No. 9 Tennessee, No. 8 Texas A&M put perfect records to test

Published Oct. 6, 2016 10:52 a.m. ET

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Here are some things to watch in the Southeastern Conference during Week 6 of the season:

GAME OF THE WEEK: No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Texas A&M: Tennessee is off to its first 5-0 start since its 1998 national championship season. Texas A&M has started 5-0 but finished 8-5 each of the last two seasons. The Aggies can show this year is different by beating Tennessee and earning their first 6-0 start since 1994, when they won their first seven games and finished 10-0-1. This marks the first regular-season meeting between these teams. Their two previous matchups - both Tennessee victories - came in the 1957 Gator Bowl and a Cotton Bowl that took place on Jan. 1, 2005.

MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams vs. Alabama run defense: Williams has rushed for 559 yards to rank second in the SEC. He's averaging 5.5 yards per carry. No. 1 Alabama is allowing only 68.4 yards rushing per game and 2.3 yards per carry. Alabama ranks third among all FBS teams in run defense.

NUMBERS GAME: LSU's 634 total yards in a 42-7 victory over Missouri last week represented the Tigers' highest total ever in an SEC game. ... Texas A&M has 12 touchdowns of 20-plus yards this season but has given up only two touchdown plays of 15-plus yards. ... Tennessee has trailed by at least 10 points in four of its five games this season. Since the start of the 2015 season, the Volunteers are 5-0 in games they have trailed by double digits. ... The Vanderbilt-Kentucky game this week features the SEC's top two tacklers. Vanderbilt's Jordan Cunningham has 52 tackles and Kentucky's Jordan Jones has 51. Jones has an SEC-leading 37 solo stops. ... Alabama's 17-game winning streak leads all FBS teams and is the second-longest streak of Nick Saban's coaching tenure. Alabama won 19 straight from 2009-10.

LONG SHOT: Vanderbilt is a 3-point underdog in a road game against Kentucky even though the Commodores have won four of the last five games in the series. ... Mississippi State is a 3-point underdog at home against Auburn. The line started with the Bulldogs as a 1-point favorite, but quickly turned to favor the Tigers.

IMPACT PERFORMER: Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald threw for 305 yards and ran for 110 yards in the Bulldogs' 47-35 win over UMass on Sept. 25. He's just the second QB in school history to accomplish the 300/100 feat, joining the recently departed Dak Prescott, who now starts for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. Only three QBs nationally have had a 300/100 game this season - Fitzgerald, Louisville's Lamar Jackson and Colorado's Steven Montez.

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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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AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org .