It's the biggest weekend yet in the SEC as five conference games lead the six-game schedule, and none are bigger than the showdown between No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Can Alabama continue its dominance in the series without Nick Saban? Is Kalen DeBoer capable of out-coaching Kirby Smart? We'll find out Saturday.
More importantly, it's going to be strange seeing an Alabama team face off against Smart's Bulldogs without Saban on the opposing sideline. It may take time to get used to this new normal, especially with Saban's fingerprints still on the Tide.
"Well, he recruited a lot of them, and they're good players," Smart told reporters this week. "I think anytime you go against a really good team, that's a powerhouse in college football, it's a challenge. And I really look at it like this is a hell of an opportunity for our kids, our program. National stage, and we're on the national stage a lot. We've been on the national stage a lot, especially the last three to four years. So it's the reason kids wanna come to Georgia."
Yes, the bread and butter of Saban and Smart's rivalry has always been recruiting. No matter the schemes, the matchups or the banter, it all comes back to recruiting — and that should concern both teams. Alabama maintains the nation's most talented roster in 247Sports' Team Talent Composite this season, but Georgia is not far behind at No. 2. Recruiting leads to winning, and no one has done it better year after year than the Tide and Bulldogs. On Saturday, we'll see which coach can close the miniscule gap with their in-game adjustments.
Drama is never limited to the field in the SEC, so before we get to the picks, a few thoughts to ponder after a bounceback performance in Week 4 that featured a 10-0 record in winners and a 7-2-1 mark against the spread.
Kiffin capitalizes on a rival's misfortunes – again
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin may lack subtlety, but he still gets his point across in the wild world of trolling. His target this week was Auburn's Hugh Freeze, who didn't need much help shoving his foot in his own mouth, but Kiffin was happy to give an extra push.
Freeze has called out players, criticizing them after losses, and it boiled to the surface again after the Tigers' five-turnover performance in a 24-14 loss to Arkansas. The Auburn coach was especially critical of his quarterbacks Hank Brown and Payton Thorne. Brown threw three interceptions in the first half and was benched.
To be clear, Kiffin wasn't asked about Auburn's situation, but the topic at hand was his relationship with quarterbacks – and it seemingly bled into one of the hot topics in the SEC.
"I think it pays off when you have relationships and quarterbacks trust you, too," Kiffin said Monday. "You can go back to Matt Corral when he threw six interceptions, and before I even got to the media (press conference), I sit down with him and tell him that we've got to do a better job calling plays, and I have to coach better, and don't worry because we've got your back. I think that goes a long way, and it goes a long ways with kids in recruiting – knowing what they're going to get when they get here with relationships, and that they can trust us to have their back."
Ahh, yes, it all comes back to recruiting. Kiffin understood the assignment. Something tells me he would have snuck a "nine times out of nine" remark in there, too, if the question was asked before Freeze went on another tangent later that night on his radio show.
Most interesting games
The sport's goliaths of the last half decade collide in Tuscaloosa, and though we'll miss seeing Saban on the sideline, it doesn't affect the significance of Georgia-Alabama this week.
"I mean, it's still Alabama, you know?" Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon said. "We're still going to go out there and play Bama. I don't even know how to answer that question, honestly, but I feel like nothing really changes much for me."
Let's rank the six matchups by level of intrigue for Week 5:
- No. 2 Georgia at No. 4 Alabama
- Arkansas vs. No. 24 Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas
- No. 21 Oklahoma at Auburn
- Kentucky at No. 6 Ole Miss
- South Alabama at No. 14 LSU
- Mississippi State at No. 1 Texas
Just a SECond
- Alabama is a home underdog for the first time since 2007 (vs. LSU), Nick Saban's first season as the Tide's head coach. Current Tide leading receiver Ryan Williams was born the same year.
- A win would give Georgia seven straight against top-five teams in the AP poll, which hasn't been done since Notre Dame between the 1988-90 seasons.
- Ole Miss has beaten opponents by an average of 49.5 points, the best by any FBS team through four games since 2013 (Baylor).
- Oklahoma and Auburn were the only teams with quarterbacks to account for three or more turnovers before halftime last week. The Sooners and Tigers meet Saturday.
- Texas has won its last four home games by more than 48 points, the best mark in school history.
- Arkansas has nearly doubled its rushing touchdowns from last season (nine) with 17 touchdowns on the ground, ranking second nationally.
