There are many ups and downs in any given year in the SEC. That’s to be expected of the best conference in America. The 2015 regular season provided its share of raised eyebrows and intriguing story lines, as most do.

Here are a few of the subplots:

The rise and fall of Leonard Fournette: LSU’s highly-touted sophomore has all the makings of a superstar. He has speed, quickness, power and the ability to make you miss. We didn’t know how good he could or would be entering the 2015 season. But the shooting star soared with rushing games of 228, 244 and 233 yards in succession, then he went for 180 against Florida’s defense and the legend was born. The Heisman was decided and LSU was headed to the College Football Playoff. Nothing, it seemed, could stop them. But then Alabama did, and so did Arkansas and then Ole Miss, all in a row, and just as suddenly as Fournette was handed the trophy, it was snatched back. In only one of those three games did Fournette reach 100 yards, and just barely (108) against Ole Miss. Fournette went from Heisman lock to dropping all the way out of the conversation, and LSU nearly lost its coach over the fiasco.

McElwain and the Gators: It’s a tried-and-true theory that defenses win championships. So it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise that Florida won the SEC East. Yet it still was, largely because the Gators have always played good defense but recently haven’t had the offensive firepower to go with it. In his first season as head coach at Florida, Jim McElwain has found a way to piece together enough offense to make the Gators champions again. Ugly 9-7 and 14-9 victories over Vanderbilt and Kentucky respectively were prime examples. Holding Georgia (27-3) and Missouri (21-3) to a field goal each in two of the biggest wins of the season are others. It hasn’t been pretty and at times it’s even been downright ugly – Saturday’s 27-2 loss to arch-rival Florida State being the worst of it. But the Gators are SEC East champions and head to Atlanta on Saturday with an opportunity to capture the SEC championship for the first time since 2008.

Coach craziness: Steve Spurrier set the tone. The 2015 season was one of the craziest in the SEC for wacky coaching news. Spurrier up and left his post at South Carolina after the Gamecocks lost two of their first three games. He saw the proverbial writing on the wall. Missouri coach Gary Pinkel’s decision to leave for health reasons was just as sudden. After leading the Tigers to back-to-back SEC East titles, Pinkel’s team went from the penthouse to the outhouse, finishing 1-7 in the SEC and tied for last place in the division with South Carolina. More surprising was the firing/resignation of Georgia’s Mark Richt, who apparently will lead the 9-3 Bulldogs into their bowl game for a chance at his 10th season of 10-or-more wins with the Bulldogs. He’s led the team to a bowl game in all 15 seasons there. But just two conference championships, the last in 2005, and no national titles apparently led to his demise. It was LSU’s Les Miles, not Richt, who was supposed to be fired despite a successful resume. But in the craziest twist of all, Miles was carried off on his shoulders after the Tigers won their season finale only to find out he would be retained. It truly was a crazy year for coaches in the SEC, and with the carousel in motion it might not be over just yet.