Last weekend in the SEC was a quieter week as there weren't too many matchups that could impact the race for the College Football Playoff. This weekend, even with some of the league's best teams on the bye, the SEC had several games with significant College Football Playoff implications.
This weekend, we saw significant losing streaks snapped while the teams on the other end of those wins suffered terrible losses. We also saw two games between ranked opponents as Oklahoma eliminated Tennessee from Playoff contention while the Texas Longhorns jumped back into the race with an upset win over 9th-ranked Vanderbilt.
SEC Power Rankings: Texas jumps back into the race with pivotal win
The Arkansas Razorbacks aren't going to get many chances to pick up a win like they did on Saturday, losing to Mississippi State, giving Jeff Lebby his first win in SEC play. In this game, the Razorbacks took a 14-point lead early in the 4th quarter before allowing Mississippi State to score 17 unanswered points. Bobby Petrino had a great chance to prove he was the man for the job as the Interim Head Coach, but losing this many close games isn't helping much.
The Auburn Tigers may have lost the final game of the Hugh Freeze era on Saturday Night as the Tigers' offense only managed to score 3 points against an abysmal Kentucky defense in an embarrassing loss. The Tigers are just 1-5 in SEC play in Hugh Freeze's 3rd season, and more likely than not, they're going to take another step back after a 5-7 season.
Mark Stoops needed a win, and he got one as the Kentucky Wildcats went into Jordan-Hare and knocked off Auburn. The Wildcats' defense was incredible a week after giving up 56 points, as they held Auburn to 3 points, racking up 7 sacks. While they're 1-2 in their last 3 weeks, this team continues to show encouraging signs for the future each week.
The South Carolina Gamecocks are so flawed that they've wasted such an exciting player in LaNorris Sellers. The Gamecocks are a mess on the offensive line, and every play they're making Sellers run for his life as he is constantly being chased by Ole Miss. This season has been wasted, and it's now all about figuring out who can play for next season as this roster needs an overhaul.
Jeff Lebby is finally on the board as the Mississippi State Bulldogs finally picked up a win in league play. After blowing last weekend's game in the 4th quarter, the Bulldogs rallied to come back from down 14 in the 4th to win the game. The final 3 games come against ranked opponents, which will make it tough for this team to finish above .500, but Jeff Lebby has still done an outstanding job with this team.
In their first game after firing Billy Napier, the Florida Gators looked like they were going to pull off an upset win over Georgia, but the Bulldogs scored late before getting a stop to survive the upset. This team is going to finish this with a disappointing record, but it's encouraging for the future that they keep fighting in every game.
This week has been truly chaotic for the LSU Tigers, as Sunday brought Brian Kelly's firing, before AD Scott Woodward was fired, while Governor Jeff Landry made headlines with his comments about the program. The Tigers spent the weekend on the bye, and it seems like this program desperately needed to clean house. Interim Frank Wilson will have this team fired up the rest of the season, but with games against Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma still left, things could get even uglier.
The Missouri Tigers lost last weekend, but the loss will have an even bigger impact on the season as quarterback Beau Pribula will miss time with an injury. If Mizzou is going to stay in the race for the College Football Playoff, it'll be up to true freshman Matt Zollers, as the Tigers have lost their top 2 quarterbacks to injury. Eli Drinkwitz had this week to prepare, but next week against Texas A&M may be too tall of a task.
After making the College Football Playoff last season, the Tennessee Volunteers are all but eliminated after their loss on Saturday Night. The offense never looked right as Joey Aguilar's 3 turnovers and a missed field goal proved to be costly. Losing this game will certainly sting as it was winnable and would've set the Vols up nicely with an easy stretch to end the season.
The Vanderbilt Commodores had a chance to pick up another win that would move them one step closer to the College Football Playoff, but they put themselves in a big hole early against Texas and never could come back. The biggest issue for Vanderbilt was the disadvantage they had in the trenches, which could bubble up again down the stretch. This weekend dealt a massive blow to the Commodores as they need to win out to make the Playoff, with 2 games against ranked opponents still looming.
After such a disappointing showing last weekend, the Oklahoma Sooners went into Neyland with their backs against the wall in a true College Football Playoff elimination game. The Sooners' defense was incredible, starting with R Mason Thomas' scoop and score touchdown while they held an explosive Tennessee offense to just 27 points. The Sooners head into the bye week with a ton of momentum, but they'll need to run the table against Alabama, Oklahoma, and LSU to make the Playoff.
Texas almost got upset last weekend, but this weekend, they took a Top-10 Vanderbilt seriously and picked up their biggest win of the season. The defense was outstanding before they allowed the Commodores to score 21 in the 4th quarter, as they sacked Pavia 6 times while shutting down the Commodores' rushing attack. Arch Manning played his best game of the season, which is a great sign as Texas will need to go unbeaten down the stretch in order to make the College Football Playoff.
While some coaches may get distracted with being the big name every program is going after, Lane Kiffin has kept his team rolling the past two weeks. On Saturday Night, the Rebels had LaNorris Sellers running for his life, racking up 6 sacks while forcing 2 interceptions. The final 3 games of the season come against The Citadel, Florida, and Mississippi State, meaning more likely than not, this team punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff on Saturday Night.
Once again, it wasn't pretty, but Kirby Smart's team survived a scare, scoring late on a Chauncey Bowens touchdown to beat Florida. The offense struggled in extended periods during this game, but when the offense is clicking, they have the ability to look like one of the best units in the Country. The defense lost KJ Bolden to a targeting call, which could've sunk this team, yet they did a great job at slowing the Gators. This team still has pivotal games left against Texas and Georgia Tech, but if they handle business in their other 2 games, all they'll need is a split.
The Alabama Crimson Tide were able to spend the weekend on the bye after a 5-game stretch where they beat 4 Top 25 opponents and an unranked South Carolina team. Kalen DeBoer's team has rebounded incredibly after its season-opening loss to Florida State, putting them in a great spot to make the SEC Championship. This final stretch has gotten easier with how LSU has looked, but the Crimson Tide needs to keep its focus, as we saw them take several shocking losses last season.
After beating LSU so badly that the Tigers fired Brian Kelly and their AD Scott Woodward, the Texas A&M Aggies spent the weekend on the bye. This team continues to get better, especially on the defensive side, as they have to be considered not only contenders for the SEC, but also National Championship contenders. The final 4 games bring 2 games against ranked opponents, which will test this team once more, but even going 2-2 should be enough to send this team to the playoff.