TUSCALOOSA, Ala./HOUSTON (AP)-The Southeastern Conference has the game of the week. The American Athletic Conference might have the most interesting set of games.
The marquee event of the college football weekend is No. 3 Georgia at No. 2 Alabama in a game that could very well be first of three meetings between the SEC superpowers. A conference title rematch in Atlanta would surprise no one and another meeting in the College Football Playoff would hardly be shocking.
The big uptick in offense in the SEC has made headlines during the first few weeks of the season, and no team is doing it better than Alabama. The Crimson Tide are averaging a gaudy 8.7 yards per play behind quarterback Mac Jones.
Georgia is one of the last remaining SEC teams that sort of looks like an old-school SEC team. Led by linebacker Monty Rice, the Bulldogs’ defense is tops in the nation, allowing 3.7 yards per play.
If Georgia can’t figure out a way to slow down Alabama, there probably isn’t one.
The Cougars finally opened their season last week. They were sloppy but still ran away from Tulane. Now No. 14 BYU comes to town. Those Cougars, led by quarterback Zach Wilson, rolled through their first three games before facing some four-quarter competition last week for the first time against UTSA.
It’s a good opportunity for both BYU and the American to raise their credibility in a year where the Power Five conferences are mostly playing among themselves.
As for Tulane, it doesn’t get any easier for the Green Wave this week with No. 17 SMU coming to New Orleans on Friday night.
On Saturday, No. 8 Cincinnati goes to Tulsa, where the Golden Hurricane are looking to spring another upset after beating UCF.
Maybe the most entertaining game of the day outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will be played at Memphis. The Tigers and UCF have won the last three AAC titles and played some wildly entertaining games over the past few years. But both are coming off losses and another L this early would be tough to overcome in the conference race.
Note: LSU (plus 11 1/2) at No. 10 Florida is not included because the Gators are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak and it’s unclear whether the game will be played.
