SEC football burning questions for Week 4

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While Arkansas faces Tulsa this Saturday, SEC football bursts into action with a lot of huge games. Let's tackle the foremost questions in the conference for Week 4.

1 – Are the struggling QBs ready to bounce back?

John Mateer of Oklahoma goes to Georgia to face Kirby Smart's defense. Marcel Reed of Texas A&M goes to LSU at night. Are these quarterbacks ready to stop making mistakes? Are they ready to become positive elements of their respective teams? Or, will they continue to drag down their offenses and essentially hijack their teams' seasons? It's prove-it time for two embattled college football players.

2 – Can Ole Miss avoid the trap situation in Gainesville?

The reason why Florida opened earlier this week as a favorite over Ole Miss is obvious. The Rebels played a very emotional and taxing game against LSU, and now a lot of people (including those in Las Vegas) expect them to let down their guard and not have a lot of fuel in the tank for a road trip to Florida. If the Rebels can win here, they will prove they are built for the long haul. If not, they will once again be doubted. Moreover, they will hurt their chances of finally making the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, something they have still never done since the SEC title game began in 1992.

3 – Is Arch Manning ready to play a complete game on the road?

Texas struggled for much of last season, especially on the road. The Longhorns probably should have lost at Mississippi State but somehow (and barely) escaped. Tennessee is waiting for the Longhorns in Knoxville, where Peyton Manning once played. Is Arch Manning ready to take ownership of the Texas offense and become the commanding figure the Longhorns have always hoped he would become? He hasn't been that guy. His fourth-quarter comeback against Ohio State was special, but it came after three below-average quarters. Can Arch Manning become a 60-minute elite quarterback? That's the question we're all asking. Dominating an SEC road game against a not-terrible opponent would be the start of real improvement for Arch and Texas.

4 – Who wins the hot seat bowl?

Kalen DeBoer is going to be on the hot seat at Alabama if he loses to Shane Beamer and South Carolina. DeBoer isn't convincing anyone in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama looks like a team which will get pounded by better SEC opposition later this season. Shane Beamer is on his last legs at South Carolina after losing to Mississippi State at home. The loser of this game is likely to not survive into 2027 at his current school.

5 – Is Mississippi State for real?

If the Bulldogs beat Missouri in a very intriguing welterweight-level SEC game this weekend, it might be time to take Jeff Lebby's group seriously. It's also a game Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri need to win if they want to be viewed as an upper-level SEC program.

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