Things to watch this week in the Southeastern Conference:
No. 7 Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC) at No. 16 Mississippi State (4-0, 2-0), Saturday, noon ET (ABC)
A ranked showdown between two of the five remaining undefeated SEC teams.
It's the biggest challenge of the season for an Alabama team that has yet to face a ranked opponent. Alabama comes off a 49-18 rout of South Carolina, in which quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns. The
sophomore has impressed through his first four starts, leading an offense averaging 48 points per game.
Mississippi State has quickly emerged as one of the SEC's most exciting teams, led by quarterback Kamario Taylor. The Bulldogs are coming off their first ranked win of the season, a 31-24 victory over Missouri. Running back Fluff Bothwell has improved each week and rushed for a season-high 122 yards in the win.
Mississippi State leads the SEC in yards per game (533.3) and ranks fourth in points per game (43) under Taylor. Alabama is a 6-point favorite.
No. 8 Florida (4-0, 2-0) at No. 25 Missouri (3-1, 0-1), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Florida cracked the top 10 for the first time since 2021 after a 52-28 win over then-No. 4 Ole Miss. Running back Jadan Baugh has paced the Gators' offense with 600 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, both conference highs. Transfer quarterback Aaron Philo is completing 72.4% of his passes for 917 yards and seven touchdowns while adding three rushing scores.
Missouri also has a transfer quarterback in former Ole Miss starter Austin Simmons, who has thrown for 947 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cayden Lee has emerged as his top target with 27 catches for 412 yards and four touchdowns.
The Tigers remain without star running back Ahmad Hardy, who has yet to return to full practice after a gunshot wound to his upper leg in May. Jamal Roberts has taken on the majority of the carries instead.
The Gators were 5.5-point favorites at midweek.
— Chris Cole: The Georgia linebacker earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week after recording eight tackles, a sack and two fumble recoveries — one of which he returned 85 yards for a touchdown — in a 41-13 win against Oklahoma.
— Deuce Geralds: The LSU freshman defensive tackle had five tackles and a career-high two sacks for a loss of 11 yards, helping the Tigers hold Texas A&M to just 11 first downs and 197 yards in a 35-6 win.
— Colin Simmons: The Texas defensive lineman set a program record with 5.5 sacks against Tennessee, the most by a single player in an FBS game since 2019. Simmons now leads the SEC with 7.5 sacks, just ahead of LSU standout Princewill Umanmielen.
The SEC has five remaining undefeated teams: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State and Texas. ... Georgia's offense has averaged a conference-high 54.8 points per game while holding opponents to a second-best 232.5 yards through four outings. ...LSU's defense leads the pack, allowing 226.8 yards per game .. Gunner Stockton leads the conference with a 74.3 completion percentage. ... Kamario Taylor has a conference-high 14 passing touchdowns. ... Ten of the SEC's 16 teams are ranked in the AP Top 25: Texas (1), Georgia (2), Alabama (7), Florida (8), Ole Miss (9), LSU (11), Mississippi State (16), Tennessee (17), Kentucky (24), Missouri (25).
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