Beyond the transfers, the head coaches, the stadium reductions and the backhanders to recruits, the NCAA can change something else that would really take the sport a step forward: The schedules.

The ACC and SEC play 8 in-conference games and 4 non-conference games, while the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big XII all play nine.

Gus Malzahn and Nick Saban both expressed a preference for nine games. In fact, Nick Saban has been lobbying for it since 2012, while Gus Malzahn last year admitted he’s had a Damascus experience on scheduling (probably because Auburn’s is so arduous year after year): “Nine I think is best for us moving forward to make the schedules more equal across the conference.”

Kirby Smart of Georgia – also one of the SEC’s most powerful coaches – joined the ‘pro’ shout. He said: “I think it [would be] a good thing, but I think you will have teams with more losses. Does it affect a team getting in the playoff? I don’t know, but I know you have a lot more games to get up for, a lot more good rivalry games. It’s not just about travelling, it’s just as much about the atmosphere of playing an SEC opponent, I think you are playing more comparable teams to your talent level, I think it’s important for college football.”

Other coaches haven’t expressed an opinion – possibly because half of them lost their jobs after the 2017 season, and the new ones have yet to have a voice. The only time that voters voted to keep the schedule as-is was 2013. Will Muschamp, while he was at Florida, said that it was likely to move to nine games in 2013, but never happened.

The ACC has done the same. While this isn’t a huge surprise bearing in mind the ACC and SEC are two of the biggest superpower conferences in college football right now (although the ACC Network is still going to be minor compared to the SEC Network and the Big Ten Network (that may well turn around during basketball season), it has to change.

For the fans! 

Why? Because not only are Big Ten, Big XII and Pac-12 looking at tougher, in-conference schedules which have in the end worked out nicely for the ACC and SEC, which have captured the last four National Championships. Both Clemson and Alabama in the last four days have lost less than five games. Combined.

Also in the SEC, the way that the rivalries work is rather stupid. What could be more dislikeable than putting together one permanent rival and one division rival?

It means that the likes of Alabama and Georgia hardly play each other in the regular season, and teams like Auburn get royally screwed because they have to play Georgia – and Alabama – every season.

We get that SEC fans like their rivalries. We love them too. If it was a nine-game format, the Iron Bowl will still exist. So will the Egg Bowl, the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, and LSU vs Alabama. We can still have the major cross-divisional rivalries like the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry (Auburn vs Georgia) and the Third Saturday in October, but we can also have one more cross-divisional games, which means the fans (probably quite important) get to see more East vs West games (which may reverse the trend of declining attendances, too), which will also be good for the ones that pay the bills – the SEC Network, CBS or ESPN.

Why should the SEC and ACC changing their schedules change college football in general? Easy. It shuts up the argument altogether. It makes for equality between FBS Conferences, shutting up the whole “we play more in-conference games than you”, because the other one (“We play in a more difficult conference than you”) becomes null and void. Not only that, it’s an easier job for the College Football Play-Off Committee to work out who’s should be ‘in’ with a flat schedule, and also, it pretty much shuts-up massive controversy.

What about the NCAA?

The NCAA will argue that ‘scheduling is not our business’, but that’s absolute crap. If the NCAA is happy to govern everything else, then why not govern one of the key aspects of the game? Not only that, but why are the conferences letting coaches or Athletic Directors – who all have biases on this subject but may well be fired before the next vote comes out (the SEC last voted on it in 2013 and ACC ADs voted on it in 2016) – vote on this altogether. The NCAA should mandate this and that would be that.

The ones that will suffer, inevitably, will be the smaller non-FBS schools, which rely on coming to a stadium and getting the living crap beaten out of them for $1 million (there are quite a few exceptions.

But unfortunately, college football is not a charity. Smaller FCS schools will still make their money. But unless there will be less of them. Will this lead to a shutdown of smaller programs? Sadly, probably. But will it be better for college football as a whole we see more and more in-conference rivalries? Definitely.

I love the bowl time of year. I get to ignore politics for a few hours and sit and balance a beer on my belly and watch college football.

This is a beautiful time to be a SEC fan. We get to generally see a National Champion, and we get to celebrate by haunting others with our war cry: “SEC! SEC! SEC!”.

I was going to go for a long, weaving preview of every bowl, but I realised that this (might) suffice.

So here we go – Why EVERY SEC will win its bowl game.

