Matt Stinchcomb on Georgia vs. LSU, Florida’s rise, Texas A&M’s improvement

The biggest game of the weekend will be between the Georgia Bulldogs and the LSU Tigers. Matt Stinchcomb previews it, as well as the rest of the SEC.

We’re pretty much in the second half of the 2018 college football season. Once again, the SEC looks to be the best conference in the Power 5 with an impressive eight teams ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll. This includes the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation in the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs, respectively.

We are also in the heart of SEC play, as all 12 teams playing this week will be taking part in conference games. Only the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats and the No. 24 Mississippi State Bulldogs will be on a bye. However, the biggest game down south this week is No. 2 Georgia playing at the No. 13 LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.

To help us break down this huge SEC matchup on Saturday is none other than ESPN college football analyst Matt Stinchcomb. Stinchcomb spoke with FanSided on behalf of Allstate to promote the AFCA Good Works Team.

Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made this squad for his great work in the Athens community. He joins Stinchcomb as the 18th Georgia player to make this team since its creation in 1992.

“Georgia might be the better team, but they will have to play their most complete game of the season to win in Death Valley.” – Matt Stinchcomb on Georgia vs. LSU.

When asked about how having Blankenship join Georgia’s legacy of high-character guys, Stinchcomb would say, “well, first off. Rodrigo is a great guy. He’s an excellent kicker for my alma mater, but we can’t overlook the great work the great work he has done on and off the field and in his community to make a difference. We’re proud to have him and the rest of the great student-athletes to join this year’s team.”

Blankenship maybe be a very high-character guy, but his team will need his accurate right leg to win in a hostile environment on Saturday at LSU. Georgia might be more than a touchdown favorite over LSU, but Stinchcomb anticipates a closer game than that. He wouldn’t be wrong in feeling this one coming down to the wire.

“I anticipate this one to be a very close game,” Stinchcomb replied. “LSU is going to come into this game hungry after being upset on the road by cross-divisional rival Florida. Georgia might be the better team, but they will have to play their most complete game of the season to win in Death Valley, something they haven’t quite yet done this season.”

Stinchcomb is right in that Georgia hasn’t played a complete game thus far. Despite being 6-0 overall and 4-0 in SEC play, Georgia has yet to dominate a single SEC opponent from the opening kickoff through the final whistle. LSU will be the Dawgs’ toughest matchup so far this season. However, we have seen Georgia amp up their intensity in the second half in most of their games this season, especially last week at home versus the Vanderbilt Commodores.

As for LSU, the Bayou Bengals are being run through the gauntlet. If we include last week’s loss at Florida, heart of the Tigers’ SEC schedule is at Florida, home versus Georgia, home versus Mississippi State, bye, then home versus Alabama.

“It’s a trying month for sure for LSU, but it does help that they won’t play any more games this month on the road,” said Stinchcomb. “That bye before hosting Alabama helps, but to what degree? That remains to be seen.”

We should also point out that LSU ends its SEC slate in late November at Kyle Field versus the improving Texas A&M Aggies. In the first year of the Jimbo Fisher era in College Station, we’ve seen the Aggies look vastly improved over what was a chaotic year in Kevin Sumlin’s final season.

Stinchcomb was very impressive by the Aggies’ win over Kentucky in overtime last week. Though he really likes both teams going forward, Stinchcomb had some flattering praise of Fisher’s bunch over in College Station.

“Texas A&M is 4-2, but their two losses are to two of the best teams in college football in Alabama and Clemson. While their win over Kentucky was impressive, their game versus Arkansas was not. However, with the way this team is playing, Texas A&M might end up being the second best team in the SEC West at the end of the season.”

“However, with the way this team is playing, Texas A&M might end up being the second best team in the SEC West at the end of the season.” – Matt Stinchcomb on how good can Texas A&M be this season.

We know that Fisher can coach. He won a national title leading the ACC’s Florida State Seminoles in 2013. With the amount of talent in-state in Texas, it would be only a matter of time before Fisher got Texas A&M humming.

But to see them as the second best team in its own division seems a tad strange, unless you really think about it.

Texas A&M has already played its two hardest opponents in Alabama and Clemson. The Auburn Tigers look to be worse than we expected. Mississippi State may not be a 10-win team after all under new head coach Joe Moorhead, formerly the Penn State Nittany Lions offensive coordinator.

Keep in mind that LSU is being run through the gauntlet and could be also-ran by the time the Tigers get to Kyle Field in late November. In essence, Texas A&M is trending up. Though not an undeniable blue-blood, Texas A&M is poised to pop under Fisher in year two in 2019 at the very least.

But let’s not forget about the team they beat in Kentucky. When asked who the second best team in the SEC East is right now, Stinchcomb still sided with Kentucky as “they are more polished than Florida right now. However, at the end of the season, it could very well be Florida.”

Florida was a mess when former Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen arrived in Gainesville. He used to be the offensive coordinator there for former head coach Urban Meyer, but man, how times have changed. Even though Kentucky broke the streak on them in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida is 5-1 and has rattled off three-straight SEC wins since that early-season defeat.

The Gators should be able to beat Vanderbilt on Saturday ahead of their huge neutral-site rivalry with Georgia down in Jacksonville on the 27th. A discrepancy in on-field talent certainly favors Georgia in that neutral-site affair. However, Florida is now feisty under Mullen, and we know the great job Mullen does in elevating two and three-star talent from his time in Starkville.

If you really think about it, the SEC East is starting to improve. Florida and Kentucky are probably two and three in some order after Georgia. The Missouri Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks are probably bowl teams, while Vanderbilt and the Tennessee Volunteers are probably rounding out the rear.

Entering play on Saturday, five SEC teams remain winless in conference play (Arkansas, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt). When assessing that hierarchy, Stinchcomb sees Missouri as the best of the quintet with Arkansas bringing up the rear. He likes the defensive line talent for the Tigers, as well as their first-round talent at quarterback in Drew Lock.

With Missouri still having Arkansas, Tennessee and Vanderbilt left on the slate, the Tigers will surely win some conference games to achieve bowl eligibility. However, it’s tough sledding for Chad Morris in Arkansas with his Razorbacks.

“They are more polished than Florida right now. However, at the end of the season, it could very well be Florida.” – Matt Stinchcomb on who is better: Kentucky or Florida.

Stinchcomb and I talked about this before. Arkansas is making a huge transition from ground-and-pound on offense under former head coach Bret Bielema to uptempo spread under Morris.

The Hogs won’t be able to move mountains over night. The gap between them and presumably the sixth best team in the SEC West in Ole Miss is vast.

Overall, Stinchcomb and I feel good about the state of the SEC. There are a handful of ranked teams, a few national title contenders in Alabama and Georgia, but only two teams really struggling right now in Arkansas and Tennessee.

Before I ended my conversation with Stinchcomb, I had to ask him who would make the College Football Playoff if the season ended today (October 12). His four teams in would be Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Clemson, with Georgia and West Virginia as the first two out.

Two teams could get in from the SEC this year, but the interesting wrinkle is certainly Notre Dame as an independent. The Fighting Irish could definitely take a spot from an ACC, Big 12 or Pac-12 champion in 2018 should they go undefeated at 12-0.

Next: The 15 blue bloods of college football

It’s always great talking ball with Stinchcomb. It’s also great to see schools like Florida, Kentucky and Texas A&M help beef up the middle of the SEC when it had previously been a top-heavy conference. Here is to a great slate of games this week.

Please visit ESPN.com/Allstate to vote for the captain of the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.