SEC Preview: Ole Miss hosts Tulane, Auburn at OU and more; Times and TV

OXFORD, Miss. – The fourth week of the Southeastern Conference season brings a variety of games. There are a couple of cupcakes still, some regional non-conference games and some interesting league contests.

Here is a look at the games this week.

ARKANSAS (2-1) at MEMPHIS (3-0), 11 a.m., ABC

The Razorbacks are coming off a loss at Ole Miss. Now they travel just across the border to play a Memphis team looking to notch an impressive win to impress the committee when it comes to playoff selection time.

This one is interesting simply because of the proximity of the two schools. Although Memphis is in Tennessee, when someone crosses the river border, they are in West Memphis, Ark.

Tickets will be at a premium for this one. The Liberty Bowl Stadium is in the midst of a major renovation. Therefore, the capacity this season is a mere 30,000.

UAB (2-1) at No. 15 TENNESSEE (2-1), 11:45 a.m., SEC Network

Another game between two teams that could visit one another’s campus in an easy drive.

The Vols dropped a heartbreaker last week to Georgia in overtime, while UAB were sunk by Navy in Annapolis.

This one could be competitive early as UT will probably take the Blazers lightly before turning on the jets to pull away. UAB is coached by former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer. It is too bad he cannot play in this one.

No. 22 AUBURN (3-0) at No. 11 OKLAHOMA (3-0) , 2:30 p.m., ABC

Call this one the Transfer Portal Bowl. This time last season, Jackson Arnold was playing at Oklahoma and now he will be starting at quarterback for Auburn against the Sooners.

That is just a side story in this one.

Both teams are ranked and undefeated in the young season. Oklahoma will enjoy home-field advantage, but that might be overrated.

Auburn has already won at Baylor this season.

However, Sooner transfer quarterback John Mateer is starting off hot. The Washington State transfer has compiled 944 yards and five passing touchdowns in his first three games as a Sooner, leading OU to a 3-0 start. He has also rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns.

TULANE (3-0) at No. 13 OLE MISS (3-0), 2:30 p.m., ESPN

This is the sneaky good game of the week.

Tulane has already beaten a Big Ten and an ACC team and would love to make it a clean sweep with an upset over the Rebels.

The Green Wave has BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff at quarterback while it is still up in the air who Ole Miss will start.

On Monday, Retzlaff was named the American Offensive Player of the Week following the third week of action.

He registered 356 yards of total offense and had four rushing touchdowns as Tulane remains undefeated with a 34-27 win against Duke. Retzlaff rushed for a game-high 111 yards on 17 carries and completed 15 of 23 passes for 245 yards. His four rushing touchdowns tied Tulane’s program record for a quarterback.

For the Rebels, will it be Austin Simmons who has been dealing with an ankle injury suffered against Kentucky two weeks ago? Or, will it be Trinidad Chambliss, the former D2 National Champion winner at Ferris State, who made quite the splash with his performance against Arkansas last week, throwing for 353 yards against Arkansas? We won’t get a clue from the SEC’s Availability Report as teams are not required to submit a report for non-conference games.

One thing is sure, Ole Miss had better not look ahead to next week’s meeting against LSU because Tulane is good enough to leave Oxford with a win.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (1-1) at MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-0), 3:15 p.m., SEC Network

Who had Mississippi State undefeated at this point of the season? Yeah right, me too.

State’s Blake Shapen seems to have a good grasp on coach Jeff Lebby’s offense. The Bulldogs’ defense has only given up 37 points in three games and 20 of them came in the win over No. 12 Arizona State.

Northern Illinois has won a tight one against Holy Cross and was beaten by Maryland. But the Huskies can be dangerous. They went to South Bend last season and won at Notre Dame and they beat Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

SOUTH CAROLINA (2-1) at No. 23 MISSOURI (3-0), 6 p.m., ESPN

South Carolina travels from one Columbia to another to face the Tigers.

Gamecock quarterback LaNorris Sellers took a shot to the helmet last week in a loss to Vanderbilt and had to leave the game and never returned.

His return this week is uncertain, but Carolina needs him healthy to force the Tigers’ defense to chase him around the field.

Beau Pribula transferred in from Penn State and has become the toast of the town for Mizzou. He is playing some of the best ball in the conference.

FLORIDA (1-2) at No. 4 MIAMI (3-0), 6:30 p.m., ABC

Florida, and coach Billy Napier in particular, need this one. Coming off losses to South Florida and LSU, the Gators cannot afford to lose this one because after Miami, UF has Texas and Texas A&M.

Carson Beck has not missed a beat after transferring from Georgia to Coral Gables.

The Hurricanes have already beaten Notre Dame and crushed the same South Florida team that beat the Gators this season.

GEORGIA STATE (1-2) at No. 20 VANDERBILT (3-0), 6:30 p.m., ESPNU 

Georgia State beat Vandy in Atlanta last season and the Commodores are using this as a revenge game. That is a nice storyline, but the Panthers have a new coach and many new players.

Diego Pavia and the Dores should take this one easily and look ahead to Utah State visiting Nashville next week.

Vandy should be 5-0 after these two games and will roll into Tuscaloosa a week later.

Now, if there is a revenge game, it is this one with Alabama being the team looking for payback.

SE LOUISIANA (2-1) at No. 3 LSU (3-0), 6:45 p.m., SEC Network

Although this looks like a glorified scrimmage, LSU needs to work out some offensive problems against the Lions. More importantly, Garrett Nussmeier needs to get out of the slump he is in.

Defensively, the Tigers picked off Florida’s D.J. Lagway five times last week and returned one of them for a touchdown.

SELA will be able to enjoy the check they will get Saturday, but this should not be close.

Looking ahead for the Lions, if they can have any success against LSU, they could parlay that for the rest of the season. SELA’s Southland Conference schedule appears to be navigable the rest of the way so the Lions could be an FCS playoff team.

SAM HOUSTON (0-3) at No. 8 TEXAS (2-1), 7 p.m., SEC Network+

Against the winless Bobcats, Arch Manning needs to develop some confidence because after this one, there are only conference games on the schedule.

The Longhorns open SEC play next week at a struggling Florida, but the week following Texas goes to Dallas to take on Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown.

Even if Manning continues to struggle, Steve Sarkisian does not have a lot of options. Backup quarterback Matthew Caldwell has only attempted three passes this season.

The Texas defense has been solid as it has surrendered just 31 points on the season and 14 of those came in the season opener at Ohio State.

Teams with a bye: 

Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas A&M