Alabama and Auburn should be fine this Saturday, though Bama is playing against a pretty explosive offense. Auburn should be in good shape to move on to LSU next weekend in a classic at Death Valley  at 2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET on CBS on Saturday afternoon. But both teams want to get better in certain areas, actually all areas, but some areas more specifically. There are some are some major games this Saturday including a couple in the SEC and an SEC versus a Big 12 power in Knoxville. Here’s a look at this weekend’s action.

Record last week: 19-2

Saturday

Middle Tennessee (1-0) @ No. 3 Alabama (1-0)

Bryant Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa (101,821)

3 PM CT/ 4 PM ET

SEC Network

Weather:  78 Partly Cloudy, 20% rain, wind NNW 12 MPH

Line: Bama by 35 1/2

Bama played well last weekend defeating then No. 20 Wisconsin, 35-17, in Dallas. Derrick Henry rushed for 147 yards on 13 carries and 3 TDS. He was terrific. He’s slimmed down in his lower body and is a lot quicker. He’s primed for a huge year. Kenyon Drake looked like the Kenyon Drake we saw before his broken leg injury at Ole Miss last year. Kenyon ran for 77 yards on 10 carries and caught two passes for 48 yards. Quite a one-two punch the Tide has working at running back. The running game looks superb. Freshman Damien Harris had nine carries for 30 yards in mop up duty later in the game, so he got experience. He needs to keep developing, but he could help give Henry and Drake a blow some and he’s got immense talent. I thought Jake Coker was outstanding as well, completing 15-of-21 passes for 213 yards which included a beautiful roll out touchdown pass to Robert Foster. He didn’t make any mistakes, no ints. He took a couple of sacks at the beginning of the game, but really settled in and played excellent football for Lane Kiffin and S. He looks like the guy to me. Cooper Bateman came in later and did OK, but I like Coker to run this offense. It’s good to get Bateman reps to keep him sharp if Coker was to get injured, but Coker needs to be the guy running this offense. Loved what I saw from him. The offensive line played very well. The defense played well, though the secondary needs to  work on their coverages some more, particularly cornerbacks Cyrus Jones and Marlon Humphrey. Both are good players, but each one had a pass interference called on them. When corners turn their backs on the quarterbacks and just look at the receiver they can get called for interference pretty frequently. It’s a tough position and Cyrus and Marlon are going to be very good players this year. It’s sometimes impossible not to just focus on the receiver. It’s hard to get turned around sometimes especially if you’re playing against a good wr. Cornerbacks just have to have really quick instincts and great anticipation. There are going to be mistakes sometimes at that position. But both Cyrus and Marlon are really good players. The front seven looks outstanding. This is a championship level defense if they can just get the secondary clicking. The Tide will face a pretty explosive passing game Saturday. The Blue Raiders dropped 70 points on Jackson State last Saturday. While Jackson State is not a strong team, Middle Tennessee quarterback Brent Stockstill, a sophomore and Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill’s son, completed 24 of 30 for 348 yards, four TDs and one int. Receiver Ed Batties caught eight passes for 123 yards and two TDs. Nine different receivers caught passes. Their defense only gave up 14 points to Jackson State, so they’re pretty decent. The Tide secondary will be tested. The Tide needs a good game here as they matriculate towards a huge game at home versus a very good Ole Miss team next Saturday night at 8:15 CT on ESPN.

Alabama 52, Middle Tennessee 14

Jacksonville State (1-0) @ No. 6 Auburn (1-0)

Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451)

11 AM CT/Noon ET

SEC Network

Weather: AM T-storms, 60%, wind NW 9 MPH. Rain may be over by game time.

No line

Auburn had kind of an uneven performance last week. Jeremy Johnson did not have the game that Auburn fans expected him to have against Louisville. He was 11-of-21 for 137 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. In fairness, Louisville had a pretty good defense and were a ball hawks in the secondary, but Johnson did not perform up to expectations. He needs to get a lot better this week against Jax State, an FCS school that is coached by John Grass, who’s had success in high school in Alabama and now in college. Jax State made it to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs last season. They beat Chattanooga last week, 23-20. So Johnson and the running backs need to have a good game this week. Peyton Barber played really well in relief of the banged up Roc Thomas and Jovon Robinson, running for 115 yards. Roc only carried the rock six times for 27 yards, and Robinson ran it just two times for 16 yards. AU needs to get Roc going. The offensive line needs to block better and Auburn needs to cut down on the penalties. The line is talented and physical, they just need to enforce their will this week and establish themselves. The defense made some good plays last week. Tray Matthews, who got hurt later in the game but appears to be OK this week, had a nice interception and return on the opening play from scrimmage, and Justin Garrett’s 82 yard fumble return for a TD was a tremendous play. But they let Louisville freshman quarterback Lamar Jackson run for 106 yards, mostly in the second half. He was unstoppable on the ground at times. He was good, but AU needs to get better on stopping these athletic quarterbacks. So a lot to improve on, but this team does have plenty of talent. It just needs to be realized. This week would be a big boost for the Tigers as LSU looms next Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge.

Auburn 35, Jax State 7

No.14 LSU (0-0) @ Mississippi State (1-0)

Davis Wade Stadium, Starkvegas (55,082)

8:15 PM CT/9:15 PM ET

ESPN

Weather: 65, Partly Cloudy, 10% rain, wind NNW 11 MPH

Line: LSU by 4 1/2

This is a really interesting matchup. State had an excellent year last year and pretty much dominated LSU at Death Valley on a Saturday night, winning 34-29 in 2014. But the final score was not indicative of the game as State dominated. LSU made a late run, but State was the much better team that night. State defeated an improved Southern Miss team, 34-16, in Hattiesburg last Saturday night. Dak Prescott played a solid game. State and Dak will have their home town fans with their cowbells blasting.  LSU is highly talented, but hasn’t played a game as their game last Saturday night at home against McNeese State was cancelled due to weather and they’re still not really clear on their quarterback situation. State will need to hold LSU tailback Leonard Fournette somewhat in check, but I think they’ll get the job done and capture a huge SEC West victory.

