Alabama (11-2, 7-1 in 2013)
Next game: vs. West Virginia (at Georgia Dome), 3:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC
Huddle up: LB Trey DePriest was suspended for the opener "for a minor NCAA infraction," coach Nick Saban said this week. He'll be eligible to play next week. Reuben Foster (who began his high school career at Troup High) will see playing time in DePriest's absence. … Alabama returns 13 starters, including RT Austin Shepherd (North Gwinnett). TE Brian Vogler (Brookstone) is listed a co-starter with O.J. Howard at TE.
Tweetable fact: Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will coach from the field, not the press box.
Arkansas (3-9, 0-8)
Next game: at Auburn, 4 p.m. Saturday, SEC Network
Huddle up: Police are investigating the fire that destroyed QB Brandon Allen's truck this week. His vehicle also was egged after a loss to Mississippi State last year. … Starting OG Dan Skipper, at 6 feet 10, is the second-tallest player in the FBS. Kentucky OL John Gruenschlaeger is 6-11.
Tweetable fact: Bret Bielema has never lost an opener as a head coach, going 8-0 at Wisconsin and Arkansas.
Auburn (12-2, 7-1)
Next game: vs. Arkansas, 4 p.m. Saturday, SEC Network
Huddle up: QB Nick Marshall (Wilcox County) will play, coach Gus Malzahn said, but won't start to serve a suspension for his citation for marijuana possession and illegal window tinting in July. Jeremy Johnson will start. … Coaches are unsure if DE Carl Lawson (Milton) will recover from ACL surgery and rehab in time to play this season. He had four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for loss as a freshman in 2013.
Tweetable fact: Auburn was one of five teams to return a kickoff and a punt for a TD in the same game in 2013.
Florida (4-8, 3-5)
Next game: vs. Idaho, 7 p.m. Saturday, ESPNU
Huddle up: QB Jeff Driskel will be in the shotgun formation on every snap in new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper's spread offense. "He's got a great look in his eye," Roper told the media. Driskel will play for the first time since breaking his leg against Tennessee on Sept. 21. … Driskel was one of 15 Gators to suffer season-ending injuries in 2013.
Tweetable fact: Florida's offense had a different starting lineup in every game last season.
Kentucky (2-10, 0-8)
Next game: vs. Tennessee-Martin, noon Saturday, SEC Network
Huddle up: QB Patrick Towles is slated to make his first career start after playing as a freshman in 2012 and redshirting last year. Coach Mark Stoops said he'd like to see Reese Phillips also play, but Towles "has the keys." … Look for DE Za'Darius Smith and LB Bud Dupree (Wilkinson County) to be the defense's top players. Dupree has 16 career sacks. … Freshman RB Stanley Williams (George Walton) likely will make his debut.
Tweetable fact: Kentucky has 13 first-year and redshirt freshmen and four JUCO transfers on its two-deep depth chart.
LSU (10-3, 5-3)
Next game: vs. Wisconsin (at Houston), 9 p.m. Saturday, ESPN
Huddle up: Anthony Jennings (Marietta) and freshman Brandon Harris have battled for the starting QB job since the spring. Jennings is the only QB with game experience. … LSU has had an Australian punter since 2011. Brad Wing punted in 2011 and '12 and Jamie Keehn returns for his second season. … Heralded freshman TB Leonard Fournette is expected to make his debut. "That's all I've been thinking about, just getting there, my first time playing on the collegiate level," he said.
Tweetable fact: LSU hasn't lost a regular-season nonconference game since 2002, going 45-0 since, 35-0 under Les Miles.
Mississippi (8-5, 3-5)
Next game: at Vanderbilt, 4:30 p.m. Sept. 6, TBD
Huddle up: WR Laquon Treadwell dropped 10 pounds the tough way. He gave up fast food, including McDonald's, and said he now weighs less than 220 pounds. He caught 72 passes for 608 yards and five TDs last season. … Evan Engram (Hillgrove), who had 21 catches and three TDs in 2013, is the starting TE.
