If you’re a fan of college football, then you’re in for a real treat this weekend, particularly in the SEC. There’s no shortage of intriguing, if not crucial matchups all across the league’s footprint. The first game on the docket will feature the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville. It will be the first ever meeting between the two institutions. Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman finds himself firmly entrenched on the proverbial hot seat. Last weeks collapse at Memphis certainly didn’t help, but if the Razorbacks can pull off the upset at home versus a Notre Dame team with zero room for error, the flames underneath the seat in which Pittman occupies will be reduced to a medium low. The Irish enter the game as a 4.5 point road favorite. Kickoff is set for 11:00 Central on ABC. At 11:45 a surging Vanderbilt Commodore team will take on the Aggies of Utah State on the SEC Network. Although this matchup is not getting the same fanfare that other high profile games are garnering, it’s an intriguing matchup nonetheless. The high flying Aggie offense could cause a few problems for the Commodores, but when you have Diego Pavia as your quarterback, there’s no reason to worry, right? Vandy comes in as a 22.5 point favorite. This one could be a touchdown fest. Auburn, coming off a tough loss at Oklahoma last weekend, must now travel to College Station to face Texas A&M. The Aggies, fresh off what was perceived as an upset of Notre Dame in South Bend last weekend, are riding high, feeling their oats if you will. This one should be riveting. Auburn, despite playing very well at Oklahoma, still lost the game, and if the Plainsmen have any serious aspirations of a postseason playoff appearance, then this one is borderline critical. The Aggies have not scored less than 40 points in either of their three contests to date, but haven’t necessarily set the world on fire stopping people from scoring, either. Still, A&M is favored by 6.5, and winning there for Auburn will be a difficult proposition. The game, scheduled for 2:30, will air on ESPN. Then there’s the other 2:30 game, this one on ABC, that pits fourth ranked LSU against what appears to be a much better than expected Ole Miss team, currently ranked thirteenth nationally. The Grove should be rocking for this one, as will the crowd inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. While a loss, because of the expanded playoff, will not greatly impact either team, one gets the feeling that home wins will be a premium this season, and in this case the onus is on Ole Miss. The Bayou Bengals will enter the contest as, surprisingly enough, a 1.5 point underdog. One of the more interesting games on Saturday features a Tennessee Volunteer squad who’ll travel to StarkVegas to face unbeaten, yes you read it right, unbeaten Mississippi State. Jeff Lebby has his Bulldogs playing extremely well, and the atmosphere inside Davis-Wade Stadium should be frenzied. Will the Vols be slightly let down, enough so to allow Mississippi State to hang around until the fourth quarter? For their sake, they better not be. Tennessee comes into the game established as a 7.5 point favorite. Scheduled to kickoff at 3:15, the game will air on the SEC Network. Then there’s Alabama at Georgia. The Crimson Tide, who come in to the game a 2.5 point underdog, (which apparently Georgia finds offensive), is facing a gargantuan task. The ‘Dawgs own a 33 game winning streak between the hedges and are no doubt salivating for elephant meat, the red elephant kind. If you’re superstitious, then being a Georgia fanatic cannot be conducive to feeling particularly giddy. And for good reason. Alabama, regardless of the last name of their head coach, has owned the Bulldogs, particularly inside of the state of Georgia, where they have not tasted defeat since the 2003 season, a span of twenty one years. Without question, Alabama is in a near must win situation. The game will air on ABC at 6:30. Also airing at 6:30, fittingly on ESPNU, is the dud of the week where UMASS travels to Columbia, Missouri where they will serve themselves as cage food for Eli Drinkwitz and his Missouri Tigers. To their credit, Missouri is off to a fantastic start, and last week took down their Columbia town namesakes in the form of the Gamecocks of South Carolina on the road. Speaking of South Carolina, Shane Beamer’s squad will host the Kentucky Wildcats at 6:45 at Williams-Brice Stadium in what is essentially an elimination game for both teams. Not surprising for Kentucky, but definitely so for Beamer’s Gamecocks. South Carolina will enter the game as a 6.5 point favorite. All in all, this weekend’s games should be maddening in nature and compelling to watch. In fact, it might be a good idea to have a razor and cream nearby, because I have a strong inclination that most of these games will get hairy in the end.