Mississippi State 35, LSU 31

 

Kentucky (1-0) @ South Carolina (1-0)

Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC (80,250)

6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET

SEC Network

Weather: 77, PM T-storms, 40%, wind SW 13 MPH

Line: SC by 7 1/2

Kentucky is a quality football team. Quarterback Patrick Toles threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns last week in a 40-33 victory over a pretty decent Louisiana Lafayette team. He’s coming into his own as a passer. Stanley “Boom” Williams is an outstanding running back. He rushed for 135 yards last Saturday, which included a 75 yard TD run in UK’s opening drive. Jojo Kemp didn’t have a great game, but he’s also an excellent running back. South Carolina is at home, but I like the Wildcats to come into Williams-Brice and pull off the upset.

Kentucky 31, South Carolina 28

 

No.9 Georgia (1-0) @ Vanderbilt (0-1)

Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville  (39,790)

2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET

CBS

Weather: 68, Partly cloudy, 20% rain, wind NNW 12 MPH

Line: Dawgs by 20 1/2

This could get out of hand early. Nick Chubb should run wild along with his awesome backups Sony Michel and Keith Marshall. Georgia needs to get an established quarterback. Greyson Lambert looked pretty good last week against Louisiana Monroe in a 51-14 Dawgs victory, and looks like the leader in the clubhouse over Brice Ramsey right now. Coach Richt and his staff will get a better idea this Saturday. But once the Dawgs get an established quarterback, they’ll be one of the best teams in the country. They already are. Jeremy Pruitt’s defense looks stout. This team has serious playoff possibilities and a chance to win the SEC if they can stay healthy. If one of the two, Lambert or Ramsey, can establish himself this Saturday, this is a complete football team and an outstanding one at that. The Dawgs do have to go to Tennessee on Oct. 10  after facing  Alabama the week before at home (Oct. 3rd), so those are two tough ones, as Tennessee looks for real to me, and the Tide is stellar. They also have to go to Auburn and they’re at Georgia Tech, so they’ve got to navigate some tough ones. But if the Dawgs can keep their team relatively healthy, especially at running back,  this looks like a special year in Athens. It’ll be a long afternoon for the Commodores.

Georgia 49, Vanderbilt 14

 

No.19 Oklahoma (1-0) @ No. 25 Tennessee (1-0)

Neyland Stadium, Knoxville (102,455)

5 PM CT/ 6 PM ET

ESPN

Weather: 65, 10% rain, wind NW 8 MPH

Line: OU by 1  1/2

The Sooners have a really good offense with a good quarterback in Baker Mayfield and a good backfield and wide outs. They have a pretty decent defense, too. They’re solid. But I really like this Tennessee offense with emerging superstar quarterback Joshua Dobbs and the awesome  Jalen Hurd at running back. This is the year of the running back in the SEC, there are a lot of great ones, and Hurd is right there at the top of the list. Alabama transfer Alvin Kamara looks like he’ll be a key player backing up Hurd. He has a lot of talent, but ran into trouble under Coach Saban, and left the team. He’s good though. UT has excellent receivers and a solid offensive line. Their defense is improved, but maybe not great yet, and that may keep them from winning the East. But this is a very good football team. Butch Jones has it going in Knoxville. Like the Vols to get the job done at home.

Tennessee 38, Oklahoma 30

 

Key National Game

No. 7 Oregon (1-0) @ No.5 Michigan State (1-0)

Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan (75,005)

7 PM CT/8 PM ET

ABC

Weather: 58, partly cloudy, 0 % rain, wind N 11 MPH

Line: Michigan State by 3 1/2

I watched both these teams play last week, and Michigan State has another solid, fine football team under super coach Mark Dantonio with a pretty good quarterback in Connor Cook.  Oregon has incredible speed. Running back Royce Freeman ran for 180 yards last week and three touchdowns against Eastern Washington and has both the power to run over would be tacklers and the wheels to take it to the house. Oregon throws another two of three running backs at you and new quarterback Vernon Adams, Jr. looks like he’s settled in as an FBS quarterback so far, though he hasn’t ever played in this hostile of an environment as he’s going to play in Saturday night at East Lansing. The Eastern Washington transfer has good talent, and his arsenal around him is electric. Adams will do enough and Freeman and the other playmakers will be just too explosive for Michigan State.  Michigan State will also score some points against a defense that is a question mark right now, but I like Oregon to be a little more explosive than the Spartans Saturday night in prime time. Expecting a great game.

Oregon 45, Michigan State 42

 

Other SEC teams in action

No.17 Ole Miss 56, Fresno State 10

Texas A&M 56, Ball State 14

Florida 45, East Carolina 21

No. 18 Arkansas 45, Toledo 10

 No.24 Missouri 35, Arkansas State 24

Other national games

BYU 31, Boise State 30

Notre Dame 34, Virginia 24

Michigan 42, Oregon State 24

Florida State 31, South Florida 27

Friday Night

Utah 34, Utah State 21 (8 PM CT/ 9 PM ET ESPN2)

 Super Bowl 50

February 7, 2016

Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Cali

Eagles 35, Patriots 31