Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which feels appropriate because the SEC has spent most of October scaring the hell out of anybody foolish enough to think they had the conference figured out.

Georgia climbed to No. 1 and immediately lost at home to Auburn. Auburn celebrated that upset for approximately seven days before LSU showed up and beat the Tigers 38-17. Texas went from No. 1 in the country to consecutive losses against Oklahoma and Florida, then responded last Saturday by beating Ole Miss 34-27. Tennessee beat Alabama convincingly, then turned around and lost 27-24 at South Carolina. Kentucky keeps quietly winning football games while everybody talks about somebody else, and Alabama finally stopped its two-game skid by handling Texas A&M 31-20.

Basically, October has been one long warning against getting comfortable.

This week gives us only five SEC games, but one of them is Florida-Georgia, so I don’t think anybody is going to complain about the lack of quantity.

Especially because for the first time in decades, Florida and Georgia are not meeting in Jacksonville.

They’re going to Atlanta.

On Halloween.

With both teams ranked.

Yeah, that’ll do.

No. 17 Florida vs. No. 3 Georgia

2:30 PM CT — ABC — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

For the first time in more than 90 years, Florida and Georgia are taking this rivalry somewhere other than Jacksonville.

That alone would make this week’s game interesting.

Everything surrounding it makes it considerably better.

Georgia enters at 6-1 and ranked No. 3 after an open week, meaning the Bulldogs have had two full weeks to sit around thinking about Auburn walking into Athens and beating them 27-24. Florida is 5-2 and ranked No. 17 after its own open date, with the Gators coming off one of their biggest victories of the season: a 27-24 road win at Texas.

So both teams arrive rested.

One arrives angry.

The other arrives believing.

And that is a fun combination.

Georgia has dominated this rivalry recently. The Bulldogs have won five straight against Florida, their longest streak in the series since winning six in a row from 1978 through 1983. Georgia won last year’s meeting 24-20, and Kirby Smart’s program has spent most of the last half-decade entering this game ranked among the very best teams in the country.

That part has not changed.

Georgia leads the SEC in scoring offense at 43 points per game and scoring defense at 15.9. The Bulldogs are averaging nearly 470 yards of offense while allowing only 276.4, and Gunner Stockton has completed more than 74 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns against four interceptions.

Those are ridiculous numbers.

But Florida has shown enough this season that I don’t think the Gators are walking into Atlanta merely hoping to survive.

The Texas game changed the conversation.

Florida had lost consecutive SEC games to Missouri and South Carolina after beginning the year 4-0, and it looked like the season might be slipping away. Then Tramell Jones Jr. made his first career start at quarterback in Austin and helped Florida erase a 14-point deficit to beat Texas. Jones finished 22-of-35 for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while Jadan Baugh ran for 91 yards and a score.

Now Florida has a quarterback question rather than a quarterback disaster.

Aaron Philo has been dealing with a shoulder injury after starting the first six games, while Jones earned himself a legitimate argument after the Texas win. Florida coach Jon Sumrall said both have taken first-team reps this week, and he has not publicly committed to either one.

Whoever starts gets the significantly harder assignment.

Georgia’s defense is still Georgia’s defense.

The Bulldogs allow only 91.4 rushing yards per game, which creates an immediate problem for Florida because so much of the Gators’ offensive identity begins with Baugh. If Georgia takes away the run and forces Florida into obvious passing situations, the game can get away from the Gators very quickly.

Florida’s path is pretty straightforward.

Run the football well enough to keep Georgia honest. Avoid turnovers. Keep the score uncomfortable into the fourth quarter.

That last part matters because Georgia has already shown it can be dragged into ugly games. Alabama lost to the Bulldogs 20-17. Auburn beat them 27-24. The invincible version of Georgia that simply swallowed everybody whole has not appeared every Saturday this season.

And rivalry games do not tend to care what the spreadsheet says anyway.

The change to Atlanta adds another wrinkle. Jacksonville became such an inseparable part of Florida-Georgia that seeing this played inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium is going to feel strange regardless of how beautiful the building looks. Georgia is technically the home team, and Atlanta certainly isn’t neutral in the same way Jacksonville has traditionally been.

