Texas A&M-Texas will compete for the spot in the SEC Championship Game in a renewal of the traditional rivalry

Things to watch this week in the Southeastern Conference.

Game of the week

No. 3 Texas (10-1, 6-1, No. 3 CFP) at No. 20 Texas A&M (8-3, 5-2, No. 20), 7:30 PM ET (ABC).

This Texas-sized matchup highlights rivalry week in the Longhorns’ first year in the league, and the stakes are high. The winner will face No. 6 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, which would be a first not only for the rookie Longhorns but also for the Aggies.

The Longhorns will likely make the playoffs anyway, but Texas A&M needs to win to keep their hopes alive after that falling 43-41 against Auburn in a four-overtime game.

The rivals haven’t met since 2011, when the Aggies moved to the SEC. Now they are finally reunited in the same league and same stadium. Texas and Texas A&M split the final six meets before the break.

Texas A&M’s dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed will face one of the best defenses in the country. Texas ranks second nationally in total defense (247.5 yards per game) and pass defense (143.5) while allowing the third-fewest points (12.1 per game).

Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers has passed for 2,089 yards and 23 touchdowns against six interceptions.

The Longhorns put a 10-game winning streak in an opponent’s home stadium on the line, the longest active streak in the country.

According to the BetMGM Sportsbook, Texas is favored by 5 1/2 points.

The undercard

No. 7 Tennessee (9-2, 5-2, No. 8 CFP) at Vanderbilt (6-5, 3-4), Saturday afternoon ET (ABC).

The Volunteers can secure a play-off spot with a win over their domestic rival in a match that is certainly more meaningful nationally than in recent years. They are also chasing their second 10-win regular season.

Tennessee has won the last five meetings and 35 of the last 41.

It’s the first daytime road game of the year for the Vols, who have played four SEC night games away from home.

Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia faces the nation’s No. 4 scoring defense, which allows just 13.1 points per game. Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson, who has a school-record 22 touchdowns, leads the SEC’s top rushing attack.

Sampson’s first career 100-yard game came as a freshman against Vandy in 2022, when his 131 yards included an 80-yard touchdown.

Impact player

Georgia QB Carson Beck leads his team against rival Georgia Tech with a chance to potentially clinch a playoff spot regardless of what happens in the SEC title game. Beck has six touchdown passes and no interceptions in the past two games against No. 7 Tennessee and UMass. Before that, he had a period of four games in which he was collectively eliminated nine times. Beck has passed for 3,132 yards and 23 touchdowns, but has 12 interceptions. The other three picks were losses to No. 13 Alabama.

Within the numbers

Barring some setbacks elsewhere, the Iron Bowl against Auburn will be a rare game without national title implications for Alabama. Since the 2008 season, that has only been the case for six of 201 regular-season games: the last three games in 2010 and the last three in 2022. … Georgia is seeking its fifth straight undefeated home season and seventh straight win over Georgia Technology. … Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart enters the Mississippi State game 49 yards shy of Eli Manning’s career record of 10,119. …No. 24 Missouri will be Arkansas’ seventh opponent, which is ranked at the top of the nation. The Razorbacks are 0-6 in Columbia. … The Louisiana-Monroe and Texas A&M games marked the first time Auburn ever had a 100-yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers in back-to-back games.

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