SEC Week One Preview: Ole Miss vs. Georgia State, Texas–Ohio State; Times and TV

OXFORD, Miss. — Yes, we finally get Southeastern Conference football this week. Some games are blockbusters, some can be used in place of NyQuil. But the most important thing is we have games.

Here is a glance of what the SEC is in for on week one, along with times and TV designations.

Thursday

Central Arkansas at Missouri: 6:30 p.m., SEC Network

This is a good way for the Tigers to slide into the season. Mizzou will have time to find its feet after the departure of Brady Cook and Luther Burden. Now the offensive keys are in the hands of Penn State transfer Beau Pribula.

Missouri is not going to be at a loss for leadership. The team elected nine players to serve as team captains this season.

UCA is not ranked in the initial FCS poll, but the Bears did receive five votes. On the other hand, Harvard got 40 preseason votes.

There will be no excuse for Central Arkansas but to get lost in Columbia. The Bears’ roster features defensive backs L.J. Hewitt and Marcus Scott. Both are transfers from Missouri.

Friday

Auburn at Baylor: 7:00 p.m. CT, Fox

Give Auburn credit for not opening the season with a cupcake.

Not only are the Tigers going to play Power 4 Baylor, they are going to Waco to do it. Coach Hugh Freeze will be matching wits with one of the best defensive minds in college football in Baylor coach Dave Aranda.

Auburn will also debut a new quarterback, Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold. What a way to welcome a new signal caller to the team — going against an Aranda defense.

Watch out for Auburn defensive end Keldrick Faulk. The guy is a beast.

This will be the first time Baylor has played a regular-season game against an SEC team since losing at Texas A&M in 2014. Since then, the Bears are 2-2 against the SEC in bowl games.

Saturday

No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State: 11:00 a.m. CT, Fox

The moment college football fans have been waiting for — the debut of Arch Manning as the Texas full-time starting quarterback for the Longhorns.

Coach Steve Sarkisian has been patient with Manning during his time in Austin. Now the QB will get a baptism of fire at the Horseshoe in an 11 a.m. kickoff. There will not be much time that day for the butterflies to start fluttering for Manning.

His game plan might be a tad simplified as former Alabama defensive back Caleb Downs is now wearing scarlet and gray. He could be the best cornerback in college football.

Texas has one of the best defenses in the game and they will have to contend with OSU receiver Jeremiah Smith, while another Alabama transfer, Justin Sayin, will get the start at quarterback for the Buckeyes.

Syracuse vs. No. 24 Tennessee in Atlanta: 11:00 CT, ABC

Even though this game is played indoors, fans should bring their sunglasses due to all of the orange in the building.

It appears the Vols’ quarterback roulette wheel has finally settled on a number. Nico Iamaleava is now in Los Angeles and transfer Joey Aguilar will be taking the snaps for Tennessee. Aguilar is a bit of a globe trotter. In less than a calendar year, he has been on three rosters in a pair  of different time zones. He played last season in the eastern time zone (Appalachian State), spent the spring in pacific time (UCLA) and now has settled back in the eastern zone (Tennessee).

Syracuse may not be what it was in the Donovan McNabb days, but don’t sleep on the Orange. Last season, the team went 10-3 and ended the season on a four-game winning streak including a win over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.

Oh yeah, the Orange scored 30 or more points in ten games last season. Be careful, Vols.

Mississippi State at Southern Miss: 11:00 a.m. CT, ESPN

A rivalry game of sorts. No one will confuse this one with the Egg Bowl, but at least USM gets an SEC team to visit Hattiesburg.

There are a lot of things new with the Golden Eagles. A new coach in Charles Huff who made the lateral move from fellow Sun Belt school, Marshall. While in Huntington, Huff led the Thundering Herd to four bowl bids in four years.

But they only played in three. Last year, Marshall had so many players jump into the transfer portal, it could not field a team for the Independence Bowl.

Jeff Lebby starts his second season in Starkvegas and he needs an opener like this. He is a great offensive mind, but he is still getting his feet wet as a head coach. After the USM game, State gets Arizona State, Alcorn State and Northern Illinois.

The Bulldogs should get off to at least a 3-1 record so they have that going for them. MSU also has one of the great names on its roster. Fred Jerome Forrest is a linebacker on the squad, but he goes by his nickname. It will be cool when the State public address announcer says, “tackle by Fatt Forrest.”

