Can’t Miss TV: The SEC’s most interesting games in Week 14

Here are the can’t miss games of Week 14 in the SEC:

AUBURN AT ALABAMA (SATURDAY ON ESPN — 7:45 P.M.)

In the aftermath of last year’s thrilling finish between these two teams, it’s easy to understand why this year’s Iron Bowl is the can’t miss game of the weekend in the SEC. This game features a decades-old rivalry, the nation’s current No. 1 team, SEC and national championship implications and a year’s worth of bragging rights in one of the most hotly contested football states in America. Both teams have been ranked from wire to wire this season, and although the Tigers and Tide are heading in opposite directions entering Week 14 anything is possible in a rivalry like this one. Expect the unexpected when these two take the field in Tuscaloosa — last year’s game should have taught you that. This has become the premier rivalry in college football (one of these two teams has won the SEC five of the last six years), making it the nation’s truest must-watch game this Rivalry Week.

MISSISSIPPI STATE AT OLE MISS (SATURDAY ON CBS — 3:30 P.M.)

It’s rare the Egg Bowl ever means anything outside the state of Mississippi, but this year’s Egg Bowl will have a major bearing on the national landscape of college football. The game will decide Mississippi State’s fate as the potential SEC West champion or as a potential playoff team even without a division title, and it will decide whether Ole Miss’ magical run this season ends in glory or disgrace. Last year’s Egg Bowl might not have been able to match the “kick-six” to end the Iron Bowl, but it did have quite a finish of its own in the first overtime game in the history of the rivalry. This year’s game will feature two ranked teams for the first time since the 1992 showdown between the Rebels and the Bulldogs, setting up for one of the great Egg Bowls of all-time. Mississippians already know to expect a great game in this year’s showdown, but for the first time in a long time the Egg Bowl is a true can’t miss game on a national level.

FLORIDA AT FLORIDA STATE (SATURDAY ON ESPN — 3:30 P.M.)

This is far from the most compelling matchup in the illustrious history of this rivalry, but there is still plenty at stake between these two teams. Florida has already fired coach Will Muschamp, and he’ll have the freedom to take more risks than usual knowing Saturday’s game will be his final game as coach of the Gators. Those risks could pay off in a shocking upset, or they could come back to haunt him in his finale with UF. On the other side, Florida State is going for its 28th win in a row and a second straight undefeated regular season, and although FSU has failed to blow any of its mediocre ACC opponents away in recent weeks it still seems destined for a playoff spot unless the Gators can spoil that run on Saturday. The Seminoles have played down to their competition this season, while Florida has played its best games against its toughest opponents (cite the win over Georgia). With the history behind this rivalry and the stakes in play in this year’s showdown, it shouldn’t be hard to understand why this is a can’t miss game on the final weekend of the regular season.

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.