JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Things to watch this week in the Southeastern Conference:
Game of the week
Florida (4-3, 2-2 SEC) vs. No. 2 Georgia (6-1, 4-1) in Jacksonville, Florida, 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday (ABC)
The Bulldogs, who are chasing No. 10 Texas A&M for the league lead, have reeled off three straight victories, including a 30-15 win over then-No. 1 Texas.
Both teams are coming off an open date. The Gators have rebounded from a 1-2 start.
Florida started a first-year freshman at quarterback (DJ Lagway) and running back (Jadan Baugh) for the first time in program history against Kentucky. Baugh tied the school record with five rushing touchdowns, the first scores of his career.
Georgia has won the last three meetings by an average of 24 points. That’s something the Bulldogs have never done in a rivalry that often was for SEC East supremacy when there was divisional play. Georgia is favored by 16-1/2 points, according to BetMGM sportsbook.
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The undercard
Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0) at South Carolina (4-3, 2-3), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
The Aggies are riding a seven-game winning streak and stand alone atop the league with every other team having at least one SEC loss. Texas A&M has won nine of the last 10 meetings, including four of five in Columbia.
Coach Mike Elko hasn’t indicated who will start at quarterback. Marcel Reed replaced Conner Weigman in the third quarter of a win over No. 16 LSU and rushed for three touchdowns. Reed has started three games and Weigman four this season.
The Gamecocks have taken No. 14 Alabama and LSU down to the wire before losing. They are 3-12 against ranked opponents under coach Shane Beamer. But the Aggies are only 2 1/2-point favorites, according to BetMGM.
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Impact player
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has been instrumental in pushing his team to the cusp of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018 heading into the Auburn game. Pavia also already has two wins over Hugh Freeze-coached teams. He led New Mexico State to a 31-10 upset of Auburn in 2023. A year earlier, he ran for three touchdowns and passed for three more in the Aggies’ win over Freeze and Liberty.
Inside the numbers
Auburn RB Jarquez Hunter ran for 278 yards against Kentucky, the most by an FBS player this season and fourth-best ever by a Tigers back. His 214 second-half rushing yards broke Bo Jackson’s school mark for a half (206 yards in 1985, when he won the Heisman Trophy). ... Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins had four sacks against Oklahoma, the most by a Rebels defender since 1993. Ole Miss’s 10 sacks represented the second-most in program history and the most the Sooners have ever surrendered. ... No. 7 Tennessee has its 18th consecutive sell-out at Neyland Stadium, where the Volunteers have won 17 of their last 18 and five straight, for Kentucky’s visit.
Facing former teams
It’s inevitable in this transfer-heavy age that players face their former teams.
That’s the case this week with Georgia leading rusher Trevor Etienne (422 yards, seven touchdowns) going against Florida. Etienne ran for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons with the Gators.
No. 19 Mississippi linebacker Chris Paul Jr. Paul and the Rebels face Arkansas, where he spent the past three seasons before transferring in January. Paul leads Ole Miss with 60 tackles and has eight tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries and 2.5 sacks.
Kentucky right tackle Gerald Mincey faces one of his old SEC teams, Tennessee. Mincey spent two seasons with the Volunteers and two at Florida.
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