ALABAMA (12-2)

  • Best win: 25-20 over No. 1 Mississippi State (Nov. 1) — The unbeaten Bulldogs strolled into Tuscaloosa and left a five-point loser after the Crimson Tide enforced an expert game plan to defend Heisman-contending quarterback Dak Prescott, coaxing him into a season-high three interceptions.
  • Worst loss: 42-35 to No. 4 Ohio State (Jan. 1) — As a nine-point favorite, Alabama was supposed to mark the SEC’s ninth consecutive appearance in the national championship game, but Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes had other plans. The Crimson Tide turned it over three times and couldn’t hold a 21-6 lead in the first half. Ohio State scored 28 straight at one point to take a commanding 34-21 advantage it never relinquished.

ARKANSAS (7-6)

  • Best win: 17-0 over No. 17 LSU (Nov. 15) — The first of back-to-back shutouts over nationally-ranked rivals from the SEC West, the Razorbacks snapped a 17-game losing streak in dominant fashion in front of a feisty evening crowd in Fayetteville.
  • Worst loss: 45-32 to No. 10 Georgia (Oct. 18) — An overtime loss to Texas A&M was crippling considering how it ended, but Arkansas’ two-touchdown setback at home against Georgia was surprisingly uncompetitive. The Bulldogs jumped ahead 38-6 at halftime before the Razorbacks showed some fight down the stretch. After consecutive narrow losses to the Aggies and Alabama, Georgia’s convincing win was disappointing for Bret Bielema’s squad.

AUBURN (8-5)

  • Best win: 41-7 over No. 15 LSU (Oct. 4) — For the first time in the early going, Auburn — 4-0 going in — looked like it had grabbed its swagger back coming off last season’s SEC title with a blowout victory over 15th-ranked LSU. The Tigers clicked in the first half behind a great outing from Nick Marshall and led by 24 points at the break.
  • Worst loss: 41-38 to Texas A&M (Nov. 8) — Still alive in the SEC West hunt, those hopes were shattered for the Tigers after the Aggies jumped ahead 35-17 at intermission and held on for the three-point victory following two late takeaways. Auburn was 13-0 at home under Gus Malzahn before the upset loss.

FLORIDA (7-5)

  • Best win: 38-20 over No. 11 Georgia (Nov. 1) — A game that inevitably delayed Will Muschamp’s eventual fire, Florida’s cocktail party victory over Georgia in Jacksonville essentially kept the Bulldogs out of Atlanta and proved the Gators still had life after many left them for dead following an embarrassing home loss to Mizzou the previous week.
  • Worst loss: 23-20 to South Carolina (Nov. 15) — This one cost Muschamp his job two days later, a dismal fourth-quarter collapse leading to an overtime loss to the Gamecocks — only South Carolina’s second win ever in The Swamp. The Gators led by a touchdown in the waning moments but had a punt blocked that led to a game-tying touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the final frame.

GEORGIA (10-3)

  • Best win: 34-0 over No. 23 Mizzou (Oct. 11) — How’s this for an Eastern Division statement as the perceived frontrunner? The Bulldogs appeared to be in great shape with eyes on Atlanta after running away from the Tigers on the road in October. It was Nick Chubb’s coming out party after the freshman started his first game following Todd Gurley’s autograph suspension.
  • Worst loss: 38-35 to South Carolina (Sept. 13) — This one’s debatable since the rivalry loss to Florida was so bad, but considering how the season turned out for preseason East favorite South Carolina, the early-season loss at Williams-Brice is tough to stomach. The Gamecocks seem to be Georgia’s kryptonite, beating their division rival four times in the last five seasons.  The Bulldogs came within inches of getting the ball back near midfield in the final minute, but it wasn’t to be.

KENTUCKY (5-7)

  • Best win: 45-38 over South Carolina (Oct. 4) — Kentucky won back-to-back SEC games for the first time since 2009 with an upset victory over the Gamecocks, erasing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit by scoring 21 unanswered over the final 8:06.
  • Worst loss: 63-31 to No. 20 Georgia (Nov. 8) — This one-sided pasting might as well have counted for two losses for the Wildcats who refused to show up the following week at Tennessee too. Georgia was 8-for-8 on third down behind a career-best four touchdown passes from quarterback Hutson Mason and scored on every possession except one.