Picks
Straight up: 42-6 | Against the spread: 23-19-1
Picks use opening SportsLine consensus odds
Kentucky at No. 6 Ole Miss
Kentucky should – should — slow Ole Miss' record-breaking scoring pace after the Rebels played a litany of overmatched opponents to open the season, but will it be enough? Oh, absolutely not. Jaxson Dart is performing like no other quarterback in Ole MIss history, completing nearly 80% of his throws while averaging 388.5 yards per game. Kentucky's defense is great, ranking sixth in the FBS in yardage allowed (217), and though the showing two weeks against Georgia may tempt many to pick the Wildcats to cover against Ole Miss, remember that the Wildcats are on the road for the first time this season. That spells trouble for the C-A-T-S and their anemic offense. Pick: Ole Miss -15.5
Arkansas vs. No. 24 Texas A&M
Arkansas and Texas A&M will soon move the Southwest Classic out of Jerry World in Arlington, and that's a great thing for the rivalry and the sport. It's also a welcomed reprieve for the Hogs, who have lost 11 of the last 12 against the Aggies at the venue. The Hogs have had the worst luck in close games against their old Southwest Conference rivals, and considering how turnover-prone they have been this season, they'll probably have a few unlucky breaks against the Aggies' defense again Saturday. If freshman quarterback Marcel Reed starts for a third straight week, the Aggies win and cover. If Conner Weigman is healthy and gets the nod, the confidence in this pick drops significantly. Pick: Texas A&M -4
No. 21 Oklahoma at Auburn
Oklahoma and Auburn have never faced off in the regular season, and both would probably like to avoid their first meeting Saturday just so they could skip the complementary storylines as the most inept offenses in the conference. Neither team is happy with their situations, particularly at quarterback, and the offensive lines have played a hand in their shared demise. The Sooners haven't eclipsed 250 yards in three weeks and Auburn can't settle on a quarterback while coach Hugh Freeze claims his Tigers could beat Arkansas nine straight times after losing 24-14 last week. If misery loves company, these two are right at home on the Plains. Michael Hawkins Jr. should spark Oklahoma's offense, but the difference here is the Sooners' incredible defense, which is still playing at an elite level. Pick: Oklahoma -2
Mississippi State at No. 1 Texas
Oh, boy. Mississippi State has lost three straight games, including back-to-back losses at home by double digits, and its quarterback, Blake Shapen, is out for the season. Now the Bulldogs have to travel to Texas to face the nation's No. 1 team in their long-anticipated SEC debut? Yikes. The Longhorns haven't been favored by this much in a conference game since 2008. The only legitimate question entering this game is whether Quinn Ewers returns from an oblique injury or if Arch Manning continues to torch defenses and get people dreaming about 2025 during what is already looking like a magical title run in '24. The Longhorns win easily but the Bulldogs get a backdoor cover. Pick: Mississippi State +38.5
No. 2 Georgia at No. 4 Alabama
I was leaning toward Alabama early in the week on Alabama, which gets the benefit of a great home crowd and the underrated off-week preparation of DeBoer, but then I couldn't stop thinking about what I saw in person when Georgia drilled Clemson in the season opener. That game could have been closer if the Bulldogs hadn't adjusted their offense near the end of the first half by attacking the edges instead of running into the mouth of Clemson's beastly defense. Georgia does seem more limited offensively this season, especially at receiver, but the Bulldogs also had another week to erase that putrid performance at Kentucky (worst offensive performance in three years).
So, here we are, in the middle of the week, and my brain has superseded my gut. I'm now leaning toward Georgia. If Alabama wins, it's because Jalen Milroe does something special – something that has never been done against Smart: passing and rushing for multiple touchdowns, which the Alabama quarterback has done in the last three games (first FBS quarterback since 2010). I'm not against that idea, but this Georgia defense is still a monster. Smart is 1-5 against Alabama and an incredible 96-11 against the rest of the sport, but Saban is no longer patrolling the sideline, haunting his thoughts. It's a close one through three quarters, Georgia makes the adjustments and then pulls it out, allowing Smart to stand atop the sport as the Bulldogs stretch their winning streak in the regular season to 43 games. Pick: Georgia -2
South Alabama at No. 14 LSU
The SEC's nightcap could feature a lot of scoring, so buckle up for an entertaining game on the Bayou. South Alabama is coming off two blowout victories, including a record-breaking 87-10 win in a shortened game against Northwestern State. LSU did what it had to do against UCLA last week, breaking a deadlock to win 34-17. The over-under is 65 points, so that's also a tempting bet. Talent wins in the end but the Jaguars cover. Pick: South Alabama +22
SportsLine's proven computer model is calling for 10 outright upsets in Week 5 of college football. Visit SportsLine now to see them all, plus get spread picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times.
