It is slim pickings during week five in the SEC East as three teams have bye weeks. Georgia and Missouri are going on byes following big wins while Tennessee searches for anything to salvage the 2019 season. While those teams prepare for week six, Florida and Vanderbilt will have matchups against non-conference opponents and Kentucky will square off with South Carolina in Columbia.
Vanderbilt vs. Northern Illinois – 11 a.m. (SEC Network)
Vanderbilt is 0-3 and has not looked good doing it with bad defensive efforts. The Commodores are giving up 46 points per game. They are coming off a game against LSU where they allowed 66 points and 600 yards. Quarterback Riley Neal and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn look to build on solid performances and put everything together against a Northern Illinois team that has not shown up against Power Five teams.
Florida vs. Towson – 3 p.m. (SEC Network)
Florida follows up their dominant win over Tennessee with a matchup against FCS Towson, who is ranked number 10. They were a top five team until falling in a thriller to Villanova last week. The Tigers have scored 40 plus points in three out of their four games, so this is as big of an FCS test as Florida could face. Florida is still trying to settle in backup quarterback Kyle Trask following Feleipe Franks injury. Trask has impressed in the two games he has filled in passing for over 400 yards combined against Kentucky and Tennessee. Florida will look to take the next step on offense before hosting Auburn in a potential top 10 matchup.
South Carolina vs. Kentucky – 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
This SEC East matchup features two teams who have not started their season strong as both are 0-2 in SEC play. Both teams are without starting quarterbacks and have heavily relied on their running game to stay in games. Both backup quarterbacks have been efficient with few mistakes. Sawyer Smith at Kentucky has passed for almost 600 yards while Ryan Hilinski at South Carolina is over 700 yards. A win for either team would be the breakthrough they need to push towards a winning season.