1. Why Vanderbilt (-4)will beat Baylor: Vanderbilt can stop someone, Baylor can’t. Vanderbilt’s got one of the most underrated running backs in college football in Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who ran for over 1,000 yards in the regular season. Vandy QB Kyle Shurmur’s better than what Baylor will offer, too.
2. Why Auburn (-3.5) will beat Purdue: Because Jarrett Stidham NEEDS a good bowl game to lift his NFL Draft status, and Gus Malzahn needs a good bowl game to get some ju-ju off his back. And also, Purdue really isn’t that good.
3.  Why Florida will beat Michigan (-6): Florida will bring back all of its talent from 2018 for this one, while Michigan is going to have some heavy losses. Michigan winning by almost a touchdown? Are you kidding me? Chomp, Chomp, Harbaugh.
4. Why South Carolina (-5.5) will beat Virginia: Virginia isn’t very good. Despite Deebo Samuel electing to forgo this game so that he can concentrate on the draft, South Carolina will be just fine without him. Jake Bentley will pick apart Virgnia’s secondary with his bevvy of tight ends (Kiel Pollard, Jacob August, Kyle Markway and KC Crosby).
5. Why Missouri (-9) will beat Oklahoma State: Missouri’s en fuego after getting Kelly Bryant to sign for next year, and Drew Lock’s coming back for his swansong. Oklahoma State’s going to miss its best RB (Justice Hill) because he’s declared early. This will be fun, but Missouri will win. Double digits. Mark it down.
6. Why Texas A&M (-7) will beat NC State: Because Texas A&M’s a good team, and NC State’s ‘D’ is porous at best. Kellen Mond will have a field day.
7. Why Mississippi State (-7) will beat Iowa: Iowa’s offensive line won’t be able to stop Mississippi State. 96-tackle anchor Jeffrey Simmons has said he is GOING to play before he leaves for a bright future in the NFL. Good luck, Hawkeyes.
8. Why LSU (-7.5) will beat UCF: Because UCF’s QB Mackenzie Milton isn’t playing. LSU will grind UCF into the ground using their bevvy of running backs. This will get ugly.
9. Why Kentucky will beat Penn State (6.5): Because even if Penn State stops Benny Snell, Josh Allen’s going to kill Trace McSorley on the other side of the ball.
10. Why Georgia (-13) will beat Texas: Texas hasn’t got a great defense, and Georgia will run straight through them. It might be exciting early with Texas’ big wide receivers, but Sam Ehrlinger’s moxiness will get crushed by UGA’s defense.
11. Why Alabama (-14) will beat Oklahoma: Because Oklahoma couldn’t stop a damned thing all season, and it ain’t about to start now.

Stop if you’ve heard this before about recruiting: It’s an Alabama and Georgia world, and everyone else just lives in it.

Every time there was a tweet from the two schools’ Twitter during the National Signing Day flurry, there was another four or five-star recruit that wanted to play for Nick Saban or Kirby Smart.

Everywhere you looked, the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs were in everyone’s thoughts, and it seemed a rarity when a player decided to go elsewhere.

Alabama pulled in five-star RB Trey Sanders, OT Evan Neal, and DE Antonio Alfano, while Georgia celebrated the signings of five stars OC Clay Webb, DE Jermaine Johnson, CB DJ Daniel, while DE Nolan Smith, LB Nakobe Dean, DT Travon Walker, and WR Dominik Blaylock also either signed letters of intent or enrolled early.

Georgia only signed 3 players below a four-star 24-7 ranking, while Alabama just one.

Alabama pulled in 26 commits, while Georgia had 23. Nick Saban’s number was higher due to the attrition of juniors going to the NFL.

THE SEC RULED RECRUITING

Behind them, Jimbo Fisher was doing great things in Texas, vaulting Texas A&M to 3rd overall headed up by five-stars OT Kenyan Green and DT DeMarvin Neal, while LSU was fourth. They added Baton Rouge local CB Derek Stingley, RB John Emery Jr, OC Kardell Thomas, and LB Marcel Brooks.

Whether this will lead to a deeper SEC West in 2019 with everybody beating everybody is anybody’s guess, but Georgia will probably dominate the East. 

Auburn was 11th, Florida 16th, Tennessee 17th, Mississippi State 19th, Arkansas 20th, South Carolina 22nd, and Ole Miss 23rd. Kentucky and Missouri were 32nd and 33rd respectively – although Missouri’s biggest recruit may have been the signings of the ‘silly season’ when former Clemson QB Kelly Bryant elected to play in Columbia. Vanderbilt was 51st.

Right, this time of the year is a sad one, because we say goodbye to our greatest SEC playmakers, wishing that they would have one more year in college to make us smile.

Some are seniors, but what the SEC Blog is focussing on is the juniors, who have decided to forgo their senior year, in an effort to make cash instead of being exploited for it (!).

