It’s a massive slate in the SEC this weekend with two absolutely marquee games that on their own present an epic primetime matchup but combined create one of the better SEC weeks of the entire season.

Much to Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s dismay, the Alabama Crimson Tide landed the primetime night spot as they hit the road for Baton Rouge to play under the lights, but it’s a big week for Kiffin’s squad as well as they get ready to host Georgia.

With both Alabama and Ole Miss sitting at two losses, every game from here on out is a playoff game. Both Kalen DeBoer and Kiffin are under an immense amount of pressure to get it done this weekend, but who needs the big win more?

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A strong case could be made for each. For Kiffin and the Rebels, this is supposed to be the year. Going all in on the transfer portal along with one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Jaxson Dart having returned, it was by far the most hype the program has ever had entering a season.

Despite that, Dart and Ole Miss have found a way to lose two games already, one an inexcusable loss to Kentucky at home along with a road defeat against LSU. Kiffin has done a great job with the program, but he lacks the signature win. Ultimately, every time that the opportunity to break down the door and get to the next level has presented itself, the Rebels have fallen short.

But getting Georgia at home in what looks like a down year for the Bulldogs presents potentially the best opportunity Kiffin has had to establish his program as a power in the SEC.

For DeBoer, he’s entered a pressure cooker in Tuscaloosa. The way things have shaken out, a three loss team is not going to make the College Football Playoff. The shocking loss to Vanderbilt ended any good grace he had going into the year during the transition from Nick Saban.

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The most irrational portion of the fanbase is often the loudest, and if Alabama loses this game, DeBoer will be judged extremely negatively on the season as a whole as Tide fans have become spoiled and been conditioned to expect yearly title contention.

At the end of the day however, DeBoer is going to have more talent for years to come as he lays his foundation and gets guys in that he feels fits his system. Kiffin on the other hand in 2024 has the best roster he will ever have at Ole Miss and had a manageable schedule. Missing the playoffs with this team would feel like an ‘If not now, then when?’ for the Rebels head coach.

Nonetheless, both coaches desperately want the huge victory this week that has the potential to shape both their seasons and their perceptions among their fanbase.