Alabama (4-0, 1-0 in SEC)
Next game: vs. Mississippi, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Huddle up: Alabama is 18-for-18 on trips to the red zone this season. The Tide have scored 14 TDs and kicked four field goals. … Reserve NT Brandon Ivory (ankle) is questionable this week. … Alabama hasn't trailed in the first quarter in 18 games. … The Tide is third in the nation in turnover margin at plus-10. They have six interceptions and six fumble recoveries and have given up only two turnovers. Alabama has turned the 12 turnovers into 70 points. … Alabama has won eight consecutive games against Mississippi and is 45-9-2 all-time against the Rebels.
Tweetable fact: Arkansas is the only team to run more than 60 plays against Alabama this season.
Arkansas (1-3, 0-1)
Next game: at Texas A&M, 12:21 p.m., WPCH
Huddle up: WR Cobi Hamilton is the SEC's co-offensive player of the week after setting the SEC mark with 303 receiving yards on 10 catches and three TDs in a loss to Rutgers. He averaged 30.3 yards per catch. … CB Tevin Mitchel (neck) didn't play against Rutgers and is questionable for this week's game. … TE Chris Cragg (bone bruise), the team's second-leading receiver, is day-to-day.
Tweetable fact: Tyler Wilson has 5,360 career passing yards, the sixth Razorback in school history with 5,000 yards.
Auburn (1-3, 0-2)
Next game: vs. Arkansas, noon, Oct. 6, ESPN or ESPN2
Huddle up: Backup QB Jonathan Wallace might get more snaps as Auburn integrates the Wildcat formation into the offense. Wallace's progression takes snaps away from starter Kiehl Frazier. Coach Gene Chizik said, "it could range from zero plays to 20 plays" per game. … Philip Lutzenkirchen (Lassiter) is one of 30 FBS players who are candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, which is awarded to players with notable achievements in community, classroom, character and competition. … FS Demetruce McNeal (Banneker) had a team-high 11 tackles, including 1 1/2 for loss, against LSU. He's tied for third in the SEC with 40 tackles.
Tweetable fact: Against LSU, Auburn lost for just the third time under Chizik after leading at halftime.
Florida (4-0, 3-0)
Next game: vs. LSU, 3:30 p.m., Oct. 6, CBS
Huddle up: NT Omar Hunter (Buford) is the SEC's defensive lineman of the week with eight tackles in a shutout of Kentucky. … Coach Will Muschamp hopes LB Jelani Jenkins (thumb) will be able to come back for the LSU game. He's been out since Sept. 8. … RB Trey Burton (back), TE Jordan Reed (shoulder), OL Chaz Green (ankle) and DL Dominique Easley (knee) likely will play against LSU. … LB Neiron Ball (Jackson), who missed all last season with a congenital vascular condition called arteriovenous malformation, has played in all four games and has five tackles.
Tweetable fact: Florida's 38-0 win over Kentucky was the Gators' first SEC shutout since 2001.
Kentucky (1-3, 0-1)
Next game: vs. South Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Huddle up: Coach Joker Phillips expects QB Maxwell Smith (shoulder) to play. Smith, who has averaged 322 yards passing, missed Saturday's loss to Florida as backup QB Morgan Newton threw for 48 yards and three interceptions. … Three freshmen — Cody Quinn, Fred Tiller (Clinch County) and J.D. Harmon — are seeing playing time at CB. … RB CoShik Williams (Hiram) has been injured and rushed for 66 yards in two games, but is listed as the backup behind Jonathan George.
Tweetable fact: Kentucky upset No. 10 South Carolina 31-28 in Commonwealth Stadium in 2010.
LSU (4-0, 1-0)
Next game: vs. Towson, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Huddle up: DE Sam Montgomery is the SEC defensive player of the week with four tackles, 3 1/2 of which went for losses, including a safety and a sack. … RB Alfred Blue (knee), who missed the Auburn game, remains out. … QB Zach Mettenberger (Oconee County) is building chemistry with WR Kadron Boone, who has caught four of Mettenberger's five career TD passes. They have combined for 10 career completions for 201 yards. … There's been talk of switching LT Josh Dworaczyk and LG La'El Collins after Dworaczyk allowed two sacks against Auburn.
Tweetable fact: LSU has won 36 consecutive non-conference home games and is looking to go to 5-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
Mississippi (3-1, 0-0)
Next game: at Alabama, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Huddle up: QB Bo Wallace injured his right shoulder against Tulane and might be limited against Alabama. … Freshman LB Denzel Nkemdiche (Grayson) had three tackles and his first career interception. He's second on the team with 21 tackles and also has a sack. … Walk-on Jim Broadway (Roswell) is second in the SEC with a 45.5 average after punting three times for a 45-yard average against Tulane. His father Jim Sr. was Georgia's punter from 1980-82. … The Rebels lead the SEC in rushing (259.8 yards) — 11th in the nation — and are 19th in the nation in sacks with 3.0 per game.
