Missouri's blown 4th quarter lead and inexplicable defense on 4th and 15 in overtime against South Carolina has given Gamecock, Bulldog, and Gator fans some hope to representing the SEC East in Atlanta this year. Fans immediately took to the interwebs to see what potential tie-break scenarios should multiple teams finish the season with 2 losses. I am pretty sure it looked something like this fire drill from The Office with the HBC playing the roll of Dwight sparking things up...
Elsewhere, it was a fairly dull weekend on the CFB front. But here's what struck me...
1) Top Heavy - Like that senior girl you drooled over in high school when you were a freshman, it appears that college football is pretty top heavy this year. Based on their blowouts of teams this weekend, Bama, Oregon, and FSU appear to be head and shoulders the three best teams and it doesn't seem close. However, I've seen reports that there's still close to a 40% chance a 1 loss team could play for the NC. So don't freak out Stanford fans.
2) Falsies? - I'd throw in Ohio State as they beat down a decent Penn State team, but lets not kid ourselves. Those other three teams would be a significant favorite over the Buckeyes.Their best win has been over an improving Wisconsin team. Then there's Baylor. We'll find out about them in the coming weeks. Up to this point, they've played a pretty tame schedule, but things kick into high gear for them as the season draws to a close.
3) NERDS! - Congrats to the Duke Blue Devils on their second straight year of bowl eligibility. This is the 1st time in Duke history that this has happened. Part of it may be due to the schedule that the ACC affords them, but they clinched their 6th win against a Virginia Tech team that has a stout defense and was ranked 14th. The real reason Duke has found some success though is David Cutcliffe can flat out coach. I was never sure why Ole Miss found a reason to get rid of him but he's doing some pretty good things in Durham.
4) Kegger This Weekend - As this site primarily focuses on SEC football, I would be remiss to not mention the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party this weekend (I refuse to call it whatever the PC name is). If you have never been to UGA/Florida, then I highly recommend it. It is like no other game I have ever been to and that will include this year when neither team comes in with the record anyone expected. Mizzou opened the door for this game to mean something and I am sure the fans from both sides didn't need any more excuse to party.
5) Coaching Shorts - If I had to guess, Mack Brown is not going anywhere at the end of the year. Texas went from a seeming loss against Iowa State until the refs saved them to trouncing decent Oklahoma and TCU squads. Their schedule is favorable enough to potentially set up a winner take all game against Baylor in the season finale. In other words, Mack Brown stays. On the other hand Bo Pelini has gotten nothing but bad press since his prank to end camp at the beginning of the year. He has been heard on tape telling Nebraska fans to f*ck off and his team just got whipped by Minnesota. Not looking good for him but the good news is that his brother can probably get him a job at Florida Atlantic.
SEC Power Rankings
14) Arkansas - Stopped a 104-0 run by other teams this week by not playing
13) Kentucky - Had a chance against Miss State this weekend but let it slip away.
12) Miss State - Better than Kentucky apparently (but not by much)
11) Tennessee - Great win against Carolina but completely embarrassed by Alabama
10) Vanderbilt - Great win against Georgia but completely embarrassed by Texas A&M
9) Florida - Until the Gators show some offense, I am not going to be high on them. The good news is they play a UGA defense this weekend that has managed to make a lot of offenses look really good.
8) Ole Miss - Very winnable games down the stretch. Rebel fans would be awful happy with a 9-3 season, which is very possible with a home win against Mizzou.
7) UGA - Until the Dawgs show some defense, I am not going to be high on them. The good news is they play a Florida offense that has managed to make a lot of defenses look really good.
6) Missouri - It gets tough here. I think Mizzou is still a good team. I'm just not sure they'd beat any of the remaining teams ranked above them on a neutral field. Therefore, they fall to 6th for now.
5) South Carolina - My guess is that they are currently the best team in the SEC East. The problem is they look extremely pedestrian in doing so and needed an amazing performance by Connor Shaw to win. Regardless of which East team plays in Atlanta, it might be a very long day.
4) Texas A&M - Took out some frustrations on Vandy this weekend and finally played some defense in doing so.
2b) Auburn - I can't rank Auburn above LSU because LSU beat them. Plus, with Nick Marshall hurt, they fall a tick.
2a) LSU - Had a bad loss against Ole Miss and a hangover against Furman but now have a week to prep for Bama at home. The problem is that loss to the Rebels might have made that game a moot point in the SEC West race.
1) Alabama - I've been saying that I think this year could be the one that the SEC streak ends. Bama reminded me how good they can be this weekend.
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