Who are the SEC's top Tigers?
Let’s put on our National Geographic hats for a moment and observe the Tiger, the most common animal found in the SEC.
In the East, we see the Missouri Tigers, leading the division by the skin of their teeth. They’re not big-game hunters, with no wins over currently ranked teams, but they’re more than capable of taking down smaller prey.
The West features two breeds of Tiger. On the Plains of Auburn, there lives a defenseless breed of Tiger, known to be taken down by formidable foes in 2014. In the bayou of Baton Rouge resides the LSU Tiger, a breed capable of attacking on the ground but incapable of gaining any offensive advantage through the air.
Alright now, let’s close the wildlife magazine and get back to football. The two sets of Tigers in the West, Auburn and LSU, have both been knocked out of the race to Atlanta, while Missouri is still alive and well holding the East lead.
By record, Missouri is the top Tigers team in the conference, sitting at 8-2 overall, 5-1 in the SEC. Auburn trails behind at 7-3 (4-3), and LSU brings up the rear at 7-4 (3-4). By ranking, No. 14 Auburn comes in ahead of No. 20 Missouri, while LSU has fallen out of the polls for the second time this season.
While teams are only as good as their records say they are, we can still look to see which of the three is actually the top group of Tigers in the SEC, broken down by position.
QUARTERBACK
Mizzou’s Maty Mauk had talk swirling around him earlier in the season that he might be the best quarterback in the SEC, but he certainly hasn’t played like it this season. Mauk’s not entirely to blame, as his supporting cast on offense is lackluster at best and his offensive line mediocre, but the sophomore makes too many risky decisions and flees the pocket at the slightest hint of pressure. Nick Marshall looked to be an improved passer from a year ago, but hasn’t made as big of strides many expected. He’s second in the SEC in quarterback rushing, though, and 12th overall in rushing yards as the engine that makes Gus Malzahn’s offense go. LSU’s Anthony Jennings is hardly worth mentioning alongside the other two, as he’s been absolutely dreadful all season.
Edge: 1) Auburn; 2) Missouri; 3) LSU
RUNNING BACK
LSU has one of the most talented stables of running backs in the country, although it took a blow when senior Kenny Hilliard went down with a shoulder injury. Leonard Fournette has been good as a freshman, although he hasn’t lived up to insanely high expectations, while Terrence Magee provides a nice change of pace, both running and receiving. Auburn has the SEC’s rushing leader in Cameron Artis-Payne, who has come on strong in the second half of the season, and he teams with Marshall to form one of the best rushing duos in the conference. Missouri got a massive performance from Russell Hansbrough last week and they have home run threat Marcus Murphy, but they’ve been inconsistent running the ball all year.
Edge: 1) Auburn; 2) LSU; 3) Missouri
RECEIVER
This is the ugliest position for all three teams. LSU lacks any real experience outside of Travin Dural, who has been very quiet since an explosive start to the season. Auburn lost its top option, D’haquille Williams, to a leg injury against Texas A&M, and he could miss the rest of the season. They do still have Sammie Coates, although he’s battled injury all year, while Quan Bray and Ricardo Louis haven’t provided consistent production. Missouri is awfully thin when it comes to pass catchers. Senior Bud Sasser has blossomed this year, but he has twice as many catches (52) as Mizzou’s next-leading receiver, and the East’s Tigers only complete about 15 passes per game.
Edge: 1) Auburn; 2) Missouri; 3) LSU
OFFENSIVE LINE
Missouri’s offensive line had its best performance of the season against Texas A&M, but they’ve been shuffled around all year thanks to injury and haven’t had many cohesive performances. Auburn’s offensive line has suffered it’s share of losses as well, losing a first round pick to the NFL from last year’s team and two starters to injury over the course of the year. They’ve been mostly uneven, although that hasn’t stopped Auburn from being the conference’s top rushing offense. LSU’s line, after a rough start to the season, was a strength for a month-long stretch before the injury bug hit, leading to a 36-yard performance against Arkansas.
Edge: 1) LSU; 2) Auburn; 3) Missouri
DEFENSIVE LINE
Missouri has not just the best pass-rushing tandem in the SEC, but possibly in the entire country. Shane Ray is the favorite for SEC Defensive Player of the Year, while tag-team partner Markus Golden has been fantastic creating pressure all year. Auburn’s defensive line hasn’t generated any pressure over the last month, a major factor in the team’s steep defensive decline in that time span; defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson has lamented his team’s inability to make the quarterback uncomfortable. LSU is a mixed bag, with two very good defensive ends in Danielle Hunter and Jermauria Rasco and not much talent or depth at defensive tackle. The interior has improved over the last month, but that can be attributed to improvement at linebacker.
Edge: 1) Missouri; 2) LSU; 3) Auburn
LINEBACKER
LSU has seen a massive uptick in performance over the course of the season, mainly thanks to Kendell Beckwith’s emergence at middle linebacker, while Kwon Alexander is a physical force as well. Auburn has gotten great production out of Casanova McKinzy and Kris Frost, with McKinzy sitting near the top of the SEC in tackles for loss, but the group as a whole makes mistakes on a regular basis, both in filling lanes and taking angles to the ball. For Missouri, Michael Scherer and Kentrell Brothers lead a group that swarms to the ball well, and they’re solid if unspectacular.
Edge: 1) Missouri; 2) LSU; 3) Auburn
SECONDARY
Missouri cornerback Aarion Penton is back with the team after serving a suspension, and he helps anchor a solid defensive backfield. Braylon Webb is described as a mistake-free safety, and he’s third on the team in tackles. LSU has long been known as “Defensive Back University,” and they still have plenty of talent back there despite losing two regular contributors during the season, one to injury and another to suspension. LSU has gotten solid play from all of its starters, and freshman Jamal Adams has the makings of the next star at safety in Baton Rouge. Auburn has had a rough go, with Jermaine Whitehead missing a big chunk of the season due to suspension. Josh Holsey and Jonathan Mincy have stepped up, but the secondary has been just as troubled as the rest of the defense as the season has worn on.
Edge: 1) LSU, 2) Missouri; 3) Auburn
Final Tally: All three teams come in at 14 points, adding up each ranking. Make of that what you will. For now, Auburn sits ahead in the polls, but Missouri is the only team with a chance at the SEC title.