But Florida isn’t traveling across the country either.

This is still Florida-Georgia.

The uniforms will look right.

The hatred will travel.

And somebody’s season is going to look considerably different around 6 PM Saturday.

I think Florida makes this interesting.

I think Baugh gives Georgia enough trouble to prevent the Bulldogs from completely controlling the game.

But Georgia has had two weeks to think about Auburn, Kirby Smart almost never loses consecutive regular-season games, and the Bulldogs are simply more complete on both sides of the ball.

Florida scares them.

Georgia survives.

Gary’s Pic: Georgia

Auburn at No. 12 Ole Miss

11:45 AM CT — SEC Network — Oxford, Mississippi

Auburn has managed to become one of the most confusing teams in the SEC.

Two weeks ago, the Tigers walked into Athens and beat No. 1 Georgia.

Last Saturday, LSU walked into Jordan-Hare and beat Auburn 38-17.

College football is helpful like that.

Now Auburn heads to Oxford to face an Ole Miss team dealing with its own emotional whiplash.

The Rebels entered last weekend ranked No. 7, went into Austin carrying legitimate Playoff hopes, and left with a 34-27 loss after Texas scored ten unanswered points in the fourth quarter and stopped Ole Miss from tying the game on the final possession.

That dropped Ole Miss to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the SEC.

And now the Rebels’ margin for error is considerably thinner.

Pete Golding said this week that Ole Miss has reached the point where its “backs are against the wall,” which is about as direct as a coach is going to be in late October. The Rebels also have a significant problem at running back with Kewan Lacy unavailable, meaning Makhi Frazier, Shakai Mills-Knight and JT Lindsey will all need to help carry the load.

That changes the matchup.

Trinidad Chambliss has thrown for 1,926 yards, and Ole Miss has shown throughout the season that it can generate explosive offense, but the Rebels have also struggled with slow starts. Golding acknowledged that problem again this week, and Auburn is exactly the kind of team you do not want to spend a half allowing to believe it can win.

Because Auburn has already shown what happens when you let it hang around.

Byrum Brown is the biggest reason.

Brown has thrown for 1,365 yards and leads Auburn with 479 rushing yards, giving the Tigers a quarterback who can completely change a possession when protection breaks down. Ole Miss has specifically identified containing Brown’s legs as one of the priorities this week.

Georgia learned that lesson the hard way.

Brown ran for 115 yards against the Bulldogs, repeatedly extending drives that looked finished and helping Auburn control enough of the game on the ground to pull off the upset.

So Ole Miss cannot treat last week’s Auburn loss as evidence that the magic disappeared.

The Tigers are dangerous.

They’re also inconsistent.

And that is the part that makes them difficult to trust.

Auburn has already proven it can beat one of the best teams in America. What the Tigers have not proven is that they can reproduce that level of football consistently.

Ole Miss has problems of its own, especially without Lacy, but the Rebels are home, they know another loss could seriously damage their postseason ambitions, and I expect a much more urgent performance than we saw during portions of the Texas game.

Auburn makes it annoying.

Brown makes a few plays that have everybody in Oxford muttering unpleasant things.

But Ole Miss eventually pulls away.

Gary’s Pick: Ole Miss

South Carolina at Oklahoma

3:15 PM CT — SEC Network

Well, South Carolina certainly has everybody’s attention again.

The Gamecocks went into Gainesville and hammered then-No. 16 Florida 38-19, took a week off, and came back last Saturday to knock off Tennessee 27-24 on a walk-off field goal. That gives South Carolina back-to-back wins over ranked opponents and makes this trip to Norman considerably more interesting than it would have looked a few weeks ago.

Oklahoma comes in after finally stopping its own losing streak with a 23-15 win at Mississippi State. The Sooners rushed for 184 yards after entering the game averaging only 92.5 per contest, and their defense held Mississippi State to 3-of-16 on third and fourth downs combined.

That was not exactly an offensive masterpiece, but Oklahoma needed the win.

Now the Sooners get South Carolina at home.

This feels like the sort of game where both teams spend three quarters trying to convince me the other one should be favored.

