SEC Week 3 Preview

The SEC moves into its second week of the SEC-G5 Challenge, meaning we have another week filled with yawners, leaving one potentially awesome game and another that should have been an awesome game. First, let's tackle the latter.



Tennessee vs. #4 Oklahoma [in Norman]:
This game kicks off an incredibly tough slate that is why the Vols have the second toughest schedule in college football. In addition to the Sooners, they will face off against the Dawgs, Gators, Rebels, Crimson Tide and Gamecocks in eight weeks. Sure, there are two off-weeks in there, one against the Mocs of UT-Chattanooga and an actual off-week*.  However, while this stretch has the potential to strengthen the team, this is also the type of schedule that helps get coaches fired.

This GIF courtesy the Hogville message board.

Luckily, Butch Jones is doing everything right. He's electrified the fan base, reconnected with former players and coaches, and has convinced a lot of the best recruits in the country to reconsider and commit to Tennessee before the rebuild to relevancy reaches completion. However, with that being said, until the rebuild is complete, it won't help against the Sooners who are favored by three touchdowns. It's a game I doubt they are telling many recruits about, or at least shouldn't. The Sooners are loaded and should dispatch of the Vols easily. Hopefully, Jalen Hurd and Pig Howard can get some space and make a play or two to make this interesting. But I don't see it. The Vols offensive and defensive line has 17 total starts combined. That's not going to get it done against the fourth ranked team in the country. Oklahoma 35, Tennessee 18.

#6 UGA v #24 USC:
The only other game worth mentioning is between the Dawgs and the Gamecocks. This game will answer a few questions; Is Clemson overrated? Or is Texas A&M? Is USC's secondary that bad? But more importantly, it gives us all another chance to watch Todd Gurley. Folks in Athens are comparing him to Herschel Walker, arguably the best running back in NCAA history. Are the comparisons warranted? Or, are Georgia fans just anxious for one of Richt's teams to win their first SEC title since 2005. It's probably a mix of the two. But it doesn't matter where Gurley stands historically. He's the best back in college football right now. He will be tearing through a team that has had to replace its two best players (on both sides of the ball) in school history, in back-to-back seasons. South Carolina would need a healthy Marcus Lattimore and Jadaveon Clowney back in Colombia to win this game. That ain't happening. UGA 28, USC 17.

As for the Rest of the SEC**, see the gif below. The SEC is to destruction what FedEx is to packages, it's guaranteed delivery.

*It could be argued that the game against the Mocs is actually easier than the off-week.
**Again, UK not included. They will make the Gators look like a top 25 team this week.