Ad Disclosure
Victims of SEC attrition, Auburn and Ole Miss can ease off the accelerator a bit in the race to Atlanta.
Two of four Western Division teams ranked in the College Football Playoff’s most recent Top 10, national championship — and conference title — hopes have faded for the Tigers and Rebels this season thanks to unforeseen homes losses in recent weeks.
With that being said, playing the role of rivalry villain is more appetizing than a ‘thanks for playing’ bowl invite as a consolation prize.
Auburn plays Georgia between the hedges on Saturday, a game of major importance for the Bulldogs and to Mark Richt. With a win, Georgia can sit back and watch Mizzou’s final three SEC games in need of a loss by the Tigers to win the division.
Then there’s the Iron Bowl on Nov. 29, a matchup featuring Playoff hopeful Alabama. If the Crimson Tide upend Mississippi State Saturday afternoon, they’ll get a chance to capture the West in Tuscaloosa against the Tigers.
The Auburn-Alabama victor has went on to play in the national championship game five consecutive seasons.
For the Rebels, they’ll sit back this weekend and cheer for upsets before battling Arkansas on Nov. 22. The ensuing Egg Bowl showdown a week later lost some of its initial luster, but the regular-season finale will stay have postseason implication for Mississippi State.
It’s not far-fetched to think Ole Miss could carry both Hugh Freeze and Laquon Treadwell on its shoulders off the field at Vaught-Hemingway after spoiling the Bulldogs’ dream season, temporarily erasing some of the emptiness left earlier this fall after consecutive losses to LSU and Auburn.
Should the Rebels and Tigers both win out, there’s a strong chance each could receive at-large berths in New Year’s Six bowls. It would also cause serious dismay at the top of the CFP Poll and could keep the SEC out of a semifinals appearance.
But we’ll worry about that doomsday scenario when we reassess the league’s handful of elites heading into rivalry weekend at the end month.
