Manziel looking to poach the Tigers on their home turf

Records: Texas A&M (8-2, 4-2 SEC); LSU (7-3, 3-3

SEC) Time: 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday

Outlook: If Les Miles is worried about how his embattled defense will hold up against Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M’s relentless, up-tempo offense, he isn’t showing it.

The ninth-ranked Aggies’ visit to Death Valley on Saturday will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference, as well as some of college football’s best receivers and running backs -- seemingly all the needed ingredients of a high-scoring affair.

No. 18 LSU (7-3, 3-3) has opened as a four-point favorite and has been good at home, winning all five contests this season.

Yet its defense has been inconsistent and shaky at times. In LSU’s last game -- a 38-17 loss at Alabama two weekends ago -- the Tigers’ defense looked strong in the first half before wilting in the second, when the No. 1 Crimson Tide put together three unanswered touchdown drives, turning a tense 17-all tie into a laugher.

Now LSU must contend with Manziel, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, whose talent, according to Miles, is unsurpassed in college football.

Manziel has accounted for 300-plus total yards in 19 straight starts. He racked up 500 total yards against an Alabama defense that leads the SEC with 272.8 yards allowed per game.

Texas A&M’s 578 yards per game and scoring average of 49.2 easily lead the SEC. Auburn ranks second with 499.9 yards per game and Missouri is second in scoring with 41.3 points per game.

Miles said his defense will need to be good at getting off the field on third down to avoid wearing down against A&M’s up-tempo offense. The coach added that LSU plans to rotate at least two players at every defensive position, and as many as three players at some spots, to stay fresh.

LSU cornerback Jalen Mills said the Tigers defense is bracing for a test of stamina.

LSU, which had a bye last week, also has been using explosive receiver and kick returner Odell Beckham Jr. as the scout team quarterback, whose job is to mimic the opposing team’s starter in practice against the firstteam defense.

LSU is also hoping to control the football, which will put a premium on its ability to run as much as it may like the passing chemistry quarterback Zach Mettenberger has had with top receivers Beckham and Jarvis Landry.

A&M (8-2, 4-2) has scored more than 50 points in winning its past three games, and another big offensive showing could result in its first victory in three meetings with LSU since moving to the SEC. Neither of the past two, though, was played at Baton Rouge.

THE REST OF THE MATCHUPS

Missouri at Ole Miss

Records: Missouri (9-1, 5-1 SEC); Ole Miss (7-3, 3-3

SEC) Time: 7:45 p.m. ET Saturday

Outlook: Quarterback James Franklin is returning to the starting lineup in time for Missouri’s final push toward the SEC championship game.

The No. 8 Tigers will need to get past two ranked teams to make it to Atlanta, beginning with a visit to No. 24 Mississippi on Saturday night.

Franklin hasn’t started the past four games because of an injured right shoulder, but Missouri (9-1, 5-1) has remained atop the SEC East by winning three of four with freshman Maty Mauk under center. The lone defeat, 27-24 in overtime to South Carolina on Oct. 26, kept the Tigers from an easy path to the conference title game.

The Gamecocks have finished 6-2 in the conference and need just one slip-up from Missouri to head to Atlanta. The Tigers end the regular season with a home game against No. 9 Texas A&M and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel on Nov. 30.

Franklin will try to keep his team in position for a trip to the SEC championship game -- in only its second year in the conference -- by picking up where he left off.

The senior threw for 1,577 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions before getting injured in the fourth quarter of a 41-26 win at Georgia on Oct. 12, surpassing his 2012 performance in three fewer games.

Franklin played in two late series in the Tigers’ most recent game, a 48-17 rout of Kentucky on Nov. 9, but handed the ball off on each of his five snaps.

Missouri will likely face another challenge with a trip to Ole Miss (7-3). The Rebels knocked off then-No. 6 LSU 2724 on Oct. 19 as part of their current four-game win streak.

Ole Miss has averaged 42.8 points during that run and topped 500 yards in each game, but the last three have been against teams that have a combined 9-22 record. The Rebels broke a school mark with 751 yards in a 5121 victory over Troy last Saturday.