We don’t expect Alabama to have any declarations because they’ve got two big play-off games coming up (potentially), but otherwise…

Alabama:

Arkansas:

Auburn: Jarrett Stidham (QB)

Florida: Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (DB)

Georgia:

Kentucky:

LSU: Greedy Williams (CB)

Mississippi State:

Missouri:

Ole Miss: AJ Brown (WR), DK Metcalf (WR)

South Carolina: Deebo Samuel (WR)

Tennessee:

Texas A&M:

Vanderbilt: 

Of all the rivalries in the SEC, the best name for a rivalry is the Georgia – Georgia Tech game: “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate”. Nothing comes close.

However, there are some badass hatred flowing through the SEC.

Alabama and Auburn despise each other. Ole Miss and Mississippi State may be on a par with that….maybe worse. There’s no love lost between Clemson and South Carolina or Florida and Florida State. Tennessee – Vanderbilt always seems to pit the ‘Public School Hillbillies’ and the ‘Private School snobs’, and Louisville and Kentucky certainly aren’t fond of each other, even though the ‘Governor’s Cup’ makes it sound like a place where the fans drink sweet tea before the game, not ludicrous amounts of bourbon.

That’s where we feel a little sorry for Arkansas, LSU, Texas A&M and Missouri. There are no natural in-state rivals for these. Texas A&M vs Texas simply doesn’t exist anymore, and both sides can’t grow up enough to make this happen (ironically it could happen in the Cotton Bowl this year, but we’ll have to see about that!), so Texas A&M plays LSU, because LSU has no interesting in-state college football powers (and unless ULL, Tulane or Louisiana Tech grow rapidly, this won’t change for decades to come), and Missouri’s a new arrival, because Missouri and Kansas can’t grow up enough to continue playing the ‘Border War’ either. So Missouri plays Arkansas, because Arkansas and Arkansas State don’t want to schedule each other (it’s never happened!).

Anyway, there are also some cool rivalries happening outside the conference. There’s Ohio State vs Michigan, Notre Dame vs USC and, er, Virginia vs Virginia Tech (just kidding). There is a potentially awesome game from Morgantown (Oklahoma going to West Virginia) and a great fun game way out West (Washington vs Washington State). And there will be no love lost in the State of Arizona (Arizona vs Arizona State), Oregon (Oregon vs Oregon State (The ‘Civil War’), Utah (BYU vs Utah (The ‘Holy War’), Virginia (Virginia vs Virginia Tech), Another Florida game (USF vs UCF), Indiana (Purdue vs Indiana), North Carolina (NC State vs North Carolina), Private School North Carolina (Wake Forest vs Duke), OTHER Georgia (Georgia State vs Georgia Southern). Oh, and the game where an AXE is the winning trophy (Minnesota vs Wisconsin).

Cool, eh?

Anyway, after getting your lecture about games, it’s important we give you some tips. It’s Thanksgiving Weekend, so you’ll probably want to get your bets on beforehand.

So here are our SEC tips:

1. Iron: Auburn vs No.1 Alabama (-24): Alabama hasn’t been great the last couple of weeks – certainly not in the Citadel game, but it’s still 2-0. Auburn is simply weird. Crimson will trump weird in Tuscaloosa. Easily. PREDICTION: Alabama by 21.
2. Hate (Good Old Fashioned): Georgia Tech vs No.5 Georgia (-17): After starting the season badly (1-3), Georgia Tech has rebounded to win 6 out of the last 7. The triple-option is fun to watch, but if Georgia stop it, we don’t think they have the defense to deal with the Dawgs’ running attack. PREDICTION: Georgia by 20.
3. Hate (South Carolinian style with team fights): South Carolina vs No.2 Clemson (-27.5): South Carolina isn’t even in the same league as Clemson at the moment, so it would be shocking if this game’s close going into the third quarter. Clemson got a little bit of a wake-up call last week against Duke after sleepwalking through the first half before winning 45-6. We don’t think this’ll happen here in a hyped atmosphere. Albeit with Hunter Renfrow uncertain (he’s been listed as a starter, but we’re unsure if that’s going to be true). No fighting please, teams. PREDICTION: Clemson runs riot, winning by 30.
4. Egg: No.21 Mississippi State (-10.5) vs Ole Miss: Last week Ole Miss was jobbed out of taking the Vanderbilt to two overtimes by a terrible SEC refs call. Ole Miss has the firepower but not the defense. We’ll take defense in a fun, fun one. PREDICTION: Mississippi State by 5 in a high-scoring game.
5. Oxygen mask (thanks, @Mizzodcast): No.13 Florida (-5) vs Florida State: Florida State has been awful to point of memes, while Florida has been inconsistent-to-good this year. We can’t see Florida State do anything apart from getting their quarterback killed. PREDICTION: Florida by 14.
6. Saluting Corndog: No.7 LSU at Texas A&M (-2): LSU lost its mega-test on the road this year (Florida), but it’s also been battle-tested. And if you want the definition of battle-tested, it’s Texas A&M, who played the SEC West schedule as well as Clemson and a ranked Kentucky team. Why A&M is a two-point favorite I’ll never know (it should be a pick ’em), but this one will come down to the wire. PREDICTION: LSU by 3.
7. Governor drinking a Bourbon Bottle: No.17 Kentucky at Louisville: Kentucky has been poor recently and Louisville has been more than poor all season long. There’s a reason nearly 2,000 tickets are going for as little as $32, because it’s not going to be pretty. Especially for the Cardinals, who fired Bobby Petrino mid-season because they have really, really sucked. PREDICTION: Kentucky by 25. The Wildcats may not have any offense, but then again, Louisville doesn’t have of both.
8. Orange and Gold Guitar: Tennessee vs Vanderbilt (-3.5): This game features the two worst teams in the SEC, and two of the worst four in the conference overall. It will not be pretty. We still like Ke’Shawn Vaughn from Vanderbilt, but we don’t know who UT will start behind centre with Jarrett Guarantano’s injury. PREDICTION: Vanderbilt to win pretty comfortably. By 10.
9. Musket: Arkansas vs Missouri (-22.5): Arkansas has gotten worse recently while Missouri have won three on the bounce including two meant-to-be-tough road trips at Florida and Tennessee. Missouri’s secondary actually played OK last Saturday, while Arkansas’ secondary seemed to want to play with Mississippi State cheerleaders (and have been suspended). Drew Lock should have even more fun. PREDICTION: Missouri by 30.

