10 things I love most about Rivalry Week in the SEC for 2016

We wait so long for college football’s regular season to arrive. But then, just like that, our 13-week odyssey is complete.

Fortunately, even though our regional pastime comes and goes so quickly, it ends with Rivalry Week. Of the nine games on the SEC slate over Thanksgiving weekend, seven are intrastate clashes. The other two are of the border-war variety.

The best conference in America won’t have its usual drama, though. Both of the divisions have been sewn up already, as Alabama clinched the West two weeks ago and Florida secured the East this past Saturday. As a result, the Iron Bowl in particular won’t mean as much as it could’ve if Auburn had been able to keep pace with the Crimson Tide.

Nevertheless, that’s one of the things that makes this week so perfect. No matter the stakes, ribs will be smoked, whiskey will be poured — copious amounts of both — and bragging rights will be determined for the next calendar year.

Here are 10 things I love most about Rivalry Week in the SEC for 2016. For obvious reasons, I’ll be paying closest attention to the Sunshine State.

1. No mulligan necessary

Truth be told, Alabama could completely mail in the Auburn tilt. The Crimson Tide are going to the SEC title game regardless, plus a one-loss conference champion ‘Bama team is still all but guaranteed to make the College Football Playoff. A Tigers upset will do nothing to derail the Tide on their way to the Final Four.

Luckily, nobody in the Yellowhammer State believes that. It’s a classic “I don’t care if you lose the rest, just beat (insert team here)” game.

2. Who needs Texas anyway?

Texas A&M split up with the Big 12 and joined the SEC in part due to the fact that Texas wielded way too much power in the conference. As a result, a rivalry game played every year from 1915-2011 is no more. While Longhorn State loyalists may cry foul, the Aggies have seen enough green to know they made the right decision.

Additionally, from a recruiting perspective with all the blue-chip talent in neighboring Texas and Louisiana, A&M-LSU makes for an ideal season-ending affair.

3. The real Turkey Bowl

Let’s face it, the NFL has been awful this year. Not enough good teams. Too many bad ones. Terrible officiating. Players kneeling during the national anthem. Concussions forecasting doom for football as a whole. For the first time in what seems like forever, ratings are down and the league appears to be genuinely worried about its future.

Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Sure, Redskins-Cowboys might be decent. But Vikings-Lions? Steelers-Colts? Skip ’em all and watch LSU-Texas A&M in College Station instead.

4. How do you like your Egg Bowl?

It’s been a disappointing year in the Magnolia State. Ole Miss was supposedly a national-title contender with Chad Kelly returning, while Mississippi State wanted to prove it could still compete with Dak Prescott departing. At a combined 9-13, neither happened. If the Bulldogs win, both teams will be home for the holidays.

The Egg Bowl is always important, but the Rebels really need to take this one, become bowl eligible and get Shea Patterson all those extra practices.

5. Lies, damn lies and statistics

Arkansas-Missouri doesn’t have the sizzle or the history most of the other games do. But Razorbacks running back Rawleigh Williams III is the SEC’s leading rusher, and Tigers quarterback Drew Lock is the conference’s leading passer. Unless something totally insane happens, both will walk away with their respective statistical titles.

Lock was perhaps a 10-to-1 bet to lead the league in passing this year. Williams? Maybe 100-to-1 that he’d be the rushing king.

6. Is it times for hoops yet?

For a while there, it looked like the Bluegrass State showdown between Kentucky and Louisville had a chance to really mean something. However, the Wildcats have already reached bowl eligibility with six wins. As for the Cardinals, their dreams of making the playoff were dashed once Houston tore them limb from limb last Thursday.

Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Best-case scenario for this matchup was a ‘Cats upset knocking the Cards from all the Final Four talk. Oh, well. It’s basketball season anyway.

7. That’s why they play the games

South Carolina has no business being on the same field as Clemson. The Gamecocks may have exceeded expectations in 2016, but they’re still in the middle of a rebuilding project. The Tigers, on the other hand, are about to go to the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row and own the Palmetto State these days.

That was also the case last year, only USC was worse and CU was better. Final score? 37-32. Never underestimate the power of a rivalry game.

8. Second verse, same as the first?

Florida was 10-1 hosting Florida State last season, but the 9-2 Seminoles drained The Swamp with a 27-2 blowout. Finally exposed as a frauds, UF went on to lose the SEC title game to Alabama by two touchdowns and then the Citrus Bowl to Michigan by five TDs. Champion of the East? More like valedictorian of summer school.

This year, the Gators are 8-2 and captured another division crown. But are they imposters again? FSU will tell us in Tallahassee.

9. Anchor down indeed

The balance of power in the Volunteer State briefly shifted in 2012-13, when Vanderbilt defeated Tennessee in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1925-26. The Vols have since regained control with two straight wins. Is this the beginning stages of another 22-year run for UT like the one we saw from 1983-2004?

While the Commodores can likely go bowling as a five-win team based on their APR, truly earning it with a sixth victory would be doubly sweet.

10. So hard to say goodbye

When Georgia welcomes Peach State rival Georgia Tech to Athens, there’s a very good chance that it will be running back Nick Chubb’s final appearance between the hedges. Coming off last year’s nasty knee injury, the 5-foot-10, 228-pounder has been up and down this season. But he’s still a special player, so the NFL awaits.

The same can be said of LSU’s Leonard Fournette, of course. Both have a chance to crack the 1,000-yard mark despite their trials and tribulations.

John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.