With the end of the regular season rapidly approaching, we’re getting to the point where we can take a step back to evaluate performances. However, how a team finishes out a season has a lot to do with how fans (and athletic directors) view the year and their coach’s performance.

The SEC has an array of teams whose seasons can change direction depending on their results during rivalry week. How would a win or loss color the perception of those teams’ coaches?

MOST TO GAIN

Dan Mullen: The Bulldogs’ fate is out of their hands at this point. They’re rooting for Auburn to pull through with a victory that would open the door for the SEC West title. They have to hope the College Football Playoff committee values their body of work, with three wins over then-top-10 teams and their only loss coming to the current No. 1, enough to include them in the four-team bracket. All Mississippi State has to do is win and they’ll have as strong of a case as any team to be included in the playoffs.

Kevin Sumlin: Texas A&M has been in freefall since October, a terrible team with no defense and an inconsistent offense, right? Well, kind of, yes. But with a win over LSU and some help, the Aggies can finish as high as tied for third, record-wise, in the brutal SEC West. For a team that’s rebuilding on the fly, that would be some kind of impressive accomplishment for Sumlin to pull off.

Derek Mason: Mason’s initial campaign at Vanderbilt has been marked as a failure through 11 games. Coaching the Commodores to a third-straight victory against their in-state rivals, at a time when the two programs appear to be heading in opposite directions, would be a sign that Mason can indeed succeed as an SEC head coach.

Gary Pinkel: A division title in Missouri’s second year in the SEC? Yawn. Leading the East through 11 games, in position to earn a second consecutive trip to Atlanta? Big deal. Mizzou has more skeptics than anyone in the SEC, and Pinkel and the Tigers can shut them all up on Friday by dispatching the hottest team in the conference to nail down the SEC East crown.

MOST TO LOSE

Hugh Freeze: Ole Miss started the year looking like one of the most physically dominating defenses in the country, and while they’re still very good the Rebels have slid back toward the pack over the course of the year. The Rebels are right on the edge right now; a win would give them their best record since Freeze came to town, but a loss would put them at .500 in the conference and right on the treadmill of mediocrity in the West.

Nick Saban: To suggest that Saban’s job is in jeopardy is completely laughable, but a second straight loss to Auburn — and a second straight season of having national championship aspirations spoiled in the regular season finale — would be a blow to Alabama’s mystique. After the way the Crimson Tide lost last year’s Iron Bowl, another loss to the Tigers would be an incredible disappointment, especially with how Auburn has been playing of late.

Gus Malzahn: There’s been a troubling trend at Auburn over the last decade or so, where it seems the Tigers can’t maintain a high level of success for multiple years. After last year’s run to the BCS championship game, Auburn has dropped back in the SEC. Considering how quickly Gene Chizik went from national champion coach to ESPN analyst, Malzahn can’t afford that kind of backslide.

Butch Jones: Jones is one of the best slogan-creators in the SEC, hands down. His coaching has left question marks, though. The Volunteers have looked completely lost at times this season and unstoppable at others. If the Vols are going to continue building “brick by brick,” they need to finish out the regular season with a win to secure bowl eligibility.