SEC this week: No. 4 Texas hosts No. 1 Buckeyes in a high-stakes Saturday night rematch

Things to watch this week in the Southeastern Conference:

Game of the week

No. 1 Ohio State at No. 4 Texas, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

No. 1 Ohio State heads to No. 4 Texas for a Saturday night rematch of last year’s season opener. Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin and Texas signal-caller Arch Manning each bring a year of starting experience to the field this time. Both quarterbacks come off 3-plus touchdown performances in a pair of dominant Week 1 wins over Group of Six teams.

The Week 1 loss a year ago left Texas fighting an uphill battle for much of the season last year with little room for error. This matchup offers the slightly favored Longhorns a chance to get it right this time with an early resume booster in Manning’s revenge tour for a College Football Playoff bid.

The undercard

No. 11 Oklahoma at Michigan, Saturday, noon ET (FOX)

Oklahoma and Michigan entered their season debuts as more than 27-point favorites, but that’s where the similarities end. As Oklahoma rolled past UTEP with a 51-0 win, the Wolverines relied on a second-chance Hail Mary to beat Western Michigan 13-12.

Michigan now has a talented Sooners team to prepare for, and quarterback Bryce Underwood has a job to fight to keep.

Oklahoma entered the season with 14 returning starters, including quarterback John Mateer, who picked up where he left off with a 225-yard and three-touchdown performance in Week 1.

Impact players

— Nate Frazier: The Georgia running back only needed five minutes to notch two rushing touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 63-3 rout of Tennessee State. The 5-foot-10 running back finished with 72 yards and three touchdowns — on four carries.

— Deuce Alexander: Ole Miss’s 41-38 win against No. 24 Louisville was a coming-out party for Alexander, who was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week after connecting with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss for 159 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions.

— Faizon Brandon: The freshman Tennessee quarterback accounted for 294 total yards and five total touchdowns in his debut for the Volunteers. Brandon was 13-of-17 for 226 passing yards and three touchdowns, the ran for more 68 yards and two more scores.

A look at the numbers

The SEC was undefeated in Week 1 for the first time since 1997, going 16-0. … Mississippi State accounted for a conference-high 762 yards of offense in its 62-13 win against Louisiana-Monroe. … SEC teams outscored opponents by 602 points or an average of 37.6 points in Week 1. … Florida running back Jadan Baugh leads the conference with 160 rushing yards. … Deuce Alexander’s 159 receiving yards were the most among SEC teams in Week 1. … Tennessee’s Xavier Gilliam had a conference-high three sacks and five tackles for loss vs. Furman.

Honorable mentions

No. 12 Alabama and Kentucky kick off conference play, with the visiting Crimson Tide 10.5-point favorites. Alabama leads the all-time series 39-2-1 dating back to 1917.

No. 18 Tennessee visits Georgia Tech and hopes to avoid a trap as nearly two touchdown favorite. The Yellow Jackets have a strong roster on paper and plenty of newcomers looking to put the pieces together and change the narrative after a brutal 14-13 loss to Colorado.

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