Week 11 in the SEC was supposed to be filled with lopsided blowouts, but nobody told the teams involved. Three of the week’s seven games were decided by one score, and nobody won by more than 24. The middle of the SEC is basically one big logjam, but we’ll try to sort it out. Here’s how the 14 teams rank after Week 11:
14. Arkansas (2-8, lost to LSU 24-17)
There was a window dressing element to the final score in Arkansas’ 24-17 loss to LSU, but at the same time, the Razorbacks really didn’t play badly, just badly enough to dig a hole too deep to climb out from.
13. Vanderbilt (4-6, lost to Missouri 33-28)
On one hand, Vanderbilt played reasonably well on the road in the SEC. On the other hand, the Commodores were plus-2 on turnovers, and had a 182-yard performance on the ground from Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and they lost anyway.
12. Mississippi (5-5, lost to Texas A&M 38-24)
The Ole Miss offense taketh — 373 passing yards for quarterback Jordan Ta’amu — and the defense giveth away, allowing 502 total yards, including 266 on the ground. It was the same old story for the Rebels, who have never gained any real momentum this season.
11. South Carolina (5-4, lost to Florida 35-31)
The Gamecocks are probably better than this ranking. But at the same time, leading Florida 31-14 with 4:41 to play in the third quarter should have meant a victory in the end. ESPN’s win probability tool had the Gamecocks at around 95 percent at that point. Not so fast.
10. Tennessee (5-5, beat Kentucky 24-7)
For the second time this season, Tennessee took the fight to an allegedly superior foe and came away with an impressive win for its troubles. In a just world, Jeremy Pruitt might be SEC Coach of the Year.
9. Auburn (6-4, lost to Georgia 27-10)
There’s no doubt that Auburn should be better than this, but the Tigers probably aren’t. Another week of 300 yards rushing for the Bulldogs against struggling defenses led to an ugly loss for Gus Malzahn. At least he’s got that whole vote-of-confidence thing going.
8. Texas A&M (6-4, beat Ole Miss 38-24)
Travyeon Williams filled the highlight reel on Saturday in the win against Ole Miss. Seriously, 228 yards rushing for Texas A&M’s feature back was something worth seeing. The Rebels did make some plays in the passing game, but A&M gets kudos for a strong fourth quarter on the heels of a bad fourth quarter last week.
7. Missouri (6-4, beat Vanderbilt 33-28)
Should a win over Vanderbilt be considered impressive? It’s certainly not going to top Florida as a signature win for the Tigers, but gaining 253 yards in the air and on the ground is certainly noteworthy … as is staying alive for another hard-fought win.
6. Kentucky (7-3, lost to Tennessee 24-7)
Face it, we could put the Wildcats 10th and nobody could really argue. We stuck up for Kentucky after the ugly win over Missouri— hey, a win is a win. We also cut them a break when Georgia thumped them, but a third straight brutal offensive effort leaves us wondering if Kentucky has anything left in the tank.
5. Mississippi State (6-4, lost to Alabama 24-0)
Mississippi State did good things defensively, holding Alabama to 305 total yards and 4-for-12 on third down conversions. That said, the Bulldogs were an offensive train wreck, managing just six total first downs in the game. At the same time, they hung closer to Alabama than pretty much anybody else.
4. Florida (7-3, beat South Carolina 35-31)
A week after getting their wheels blown off by Missouri, the Gators rallied for the kind of impressive three-score comeback that makes up for a lot of shortcomings. Rushing for 367 yards will tend to get our attention too.
3. LSU (8-2, beat Arkansas 24-17)
There weren’t many style points in nearly frittering away a big lead against a 2-8 team like Arkansas, but the Tigers took care of business. It feels like there’s a big gap between them and Florida, although of course, Florida beat them. But Kentucky beat Florida, and Tennessee beat Kentucky. So who knows anything?
2. Georgia (9-1, beat Auburn 27-10)
Can Georgia and its best-in-the-SEC running game put up points on Alabama? Well, nobody else’s running game has done much yet, but it will be interesting to watch the Bulldogs take their shots in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 1 in Atlanta.
1. Alabama (10-0, beat Mississippi State 24-0)
Tua Tagovailoa is OK, right? Right? It’s hard to think of anything else outside of injuries to its own staring quarterback that could knock off Alabama, aside from horrific special teams play, which seems to be settling down.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