Meanwhile in other places:

1. THE GAME (Gotta be capital letters): No.4 Michigan (-4) vs No.10 Ohio State: Ohio State couldn’t stop the run against Maryland, and barely survived a monstrous upset. Michigan played badly against Indiana by survived by 11. It wasn’t pretty last week. Ohio State can get it going on offense, and Michigan has been renewed with Shea Patterson. With all the defense coming back last year, we knew Michigan would be pretty good this season. But not this good. PREDICTION: Michigan breaks the streak, winning by 10.
2. Apple: No.18 Washington vs No.8 Washington State (-2.5): We all want Mike Leach to get into the play-off. Washington has not been terribly interesting on its path to 8-3. PREDICTION: GO LEACH! Washington State by 7.
3. Musket: No.6 Oklahoma (-1.5) vs No.9 West Virginia: IF ANY OF YOU HAVE A ****ING CLUE WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE BIG 12 THIS YEAR PLEASE LET ME KNOW. APART FROM A TON OF POINTS AND ZERO DEFENSE. Prediction: West Virginia in 4 OTS. 
4. Oxygen Mask with Mickey Mouse Ears: No.11 UCF (-14) vs USF: By the end of this run, UCF will have more National Championships declared for it than Alabama with the Tuscaloosa News. PREDICTION: UCF by 17.
5. DESERT: Arizona State (-2) vs Arizona: If you’re a betting deviant, you’ll be tuning in late for this one. We still love Khalil Tate, but we also love Herm Edwards, who has gone from The Most Stupid Appointment In College Football to Bowl Game in one season. However, how will it go against Kevin Sumlin? PREDICTION: Arizona by 5. 
6. JOSEPH SMITH’S TABLETS: BYU vs No.19 Utah (-13.5): Did you know that the winner of this gets to take home the original Joseph Smith Tablets? Seriously. It’s true. I saw it on Bleacher Report once. PREDICTION: Utah by 21.
7. CLAY HELTON’S LAST GAME: No.3 Notre Dame (-10-5) vs USC: So bad are USC is that I don’t understand why the Irish are only 10-1/2 point favorites. The Trojans are terrible, and so is Clay Helton. PREDICTION: Notre Dame by 21.

Breaking News: Alabama did not impress us on Week 12. At half-time of the game against Citadel in Tuscaloosa, with the much-less-than-the-reported-101,000 inside Bryant-Denny Stadium still sleepy, the game was tied 10-10. The Tide couldn’t deal with the triple-option, and the offense was poor to say the least. In the second half, Alabama adjusted themselves, scoring 40 to Citadel’s 7, and everything seemed good.

I even posted on my Twitter that after Alabama’s putrid performance Clemson should be made No.1 if they comfortably beat Duke. And Clemson was awful in its first half against Duke before exploding for 45. Obviously, Clemson’s victory over an above-average Duke said counts for more than Alabama’s victory against a Citadel team, but the Play-Off Committee won’t care, bearing in mind that they haven’t decided that Washington State or UCF are worthy of a Play-Off fight.

That said, if we go on good performances from the Top 4 in the play-off this week, then we’d have to give it to Notre Dame, because they hammered Syracuse in a game that was meant to be close. Michigan was NOT impressive at home against Indiana.

