We're already past the halfway point in the 2012 college football season. In the Southeastern Conference three undefeated teams remain, while another four have only one loss. All are still in the championship hunt. Even Kentucky is still mathematically bowl eligible, at least for one more week. This is the part of the season where attrition and the schedule separate the contenders from the pretenders. Let's start the Rundown!
1. All is Right with the World Again.
November 26, 1964. On that day, nearly half a century ago, Alabama defeated Auburn 21-14 and drew even with the Tigers in the all-time series with 14 wins and 14 losses. Since that date, the Crimson Tide has not had a losing record against any team in the Southeastern Conference, that is, until the Missouri Tigers officially joined the SEC on July 1, 2012. To be sure, Mizzou had only played Alabama three times historically, but they held a 1-2 edge over the Tide going into Saturday's 42-10 win at Faurot Field. So, mark October 13, 2012 as the date that Alabama righted the ship and re-established itself as the preeminent team in the nation's preeminent conference.
2. Missed Opportunity.
On the heels of last week's 35-7 blowout of Georgia, South Carolina looked like a world beater. Unfortunately for the Old Ball Coach, LSU is no Georgia. The Tigers ran all over the Gamecocks defense, outgained Carolina 406 yards to 211, and scored more points (23) than they have in any other SEC game so far this season. While Carolina is a good team, and a formidable opponent at home, great teams have to be able to win on the road in the SEC. Spurrier has still never beaten LSU since taking over at Columbia, SC, and the Gamecocks missed another opportunity to stake its claim as the best team in the conference. With Florida up next on the schedule, Carolina needs to recover quickly to have a chance to return to Atlanta in December.
3. Will Auburn Go Winless in the Conference?
No one expected Auburn to be a great team this year, but the schedule looked to be fairly negotiable before the season began. Now, the Tigers are 1-5 with their one victory coming in overtime against Louisiana-Monroe. The Tigers didn't look terrible against Ole Miss - the Rebels led 24-20 going into the fourth quarter - before the wheels came off. Auburn has been outscored 65-3 in the fourth quarter this season, which hints at depth and an inability to finish games. The Tigers have Vanderbilt in Nashville next week. While the Commodores won't be an easy out, if Auburn doesn't get a win there they are unlikely to win a game in the SEC and Gene Chizik's job is in serious jeopardy.
4. SEC West is Not Dead Yet.
The media storyline last week was that, with Florida's win over LSU and South Carolina's dominant performance over Georgia, the SEC East had jumped back ahead of the SEC West, which was basically just Alabama & everyone else. Granted, Auburn has been abysmal and Arkansas has recovered from freefall by beating the two worst teams in the league. However, Mississippi State has continued to win, and made a real statement last night against Tennessee. The Bulldogs are likely to be undefeated when they stroll into Tuscaloosa on October 27th. Texas A&M has one of the best young quarterbacks in college football, have won every game since a close opening loss to Florida, and just eliminated the last potential BCS-buster on the road in a shootout. And reports of LSU's demise have been greatly exaggerated. As long as the Tigers' defense stays healthy, they have a shot in every game they play. While three teams are still vying for the SEC East title, four teams control their destiny in the West. Let's wait a few more weeks before we pull the plug.
5. The Good
(9) LSU 23, (3) South Carolina 21
Freshman tailback Jeremy Hill led the Tigers with 124 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, wearing down Carolina's defense and bringing enough offense to give the Tigers a hard-fought win. Hill's 50-yard TD with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter broke the game open and ran Les Miles' record in night games at Tiger Stadium to 36-1.
(1) Alabama 42, Missouri 10
For the second time this year, Alabama faced a once-formidable offense without its first-team quarterback. Alabama has outscored those opponents 94-10. The Tide outgained Mizzou 533 yards to 129 and seemed to be challenged more by a driving rainstorm and a nearly 40-minute lightning delay than by the Tigers.
