SEC Talk

Can Woodson play spoiler on Saturday?

It will be a relative quiet Saturday for some of you SEC fans as both South Carolina and Auburn have a bye week for week 12. There are a couple of big matchups followed by several fluff non-conference games.

(22) Kentucky (Conf: 3-3) vs. (8) Georgia (Conf: 5-2)

This is the marquee matchup for the SEC this week as both teams head into this matchup with big bowl aspirations on the line. Georgia is looking to keep their slim lead over Tennessee for the SEC East title and the right to play in the SEC Championship game. Kentucky is out of the SEC title race but still hopes to improve it’s chances to get into a top tier bowl game and a win here would not only spoil the Bulldogs chances but improve theirs.

No question the big storylines will be the contrasting styles of offense with the Bulldogs preferring to pound the ball inside with redshirt freshman Knowshon Moreno while the Wildcats will put the offense into the hands of quarterback Andre Woodson. Will the ground and pound or air attack win out?

Mississippi St. (Conf: 3-3) vs. Arkansas (Conf: 2-4)

While neither team is ranked, both are still looking to finish out the season strong. With the exception of a road bump last week, the Razorbacks were surging hard with four straight wins off the solid running of Darren McFadden who remains a Heisman candidate. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs of Mississippi St. are coming off of back-to-back wins over previously ranked teams and are playing their best football all year.

Look for a low scoring smash-mouth type game that will be won in the trenches. Whoever can control the line of scrimmage and win the time of possession battle should win this game.

Vanderbilt (Conf: 2-5) vs. (19) Tennessee (Conf: 4-2)

The Tennessee Volunteers have reeled off three straight impressive conference wins and it appears the players are playing for the pride of coach Phil Fulmer who has heard the rumors of his job in jeopardy. On the other side of the ball, the Commodores have been wildly inconsistent all season. Which Commodores football team will show up on Saturday, the one that shocked then number 6 ranked South Carolina or the one that got dominated in losses to Auburn and Florida?

For the Volunteers, the SEC East Title still within grasp by winning out as they hold the tie-breaker over Georgia should both finish with identical records.

(1) LSU (Conf: 5-1) vs. Mississippi (Conf: 0-6)

Though stranger things have happened, the LSU Tigers are poised to head to the National Championship game in January. The Tigers should easily dispatch Ole Miss who haven’t beaten an SEC team all year. Preventing injuries will be key for the Tigers in making sure everyone survives this game without any significant injury.

Other non-conference contests featuring SEC teams include,

Fla Atlantic
Florida

LA Monroe
Alabama

Kentucky, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi St., Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi