We made it, folks. Rivalry Week.

The most bittersweet weekend of the college football calendar is here. The regular season is coming to a close, but there are juicy matchups galore as Thanksgiving approaches.

Who clinches bowl eligibility? Who is playing in their last game? Can LSU and Georgia avoid a slip-up before the SEC Championship?

Let’s take a look at answering some of those questions with some first impressions of every SEC game in Week 13:

MSU vs. Ole Miss — What are the odds that this is the last Lane Kiffin vs. Mike Leach Egg Bowl?

Look, Ole Miss fans. You can pretend that the Auburn thing is just some media narrative. That’s fine. But if Kiffin does indeed leave Oxford to take the job, well, it’d be an awfully humbling pill to swallow. Alternatively, if Kiffin stays and bypasses that opportunity, that’d be the biggest win of 2022. Yes, that was a jab at the strength of those wins (shoutout Troy). Perhaps MSU would be the biggest win of 2022. Kiffin is on the verge of going 3-0 in Egg Bowls, which is no small feat.

There’s also the MSU side of this, and what could potentially be in store if Leach were to fall to 0-3 against MSU’s biggest rival. Remember that John Cohen left for Auburn, meaning the athletic director who negotiated Leach’s contract and extension is gone. Leach is under contract through 2025, and it pays him $5.5 million annually. That means that if he were fired after 2023, he’d only be owed $11 million, which is the going rate for a Power 5 buyout in today’s world. Just keep that in mind and perhaps appreciate the prolific nature of the head coaches in this game.

Arkansas at Mizzou — Rocket Sanders has a shot at a little history

Fresh off Arkansas’ best single-game rushing performance since Darren McFadden, Rocket Man has 2 games left to perhaps have the No. 2 single-season rushing performance in Arkansas history behind only, of course, McFadden. Sanders currently sits at 1,379 yards, which means that as long as he plays in a bowl game, he’d have to average 134 rushing yards in his final 2 games to reach McFadden’s 1,647 yards in 2006. It’s unlikely that Sanders will be able to catch McFadden’s 1,830 rushing yards in 2007, though I suppose if Sanders has 2 more games in him like the one he just played, anything is on the table.

Here’s the list of SEC players who hit 1,600 rushing yards in a season during the Playoff era:

  • 2014 — Cameron Artis-Payne (Auburn), 1,608 yards
  • 2015 — Derrick Henry (Alabama), 2,219 yards
    • Leonard Fournette (LSU), 1,953 yards
  • 2018 — Trayveon Williams (A&M), 1,760 yards
  • 2021 — Tyler Badie (Mizzou), 1,604 yards

Sanders will face a much-improved Mizzou run defense on Friday, where he’ll be coming off short rest. Still, slowing down the sophomore back has proven to be a tall task for the vast majority of the conference.

Florida at Florida State — FSU would be wise to capitalize without Ventrell Miller in the first half

If you recall, Miller was ejected for a targeting penalty in the second half against Vandy. It was a brutal loss because the senior linebacker is the heart and soul of the Gator defense. Without him, as we saw last year, the Gators have been a shell of themselves. He’ll be suspended for the first half of this one on Friday night. Advantage Noles. That’s a crucial development for an FSU offense that hasn’t broken 21 points in this 3-game losing streak against Florida.

Speaking of streaks, FSU has 4 consecutive blowout wins after that 3-game skid, wherein all 3 losses were decided by 10 points or less. Mike Norvell has his team dominating in the trenches, which was where Florida was beat on Saturday against Vandy. The goal for Billy Napier should be to try and get some long possessions together early to hold things together until Miller returns in the second half.

South Carolina at Clemson — I mean, what in the world can we expect from the Gamecock offense now?

It looked like an out-of-body experience to see Spencer Rattler light up Tennessee for 6 touchdown passes and 63 points. Struggling defense or not, Rattler did things against the Vols that I didn’t think he could do against air. How he climbs the pocket against that loaded Clemson defensive front could be a different story, though. In South Carolina’s 4 losses, Rattler has just 1 touchdown pass all year. We don’t know yet if MarShawn Lloyd will be back, but that feels pivotal against Clemson, despite how unstoppable Saturday night’s attack was.

One would think that DK Joyner will continue to be involved after he again maximized his touches for the 3rd consecutive game, and hey, throwing Jaheim Bell the ball in the red zone seems like a positive trend to continue. Did Marcus Satterfield catch lightning in a bottle? Or did he really turn the corner as a play-caller? We’ll find out in (the other) Death Valley.

