With tons of SEC action in bowl season, there were plenty of highlight reel. Of course, there are also those moments that teams and players wish would be forgotten. Here at Saturday Down South, we don’t forget. Let’s run down the worst of the bowls.
5. Kris Frost’s late penalty
Auburn only needed one more defensive stop to win the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin, a tough task for a defense that had been struggling all year. To no one’s surprise, the Tigers gave up a big run to Melvin Gordon on Wisconsin’s second down play, and Frost made it worse by hitting the running back out of bounds for an extra 15 yards. Just a few plays later, Wisconsin was in field goal range, and they eventually tied it up and then won the game in overtime.
4. The SEC West
The supposed greatest division in college football history looked anything but in its bowl slate. The only two teams to win their bowl games were the ones that finished sixth and seventh in the division, Texas A&M and Arkansas. The rest lost in some form or fashion, from brutal blowouts (Ole Miss and Mississippi State) to head-scratching giveaways (LSU and Auburn). The West will bounce back, but the rest of the country delivered a nasty black eye.
3. Bad Bo
Bo Wallace had an up-and-down career at Ole Miss, and in his final game his worst came out. Wallace threw three first half interceptions as the Rebels got boat-raced out of the Peach Bowl. It doesn’t take away from Wallace’s strong regular season, leading the Rebels to a nine-win season, but it certainly wasn’t the way Ole Miss fans would have liked to see him end his career.
2. Alabama’s final drive
With a trip to the national title game on the line, Alabama had one final shot to extend its season. For some reason, the SEC champs showed zero urgency in trying to get the ball up the field. Blake Sims was throwing to the middle of the field and the Tide were painfully slow to get to the line. The drive ended up with Sims having to heave a long pass into the end zone, despite having nearly two minutes to work with at the start of the drive.
1. Texas A&M student assistant crosses the line
With these action in the Aggies’ bowl win over West Virginia, former Texas A&M player Michael Richardson got himself dismissed from Kevin Sumlin’s staff. The two sideline incidents distracted from what was a great ending to a rebuilding season for Texas A&M.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
