Heart Attack Auburn: SEC Power Rankings After Week 12
There have been great finishes in the SEC season, but maybe none better than the Georgia-Auburn game, when both sides thought they’d won the game. In the end, it was Georgia fans who were once again delivered the heartbreak, once again by a defense who couldn’t do their job properly and a Lady Luck who would not stop by their dressing room.
Elsewhere, the Florida misery continued with a loss to South Carolina, Alabama was pretty awful in their win over Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt out-yawned Kentucky in a yawner. Ole Miss levelled Troy.
Anyway, here are our SEC Power Rankings this week.
1. ALABAMA – Struggled in their game with Mississippi State, giving up four turnovers and generally looking complacent. Nick Saban – the architect of the joy when he jumped into AJ McCarron’s arms after the all-too-sweet LSU victory – will be giving the team a lot to think about with Auburn in two weeks time. This week? It’s Chattanooga. You know, because everyone wants to see Chattanooga visit Alabama.
2. AUBURN – The Immaculate Reception On The Plains wasn’t Auburn skill, and it wasn’t Nick Marshall brilliance or Gus Malzahn outthinking Mark Richt. It was dumb luck. Look, if Auburn play as well as they did in the first half against Georgia, they’ll give Alabama problems. If they play as badly as they did in the fourth quarter, then the game will be over before half-time, with Auburn fans running for the exits.
3. MISSOURI – Now come the two biggest games of the Tigers’ season: A visit to Ole Miss and Texas A&M’s visit to Columbia. We can’t wait. If the Tigers win the next two games, they play Alabama at the Georgia Dome. If they don’t, then South Carolina go to the Championship Game, despite the fact that the Gamecocks’ SEC match-ups are now over. At Ole Miss, they’ll have to use their wide receiving talents, and their solid pass rush. But be warned: Ole Miss is on fire at the moment.
4. SOUTH CAROLINA: “We aren’t a very good football team and we coulda/shoulda lost/hell, why should I be coaching when I could quite easily be playin’ golf?” says Steve Spurrier weekly about his football team. Maybe his quotes provide daily bulletin board material. But whatever it is, it’s working. Sacarelina is rolling.
5. TEXAS A&M: The Aggies didn’t do themselves any favors this week after giving up 35 to Bye Week on Saturday. The good news is that the Aggies put up 55 to get the ‘W’. Next Saturday the Johnny Football Show visits Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
6. OLE MISS: Right now, there is no team in the nation hotter than Ole Miss. Hugh Freeze has got this team energized, getting a little healthier. Missouri had better watch out.
7. GEORGIA: We say this once and we’ll say it again: Fire Todd Grantham. Now.
8. LSU: Jeremy Hill’s great. Odell Beckham’s great. Jarvis Landry’s great. Zach Mettenberger’s great. The LSU defense isn’t.
9. VANDERBILT: The Commodores are bowl-eligible. They made it after a horrible battle against Kentucky, when no side deserved to win. Some love must go to Vandy’s ‘D’ – they had four interceptions.
10. MISSISSIPPI STATE: After battling for four quarters against Texas A&M (when they could quite easily have given up) and then giving Alabama everything it could handle in Starkville, Dan Mullen’s given the program a little more pride again. And this team is young. Maybe there IS some hope of the Bulldogs beating the Rebels over Thanksgiving Weekend.
11. FLORIDA: “Let the season end NOW. PLEASE” – Florida fans.
12. TENNESSEE: The Vols move downwards because they were slapped by Florida, but the 11th and 12th positions are pretty even. Tennessee’s defense – especially against the rush- ain’t good though.
13. KENTUCKY: Throwing four interceptions won’t endear people to the ‘New Air Raid’ scheme that Mark Stoops has been talking about. Bring on basketball.
14. ARKANSAS: Bye Week 35, Arkansas 14.