Georgia Tech at Georgia — Stetson Bennett IV should beware of what Tech just did to Drake Maye

UNC’s Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback had his worst game of the year in a stunning loss as a 21-point home favorite. UNC was held without a single second-half point and Maye was sacked a total of 6 times. Granted, he had a beautiful throw on the run that should’ve been a walk-in touchdown to take the lead with 4 minutes to play, but his receiver dropped it. Still, Tech got pressure on Maye, and while I don’t think Georgia’s offensive line will struggle as much as UNC’s did, it’s worth noting that a Georgia Tech defense with bowl eligibility on the line is going to throw everything and the kitchen sink at Bennett.

Oregon is the only team in America who allowed fewer sacks than Georgia (7), but this would be an easy game to come out flat in the trenches with the SEC Championship ahead and a Playoff berth all but locked up for the No. 1 Dawgs.

Louisville at Kentucky — Will Levis doesn’t have the mobility he had in last year’s Louisville game, which feels significant

Levis was brilliant in this game last year, particularly with his legs. He had 4 rushing touchdowns and 113 yards on the ground in a blowout win. It felt like he had really mastered Liam Coen’s Sean McVay-style offense after he enrolled at Kentucky over the summer. This year, though, Levis likely won’t have his full mobility. That’s not to say that he’ll simply be a pocket passer. Knowing Levis, he’s emptying the tank, especially with the possibility that this is his last game in a Kentucky uniform. But as we saw against Georgia in those instances when Levis scrambled, the turf toe and the AC joint injury hampered him a bit.

It’ll be interesting to see if Rich Scangarello dials up designed runs for Levis, or if he opts to keep Levis in the pocket all game. That fearlessness as a runner is such a crucial part of his game. It’s been frustrating not to see all of the veteran quarterback’s skills on display, but maybe a date with Louisville will change that.

Auburn at Alabama — An Iron Bowl without a 1-loss or unbeaten team? What?

It hasn’t happened since 2007, AKA Year 1 of the Nick Saban era. Go figure that the 2007 matchup netted Auburn its 6 consecutive Iron Bowl victory, which was the Tigers’ longest streak ever against the Tide. In the 14 Iron Bowls since then, Auburn is 4-10. It’s been a disappointing year for both teams, obviously, but that doesn’t entirely minimize the importance of this game. Lord knows there’d be no closing argument better for Cadillac Williams than beating Alabama. And for the Tide, both of those losses this year game in rivalry games. Winning a rivalry game, even one without national championship implications, could be perhaps the program’s best moment of 2022.

Oh, and don’t be surprised if this is the last game Bryce Young and Will Anderson play. Sad? Absolutely. Reality? Without a doubt. Prepare for the future first-round picks to make that official soon. Bowl game or not, they deserve to be remembered as all-time greats at Alabama.

Tennessee at Vanderbilt — It’s Joe Milton time

Welcome back, Bazooka Joe. You’ve been missed. With Hendon Hooker’s season-ending ACL tear, Milton’s time to shine is back.

As someone who was admittedly hard on Milton last year for not properly harnessing his cannon for an arm, I must say that he has shown significant progress in limited reps this year. What do I mean by that? Well, the guy is averaging 17.4 yards per attempt. Granted, he’s only got 33 attempts all year, but think about this. He’s got more completions of 40 yards (6) than Jayden Daniels (5), KJ Jefferson (5) and Stetson Bennett (4). Milton won’t be as precise as Hooker was in the intermediate, and with the adrenaline flowing, I’d be stunned if that efficiency maintained against a Vandy defense that just frustrated Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.

Remember, Vandy is now competing for bowl eligibility. Milton is competing for the 2023 starting job to operate Josh Heupel’s offense. There’ll be plenty on the line on Saturday.

LSU at Texas A&M — I’m not sure the Aggies could find LSU’s cornflakes if they tried

Context? Yeah, I should probably have some of that.

Goodness.

I get that Preston said that in hopes of accomplishing a goal, but maybe teams who haven’t scored 30 points against FBS competition in over a year should refrain from hoping to metaphorically urinate in an opponent’s cereal? Just a thought. Another thought is that the Aggie offense limped to reach this point, and I have no idea what to expect at the skill positions with Evan Stewart and Devon Achane both sidelined in that rock fight against UMass (Achane was also out against Auburn). Conner Weigman will get the unfortunate task of dealing with Harold Perkins and BJ Ojulari, which doesn’t seem fun for anyone, much less a true freshman in the midst of his 4th career start.

If LSU’s cornflakes are a Playoff berth, what does that make whatever A&M is eating? Gruel? Let’s just call it exactly what the 2022 season has been in College Station — hot garbage.