This weekend features several heavy weight match-ups sure to receive a lot of attention. The SEC is by far the most successful conference in college football this season and will be the focus of college football this Saturday. The biggest match-up will be Saturday afternoon at 3:30 EST, where #2 ranked LSU (3-0) will be tested at home by a tough #12 ranked South Carolina team. LSU has coasted thus far, overwhelming every team they have played, both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. In the first three games, they beat their opponents by a total score of 137-7 including a 48-7 victory against a Virginia Tech team that was ranked #9 at the time.
South Carolina, on the other hand, has had to work for their 3-0 record. Although the final score was 28-14, their first game against Louisiana-Lafayette was close until the fourth quarter, and was no easy victory. Their second game against a Georgia team that was ranked #11 at the time was no picnic either. The final score was 16-12 in South Carolina’s favor, with special teams being heavily featured in this game. South Carolina scored the game’s only touchdown in the first quarter and from there the game finished with seven field goals, three by the Gamecocks and four by the Bulldogs. South Carolina’s third game was easy however. They won against their inter-state rivals, South Carolina State, at home by a score of 38-3 which surely gave them a confidence boost, but it won’t be enough. The game should be exciting; however LSU currently has a 15 game winning streak at home that will most likely be 16 after this game. They won all of their previous 10 games and they haven’t lost to South Carolina since 1994. South Carolina’s head coach Steve Spurrier has done a great job thus far, but his team is far less talented than LSU and home-field advantage will prove to be too overwhelming.
Another important SEC match-up will take place Saturday evening at 6:00 EST, when #21 ranked Kentucky will travel to Arkansas. Kentucky has been a huge surprise this season, cracking the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time since 1984. They obtained their ranking by beating offensive juggernaut Louisville, then ranked #9 at the time, in a dramatic ending this past weekend, . It was close the entire game, and it seemed over when Louisville took lead after scoring with 1:45 to go in the fourth quarter. However, Kentucky never gave up. After allowing the touchdown, Kentucky prevented Louisville from converting a two-point conversion and kept the score at 34-33 in Louisville’s favor. Then in thrilling fashion, Kentucky’s quarterback Andre Woodson completed a 57 yard pass to his receiver Steve Johnson, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 28 seconds remaining and claiming victory.
The Wildcats will be tested once again this weekend, playing their first road game of the season against an Arkansas that was ranked #16 before last week’s heartbreaking loss to Alabama. Although they lost, Arkansas ultimately played a great game. Alabama dominated the first three quarters, and took a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter. While momentum seemed to be in the Crimson Tide’s favor, the Razorbacks hung tough and scored three quick touchdowns to begin the fourth quarter and brought them-selves a 7 point lead with 8 minutes left in the final stanza. Arkansas looked prime for the win; however Alabama didn’t give up and managed to take the lead back after scoring their go-ahead touchdown with only 8 seconds remaining in the game to take a 38-34 lead and win. With the loss Arkansas was not only knocked out of the top 25 in the AP rankings, but Alabama replaced the Razorbacks as the #16 ranked team.
Saturday night at 7:45 EST, #16 ranked Alabama (3-0) will host #22 Georgia (2-1). After stealing him from the Miami Dolphins, newly hired head coach Nick Saban has brought hope and excitement to an Alabama team who came off a disappointing 6-7 season last year. Besides beating Arkansas in dramatic fashion last week, they otherwise have been untested this season, winning their first two games easily, so it will be interesting to see if they can repeat their strong performance against another top 25 team in Georgia. As far as Alabama’s foe, the Bulldogs, so far they recorded two blowout wins to lesser opponents and a tough 16-12 loss to South Carolina during the second weekend of the season. They recovered nicely in the third week winning 45-16 against Western Carolina, so they will have a boosted confidence level coming into this weekend’s game.
Although it’s early in the season, all three games will be played in a championship atmosphere. These games will play a vital role in determining the eventual conference champion. At this point, the SEC has 6 ranked teams, including four teams that are undefeated both in the conference and overall. Alabama will have the most to gain from a victory this weekend, because out of all the undefeated teams, they have the easiest schedule. Besides playing LSU, who is currently ranked #2, they finish the season playing only two teams that currently have a winning record, none of which are ranked. Although many consider LSU the favorite to win the SEC, their remaining schedule is very difficult and they will play several teams that have the ability to pull off an upset. Besides playing South Carolina this week, who upset Arkansas last week, some of their tougher future opponents include the defending champions, the Florida Gators, who are currently ranked #3 behind LSU, Kentucky (#21), who already pulled off an upset last week beating previously ranked #9 ranked Louisville (currently ranked #18), Alabama (#16), who also pulled off an upset last week beating Arkansas (currently unranked) previously ranked #16, and Arkansas, who shouldn’t be overlooked. LSU will have to face Kentucky and Alabama on the road, so it will be a difficult path to the SEC championship for the Tigers.