On the other side of the coin, the Big-12 shot itself in the foot for a play-off place as Oklahoma didn’t play well against Kansas and West Virginia was beaten by Oklahoma State.

Anyway, we digress. The rankings for our SEC table pretty much is the same….. maybe.

1. Alabama: The Tide showed chinks in their armour against Citadel. Not a great performance by any stretch of the imagination, but this team’s still the best in the SEC.
2. Georgia: Rolled past UMass.
3. LSU: I saw Rice a few weeks ago in Houston and said back then that they were absolutely terrible. The game was over by 1 1/2 quarters in Tiger Stadium. We’ll move on now.
4. Missouri: As has been mentioned, the Tigers should be 9-2. The wasting of Tennessee in Neyland showed what they can do.
5. Mississippi State: Dropped 52 on Arkansas. It’s Arkansas, but then again, Mississippi State’s offense was doomed about a month ago, wasn’t it (Bama excluded!).
6. Texas A&M: A better than win than most people will give them credit for against UAB.
7. Florida: The Gators are on a good trajectory at the moment. If they are this inconsistent now, imagine what things might be like next season.
8. Auburn: Whipped Liberty quickly on the last game of the season in Jordan-Hare. A small game in Tuscaloosa will close out the season next week.
9. Kentucky: The Wildcats are creaking. It wasn’t comfortable against Middle Tennessee, but Josh Allen and the defensive guys got it done in the end (after conceding 23 points).
10. South Carolina: I can’t even remember who they beat soundly this week. Let me look it up…Oh yeah, Chattanooga.
11. Vanderbilt: The ‘Dores got lucky in their overtime win over Ole Miss with a disputed/B.S. call. But then again, #SECRefs.
12. Ole Miss: Got diddled out of a second OT by the SEC refs. The defense is as porous as ever.
13. Tennessee: WELCOME BACK to the Bottom 2 Tennesssee. The injury to Jarrett Guarantano didn’t help, but the offensive line? Dear Lord.
14. Arkansas: Razorbacks = Terrible.

IMPRESSED

1. Citadel: Played their behinds off against Alabama. Their triple-option worked in the first half. They were even leading. Alabama didn’t know how to cope. Even after their eventual loss, this team was getting all the plaudits. And good on ’em.
2. Missouri’s win at Tennessee: After their pretty-much-terrible performance against Vanderbilt and the Vols’ stunning win against Kentucky, we thought that Tigers were ripe for the upset at Neyland. Instead, they dropped 50 in Neyland, and looked really good.

NOT IMPRESSED

1. SEC Refs: I spoke to a journalist friend of mine and he told me that he’d never criticise the refs because ‘they do the best job they can do’. After jobbing Ole Miss out of the chance to go to a second overtime with a terrible call, again you’d argue this: Is this actually the best job they can do?
2. Alabama: Unmotivated in the first half against Citadel. When the biggest highlight of the game was Jalen Hurts coming out in the fourth quarter, you know that this is a cr*p performance

We didn’t want to admit it, but 85% (12 out of 14) of SEC teams are really, really ordinary. Some might be even worse than that.

SEC fans will tell you that the ‘ordinariness’ isn’t in fact that, it’s the fact that ‘anyone can beat anyone on ANY GIVEN SATURDAY IN THE SEC’, and that’s what makes the SEC so great, and other conferences so suck-worthy.

Of course, it’s the notion of ‘Every Given Saturday’ that makes college football so awesome, and not just the SEC.

But in fact, the SEC, B1G and ACC have something in common: They all boast a team that hasn’t won an in-conference game all season (Arkansas, Louisville, Rutgers).

And apart from Georgia and Alabama, everyone else in the SEC has two or more in-conference losses, meaning that no-one particularly stands out, meaning that my listings of ‘Power Rankings’ in the SEC against the notion of Who Was Impressive from week-to-week in the SEC gets hurt.

Despite all my whining, here’s my rankings for the SEC. We’re going in terms of less power, more ordinary.