Toledo at Kentucky: 11:45 a.m. CT, SEC Network

Mark Stoops enters his 13th season in Lexington, and it is a good thing the Rockets are the opener for UK.

The Wildcats will have the well-traveled Zach Calzada at quarterback — he has spent time at Incarnate Word, Auburn and Texas A&M and even that experience may not help. After Toledo, the Cats get Ole Miss and trips to South Carolina and Georgia in the next four games.

Kentucky has been to bowl each season since 2016 but Toledo has had some success as well.

Last year, the Rockets were 8-5 and proved they are not afraid to spend some time on the field. Last season, Toledo beat Pitt 48-46 in the Game Above Sports Bowl. It took six overtimes to settle that one.

Marshall at No. 5 Georgia: 2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN

The biggest challenge for the Bulldogs is to keep the fans in Samford Stadium in the second half.

Marshall’s new coach Tony Gibson should issue those “Hello, my name is…” name tags to his team. After the majority of last year’s Thundering Herd team left via the transfer portal, Gibson had to hit the portal to fill his roster.

All but 23 players for the Herd are transfers.

Gunner Stockton will be the man in charge on the field this season for Kirby Smart’s Georgia squad, and he will have some time to discover his supporting cast. After Marshall, UGA hosts Austin Peay.

That is the good news.

After those two, the Dawgs go to Tennessee and then host Alabama.

No. 8 Alabama at Florida State: 2:30 p.m. CT, ABC

If anyone saw this one on the schedule a couple of years ago, excitement would have been through the roof. Nick Saban against a re-emerging power.

But Saban is now on the ESPN College Gameday desk and FSU fell on hard times last season winning just a pair of games.

After a 9-4 first season in Tuscaloosa, coach Kalen DeBoer has probably discovered  that dog won’t hunt at Bama, He is looking for improvement in his second year and redshirt junior QB Ty Simpson gets the nod to lead the offense.

Florida State did not simply fall on its face last season, the Seminoles face planted. They mustered just two wins –a narrow win over Cal and an expected victory over Charleston Southern.

To try and get back where FSU is used to being, head coach Mike Norvell bought in transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos from Boston College, via UCF. Castellanos is familiar with Doak Campbell Stadium. Last season, he brought BC into town and threw a pair of touchdowns in a 28-13 Eagles’ win over FSU.

Castellanos did not sneak into Tallahassee. He has made some bold statements over the summer about how much improved the ‘Noles will be this season.

His first game will be a test. Either he will be a fortune teller or he will fall flatter than FSU did a season ago.

Alabama A&M at Arkansas: 3:15 p.m. CT, SEC Network

The good news for Alabama A&M is the Bulldogs feature former Alabama star Sam Shade, former Auburn stud Chris Shelling and former Georgia Tech standout Marco Coleman.

The bad news is that the trio is on the coaching staff and can’t suit up.

But the check should be nice to take back to north Alabama.

Taylen Green returns as a weapon at quarterback for the Razorbacks. Arkansas fans had better arrive at the stadium on time or they will not be seeing Green doing his thing on the field. He should be on the sideline before the end of the first quarter.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman will then be able to see what the rest of his roster can do in game conditions. And he should enjoy that luxury while he can.

After Saturday, the Razorbacks get a decent Arkansas State squad, followed by trips to Ole Miss and Memphis. Then Notre Dame comes to Fayetteville.

Illinois State at No. 18 Oklahoma: 5:00 p.m. CT, ESPN+/SECN+

Illinois State is no slouch. A season ago, the Redbirds were 10-4 and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Now Illinois State is preseason number six in the FCS poll. But that is the bright side.

On the other hand, the Redbirds have never defeated an FBS team.

Oklahoma has a new sheriff in town, QB John Mateer, and hopes are running high in Norman and why not? Last year at Washington State, Mateer threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns. He was also on every “Watch List” imaginable.

Should he get off to a good start against Illinois State, the OU sports information department will be getting into Heisman mode.

Long Island University at Florida: 6:00 p.m. CT, ESPN+/SECN+

Well, the Sharks will be in familiar territory to open the season at least. LIU has 14 players on its roster from the state of Florida, including Todd Bowles, Jr., the son of the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .

The team is also well acquainted with the Southeastern Conference. Players on its roster hail from Knoxville, Tenn., Fayetteville, Ark., Oxford, Miss., Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Lexington, Ken.

