SEC

Mississippi State, Auburn meet in key Western Division game

Published Sep. 28, 2017 5:24 p.m. ET

Here are some things to watch in Week 5 of the Southeastern Conference football season:

GAME OF THE WEEK: No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 13 Auburn. This game could go a long way toward determining which program will be Alabama's main challeger in the SEC's Western Division. Auburn will try to build off its impressive blowout victory over Missouri . Mississippi State was fantastic in a 30-point win over LSU two weeks ago , but stumbled in a lopsided loss to Georgia last weekend.

MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: Tennessee running back John Kelly vs. Georgia run defense: Kelly has 450 yards rushing to lead the SEC. Georgia is allowing only 3 yards per carry and has given up just two touchdown runs through its first four games. Kelly needed 25 carries to reach 101 yards against winless Massachusetts last week, which suggests Tennessee could have its hands full trying to run the ball against Georgia's front seven.

NUMBERS GAME: Alabama is 1-2 against Mississippi and 43-2 against everyone else since the start of the 2014 season. Alabama did beat the Rebels 48-43 last year . ... Florida has a 9-1 record in one-possession games during Jim McElwain's coaching tenure. ... Mississippi State has allowed only one sack this season. The only Football Bowl Subdivision teams that haven't given up any sacks are Central Florida and Army. ... Auburn hasn't allowed more than 14 points in any game this season. The only FBS teams to match that feat are Minnesota and Wisconsin. ... Georgia is seeking its 800th win in program history this week. The Bulldogs have a 799-418-54 record. ... LSU has had a 100-yard rusher in 12 straight nonconference games heading into its Saturday matchup with Troy.

UPSET WATCH: Florida is a 10-point favorite at home against Vanderbilt even though the Gators haven't looked particularly impressive and needed a big fourth-quarter comeback to beat Kentucky last weekend. Vanderbilt is coming off a crushing 59-0 loss to No. 1 Alabama , but otherwise the Commodores have looked like a much-improved program.

IMPACT PERFORMER: Florida's Luke Del Rio has regained his status as the Gators' starting quarterback after coming off the bench and leading a comeback at Kentucky last week. Del Rio threw a game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute as Florida rallied from a 27-14 deficit to edge the Wildcats 28-27 . Del Rio, the son of Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio, started six games in 2016 but hadn't played in the Gators' first two games this year.

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AP Sports Writers Steve Megargee in Knoxville, Tennessee, and David Brandt in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this story.

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More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .

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