SEC Week 5 Preview — A Week of Recovery

An early season loss to South Carolina means Georgia does not have much room for error against Tennessee. The Bulldogs just have to do what they do best and that is run the football. The team averages just over 300 rushing yards per game so expect Todd Gurley to get a lot of carries against a young Tennessee defensive line.

The good news is Tennessee has two players ranked in the top 10 in total tackles for the conference. Those players, and the rest of the defense, have to find a way to slow down Gurley

That's not to say that Tennessee doesn't have a chance of beating Georgia. It's just unlikely. The Vols will need to amp up an offense that ranks 13th in the SEC.

We almost saw an upset last year when these two teams met in Neyland Stadium but this is a new year with new circumstances. Tennessee's extra week may help its chances, but it will be a tall mountain to climb.

It was a close loss to Florida that showed how dangerous Kentucky can be. The Wildcats are steadily improving on offense behind the strong arm of Patrick Towles, who is 3rd in the SEC in passing yards. If Kentucky improves on defense, it could be a darkhorse contender in the East. The Wildcats have a good opportunity to get an SEC win on Saturday, and they need to take advantage of it.

The Commodores, meanwhile, have had a rough start to the season. Just to sum it up for you, they rank dead last in the SEC in total offense and have played four different quarterbacks already. But is there light at the end of the tunnel? Vanderbilt gave South Carolina all it could handle last week, so maybe things are starting to look up. A big win over Kentucky would put a little life back in the Commodores.

It is not very often that Kentucky is a favorite to win an SEC game, but here they are. There is a chance that the winner of this game may not get another conference win in 2014. In other words, there is meaning to this game.

As crazy as it may seem, Arkansas will give the Texas A&M its first true test of the season. The Aggies have the most productive offense in the SEC, and statistically Kenny Hill is the best quarterback in the SEC. The real test will be on the defensive side of the ball. Does A&M have what it takes to slow down Arkansas' ground game?

The Razorbacks have done a very good job of convincing fans that they have improved from last season. Numbers do not lie. Arkansas averages over 324 rushing yards per game and already has 17 rushing touchdowns. Bret Bielema may need to air it out a little more in order to stay balanced and keep the Aggies on their heels. The only real question is if they have what it takes to stop Kenny Hill?

Whoever comes out on top will be in a very good position in the SEC West division. Even though the strengths of both of these teams lie on offense, it should be the defense that determines the winner of this game.

Auburn returns home after escaping with a 20-14 win over Kansas State last week. Nick Marshall had 31 pass attempts in the game, his highest total since last year's LSU game. Expect the Tigers to go back to a more run heavy offense this week. There are no real concerns for Auburn heading into this game. The defense is steadily improving, and should have no issue keeping Louisiana Tech's offense off of the field.

Louisiana Tech will need to be potent on both sides of the ball if they want to have a chance at beating the Tigers. The most important key will be keeping Auburn off the field and not let them run all over the place. Easier said than done. The Bulldogs have allowed 12 rushing touchdowns this season, more than any other team in Conference USA.

South Carolina's poor performance against Vanderbilt makes you question just how good they really are. Incredibly, the Gamecocks rank dead last in the SEC in total defense. That may be a problem as it prepares to face a very good quarterback in Maty Mauk. If South Carolina has to completely rely on its offense then that likely means trouble.

Missouri has enough playmakers on both sides of the ball to compete in the SEC East, but it didn't show very much last week in an upset loss to Indiana. The good news is a win over South Carolina would put them in good shape in the SEC East. Mauk will need to play well, but the Tigers need to have a strong defensive presence. They'll rely on having two of the top three sack leaders in the SEC.

Both teams had poor performances last week, so they both have something to prove. In a game like this, it would not be a surprise to see the winner of the turnover battle win the game.

Ole Miss had a sloppy start to its season offensively, but week by week, the Rebels have shown improvement. Bo Wallace leads the conference in completion percentage and the Rebels currently have the second best defense right behind Alabama. Improvement should be constant, but Ole Miss has a little room for error against one of its weaker opponents.

Memphis is an underdog, but their odds of upsetting Ole Miss are not astronomical. The Tigers only lost to UCLA by seven points earlier and boast the the second best offense in the AAC. Unfortunately, in a battle of the 2nd best offense in the AAC versus the 2nd best defense in the SEC, most of the time the SEC will win. The Tigers will have to bring their "A" game if they want to pull the upset.

Crazier things have happened in college football, but nothing crazy will happen in this game. Memphis does not have enough talent to keep up with Ole Miss, especially with the Rebels coming off of a bye week.

It's hard to bounce back after being handed your first loss of the season, but LSU will look to do so on Saturday. Last week's loss to Mississippi State was the first time Les Miles has lost to an unranked opponent in Tiger Stadium. The Tigers have issues to iron out on offense and a couple of problems to address on defense. With that being said, LSU should have no problem getting a win this weekend.

New Mexico State is slowly trying to build up its program after a couple of bad seasons. The Aggies just do not have close to enough talent to keep up with LSU. New Mexico State should feel accomplished if they keep this game close in the first quarter. Weirder things have happened in college football, but do not be prepared to so anything like that in this matchup.