Tweetable fact: Ole Miss had set a school record for season ticket sales with 50,803 by early this week.
Mississippi State (7-6, 3-5)
Next game: vs. Southern Miss, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, SEC Network
Huddle up: Mississippi State has 18 seniors on its two-deep depth chart, a drastic change from 2013, when only 13 seniors were on the roster. … Southern Miss and Mississippi State are playing for the first time since 1990. … Tolando Cleveland (Hillgrove) is listed as the backup to Taveze Calhoun at CB.
Tweetable fact: Dak Prescott is one of four returning FBS QBs who passed for at least 1,900 yards and rushed for at least 800 last season.
Missouri (12-2, 7-1)
Next game: vs. South Dakota State, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPNU
Huddle up: Look for freshmen RB Ish Witter, WRs Lawrence Lee and Nate Brown (North Gwinnett), CB Logan Cheadle and S Thomas Wilson (Buford) to see playing time. … Eddie Printz (Lassiter) is the backup QB behind Maty Mauk, beating out Corbin Berkstresser. "There's a point the last three or four practices and last scrimmage where Eddie played a little better," coach Gary Pinkel said this week.
Tweetable fact: Nine Missouri players are expected to make their first career starts, four on offense and five on defense.
South Carolina (11-2, 6-2)
Next game: vs. East Carolina, 7 p.m. Sept. 6, ESPN2 or ESPNU
Huddle up: Steve Spurrier, who will turn 70 in April, has 128 victories against SEC teams in his career. Bear Bryant holds the mark with 159 career conference wins. Spurrier's overall career record is 219-79-2 record at Duke, Florida and South Carolina. … George Rogers, who won the Heisman Trophy with the Gamecocks in 1980, said this summer that RB Mike Davis (Stephenson) has the tools to win it. Davis rushed for 1,183 yards and 11 TDs in 2013.
Tweetable fact: South Carolina is 13-3 against Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida the past four seasons.
Tennessee (5-7, 2-6)
Next game: vs. Utah State, 7 p.m. Sunday, SEC Network
Huddle up: QB Justin Worley, who has 10 career starts, will see his first action since breaking a thumb Oct. 26. He threw 10 TD passes and eight INTs in eight games in 2013. Josh Dobbs (Alpharetta), who threw two TD passes in four starts last season, is a backup. … Cameron Sutton (Jonesboro) returns at CB, where he started 12 games as a freshman in 2013. FS Brian Randolph (Kell) and LB A.J. Johnson (Gainesville) also are starters.
Tweetable fact: Tennessee has seven players whose dads also played football for the Volunteers.
Texas A&M (9-4, 4-4)
Next game: vs. Lamar, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6, TBD
Huddle up: Texas A&M has two huge targets for its QBs. Former Tennessee TE Cam Clear is 6-6 and 277 pounds and WR Ricky Seals-Jones is 6-5, 235 pounds. Clear caught four passes and Seals has returned from a season-ending injury after catching three passes in two games. … Texas A&M could receive contributions from at least five freshmen who were part of its heralded signing class.
Tweetable fact: LB Tommy Sanders (Crisp County) is the only player from Georgia on Texas A&M's roster.
Vanderbilt (9-4, 4-4)
Next game: vs. Ole Miss, 4:30 p.m. Sept. 6, TBD
Huddle up: Senior LB Kyle Woestmann (Walton) is one of Vanderbilt's captains this season. C Joe Townsend and SN Andrew East are the others. … Vanderbilt received only two votes in the preseason AP Top 25, despite going 16-4 in its past 20 games, dating to October 2012. The Commodores are tied with South Carolina with the second-best mark in the SEC in that span, behind Alabama at 18-2.
Tweetable fact: Backup QB Stephen Rivers is the brother of San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers.