LSU (8-5)

  • Best win: 10-7 over No. 3 Ole Miss (Oct. 25) — LSU turned up the heat defensively under the lights in Death Valley and ruined the Rebels’ national title hopes with a game-clinching interception near the goal line in the final seconds.
  • Worst loss: 17-0 to Arkansas (Nov. 15) — This lackluster effort kept the Tigers away from a possible 10-win season before the Music City Bowl setback to Notre Dame kept LSU on eight victories. The offense never got started against the Razorbacks’ physical front seven and quarterback Anthony Jennings was horrendous.

MISSISSIPPI (9-4)

  • Best win: 23-17 over No. 3 Alabama (Oct. 4) — The Rebels snapped a 10-game losing skid to Alabama and marked half of the Magnolia State’s shining moment on that memorable day with Katy Perry in town for College GameDay. Bo Wallace’s two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter led the charge.
  • Worst loss: 30-0 to Arkansas (Nov. 22) — We won’t talk about the bowl game in Atlanta since the Rebels are still searching for the Georgia Dome after missing kickoff. The late-season loss at Arkansas provided a sharper sting and nearly erased Ole Miss from national relevance heading into the Egg Bowl the following weekend.

MISSISSIPPI STATE (10-3)

  • Best win: 34-29 over No. 8 LSU (Sept. 20) — The Bulldogs topped the Tigers for the first time since 1991 and more importantly, snapped a multi-year losing streak to ranked teams under Dan Mullen. The eye-opening win catapulted Mississippi State into the Top 25 at No. 12 the following day.
  • Worst loss: 31-17 at No. 19 Ole Miss (Nov. 29) — Mississippi State needed to win this year’s Egg Bowl to stay in contention for the College Football Playoff and that didn’t happen. The Bulldogs’ defense was gashed by an offense that struggled in the second half of the season.

MISSOURI (11-3)

  • Best win: 34-27 over Texas A&M (Nov. 15) — In need of three SEC wins to make a return to the SEC Championship Game, the Tigers got it started with an impressive road win inside Kyle Field behind 199 yards from Russell Hansbrough.
  • Worst loss: 31-27 to Indiana (Sept. 20) — It took three months, but the Tigers finally shook the early-season Big Ten loss by beating the same league in the Citrus Bowl, taking care of Minnesota, 33-17.

SOUTH CAROLINA (7-6)

  • Best win: 23-20 over Florida (Nov. 15) — The nationally-ranked win over Georgia in September was commendable, but South Carolina comeback win in Gainesville thanks to a blocked punt in crunch time saved the Gamecocks’ bowl hopes this season. Florida scored 17 points after falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter, but couldn’t hold the lead late and lost in overtime.
  • Worst loss: 52-28 to No. 21 Texas A&M (Aug. 28) — The Gamecocks got off on the wrong foot this season and never recovered after Texas A&M obliterated South Carolina’s 18-game home winning streak in the season opener. Defensive problems shown in that game persisted throughout and Steve Spurrier’s team lost four more times during SEC play.

TENNESSEE (7-6)

  • Best win: 45-42 over South Carolina (Nov. 1) — Joshua Dobbs set the school mark for single-game rushing by a quarterback, finishing with 166 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 301 yards through the air and two scores during an overtime win. The Vols trailed by 14 points with 4:52 left, but managed to force an extra session.
  • Worst loss: 10-9 to Florida (Oct. 4) — This was particularly painful for many reasons, the Vols’ second straight narrow loss to open SEC play. Leading 9-0 after three quarters, Tennessee’s offense fell into quick sand and the Gators, led by Jeff Driskel’s replacement Treon Harris, won the game with a 49-yard field goal with 6:20 to play.

TEXAS A&M (8-5)

  • Best win: 41-38 over Auburn (Nov. 8) — The Aggies showed fight despite falling out of the SEC West race two weeks earlier and came out guns blazing at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. In his first career road start, Kyle Allen threw four touchdown passes to lead Texas A&M against the nation’s third-ranked team and defending league champ.
  • Worst loss: 59-0 to Alabama (Oct. 18) — An inexcusable performance for a team that was unbeaten and ranked No. 6 two weeks prior. The outing was devastating for Kenny Hill who never retained his starting job and embarrassing for Kevin Sumlin whose team suffered its most lop-sided defeat since a 77-0 spanking to Oklahoma in 2003.

VANDERBILT (3-9)

  • Best win: 34-31 over UMass (Sept. 13) — Trailing 31-20 entering the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt blocked a punt for a touchdown and won the game on Ralph Webb’s 4-yard scoring burst with 68 seconds to play.
  • Worst loss: 37-7 to Temple (Aug. 28) — The Derek Mason era began on a sour note on national television and the Commodores never found a silver lining the rest of the way, going on to finish winless in the SEC.