1. Alabama: EXTRA-ORDINARY TEAM. ESPECIALLY THE REFS AGAINST MISSISSIPPI STATE. IN NICK SABAN’S FAVOUR.
2. Georgia: ORDINARY BECAUSE THEY HAD THEIR OFFENSIVE MISCUES AGAINST GEORGIA IN THE FIRST HALF. Y’ALL’S GOT TO BE PERFECT IF Y’ALL ARE GOING TO BEAT ALABAMA, Y’ALL.
3. LSU: ORDINARY BECAUSE NICK BROSSETTE TOOK TWO KNEES INSIDE THE 5 AGAINST ARKANSAS AND LSU DIDN’T COVER THE SPREAD (Just kidding!).
4. Mississippi State: ORDINARY BECAUSE THE SEC REFS MADE THEM ORDINARY (And Nick Fitzgerald slid for the first down but didn’t make it because he slid too early).
5. Auburn: ORDINARY BECAUSE DEAR LORD HAVE YOU SEEN THAT OFFENSE?
6. Texas A&M: ORDINARY BECAUSE THERE’S NO BETTER FOUR-LOSS TEAM IN THE COUNTRY WHO CAN BEAT OLE MISS.
7. Kentucky: ORDINARY BECAUSE THEY LOSE TO 4-5 TENNESSEE EASILY (AND HAVE NO OFFENSE) AS A RANKED TEAM, AND THE BIGGEST LAUGH OF THE WEEKEND CAME FROM WHAT HAPPENED AT LOUISVILLE.
8. Missouri: ORDINARY BECAUSE THEY SHOOT THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT. OVER AND OVER AGAIN. YET SOMEHOW BARRY ODOM KEEPS SAVING HIS BUTT
9. Florida: ORDINARY BECAUSE THE FANS DON’T FILL THE SWAMP FOR THE SPURRIER-MUSCHAMP BOWL.
10. South Carolina: ORDINARY BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO RUN DEFENSE.
11. Tennessee: ORDINARY BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END OF FULMER’S REIGN TO THE END OF THE BUTCH JONES’ REIGN. LIKE A LOT OF LADIES IN THE SMOKIES, IT HAD ONE TOOTH AND A METH PROBLEM.
12. Vanderbilt: ORDINARY BECAUSE SOMETIMES RICH KIDS DON’T GET GREAT THINGS.
13. Ole Miss: THAT DEFENSE AIN’T ORDINARY, IT’S DOGS—-.
14. Arkansas: SOON THE ORDINARY-TO-BAD SEASON WILL BE OVER, AND TUSKY WILL REALISE THAT HE PICKED A NICE TEAM TO RETIRE. UNTIL HE’S MADE INTO BRISKET.

But there were things that impressed us this week:

1. Meredith and Luke were first in line waiting for the SEC Network to come along to Fayetteville, which got them a nice coach on set. The bad news for Meredith and Luke is that after the SEC Saturday Network crew had left, they had to sit and watch LSU handle their team. Not that they aren’t used to their team being handled, mind.
2. Nick Brosette: The LSU RBs may have broken Vegas hearts by not running in for the score, but taking two knees at the end was the height of sportsmanship.
3. Mississippi State’s defense: Were exceptional in the second half against the Tide. Completely and utterly suffocated Bama’s offensive line.

But some things really, really got under our skin:

1. SEC refs in the Alabama – Mississippi State game: HOW WAS THAT NOT A FUMBLE? HOW WAS THAT A BLOCK IN THE BACK? Hell, even Gary Danielson, who’s got his head so far up Nick Saban’s behind that when Saban opens his mouth they see two pairs of teeth said repeatedly: “That’s a fumble”. The SEC has to deal with its referees. Right now, the conference is looking worse and worse.
2. South Carolina: How did the offense go from 31 points to zero in The Swamp. Could there have been a worse half-time team talk than Will Muschamp’s at half-time.
3. Auburn: The offense is still clueless. Especially the offensive line, which is plain awful.

Despite the SEC East and SEC West races being over, there is interesting stuff going on the SEC this week.

There is Georgia vs Auburn, who really dislike each other. Then there’s Alabama vs Mississippi State, with Cowbell’s excellent defense. Then there Missouri trying to be bowl eligible, LSU trying to rebound against Arkansas and, er, something else in The Swamp, featuring the world’s most entertaining, quotable retired college coach.

Fun fact: I met someone who said that the only reason why Spurrier came to South Carolina in the first place is that one of South Carolina’s biggest boosters, Augusta National head Hootie Johnson, could make him a member at August. I then met someone in about 2008 who actually worked at Augusta who told me he wasn’t a member. We don’t know if that’s changed now, but we’re sure that wherever there’s a good golf course, Spurrier’s talking crap on it. 

So here are our games of interest for Week 11. Give us a hug, people. This isn’t easy writing.