Head coach Ron Cooper went to LIU after being an assistant at Alabama. He has also been an assistant at Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina as well and serving as head coach at Louisville.

For Florida, the mission is simple — get D.J. Lagway out of the game as soon as possible. The guy has talent, but the injury bug seems to follow him around.

Seriously, Gators, don’t tape his ankles too tight, make sure his cleats are tied using double knots and even ensure the sideline Gatorade is chilled to the temperature of his liking.

It is a long season and Florida really needs this kid.

UTSA at No. 19 Texas A&M: 6:00 p.m. CT, ESPN

Okay Marcel Reed, you’re up.

The redshirt sophomore is the next quarterback at Texas A&M. The question is, how long will he stay with the Aggies?

Zach Calzada had his shot. Now he is at Kentucky. Connor Weigman had an opportunity and he is currently at Houston.

Could Reed be next? That will be up to coach Mike Elko — and a few folks with checkbooks thicker than the Texas A&M media guide.

To start the season, the Aggies host the ever-dangerous Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners. Just last season, UTSA upset No. 24 Memphis. Knocking off ranked teams is nothing new to this bunch.

If the Aggies fall in the opener, or just get by UTSA and the fan base turns hostile, Reed could be looking for a new place to play.

Charleston Southern at Vanderbilt: 6:00 p.m. CT, ESPN+/SECN+

The darlings of college football last season are looking for a second act to their story.

Vanderbilt will be led again by quarterback Diego Pavia who won a petition for another year of  eligibility. Pavia is now 24, Tennessee starter Joey Aguilar is 24, and Memphis starting quarterback Brendon Lewis is 23. What does that mean? They are each older than Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans.

Clark Lea is now in his fifth year with the Commodores and he steadily makes improvement with his team.

After beating Alabama last season, Vandy went on to win four more, including a 35-27 victory in the Birmingham Bowl over Georgia Tech.

This year, with Pavia throwing to Eli Stowers, possibly the best tight end in college football, the Commodores could improve even more.

It all begins Saturday against Charleston Southern. The Bucs are not good. They were 1-11 last year, losing ten straight. The only win was a 24-20 thriller against Furman. Vandy is not Furman.

No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson: 6:30 p.m. CT, ABC

Tigers vs. Tigers. Death Valley vs. Death Valley. Heralded quarterback vs. Heralded quarterback.

LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier will don the coveted number 18 for the Bayou Bengals and will have a lot to live up to in the opener. Clemson’s Cade Klubnik is not exactly facing a junior varsity defense in this one.

Brian Kelly is looking to do something he has not done at LSU — win a season opener.

This one looks to be as evenly matched as it could be.

It might come down to one simple thing. The team that makes the least number of costly mistakes should win.

Georgia State at No. 21 Ole Miss: 6:45 p.m. CT, SEC Network

The Panthers come into Oxford with a new head coach, Dell McGee, a former assistant at Georgia and player at Auburn. GSU also has former NFL head coach Hue Jackson as the offensive coordinator so they will be prepared.

There are also a couple of familiar names visiting Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Georgia State running back coach Enrique Davis played for Ole Miss and was on the Rebels’ staff last year, while transfer Rashad Adams was in the Rebels’ offensive backfield.

Lane Kiffin is not going to let his team look past this one. Not only did GSU beat Vanderbilt last season, but in 2019 went to Knoxville and knocked off Tennessee 38-30.

This will be the coming out party for quarterback Austin Simmons at Ole Miss. He has all the talent in the world, but does not have all the experience.

With a talented corps of receivers he should gain some valuable reps before the Rebels head to Kentucky next week.

Sunday

Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina in Atlanta: 2:00 p.m. CT, ESPN

This has been dubbed the Beamer Bowl.

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is taking on his father Frank’s old team, Virginia Tech. The elder Beamer had a career where he went 280-144-4. His son has some work to do to catch up to his old man.

The younger Beamer has one advantage his father also had in his time in Blacksburg. Back in the late ’90s the Hokies had Michael Vick running all over the field and giving the opponents fits. South Carolina has LaNorris Sellers who can do the same thing.

Carolina needs this one. The Gamecocks face a brutal SEC schedule this year and it does not end there.

The final two games are against scrappy Coastal Carolina and it ends with a visit from Clemson.