This Week in the SEC-Week 11
It was a fairly crazy week of football. Arkansas nearly pulled off the upset of the year against Mississippi State. Florida looked like a whole different team and destroyed Georgia, and oh, Auburn went into Oxford and beat the Rebels in a shootout. We are nearing an end to the regular season, but there are still many key matchups left, including one that is the Game of the Week.
Week 11 SEC Power Rankings:
1) Mississippi State (5-0, 8-0)
Last week rank: 1
Last week: W 17-10 vs 9) Arkansas
This week: vs Tennessee-Martin SkyHawks
If MSU struggled against Arkansas, then they may have some trouble against Tennessee-Martin.
2) Auburn (4-1, 7-1)
Last week rank: 5
Last week: W 35-31 at 6) Ole Miss
This week: vs 13) Texas A&M
The way both Auburn and A&M have been playing, the line for this game should be -20056 Auburn. Maybe more.
3) Alabama (4-1, 7-1)
Last week rank: 2
Last week: Bye
This week: at 4) LSU
Will Bama’s dreams come to die in Death Valley?
4) LSU (3-1, 7-2)
Last week rank: 4
Last week: Bye
This week: vs 3) Alabama
To answer the last one, Les Miles says YES.
5) Missouri (4-1, 7-1)
Last week rank: 7
Last week: W 20-10 vs 8) Kentucky
This week: Bye
And just like that, Mizzou is in first place in the East.
6) Florida (3-3, 4-3)
Last week rank: 13 (yep)
Last week: W 38-20 vs 3) Georgia
This week: at 14) Vanderbilt
Florida moved up SEVEN spots in the power rankings, and are back in the SEC East race. Yes, those are both true. Somehow.
7) Georgia (4-2, 7-2)
Last week rank: 3
Last week: L 38-20 vs 13) Georgia
This week: at Kentucky
I said the Georgia-Florida game wouldn’t be close. I was right, just expected a different winner.
8) Ole Miss (4-2, 7-2)
Last week rank: 6
Last week: L 35-31 vs 5) Auburn
This week: vs Presbyterian
Ole Miss should be able to stop the bleeding against Presbyterian? Right?
9) Tennessee (1-4, 4-5)
Last week rank: 12
Last week: W 45-42 at 10) South Carolina
This week: Bye
Only took Butch Jones 13 tries to win his first SEC game. But in all seriousness, congrats to the Vols on the hard fought win; you’ve deserved one.
10) Kentucky (2-4, 5-4)
Last week rank: 8
Last week: L 20-10 at 7) Missouri
This week: at 7) Georgia
I’m not going to make any more Kentucky basketball jokes….but maybe the Cats are looking forward to basketball season…
11) Arkansas (0-5, 4-5)
Last week rank: 9
Last week: L 17-10 at 1) Mississippi State
This week: Bye
Arkansas is the best 3-quarter team in the SEC.
12) South Carolina (2-5, 4-4)
Last week rank: 10
Last week: L 45-42 vs 12) Tennessee
This week: Bye
And the year just keeps getting worse and worse for SC.
13) Texas A&M (2-3, 6-3)
Last week rank: 11
Last week: W 21-16 vs Louisiana-Monroe
This week: at 2) Auburn
Kenny Hill was a Heisman contender a month ago. He’s not even a starter now.
14) Vanderbilt (0-5, 3-6)
Last week rank: 14
Last week: W 42-28 vs Old Dominion
This week: vs 6) Florida
Actually kind of surprised that Vandy beat Old Dominion.
Game of the Week
#4 Alabama at #14 LSU
Saturday, 7:00 CT, CBS
Saturday night in Death Valley; doesn’t get much better than that. Just two weeks ago, Ole Miss’ dreams came to die at the hands of Les Miles and his Tigers. Now walks in Alabama in a similar situation, trying to keep their playoff hopes alive. But I’m sure Les Miles has other plans. It’s primetime football for Game of the Week.
The Breakdown:
LSU’s defense surprised everyone against Ole Miss. They had struggled for a majority of the year, and then out of nowhere they completely shut down Bo Wallace and the electric Rebel offense, holding them to only seven points. Let me remind you that this is the same defense that allowed 566 yards at Auburn. How could they have improved so rapidly? Only LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis knows the answer to that question, and that is a scary thing for Bama to know that LSU is back to being LSU again on the defensive side of the ball. However, Alabama has weapons to attack them. After struggling for a little while, Crimson Tide quarterback Blake Sims has picked things back up, throwing for 554 yards, 5 TD’s and no picks the last two games. He’s had a little help from Amari Cooper, who has been by far the most explosive receiver in the country with 1,132 receiving yards and nine touchdowns already this season, including 224 yards in the last game against Tennessee. LSU’s secondary will be facing their toughest test of the year on Saturday.
Prediction:
LSU’s offense has gotta step it up if they want to win. Their backfield has looked good, but quarterback Anthony Jennings has not improved at all. Alabama’s defense is very solid, and he cannot afford to make bad decisions. LSU’s strategy will be very similar to what they had against Ole Miss. They will run the ball a majority of the time, and mix in a little play action and read option. And, of course, they will have help from the Tiger Stadium crowd. If you thought the Ole Miss game was electric, oh boy, wait until you see the atmosphere on Saturday night. Because of that, I like LSU in this one. They are at home against an Alabama team that is good, but not as good as they usually are. The Tigers still have a lot to play for and if something crazy happens, they may squeak into the SEC Title game, so don’t think LSU won’t match Alabama’s intensity. It will be tight all the way to the final whistle and Alabama’s dreams will come to die in Tiger Stadium.
Score: #14 LSU 20, Alabama 17
Other Games to Watch:
Texas A&M at #3 Auburn
Upset Alert:
#14 LSU over #4 Alabama
I will be in Baton Rouge for the Game of the Week. Follow me on Twitter for all the updates from LSU: @WScottCSM
