESPN
Weather: 70, 0% rain, wind NNE 5 MPH
Line: Bama by 7
Ole Miss is 1-35-1 in the state of Alabama in its history. The Tide has definitely got the Rebels number at Bryant-Denny. But this is a much better Ole Miss team than the ones in the past. It's a better team than last year's and they were a pretty good football team in 2014. Ole Miss is clicking in every aspect of the game. The offense, led by quarterback Chad Kelly, the Clemson transfer, has put up 70+ points in each of the first two weeks against UT- Martin and Fresno State respectively. Ole Miss defeated UT Martin, 76-3, in week one and Fresno State, 73-21, last Saturday. While those teams aren't nearly in the class of what the Rebels will face this Saturday night, this team is a juggernaut offensively. And Robert Nkemdiche and the defense is physical, opportunistic and extremely fast on the perimeter. It is hard to run on the outside against this defense. Lane Kiffin is going to have to find a way for Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake to keep the chains moving on the ground. The Alabama quarterback situation was pretty tragic last Saturday versus Middle Tennessee. The Alabama defense is good, but the secondary can still a question mark. Ole Miss's running game is fine, but Jaylon Walton is a small back and will have trouble getting through the front seven of Alabama. Jordan Wilkins is pretty good and a bigger back, but Ole Miss is going to have to get a lot done through the air a lot of the time. They'll have to run to keep the defense honest, but Kelly and his receivers will have to find ways to move the ball and get it in the end zone. The question marks for Alabama are the quarterback play and the play of the secondary. Can Jake Coker or Cooper Bateman get the job done under center? It'll probably be Coker who starts, but if he struggles, Bateman could very well come out of the bullpen to relieve him. And can the defensive backs stop Kelly and superstar wideouts Laquon Treadwell and Cody Core. That's a major factor in this game. Alabama has the coaching pedigree advantage with quite a few of the coaches having won three national championships. But Ole Miss has a good staff, too. These are veteran coaches who know how to make the offense go and how to neutralize opposing offenses, for the most part. This is going to be quite a football game. I don't like Ole Miss's record in Bryant-Denny, or in the state of Alabama for that matter, so it looks like on paper the Tide will win at home. But right now, I think the Rebels have a better football team.
Ole Miss 28, Alabama 24
No. 18 Auburn (2-0) @ No. 13 LSU (1-0)
Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (102,321)
2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET
CBS
Weather: 93, 10% rain, wind N 5 MPH
Line: LSU by 7
Auburn really struggled on both sides of the ball last week versus Jax State. winning 27-20 in overtime. They struggled on both sides of the ball in the second half versus Louisville in a 31-24 victory at the Georgia Dome in week one. Jeremy Johnson has thrown five interceptions to three touchdowns, and has not become the quarterback Auburn fans expected him to be before the season started. The defense is giving up an average of 421 yards of total offense per game through the first two games. Leonard Fournette is waiting to go off against the Tigers' defense. Gus and his crew are going to have to think of ways to get the ball in the end zone because LSU is going to ground and pound on the Tigers all afternoon and it will be hot, so the Auburn Tiger defense could wear down as the game moves on. LSU backup tailback Darrell Williams is pretty electric as well. I just don't see any way that the Auburn Tigers can pull this out the way Johnson and the defense are playing right now. Like the Bengal Tigers at home.
LSU 31, Auburn 24
South Carolina (1-1) @ No. 7 Georgia (2-0)
Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga. (92,746)
5 PM CT/6 PM ET
ESPN
Weather: 85, 10% rain, weather NNE 4 MPH
Line: Dawgs by 16 1/2
Nick Chubb pounded Vanderbilt for 189 yards last week. The week before he ran for 120 yards and two sevens against La. Monroe. The sophomore looks unstoppable. He is. It'll be too much Chubb for the South Carolin defense to handle. And the Georgia defense is becoming elite under coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. The question mark for Georgia, like many other SEC teams, is quarterback. Can Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert throw the football when the Dawgs need to get something done in the air? He has the receivers. This could determine if the Dawgs have a really good season or an elite season. The Gamecocks will probably stack the box and make Lambert beat them. The Dawgs line is good though, and Chubb will get his yards and could very well take one or two to the house. But Lambert may have to make some plays with his arm. I still think that the Dawgs ground game with Chubb, Sony Michel and Keith Marshall will carry the day for the Dawgs.
