October 8, 2009

Mike Huguenin
Rivals.com College Football

MORE: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-10 | Others

The biggest story line, of course, centers on Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2006. Malzahn has turned the Tigers' offense from junker to sleek convertible in less than a year.

While Malzahn's departure from Arkansas was a bit messy, this is not his first game against the Razorbacks since he left. He was the offensive coordinator at Tulsa last season, when the Razorbacks beat the then-unbeaten Golden Hurricane 30-23. That may be why Malzahn told the Birmingham (Ala.) News that this game was nothing more than a "business trip."

"The fact that I had that experience last year, I think, will definitely help this year," he said.

Another story line revolves around both teams having good offenses but iffy defenses.

Auburn's revived offense has the Tigers 5-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play. Arkansas is 2-2 and 0-2; in the two losses, the defense was scorched. Arkansas is last in the SEC in pass defense and in total defense. And while Auburn's passing attack has been surprisingly effective, Tigers coach Gene Chizik says his team's run offense is the key.

"We're going to have to run the football much better than we have previously to challenge on this side of the league," Chizik said.

Chizik might want to run the ball better because that would help his defense. Auburn struggled to stop the pass against West Virginia and Tennessee, and Arkansas' passing offense will be an even bigger test.

Arkansas leads the league in passing offense, at 329.2 yards per game, and starting quarterback Ryan Mallett has thrown 11 touchdown passes.

KEY MATCHUP: Alabama run offense vs. Ole Miss front seven. The Rebels' only shot at an upset is to stifle the Tide's rushing attack. The Rebels have a deep and talented defensive front; laugh all you want at former coach Ed Orgeron, but the guy can identify defensive line talent. The Rebels have a nice mix of size and quickness up front, but opponents can exploit their linebackers. DTs Jerrell Powe, Ted Laurent, Lawon Scott and LaMark Armour need to stand their ground and make sure Alabama's running backs don't have much success between the tackles.

PLAYERS ON THE SPOT: Georgia offensive line. Georgia has been pitiful running the ball, ranking last in the SEC and 105th nationally in rushing offense (98.8 yards per game). The Bulldogs are averaging a league-low 3.3 yards per carry. They'll be going against a solid Tennessee defense Saturday. The strength of the Vols' defense is their secondary, so the Bulldogs' linemen need to start creating some room for the running backs to ease some of the pressure on QB Joe Cox.

NUMBERS GAME: The No. 1 Florida at No. 4 LSU game is the 16th time in SEC history that there has been a matchup of two top-five teams in conference play. The last time it happened was in last season's conference championship game, when No. 2 Florida beat No. 1 Alabama. LSU is 2-8-1 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. One of the wins came against top-ranked Florida in a night game at Tiger Stadium in 1997.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"Some people think winning cures everything and I am certainly happy that we were able to win, but I also think you have to focus on the symptoms of what you need to do to improve. It's no different than when you start to get a cold; if you do nothing about it, you'll surely get the flu, but if you try to take care of yourself, do something about it, rest, do the right things and make adjustments in what you're doing, maybe you minimize your chances of getting sick." - Alabama coach Nick Saban.

"He's very, very precise. He knows exactly what he wants; he knows exactly how he's setting you up for the next thing. He coaches those guys in minute detail." - Auburn coach Gene Chizik, on Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino. The two were on the same Auburn staff in 2002 as coordinators - Chizik on defense, Petrino on offense.

"Obviously, we'd much rather always play an offense like this, a conventional one, that you know where they're going to be and don't do very many formations, than what we've had to face the last couple of weeks." - Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, on Georgia's offense compared to Florida's and Auburn's.

"I'll probably take them to Golden Corral, something like that." - Auburn RB Ben Tate, on how he would reward his offensive linemen and blocking backs after his 128-yard performance last week against Tennessee.

"We were outcoached, and I'm really disappointed with our defensive coaching staff. Obviously if you give 266 yards passing and another 200 running, you didn't do a whole lot defensively. I'm really disappointed with our staff and the situations they put our players in and the lack of adjustments we made." - Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, about last week's 42-31 loss to Georgia Tech.

"I think it might be time to look at that and say we just have to be careful not to take the joy out of the game for the players and the ability to celebrate something good. I do think that it has to be in a certain way. If it involves taunting an opponent, there certainly should be a flag for that." - Georgia coach Mark Richt, on whether the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty needs to be looked at. Since the beginning of the 2007 season, SEC officials have called more of those types of penalties than officials in any other conference.

"We think a lot of them stay up past midnight just goofing off, like most college kids do." - South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier. Saturday's 12:30 p.m. kickoff against Kentucky is the first day game of the season for the Gamecocks, so Spurrier said he would encourage his players to go to bed earlier this week in an attempt to get ready for the early kickoff.

Etc.: The SEC said Monday that Georgia WR A.J. Green should not have been penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after his late touchdown against LSU. SEC supervisor of officials Rogers Redding wouldn't comment on whether any disciplinary action was planned against back judge Michael Watson, who made the call, saying the SEC never discusses those issues publicly. ... Kentucky could be without both starting cornerbacks for Saturday's game with South Carolina. Trevard Lindley (ankle) and Paul Warford (quad muscle strain) are listed as doubtful, with Lindley less likely to play than Warford. ... Georgia RB Caleb King has a broken jaw that will keep him out at least two weeks. His injury means more playing time for true freshman Washaun Ealey, who made his college debut last week. Ealey will back up sophomore starter Richard Samuel. ... LSU has won 32 consecutive Saturday night games in Tiger Stadium. Five of those have come over ranked opponents... Mississippi State RB Anthony Dixon has 3,031 career rushing yards; that puts him 181 yards behind Jerious Norwood, the school's career leader. ... South Carolina has been outscored in the second (37-29) and fourth (17-16) quarters this season, but the Gamecocks have outscored foes 57-10 in the third quarter. ... Mississippi State did not punt in last week's loss to Georgia Tech; it's the first time since a 1998 win over East Tennessee State that the Bulldogs didn't punt in a game. ... Alabama WR Julio Jones has just nine receptions this season, for 133 yards; the receptions total is tied for third on the team. ... Former Ole Miss LB Tony Fein, 27, died Tuesday of unknown causes in his hometown of Port Orchard, Wash. Fein played at Ole Miss in 2007 and '08; he had spent four years in the Army, including a stint in Iraq.

Mike Huguenin is the college sports editor for Rivals.com. He can be reached at mhuguenin@rivals.com.