SEC Week 8 Preview — The Hunt For A Title Continues

South Carolina has fallen short of its goals to win the SEC East. In fact, the Gamecocks' focus now should be bowl eligibility. Now they look to break a two-game losing streak on Saturday against Furman. It goes without saying that struggling in this game would lead to a meltdown in Columbia.

Furman is seeing its own set of struggles in the FCS, which probably means that they will have a tough time keeping this one close. South Carolina has to overcome some issues on both sides of the ball, but those issues should not get in the way on Saturday. Expect the Gamecocks to win handedly against a much weaker opponent.

It is has yet to be determined just how good the Crimson Tide really is. This game against Texas A&M should clear up a lot of that. It is very important that the secondary is prepared for the Aggies' pass attack. Oddly enough, the real key will come down to how well the offense plays. The offensive line has to open up holes for the running backs. Sims is improving, but the Tide cannot rely on his arm for the entire game.

Texas A&M has started to cool down from the hot streak it was on earlier in the season. The Aggies are on a two game losing steak, but both losses come at the hands of two top 3 teams. It's no secret that Kenny Hill can move the ball and score quickly, but he has to stay consistent because you have to beat Alabama through the air. A&M also needs to take advantage of Alabama's current struggles offensively.

The last time the Aggies came to town a huge upset occurred. A small rivalry has started to form as a result. There is a lot on the line again this year as both teams try to stay in the hunt for a West division title.

Georgia lost their star running back Todd Gurley due to suspension last week. However, they responded by giving freshman Nick Chubb the ball 38 times in a 34-0 win over Missouri. Now the focus shifts to Arkansas. The Bulldogs cannot continue to rely so heavily on the ground game. QB Huston Mason has to become a threat through the air. On defense, Georgia can be successful as long as it slows down the rushing attack.

Last week, Arkansas did a phenomenal job of making Alabama's run game nonexistent, and it's very important that they do the same this week. Razorbacks QB Brandon Allen is in the same boat as Mason. He has to be two dimensional because the Bulldogs have one of the best rush defenses in the SEC. Arkansas has to get its ground game going and then go to the air in order to score points.

The Bulldogs are making a strong push to conquer a struggling East division but they'll have to go through their first SEC West opponent on Saturday.

Ole Miss continued its hot streak with a big win over Texas A&M last Saturday behind one of the best defenses in college football and a quarterback that seems to be getting better and better. In fact, Bo Wallace currently has the best completion percentage in the conference. As long as he stays consistent, Ole Miss should have no issue against Tennessee, but crazier things have happened before.

The Volunteers, on the other hand, are just trying to win their first SEC game of the season. They have played many of their opponents to close games but can never finish the job. Can Tennessee pull the upset this weekend? It's possible. The Vols have a defense that statistically is in the same category as the Rebels. It will be the offense that determines their fate.

Tennessee will need to pull out all of the stops in order to knock off the red hot Rebels. Even if it does not happen, it will be interesting to see how Ole Miss handles the pressure of having a target on its back.

Issues at quarterback have slowed down this Florida team from reaching its full potential. As the Gators prepare to host Missouri, they have to keep in mind that finding a way to score is critical even if that means relying solely on the ground game. On defense, they have the athleticism to keep up with a struggling Missouri offense as long as they limit Maty Mauk.

'Struggling' isn't a word many people expected to use when describing Missouri's offense especially this season. The Tigers have only scored in two out of the last 8 quarters played. So the key to winning is obvious: score points. To be a little more specific, they have to avoid turnovers. Missouri also knows that Florida is struggling at quarterback, so expect a lot of blitzes from this defense.

This game has all the makings to be a low scoring battle in the trenches. In other words, if you like high scoring affairs then point your TV remotes elsewhere. Otherwise, this should be a close game that may come down to the wire.

In what seems to be a recurring theme throughout the SEC, LSU is yet another team dealing with quarterback issues. Their quarterback will likely be Anthony Jennings, who has the lowest completion percentage in the SEC. Thankfully, the Tigers do have a reliable ground game to lean on. On defense, LSU is not as solid as years past, but it's still the strength of this team. However, it will have its hands full this weekend.

It is not too often you can say that about Kentucky. The Wildcats do not have any issues at quarterback, in fact, Patrick Towles and Jojo Kemp may be the best quarterback-running back combo in the SEC. On defense, Kentucky will likely put pressure on Jennings and challenge him to throw the ball. More importantly, they have to get off to a fast start and keep it that way.

The Kentucky-LSU series has seen some historical finishes over the last 10 years. From the "Bluegrass Miracle" to a triple overtime win in 2007, this game has been close no matter how good or bad these teams are. This one should be the same.