Georgia 35, South Carolina 17
Florida (1-0) @ Kentucky (2-0)
Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, Ky (67,606)
6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET
SEC Network
Weather: 70-75, 20% rain, wind SW 11 MPH
Line: Florida by 3
I'm not sure why Florida is favored in this game. They barely got by East Carolina at home, 24-17, and Kentucky went into Columbia last Saturday night and knocked off South Carolina, 26-22. I'm not buying the Gators yet and I'm pretty bullish on the Wildcats. The Wildcats running game with Boom Williams (24 carries, 245 yards, one TD, 10.1 yards per carry) and Jojo Kemp (16 carries, 112 yards, one TD, 7 yards per carry) will be too much for the Gators' defense to stop. Patrick Towles is a pretty good quarterback and the Wildcats' defense is much improved under Mark Stoops. Jim McElwain looks like he's got a pretty good quarterback in Will Grier, but he keeps trying to use two quarterbacks, putting in Treon Harris who can't throw a lick. Like where Kentucky is much more so than Florida.
Kentucky 28, Florida 21
Key national games
Tonight
No.11 Clemson (2-0) @ Louisville (0-2)
6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET
ESPN
Like Dabo and the Clemson Tigers led by quarterback DeShaun Watson to get it done in Papa John's Stadium in a tough ACC road test.
Clemson 34, Louisville 31
Saturday:
No. 14 Georgia Tech (2-0) @ No.8 Notre Dame (2-0)
2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET
NBC
Like the Ramblin Wreck, Coach Paul Johnson and super quarterback Justin Thomas to get the job done at Notre Dame Stadium.
Georgia Tech 30, Notre Dame 27
N0. 23 Northwestern (2-0) @ Duke (2-0)
11:30 AM CT/ 12:30 PM ET
ESPN3 (Computer)
This is a really good matchup, but I like Coach David Cutcliffe and his team to get'er done at home in what should be a really good football game. Cutcliffe has Duke on a roll. What a coach.
Duke 31, Northwestern 27
Upset Central
This could be considered a reach by a lot of people, and it is somewhat, but I love the way quarterback Tanner Magnum has gone into Nebraska and won on a last second Hail Mary and beaten a solid Boise State team at home by 14 with a game winning TD pass in the last 45 seconds followed by a pick six by their safety. I like this defense and running game too. A solid BYU team goes into the Rose Bowl and pulls off the upset.
Brigham Young 35, UCLA 31
Other SEC games:
No. 17 Texas A&M 56, Nevada 10
11 AM CT/ Noon ET, SEC Network
Tennessee 45, Western Carolina 7
6 PM CT/7 PM ET, ESPNU
Arkansas 42, Texas Tech 35
6 PM CT/ 7 PM ET, ESPN2
No. 22 Missouri 30, UConn 24
11 AM CT/ Noon ET, ESPN
Mississippi State 56, Northwestern State 7
3 PM CT/ 4 PM ET, SEC Network
Vanderbilt 45, Austin Peay 7
3 PM CT/ 4 PM ET, SEC Alternate Network
Other National predictions
Friday Night
No.9 Florida State 31, Boston College 30
7 PM CT/8 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday
No.6 USC 42, Stanford 24
7 PM CT/8 PM ET, ABC
No.1 Ohio State 52, Northern Illinois 10
2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET, ABC or ESPN2
No.4 Michigan State 35, Air Force 24
11 AM CT/Noon ET, ABC
No. 16 Oklahoma 38, Tulsa 28
11 AM CT/ Noon ET, Fox Sports 1