Ole Miss has played well this season against some of the top teams in the SEC and the nation. It lost by a combined 11 points to Auburn and Texas A&M in October, and a 25-0 defeat to top-ranked Alabama on Sept. 28 is the Rebels’ only lopsided one this season.

Missouri is allowing 111.9 yards per game on the ground but has been vulnerable through the air, ranking last with 274.9 yards allowed. That would appear to be good news for Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace, fourth in the league with 266.4 passing yards per game, but the Tigers also lead the SEC with 34 sacks and 17 interceptions.

Michael Sam’s 10 sacks top the conference, and E.J. Gaines is tied with Ole Miss’ Cody Prewitt and two others for the SEC lead in interceptions with four. The Tigers have forced at least one turnover in 40 consecutive games, the nation’s longest active streak.

Ole Miss is facing Missouri for the first time since a 38-25 home loss Sept. 8, 2007. Pinkel will try to earn his 100th win with the Tigers in this visit and move within one of matching Don Faurot’s school record. Coast Carolina at South Carolina

Records: Coast Carolina (10-1); South Carolina (8-2, 6-2 SEC) Time: 1:00 p.m. ET Saturday

Outlook: South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said he won’t rest anyone healthy for this week’s game against Coastal Carolina.

But he said Tuesday he is taking the opportunity of playing the Football Championship Division opponent to tinker with the lineup for his No. 12 Gamecocks (8-2).

Sophomore tailback Shon Carson will get his first start Saturday as Southeastern Conference leading rusher Mike Davis recovers from an ankle sprain. Spurrier said Davis may be in uniform, but could use the rest. Carson ran for 102 yards last week in a 19-14 win over Florida.

Spurrier is trying to keep his team focused even as they wait to see if Missouri stumbles and sends South Carolina to the SEC title game and have a regular season-ending game with Clemson on the horizon.

He pointed out Coastal Carolina won a share of the Big South Conference title and is 10-1. He talked about how the Chanticleers are in the top 10 in the country in scoring offense and rushing and are the best team in the FCS converting third downs and scoring in the red zone.

Spurrier used the common line coaches have about Coastal Carolina winning if they play good and the Gamecocks play poorly. But his coaching record doesn’t reflect that. Spurrier is 47-0 against teams outside the BCS in his 24 years coaching.

Coastal Carolina is getting $375,000 to come to Columbia as part of South Carolina’s ongoing effort to play in-state FCS teams.

Moglia isn’t ready to give this one to the Gamecocks either. But his Chanticleers are in the bottom half of FCS in total defense allowing 418 yards a game and are going against a South Carolina offense that gains 449 yards a game and is set to shatter the school record for average total offense by almost 20 yards.

As the season winds down, South Carolina has several other marks to play for. The Gamecocks have the longest winning streak in a home stadium in college football at 16 victories. If the Gamecocks beat Coastal Carolina, they would reach nine wins for the fourth straight season. In 116 seasons before 2010, South Carolina reached nine wins just twice.

Shaw can set a record too. A win Saturday would be his 25th as a starter, topping Todd Ellis’ mark of 24 wins.

Vanderbilt at Tennessee

Vanderbilt (6-4, 3-4 SEC); Tennessee (4-6, 1-5

SEC) Records:

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday

Kentucky at Georgia

Records: Kentucky (2-8, 0-6 SEC); Georgia (6-4, 4-3 SEC) Time: 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday

Chattanooga at Alabama

Records: Chattanooga (8-3); Alabama (10-0, 7-0 SEC) Time: 2:00 p.m. ET Saturday

Georgia Southern at Florida

Records: Georgia Southern (6-4); Florida (4-6, 3-5 SEC) Time: 2:00 p.m. ET Saturday

Mississippi State at Arkansas

Records: Mississippi State (4-6, 1-5 SEC); Arkansas (3-7, 0-6 SEC)

Time: 2:00 p.m. ET Saturday