6. Kentucky (1-0) … UK’s remodeled offense looks sharp.
7. Auburn (1-0) … Tigers put up 60 in Harsin’s debut.
8. Missouri (1-0) … See what happens when Badie gets the ball?
9. Tennessee (1-0) … Promising debut for QB Joe Milton.
10. Arkansas (1-0) … Sluggish start, better finish vs. Rice.
11. South Carolina (1-0) … Beamer Ball 2.0 is here.
12. Mississippi State (1-0) … Pirate ship nearly sank vs. La Tech.
13. LSU (0-1) … Tigers got pushed around at UCLA. No misprint.
14. Vanderbilt (0-1) … Brutal debut for Clark Lea.
On that note, lets’ get to the weekend’s games, starting with ….
Missouri (1-0) at Kentucky (1-0)
Series: Kentucky leads, 7-4
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m., SEC Network
Matter’s Pick: The first SEC showdown of the season is a good one, maybe the nation’s best matchup of unranked teams. Until proven otherwise, we’ll call this the SEC East third-place game: The winner is best positioned to challenge Georgia and Florida while the loser stays muddling in the division’s middle class. For the Wildcats, it’s a revenge game. They’re still peeved at last year’s outcome in Columbia. For the Tigers, it’s a chance to win as a road underdog for the first time under Eli Drinkwitz — and the first time overall since 2018. As for the matchup, it’s a clash between two first-year coordinators hired from the NFL: UK’s offensive play-caller Liam Coen vs. Mizzou defensive boss Steve Wilks. Coen’s NFL team — they wear horns on their helmet, owned by the mustachioed Wal-Mart guy — was 3-0 against Wilks’ Cardinals (2018) and Browns (2019), but the chess match continues Saturday at Kroger Field.