(4) Florida 31, Vanderbilt 17
This looked to be the prototypical "trap game" for Florida, falling as it did between the LSU victory last week and the pending South Carolina matchup. The Gators haven't lost to Vandy since 1988, and despite sleepwalking through the first half, quarterback/tailback Jeff Driskel's 177 yards and three touchdowns on the ground ensured that Florida came out on top.
(19) Mississippi State 41, Tennessee 31
The Bulldogs were 5-0 coming into the game with Tennessee, but two of those wins were against the two worst teams in the SEC (Auburn, Kentucky), two were against Sun Belt teams, and one was over an FCS school. Needless to say, Mississippi State had something to prove against the Volunteers. Tennessee hadn't beaten a ranked team in the Derek Dooley era, and were still looking for a signature win. At the end of the day, State is riding its best start since 1999 and Tennessee fell to 3-3 on the season with top-ranked Alabama coming to Knoxville next weekend.
(22) Texas A&M 59, (23) Louisiana Tech 57
The Aggies jumped out to a 34-7 lead, then had to hold on as the Bulldogs, who came into the game undefeated, came roaring back. Louisiana Tech had an opportunity to tie the game at 46-all in the fourth quarter, but failed on the two-point conversion, which eventually turned out to be the margin of victory for A&M. Johnny Manziel broke his two-week-old SEC total offense record with 576 total yards (181 rushing, 395 passing) and scored six touchdowns.
6. The Bad
Arkansas 49, Kentucky 7
How bad is Kentucky? Against an Arkansas team with wins over Auburn and Jacksonville State, the Wildcats allowed 49 points and 533 yards in a game that was called with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter due to lightning. At this point, the early win over Kent State appears to have been overachieving.
7. The Ugly
Ole Miss 41, Auburn 20
The Rebels jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and then gave Auburn arguably its best quarter of football all season, allowing the Tigers to drive to two second-quarter touchdowns and recover an onside kick that led to a field goal and a 17-14 lead. Hugh Freeze didn't learn from last week's bonehead decision to attempt a fourth-and-one conversion run from the shotgun in Ole Miss territory, and was just as successful this time. Congratulations to the Rebels for breaking an ugly 16-game SEC losing skid. While they are much improved over last season, this team will be lucky to win another one this year.
8. Games to Watch in Week Eight
(9) South Carolina at (3) Florida
The road doesn't get any easier for the Gamecocks as they travel to The Swamp to face the Gators. Florida seems to be improving every week, while Carolina has to win to get to Atlanta without outside help. The Gators have dropped the last two to Spurrier. I don't think the Gamecocks will make it three in a row.
(6) LSU at (20) Texas A&M
The SEC's most prolific offense at home against the vaunted LSU defense. Can "Johnny Football" go off on the Tigers' D? Can Zach Mettenberger and Jeremy Hill produce enough offense to keep up with A&M? I think that the early kickoff, the 12th Man, and the letdown after playing both Florida and South Carolina in previous weeks will impede LSU enough to give A&M the upset.
(1) Alabama at Tennessee
On paper, this looks like an easy win, but this storied rivalry has seen a number of upset wins over the years. The game is in Neyland Stadium and the Volunteers are desperate for a win. Tyler Bray and his receiving corps, led by Justin Hunter and Cordarelle Patterson, will be the toughest test for Alabama's defense so far this season. I expect the Tide to pull out a late victory, but as Lee Corso is fond of saying, it will be "closer than the experts think."
3 comments:
I was away from a television all day Saturday. Your "rundown" posts keep me updated from week to week and offer sharp insight into the SEC.
Great post once again Karl. I have a question. Alabama has been able to play a lot of bench players so far this season. It is easy to pick out the offensive skill position players that standout but what about others. Have any defensive of special team players on the depth chart caught your eye so far? I am talking about guys much like Vinny Sunseri did last year?
I think Kenyon Drake has not only been a productive tailback, but he has stood out to me several times on kick coverage as well. I noticed a big play from Landon Collins this weekend on special teams. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Deion Belue aren't bench players, but I think they have both been fantastic in the secondary. My mid-season pick for most improved player all-around has been Cade Foster though. The five-yard move-up on kickoffs has really benefited him, and his field goal percentage is way up.
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