Ad Disclosure
In a stunning reversal of (mis)fortunes, the Pac-12 enters Week 12 with more teams ranked in the AP poll than the SEC for the first time this season. That’s made further remarkable, considering that the Pac-12’s two top teams in Stanford and Utah both suffered devastating losses last week — as did the SEC’s now-reeling LSU. All told, 13 teams between the two conferences (seven SEC) garnered votes from the AP writers.
Here’s a look at how the SEC and Pac-12 stack-up as the two conference prepare for the final two weeks of the regular season.
The Elite
Alabama and Florida are the only two one-loss teams among either conference and the only programs in the conversation for the second-annual College Football Playoff. Florida, at No. 11 in the playoff rankings, needs some help, but, despite already clinching the SEC East, the Gators have plenty of motivation to keep their foot on the pedal with their final two games against Florida Atlantic and Florida State. Alabama sits at No. 2 in the rankings and just needs to win out to return to the playoffs for a second year in a row.
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Florida Gators
Still Among the Best
Arkansas surges in our poll on the backs of the Hogs’ upset win over LSU last week. Arkansas is playing just as well as any team in either of these conferences right now and can finish the season with eight wins, a mark almost unfathomable six weeks ago when the Razorbacks were 2-4 on Oct. 10. Stanford, LSU and Utah all suffered debilitating losses last week. But as far as the conference’s two-loss teams go, the Cardinal, Tigers and Utes are still about as formidable of an opponent as you’ll find in the country.
- Stanford Cardinal
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- LSU Tigers
- Utah Utes
Surprise!
Guess who’s back from the dead? The Southern California Trojans and Oregon Ducks. After abysmal starts to their season, which included several bad losses and the ugly firing of a coach, USC and Oregon are back in the AP rankings. Ole Miss stayed in the poll, and was joined by the continued surprise of the season in Mike Leach’s Washington State squad, which finds itself ranked for the first time since the 2006 campaign. In fact, these four teams round out the AP rankings at Nos. 22-25, respectively.
- Southern California Trojans
- Oregon Ducks
- Washington State Cougars
- Ole Miss Rebels
Tough Bowlers
The teams in this bracket will all be bowling this season and should cause some annoyed grunts from opponents on bowl selection Sunday. Save for Tennessee with six wins, these teams all have the potential to finish the year with a solid nine victories.
- Mississippi State Bulldogs
- UCLA Bruins
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Texas A&M
Bowlers
Not playing Oregon this year, Arizona needed someone else’s season to ruin. So the Wildcats chose Utah in Week 11 to vault to the top of our bowl contenders division. The Wildcats, as well as California, have qualified for bowl games, but will have to fight for their postseason lives as they close out their slates. Auburn (Idaho, Alabama) and Arizona State (Arizona, at Cal) each need one more win in two tries to qualify for a bowl.
- Arizona Wildcats
- California Golden Bears
- Auburn Tigers
- Arizona State Sun Devils
All I Need Is A Miracle
There are five teams that still have some work to do to get to a bowl game with six wins. Missouri needs one win, but has daunting opponents ahead in Tennessee and Arkansas. Washington will likely need to beat rival No. 24 Washington State to earn the Huskies’ sixth victory. Vanderbilt needs to beat both Texas A&M and then Tennessee on the road in Knoxville. Kentucky probably has the easiest path to a bowl, with games against Charlotte and Louisville, but the fact that the Wildcats have dropped five games in a row doesn’t exactly instill confidence. Colorado has the worst chance of sniffing the Buffs’ first bowl game since the 2007 season — unless they can go on the road and beat No. 24 Washington State in Pullman and No. 18 Utah in Salt Lake City.
- Washington Huskies
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Missouri Tigers
- Colorado Buffaloes
The Bottom
Both South Carolina and Oregon State will be catching all the bowl action from their couches this year, having been eliminated with three and two wins respectively on the year. It’s been a tough year for both the Gamecocks and Beavers, each of whom is transitioning with new coaches.
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Oregon State Beavers
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