Tweetable fact: Mississippi opens the SEC portion of its schedule on the road for the eighth time in 10 seasons.
Mississippi State (4-0, 1-0)
Next game: at Kentucky, 12:20 p.m., Oct. 6, WPCH
Huddle up: CBs Darius Slay (Brunswick) and Johnthan Banks have combined for seven interceptions, and the Bulldogs have nine interceptions as a team. They've allowed two TD passes. … DL Preston Smith (Stephenson) has two sacks in the past three games after having none in his first 10 games. … RB LaDarius Perkins, who has rushed for 389 yards and five TDs, has been added to the Doak Walker Award watch list. … Mississippi State is 4-0 for the first time since 1999 and for only the second time since 1965.
Tweetable fact: Mississippi State leads nation in turnover margin at plus-13 (15 takeaways vs. two giveaways).
Missouri (2-2, 0-2)
Next game: at Central Florida, noon, FSSO
Huddle up: DT Sheldon Richardson, who made the "old man football" comment before the loss to Georgia, leads all SEC linemen in tackles with 24 and is Missouri's second-leading tackler. "He's become a dominating player," coach Gary Pinkel said. Pinkel hasn't allowed Richardson to speak to the media since his comment. … TE Sean Culkin (broken finger) likely will redshirt. … Former Missouri backup QB Tyler Gabbert transferred to Central Florida and is the backup there. … LB Andrew Wilson has forced a fumble in every game this year to tie Georgia LB Jarvis Jones and Temple LB Nate Smith for the NCAA lead in that category.
Tweetable fact: This is Missouri's first game in Florida since 1988 and its first meeting with Central Florida.
South Carolina (4-0, 2-0)
Next game: at Kentucky, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Huddle up: CB Akeem Auguste (leg) is finally healthy and will play behind Jimmy Legree on Saturday. Auguste has played in one game in nearly two years. … S D.J. Swearinger will return after serving a one-game suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit. … QB Connor Shaw (Flowery Branch) is the SEC's co-offensive player of the week after completing a school-record 20 consecutive passes and going 20-of-21 for 249 yards and two TDs in the win over Missouri. Former Tennessee QB Tee Martin holds the SEC record with 24 consecutive completions. … Shaw threw for a career-high 311 yards and four TDs in last year's victory over Kentucky. … The Gamecocks haven't started 5-0 since 2001.
Tweetable fact: South Carolina has won eight consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history.
Tennessee (3-1, 0-1)
Next game: at Georgia, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Huddle up: RB Rajion Neal (Sandy Creek) leads Tennessee with 536 yards on 80 carries, but doesn't have a run for more than 29 yards. … Tennessee had a negative-20 yards on 23 carries in last year's loss to Georgia. … The Volunteers gave up a 70-yard TD run to Akron, an 80-yard TD run to Florida's Trey Burton and a 75-yard TD pass to the Gators. They also rank 11th in the SEC against the run (164.2 yards). "You just can't give up plays like that running the ball and expect to win," coach Derek Dooley said. … The next four games are against No. 5 Georgia, No. 21 Mississippi State, No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 South Carolina.
Tweetable fact: Tennessee has eight interceptions, one from equaling last season's total of nine.
Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1)
Next game: vs. Arkansas, 12:21 p.m., WPCH
Huddle up: Texas A&M has quickly adapted to new coach Kevin Sumlin's up-tempo style. The Aggies have 118 points and 1,053 yards in their past two games. The offense has scored 15 of their 17 TDs. … DE Damontre Moore, who leads the NCAA with six sacks in three games, has 12 sacks in his past seven games. … Dustin Harris is the SEC's special-teams player of the week after he returned eight punts for 246 yards, including a 96-yard return for a TD, against South Carolina State.
Tweetable fact: Texas A&M is one of seven FBS teams that hasn't recovered a fumble this season.
Vanderbilt (1-3, 0-2)
Next game: at Missouri, 7 p.m. Oct. 6, FSSO
Huddle up: RB Wesley Tate is the brother of Seattle WR Golden Tate, who caught the controversial last-second touchdown pass to give the Seahawks a 14-12 victory over Green Bay on Monday. … WR Jordan Matthews had eight catches for 119 yards against Georgia and is tied for second in the SEC with 6.5 catches per game (26 total) for 395 yards. … Matthews and fellow WR Chris Boyd (Roswell) have each caught at least one pass in 12 consecutive games. … Richard Kent (Walton) had a 62-yard punt against Georgia, his 10th career punt of at least 60 yards.
Tweetable fact: Saturday's loss was the first time Vanderbilt hadn't scored a TD since losing to Alabama 34-0 last year.
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