_Missouri takes on Kentucky today at Memorial Stadium. Take a look at the other matchups around the Southeastern Conference this Saturday._

**Bye Week:**

_No. 6 Alabama (7-1, 4-1)_

After smashing rival Tennessee for the seventh year in a row, the Crimson Tide roll into their bye week. Ever since its tight road loss to divisional foe Ole Miss, Alabama has stepped it up across the board. The Tide aren’t just beating their opponents, they’re dominating them. And the bye couldn’t have come at a better time with a road trip to Death Valley and LSU lurking on the calendar. The Tide ought to enjoy the week off while they have it, with LSU, Mississippi State and arch rival Auburn filling out the last month of the schedule.

_No. 19 LSU (7-2, 3-2)_

What a win. Miraculously, the Tigers found a way to scrap together 10 points and defeat Ole Miss. LSU’s defensive dominance was on full display last week in Baton Rouge and it looks as if the Tigers are finally back to their winning ways. Like their next opponent – the Alabama Crimson Tide – the Bayou Bengals get to enjoy a week off before another top five matchup in Death Valley. The coming week will be the biggest of the season for LSU as an upset win over rival Alabama would firmly plant the Tigers back in the Southeastern Conference title race.

**Gambler’s Special:**

_Old Dominion (3-5, 1-4) vs. Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-5)_

If you care about this game then you’re lying to yourself. At this point, nothing can save Vanderbilt’s season and the James Franklin era already seems like a distant memory. The Commodores have been nothing short of embarrassing in SEC play and have lost every conference game by double digits. Luckily for Derek Mason and co., Old Dominion isn’t an SEC team. But unfortunately for Vanderbilt, the Monarchs average 33 points per game and own one of college football’s best aerial attacks. Realistically, this is the last game the Commodores can win this season, and in short, they won’t.

**Creampuff Central:**

_Louisiana Monroe (3-4, 2-2) vs. Texas A&M (5-3, 2-3)_

Texas A&M rolls into this week in the midst of a mid-season meltdown. The Aggies lost three straight games prior to their bye a week ago and serious question marks are starting to pop up all over College Station. Kevin Sumlin decided it was time for some wide sweeping changes and named freshman Kyle Allen the starting quarterback this Saturday versus Louisiana Monroe. This game won’t provide definitive answers to any of the Aggies’ looming questions, but it will tell us the direction this team is headed. Texas A&M better find a way to win big with upcoming dates with Auburn, LSU and Mizzou.

**Conference Game of Consequence:**

_Arkansas (4-4, 0-4) vs. No. 1 Mississippi State (7-0, 4-0)_

Mississippi State avoided a major scare last week in Lexington of all places barely staving off the upset-minded Kentucky Wildcats to escape with a 45-31 victory. But now the nation’s number one team welcomes the Arkansas Razorbacks to Starkville. Arkansas snapped its three game skid with a blowout win over UAB a week ago and although they’re overmatched on paper, the Razorbacks are used to playing the nation’s best. Arkansas has played four SEC games so far and lost all of them. Each was against a top-10 team. The road doesn’t get any easier, as the Hogs still have LSU, Mizzou and Ole Miss left on the schedule needing two more wins for bowl eligibility. Expect an inspired performance and a close game from Arkansas, but in the end it won’t be enough to dethrone number one on the road.

_Florida (3-3, 2-3) vs. No. 9 Georgia (6-1, 4-1)_

The proverbial hot seat for Will Muschamp has to be smoldering by now. The last time we saw the Gators in action was in the midst of a vicious beatdown at the hands of the Missouri Tigers. Florida’s defense actually played a superb game, limiting the Tigers to just 119 total yards of offense and a single touchdown. But the Gators’ offense was just straight offensive. Jeff Driskel was responsible for four of the team’s six total turnovers as he let Missouri’s defense outscore his own offense. Treon Harris might be getting the nod at quarterback, but will it be enough to hang with Georgia? Even without Todd Gurley, the Bulldogs look like a heavy favorite to win this one.

**Upset Alert:**

_Tennessee (3-5, 0-4) vs. South Carolina (4-4, 2-4)_

By any measure, South Carolina’s season has been a disappointment. The near unanimous preseason favorites in the SEC East are now sitting in limbo at 4-4. At this point, the season could still go anywhere from mild success to total disaster, but no one will know for sure until it’s all settled. The Gamecocks can turn things around for good this weekend with a win over the visiting Tennessee Volunteers, but that’s a lot easier said than done. The Vols have one of the top defenses in the country which kept them close in tight losses to both Alabama and Georgia. The Gamecocks’ offense isn’t exactly superb so that could spell trouble for South Carolina. The home field advantage at Williams-Brice Stadium hasn’t been at all what it was hyped up to be at the beginning of the season and if everything falls into place come Saturday, Tennessee will march out of Columbia with the W.

**Game of the Week:**

_No. 3 Auburn (6-1, 3-1) vs. No. 4 Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1)_

This was a pretty obvious slam dunk pick. But this matchup is a sudden death game: win or go home. Both Auburn and Ole Miss have been saddled with tough losses and neither can really afford another; a loss today would mean sliding all the way down to a fourth place tie in the SEC West and virtual elimination from the SEC Championship Game and the inaugural College Football Playoff. Auburn’s lone loss comes on the road at Mississippi State after Bulldog quarterback Dak Prescott torched the Tigers’ now suspect defense en route to the win. Over the course of the past two games Auburn has quietly surrendered 58 points, which is more than Ole Miss has allowed through all of SEC play (50 points in five games). But on the flip side, the Rebels were held to just seven points in their road loss to LSU last weekend while the Tigers of Auburn hung 41 LSU, their fifth time scoring 40+ points this season. So ultimately, this one will be an age-old clash of offense and defense and as the cliche saying goes, defense wins championships. Ole Miss edges Auburn in what might be the most thrilling SEC game of the season.