1. South Carolina at No.15 Florida (-6): Florida was awful last weekend against Missouri. So awful that some guy jumped in an alligator pit. With crocs on. Maybe. Anyway, there’s such a brewing quarterbacking controversy in The Swamp, and the fanbase is looking for Dan Mullen to drain it and start with another QB. It should make ‘The Steve Spurrier Bowl’ pretty damned interesting. Especially with a South Carolina side who’s starting to get a result or two. PREDICTION: Florida rebounds, wins by 10.
2. No.24 Auburn at No.5 Georgia (-14): Auburn’s defense is very middling. Running backs are starting to put up the yards against the Tigers as the months roll by – and Georgia’s decision to hammer opposition defensive lines with their running backs is starting to pay dividends. Add to that an Auburn offense which has ranged between not great to fairly clueless, and we can only see one winner. PREDICTION: This one’s over by half-time. Georgia by 17. 
3. No.16 Mississippi State at No.1 Alabama (-24): Alabama was soooo good on the road at LSU, and now they return to friendlier climes against a Mississippi State who have found its mojo again with three wins in the last four, with Nick Fitzgerald finally learning how to hit one of his own receivers. Mississippi State also has a decent defense, too. But decent defenses won’t work against Alabama, who can rip teams apart at such speed that two 3-and-outs can – and probably will – result in 14 points for the Crimson Tide. PREDICTION: This won’t be pretty. Alabama by 31.
4. Vanderbilt at Missouri (-17): Missouri’s win at Florida sparked a lot of questions about Barry Odom’s team. One of them included: “Why in the hell didn’t they play like this all season?” Legitimately, the Tigers could – and probably should – be 6-3 or 7-2. They have just shot themselves in the foot too much. Now, they are big favourites over a Commodores team who isn’t great. PREDICTION: Missouri win by 14. Not great for Vegas, but comfortable enough for Tigers fans.
5. No.11 Kentucky (-6) at Tennessee: Up until the Georgia game, Kentucky’s defense pretty much bailed them out of every game (if you don’t include the OT at Texas A&M). Then the Dawgs scored early, and Kentucky couldn’t keep up – because they have no offense. Benny Snell was smothered, and the ‘Decider For The SEC East’ was over quickly. Now comes a trip to Neyland Stadium. We don’t expect the place to be full – tickets were selling in the top deck for a juicy $8 each – and this will be close. Tennessee’s the worst offensive team in the division…and Kentucky’s just behind them. PREDICTION: This will be really ugly. We’re going for the upset. Tennessee to win by 3.
6. No.7 LSU (-13.5) at Arkansas: After being crushed at home by Alabama, LSU will be licking its wounds all the way to Fayetteville for the Arkansas game. While Arkansas fans will be excited about playing LSU after the ‘Battle of Baton Rouge’, LSU will be looking to continue what has been an excellent season. PREDICTION: LSU rolls by 27.
7. Ole Miss at Texas A&M (-11.5): According to Aggie fans, Kellen Mond had a nightmare day against Auburn, but if there’s one tonic you need for a crappy quarterback performance, it’s Ole Miss’ defense, which can’t catch a cold. PREDICTION: Texas A&M by 21. Ole Miss: PLEASE FIRE YOUR DEFENSIVE CO-ORDINATOR. NOW.

It was meant to be ‘The Game Of The Century’. It was No.1 Alabama, going to the most evil place alive….Baton Rouge. No.3 LSU was waiting, the crowd was off-the-hook…..and Alabama coasted to a 28-0 victory.

Although LSU’s defense played mightily, the offense simply didn’t show up, struggling with Quinton Williams and Bama’s devilishly-effective pash rush, and Joe Burrow spent most of the game running for his life. On the other side of the ball, Tua was also running – but showed he was as happy making a throw off the run as anyone else in football. And when Bama’s running backs came into play, it was frightening.

The thing about LSU is that they weren’t bad on Saturday. They were just another team to get butt-kicked by ‘Bama.

So here are your SEC Power Rankings. And as we’ve mentioned before, it’s about how teams are playing right now, rather than the transitive properties of winning.

The sad news is that the SEC as a league is pretty much over until December. Both Alabama and Georgia clinched their divisions.

