Well, we’ve made it, the end of the line to another season. It’s Rivalry Week, where seasons rest on the outcome in make-or-break games that enable the victors their due bragging rights until they meet again.
Here are but a handful of enticing tidbits that will have us on the edge of our seats on Saturday.
1. How will emotions run in the Iron Bowl: Sure, it’s the Iron Bowl, one of the most bitter rivalries in all of sports. But for the past several years this game has decided the SEC West, with the winner moving on to become the eventual conference champion and more often than not the national champion.
This year’s game is different in that it won’t decide anything — at least as far as conference standings are concerned. Alabama is headed to the SEC Championship Game regardless of Saturday’s outcome and are odds-on favorites to win another national title.
So it will be interesting to see how Alabama handles the game emotionally, knowing virtually nothing is on the line outside of risking injury. And what of Auburn, stubbed toes and all? The Tigers blew a chance to play for the SEC West title by falling to Georgia two weeks week.
Uncharacteristically, the stakes are not high for this game, other than bragging rights which granted are huge with in the state. But from a conference and national view, the game is virtually meaningless.
This game could boil down to which one has the most pride.
2. Can Shea Patterson lead Ole Miss to a bowl game? The true freshman has taken the keys to the program and is off and running toward what has the makings of another outstanding career in the line of stellar signal-callers to come through Oxford.
But Patterson needs one more victory to get the Rebels to the postseason. A disappointing five-win season could be somewhat salvaged with a victory in the Egg Bowl over rival Mississippi State, a potential triumph that would make Ole Miss bowl eligible.
After raising eyebrows with his debut, throwing for 338 yards and two touchdowns in a 29-28 victory at Texas A&M, Patterson looked like a freshman a week later — completing less than 50 percent of his passes in a 38-17 drubbing at Vanderbilt.
It will be Patterson’s first start in Oxford. Will the youngster be able to control his emotions enough to steer the Rebels past Mississippi State and into bowl eligibility?
3. Does Florida become a legitimate threat to Alabama? The Gators shocked LSU in Baton Rouge last week to win the SEC East. If they can follow that with an impressive showing against the Seminoles and win a second consecutive big game on the road, it would make the talking heads take notice that Florida isn’t going to simply roll over for Alabama in the upcoming SEC Championship Game.
Yes, an impressive victory at Florida State on Saturday night would solidify the Gators as a worthy opponent and depending on what the Tide does in its own Rivalry Week game might even sway some prognosticators to their side. The Gators would enter the championship game with as much momentum as any team possibly could.
4. Can South Carolina will its way (see what I did there?) to a major upset? Don’t look now, but the Gamecocks have won four of their past five games and enter the Palmetto Bowl with a head of steam. Will Muschamp has this team playing well in his first season at the helm. It’s a complete turnaround since losing four of their five previous games.
But things are beginning to click in Columbia, and 6-5 South Carolina is looking like a legitimate and worthy opponent for most teams in the country. They have a chance to further prove that on Saturday night at Clemson and in doing so potentially improve their bowl status.
5. Does Kentucky take a page from Houston? Not many are giving the Wildcats a chance in the noon Saturday showdown at in-state rival Louisville. But if Houston can pull off the upset, the Wildcats must be asking themselves: “Why not us?”
The used a dizzying passing game to move the ball up and down the field. Defensively, they didn’t allow Cardinals QB and Heisman Trophy frontrunner Lamar Jackson to get comfortable and forced three turnovers.
That’s the kind of effort it will take for Kentucky to halt a five-game losing streak to its instate rival and break the 14-14 tie in the all-time series.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
