Week in and week out, players and teams surprise us with their performances. We saw several surprises this weekend with an incredible slate of conference games.

Who or what made our cut of the biggest surprises of Week 12?

Mississippi State looks for respect: Mississippi State, then the No. 1 team in the country, looked shellshocked in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs looked like a team simply hoping to earn respect, and while they did so, Dan Mullen’s team never seemed to have a chance to win the game. Alabama looked like the more confident and more experienced team from the opening kick. Perhaps the stage was too big for the Bulldogs. 

Josh Dobbs electrifies Tennessee offense: Dobbs had a huge night against Kentucky, completing 19-of-27 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Dobbs added 48 yards on 10 carries on the ground. The sophomore quarterback has electrified an otherwise stagnant Volunteers offense during recent weeks. Had Dobbs gotten the nod from the start, could we be looking at a Tennessee team potentially heading to Atlanta? More importantly, perhaps, with Dobbs the clear-cut starter entering next season, are the Volunteers the favorite in the East in 2015?

Arkansas’ defensive dominance: Congratulations to the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Hogs shut down LSU, allowing just 123 yards of total offense to the Bayou Bengals. Trey Flowers and Darius Philon got pressure on LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings all night, and Arkansas completely shut down Leonard Fournette, who totaled just nine rushing yards on five attempts. It was the Hogs’ first shutout in SEC play since 2002. 

Missouri keeps on winning: The Tigers may not look good while doing it, but Gary Pinkel’s team keeps finding ways to win and now holds the pole position to win back-to-back Eastern Division championships and make it back to Atlanta. Mizzou rolled up nearly 600 yards of total offense on Texas A&M, with 385 yards coming on the ground. Markus Golden and Shane Ray combined for three sacks on the evening.