What I'll be watching for this weekend

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Keeping my eye on this weekend

• Vanderbilt @ Auburn
  • While head coach Alex Golesh is not calling this game a “must win,” it probably is if the Tigers are to have the type of season they hoped for when it began. Given the schedule that awaits, it becomes difficult to envision even a bowl game with a loss to Clark Lea’s Commodores. Absent Eric Winter’s stop of a Baylor 2-point conversion attempt at the 2-inch line, Auburn would be 1-2, and this season would already look a whole lot different. On Saturday, I will be looking to see how Golesh and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon ease quarterback Byrum Brown into the game. Can Auburn get the running backs going early? Will the offense focus on some short passes? Will there be designed QB runs? Those are a few ways Golesh said Brown can get settled into the game and hopefully avoid the slow offensive starts that occurred against Baylor and Florida. It will also be very interesting to see how the Tigers’ defense responds after its worst performance of the DJ Durkin tenure against the Gators. Vanderbilt will start freshman quarterback Jared Curtis. Can Durkin’s unit fluster and affect him in ways they were unable to against Florida quarterback Aaron Philo. Can the defense stop running back Shedrick Alexander and force the freshman to beat them.
• #1 Texas @ #14 Tennessee
  • In Josh Heupul’s tenure on Rocky Top, the big stage hasn’t always been kind for the Vol’s head coach, now in his sixth season. Despite two wins over arch-rival Alabama, he has not beaten Georgia, lost Tennessee’s only playoff appearance by 25 points, and then there was 2022. With a 9-1 record, and his team’s playoff hopes still very much alive, Heupul’s squad strolled into Columbia, South Carolina to face a 4-loss Gamecock team, and promptly exited Williams-Brice Stadium on the wrong end of an ugly 63-38 thrashing. This is a marquee home game for Heupul and the Volunteers. Can they rise to the occasion? How Arch Manning plays in the Longhorns first road game of the season is also worth keeping an eye on. Manning led a spirited Texas comeback to defeat Ohio State but playing on the road in the SEC is a different beast. If he plays well, you have to think Texas will probably win their SEC opener. If the Vols defense can force him into mistakes, then they can pull off the upset.
• #4 Ole Miss @ #21 Florida
  • The Rebels are riding high after dispatching of their former coach Lane Kiffin last Saturday. Florida is also riding high after defeating Auburn in their conference opener. Whichever team was best able to refocus and leave the emotion from last weekend behind will likely win this game. Speaking of Kiffin, Florida head coach Jon Sumrall gave him some competition this week as college football’s biggest social media troll. Sumrall, the leading candidate for a time last November to be coaching on the Plains this season, has been unrelenting in his mockery of all things Auburn since his victory Saturday night. That’s certainly his prerogative, but someone may want to remind him that Trinidad Chambliss is coming into his house on Saturday. I would have thought that fact would have occupied all his time this week. Playing at home helps the Gators of course, but Ole Miss will be plenty amped up to prove last week was not a fluke and protect its lofty national ranking. Expect a nail-biter in this one.
• #23 Texas A&M @ #10 LSU
  • Both teams are coming off losses. Texas A&M’s loss was worse in getting manhandled at home by Kentucky, but LSU certainly wasn’t planning on starting 0-1 in the SEC with the ocean of resources they have poured into this team. Whichever team gets off to the faster start will be in a good position to have success throughout the entire game, especially the Aggies, if they want to pull off the upset in Death Valley. I’ll go with the home team here.
• #19 Missouri @ #24 Mississippi State
  • Two teams who are definitely trending up. Despite rough beginnings to the tenures of Eli Drinkwitz and Jeff Lebby, the patience of the decision-makers at those schools seems to be paying off. I expect this to be an incredibly entertaining game and one of the best of the weekend.

Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.