SEC Super Saturday: Four Top 25 Showdowns for a Trip to Atlanta
Eight teams ranked by the College Football Playoff selection committee, four matchups, one Saturday. On Nov. 7, the SEC plays out a large part of its title race in a single day: Georgia visits Ole Miss, Kentucky goes to Tennessee, Alabama travels to LSU and Texas visits Missouri. The co-leaders, Georgia and Kentucky (5-1 in conference play), are both on the road. Behind them, six teams with two league losses are waiting for a slip. A month before the Atlanta title game, none of these games is routine.
Two leaders, two dangerous road trips
Georgia (7-1, No. 2 in the CFP rankings) and Kentucky (7-1, No. 6) share first place in the SEC at 5-1. The Dec. 5 championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will feature the two teams with the best conference records. The leaders do not meet in the regular season, so each controls its own path.
Kirby Smart's Bulldogs head to Oxford, where Ole Miss has won 16 straight home games, the longest active streak among Power Four teams according to CBS Sports. Georgia beat Florida 27-8 last Saturday, but quarterback Gunner Stockton, the SEC's most accurate passer (71.8% completions), threw for a season-low 101 yards. On the other side, Trinidad Chambliss leads the conference with 2,189 passing yards and 18 touchdown passes. Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC), No. 10, has no margin left: a third conference loss would put Atlanta well out of reach.
Kentucky, in Will Stein's first season after his stint as Oregon's offensive coordinator, visits Neyland Stadium on Tennessee's homecoming night. Senior quarterback Kenny Minchey has gone six straight games without an interception (1,755 yards, 14 touchdowns, one interception). The Wildcats already beat LSU 35-34 in overtime, but running back CJ Baxter has been limited in recent weeks. Tennessee (6-2, 3-2), No. 13, is still choosing between George MacIntyre, who has started the last three games, and freshman Faizon Brandon, who started the first five before a shoulder injury.
Alabama-LSU and Texas-Missouri: sorting out the chasers
In Baton Rouge, Alabama (6-2, 4-2), No. 5, faces Lane Kiffin's LSU (6-2, 3-2), No. 14. The quarterback matchup pits Keelon Russell (2,057 yards) against Sam Leavitt (2,173 yards), who says he is back to full strength after a hamstring issue. The game will also test one of the committee's choices: Alabama sits fifth, eight spots ahead of Tennessee, which beat the Crimson Tide 26-10 on Oct. 17. A loss in Death Valley would make that order hard to defend next Tuesday.
The day opens in Columbia, where Texas (6-2, 3-2), No. 7, takes on Missouri (6-2, 3-2), No. 18. Arch Manning (1,727 yards, 15 touchdowns, 7 interceptions) comes in off wins over Ole Miss (34-27) and Mississippi State (31-3). Missouri leans on quarterback Austin Simmons (16 touchdowns, 2 interceptions) and Jamal Roberts, the SEC's leading rusher with 1,005 yards. The loser drops to three conference losses, likely a fatal blow to its Atlanta hopes.
A Montrealer at the center of the Oxford showdown
Without All-America running back Kewan Lacy, who has a shoulder injury, Ole Miss is relying on Shekai Mills-Knight. The sophomore, a Montreal native according to his official bio, was the Rebels' leading rusher against Auburn last Saturday with 16 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown, per the Oxford Eagle. Across the field, Georgia rotates Swedish true freshman Valdin Sone, from Malmö, on its defensive line. Earlier in the day, Texas will line up German defensive tackle Hero Kanu, from Geltendorf, who has started all eight games this season.
What it means
With ten teams in the committee's Top 25, the SEC can aim for several playoff spots, but this Saturday will thin the field. For Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU or Missouri, a third loss would badly damage an at-large résumé. The schedule offers no break: on Nov. 14, Georgia hosts Missouri, Kentucky welcomes Florida and Texas visits LSU. The next CFP rankings come out Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 9 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Vancouver, 3 a.m. Wednesday in France).
Saturday, Nov. 7 schedule (Eastern / Vancouver / France):
Texas at Missouri: noon / 10 a.m. / 6 p.m., ESPN.
Alabama at LSU: 3:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m. / 9:30 p.m., ABC.
Kentucky at Tennessee: 6:15 p.m. / 4:15 p.m. / 12:15 a.m. (Sunday), ESPN.
Georgia at Ole Miss: 7:30 p.m. / 5:30 p.m. / 1:30 a.m. (Sunday), ABC.
