The fourth week of the college football season is always where the season tends to kick into high gear.
By week four, the rust has worn off and conference play is underway everywhere across the country. Week four also normally has a great slate of games, and this week’s SEC slate doesn’t disappoint. There are several compelling conference games and one titanic non-conference match-up. (RELATED: SEC Week Three Preview: Non-Conference Play Winds Down)
So, without further ado, here are the best games from the best conference for week four.
Tennessee vs. Florida: An epic rivalry game that has been relegated to the early game time-slot. Sad! The decline of this rivalry is mostly do to the Vols’ never ending exercise in futility, but the Gators have not had the best decade of football either. The start of this year has been even more disastrous for Tennessee, as they’ve already suffered losses to Georgia State and BYU. Florida is 3-0, but the start of the season has been uneven, as they narrowly escaped Miami and Kentucky. The Gators also have a new quarterback under center following the gruesome injury to starter Felipe Franks. Florida is currently ranked in the top ten, but they have a lot of unanswered questions. This one may be closer than expected for awhile, but the Gators will pull away. (RELATED: SEC Week 2 Preview: Showdown Saturday)
Prediction: Florida 30 Tennessee 13
Auburn vs. Texas A&M: Like Florida, Auburn is a top ten team with a lot of unknowns. They pulled off a huge week one win over Oregon, but only after looking terrible for three quarters. Quarterback Bo Nix has a ton of talent, but he has been inconsistent so far this year. Meanwhile, the Aggies are still reeling from the beat-down they took at Clemson two weeks ago. The Aggies did not demonstrate that they could protect quarterback Kellen Mond at all against Clemson’s defense, and Auburn has one of the best defensive lines in the country. If Auburn forces Mond to throw, they’ll win and I have to think they will. The Tigers win in a squeaker.
Prediction: Auburn 27 Texas A&M 21
Notre Dame vs. Georgia: The Fighting Irish will have yet another chance to prove that they can hang with the big boys when they travel to Athens Friday night. Notre Dame is 1-17 against top five teams since 2000 including a 30-3 destruction at the hands of Clemson in last year’s college football playoff. The Dawgs are off to a 3-0 start and look like one of the best teams in the country. There’s simply no reason to believe this time will be any different for Notre Dame as they prepare to go up against Georgia’s star power, which includes quarterback Jake Fromm and running back D’Andre Swift.
Prediction: Georgia 42 Notre Dame 17