South Carolina just beat Tennessee, but consistency has been the problem all season. Oklahoma has had similar issues, particularly offensively, yet the Sooners are at home and showed signs last week of finally establishing something on the ground.

I trust Oklahoma slightly more.

Which probably means South Carolina will win by 17 because that’s how October has gone.

Pick: Oklahoma

Mississippi State at No. 11 Texas

6:30 PM CT — ESPN

Mississippi State showed some fight last Saturday.

The Bulldogs lost 23-15 to Oklahoma, but they finally found the end zone again after going eight quarters without a touchdown, and they were still within one possession late in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, the quarterback situation remains a concern.

Kamario Taylor returned against Oklahoma after missing the LSU game with a foot or toe injury, but he completed only two of five passes before leaving after taking another hit in the first quarter. Backup Blake Puckett finished the game and helped make the final score respectable.

Now Mississippi State goes to Austin.

Wonderful timing.

Texas finally stopped its two-game skid last week by beating Ole Miss 34-27, climbing back to No. 11 and reminding everybody that the Longhorns still have enough talent to be dangerous despite the losses to Oklahoma and Florida. Texas scored ten unanswered points in the fourth quarter and then stopped Ole Miss from forcing overtime on the final possession.

I like Mississippi State’s competitiveness.

I do not like this matchup.

Texas appears to have stabilized, the game is in Austin, and the Bulldogs may once again be dealing with uncertainty at quarterback.

This feels like the kind of night where State hangs around for a quarter or two before Texas’s depth takes over.

Pick: Texas

No. 23 Missouri at Arkansas

6:45 PM CT — SEC Network

Missouri had an extra week to think about what happened in Oxford.

The Tigers entered their Oct. 17 game against Ole Miss ranked No. 13 and left with a 31-3 loss in which they moved the football better than the score suggests but repeatedly failed to finish drives. Austin Simmons threw for 339 yards, yet Missouri came away empty from multiple trips deep into Ole Miss territory.

Then Missouri got a bye.

That is probably exactly what the Tigers needed.

They return ranked No. 23 at 5-2 and still have a very respectable season sitting in front of them if they can avoid letting the Ole Miss loss become something larger.

Arkansas is the kind of opponent that makes that slightly uncomfortable.

The Razorbacks are not having a great season, but Fayetteville at night has never been the sort of place where visiting SEC teams should expect a peaceful evening. And with Missouri trying to rebuild some confidence offensively, an early Arkansas touchdown or turnover could make this considerably messier than the rankings suggest.

Still, Missouri has shown more across the full season.

The Tigers’ defense has been good enough to keep them in games, and Simmons proved at Ole Miss that he can generate yards even when the scoreboard refuses to cooperate. After a bye week, I expect Missouri to be much sharper inside the red zone.

It may not be pretty.

But I think the Tigers get back on track.

Pick: Missouri

SATURDAY’S PICKS

I’ve got Georgia over Florida in the Game of the Week, Ole Miss over Auburn in the second Game 2 Watch, Oklahoma over South Carolina, Texas over Mississippi State and Missouri over Arkansas.

That’s it.

Five games.

No Sleeper Game of the Week again, because if we’re down to five SEC games and already giving two of them full previews, calling another one a “sleeper” starts feeling like we’re handing out participation trophies.

The good news is the schedule lays out beautifully.

Auburn-Ole Miss starts us at 11:45 in Oxford. Florida-Georgia takes over the afternoon at 2:30 on ABC. South Carolina-Oklahoma follows at 3:15, and then Mississippi State-Texas and Missouri-Arkansas give us two night games to finish Halloween.

And the main event really could not be more appropriate.

Florida. Georgia.

Halloween afternoon.

A rivalry that has spent most of the modern era in Jacksonville suddenly transplanted into Atlanta, with Georgia trying to protect its SEC championship and Playoff ambitions while Florida arrives believing it can beat another ranked team on the road.

There are probably easier ways to spend a Saturday.

But they wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

No. 17 Florida vs. No. 3 Georgia is the Titanquisitor Game of the Week.

Auburn at No. 12 Ole Miss gets the second television.

And after the way October has gone, I am making absolutely no promises that any of these picks survive until supper.

Happy Halloween from the Halls.