SEC football schedule, week 9: Can Mississippi State beat Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium?

Things are heating up in the SEC and week nine of the 2023 SEC football schedule should feature some fascinating games to watch.

This weekend, SEC football fans have plenty of great and fascinating games on the schedule to watch. There are plenty of pivotal conference matchups on tap and that includes some fun rivalry action and some underrated matchups. Between those rivalry showdowns, upstart challengers, and championship hopefuls, this weekend should be great.

The game in Jacksonville will be the clear favorite for a lot of folks to watch, but there should be several other closely contested games lined up for SEC football fans this weekend.

Unbeaten SEC East leader Georgia hasn’t always played perfect football, but they can beat up on their rival in Jacksonville (and Florida has a great chance to spoil an unblemished Bulldogs season).

Meanwhile, clear underdogs in the Vanderbilt Commodores and South Carolina Gamecocks plan to make things interesting against the Ole Miss Rebels and Texas A&M Aggies respectively.

SEC football schedule week 9: What games are on today?

Let’s take a look at all of the SEC football games on the schedule this weekend.

South Carolina (2-5, 1-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (4-3, 2-2 SEC) Saturday, 11 a.m. CT on ESPN

Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies have looked wildly inconsistent all season, but they’ve been tough to face in College Station. Can a stout A&M defense cause problems for a South Carolina team that absolutely needs a win to get to bowl eligibility?

Mississippi State (4-3, 1-3 SEC) at Auburn (3-4, 0-4 SEC) Saturday, 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network

Speaking of bowl eligibility, both the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers would like to secure a spot in a bowl game. Zach Arnett’s first year has been full of underwhelming moments while Hugh Freeze’s first season has been full of bizarre shortcomings. Which team comes out on top of this one? Probably the team that finds something that resembles an offense.

Florida (5-2, 3-1 SEC) vs. Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC) Saturday, 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS

Over in Jacksonville is the biggest SEC game of the week. There are major implications in the SEC East race for both the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators. If Georgia shows up and plays a complete game, then this should be wrapped up by the time the third quarter wraps up. But Billy Napier needs a big rivalry win to help ease some of the pressure on him. If he manages an upset here, the SEC East (and college football playoffs picture) gets interesting in a hurry.

Tennessee (5-2, 2-2 SEC) at Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) Saturday, 6 p.m. CT on ESPN

Tennessee needs a chance to bounce back after a frustrating loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide last week. So, they’re taking a trip to Lexington, Kentucky. The Wildcats haven’t always played great football, but if they can get after Joe Milton and cause some headaches for Tennessee’s QB, then this game might end up as an interesting matchup.

Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4 SEC) at Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC) Saturday, 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network

Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels have proven they have some serious firepower on offense. It seems absolutely absurd to expect Vanderbilt, of all teams, to be able to keep up with the Rebels this weekend.