1. Alabama (9-0): Absolutely peerless this season. Saban’s decision to promote instead of hire offensive co-ordinators and defensive co-ordinators looks absolutely genius. Everyone on this team – apart from special teams – looks excellent. Good luck to anyone trying to beat them this season. They clinched the SEC West in Baton Rouge, by the way.
2. Georgia (8-1): The Bulldogs went back to playing a physical style of football against Florida, and continued the same against Kentucky, and they were absolutely dominant. Because of the loss against LSU, the Bulldogs can’t afford another loss if they are to get into the play-off. That’s OK, because they clinched the SEC East, and will play the SEC Championship Game against…..Alabama.
3. LSU (7-2): The Tigers were outmatched. Coach O has managed to recruit good offensive depth for 2019, and they’ll need it – they were getting destroyed on Saturday. Also, they were unlucky not to get a bunch of holding calls when on defense. But then again, #SECRefs.
4. Mississippi State (6-3): Nick Fitzgerald AGAIN plays solidly, and Cowbell Central comfortably puts away Louisiana Tech. Fitzgerald will have to be on fire if MSU manages to pull off any kind of upset (ie keeping the spread to under the 30 that it is now).
5. Kentucky (7-2): The Cats have no offense. And when you go down early against Georgia, and your running back is completely suffocated, it’s going to hurt. And yes, we get they beat Mississippi State comfortably, but that was then…this is now.
6. Auburn (6-3): The Tigers aren’t a wonderful team. But they pulled out a victory against Texas A&M when they needed to. But you can’t help but feel that the Tigers are one of the most disappointing teams of 2018…and that doesn’t bode well for two of the nastiest teams Auburn will now have to play in the next few weeks…..Georgia and Alabama.
7. Texas A&M (5-4): THIS IS THE BEST FOUR-LOSS TEAM IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL (Maybe).
8. Florida (6-3): The Gators played well for three quarters against Georgia….and looked utterly lost against Missouri. This team has to be careful or the season could descend into nothing.
9. Missouri (5-4): Massive on the road win over Florida – Drew Lock’s first win against a ranked team – and this team could well have been 7-2 if it hadn’t shot itself in the foot against both South Carolina and Kentucky. Seriously.
10. South Carolina (5-3): Won a shoot-out at Ole Miss. When this South Carolina wins in a shoot-out, the opposition’s defense probably needs a bit of work.
11. Vanderbilt (4-5): Vanderbilt’s stuffing of Arkansas on Week 9 still makes me believe that they aren’t altogether terrible.
12. Tennessee (4-5): They beat Charlotte. And struggled while doing it. Well done #sarcasm.
13. Ole Miss (5-4): As proved yet again, the Rebels have no defense. As we said before, the DC has to go. Preferably now.
14. Arkansas (2-6): Yeah, so the Razorbacks aren’t very good.

If you haven’t heard, there’s two pretty big games in the SEC this week.

One’s in Death Valley, LSU, where the No.3 Tigers host hated No.1 Alabama. The atmosphere will be electric….and very drunk.

The other – somewhat unexpectedly – is earlier in the day at Kroger Field, Lexington, Kentucky, where the No.9 Kentucky Wildcats host the No.6 Georgia Bulldogs. The winner of that game will win the SEC East, and keep its chances of a play-off place very alive indeed. The loser will not only lost in the East, but also not (probably) go into the play-offs.

Anyway, here are our SEC Previews in order of interest. And it’s such a huge damned week for college football, we’re actually going to preview some other games around the country, too.

1. No.1 Alabama (-14.5) at No.3 LSU: Although we probably wouldn’t have picked it as one at the start of the year, now this IS the biggest game of the year so far. Why? Alabama’s unbeaten and No.1, and LSU, by virtue of its 4-1 record over Top 25 teams (3-0 over Top 10 teams) is No.3. However, with the fact that Alabama’s destroyed anyone that’s gotten in its way, the Crimson Tie are 14-1/2 point favourites. Joe Burrow’s said: “We’re got to be perfect to win this game”, and he’s right: The Tigers too. Burrow’s decision-making is going to have to be faster. His wide receivers can’t drop a ball – let alone the 10% of passes thrown to them this year that they’ve dropped so far. The team can’t give up 58.6 yards worth of penalties (72nd in the country). The special teams has got to continue to play in dominant fashion – both in punting and kicking.  And only then might they have a prayer against Tua Tagovailoa, the probable Heisman winner. Tua has weapons. He’s got three future NFL runnings backs. His wide receiving corps – led by Jerry Jeudy, who averages 97.1 yards per game are excellent. And the defense is throttling teams when the game actually counts. The great thing that will help LSU is the atmosphere. The place will be absolutely rocking, and willing the Tigers to survive until the team’s defensive leader Devin White returns after a half-game suspension for a B.S. targeting call. We just hope that this game won’t be settled by the refs. PREDICTION: Alabama wins by 10 in a game that’s a three-point until a Crimson Tide touchdown at the end.
2. No.6 Georgia (-9) at No.9 Kentucky: Josh Allen, Josh Allen, Josh Allen. Georgia’s offensive players had better watch where the Kentucky DE is all afternoon long, because this kid is absolutely awesome. Responsible for 56 tackles and 10 sacks in 8 games, there’s been no offense who’s been able to contain the freak, so expect him to double-teamed for most of the game. Georgia will also play against a Kentucky team that plays solid defense as a unit too (it’s not just about Allen), doing most of the things correctly. The defense is going to have to extremely well, and we expect them on the field a lot. That’s because Kentucky QB Terry Wilson simply isn’t very good, and the Bulldogs  – hopefully looking at the template that Missouri and before that Texas A&M gave them for shutting Kentucky – will quieten Benny Snell, knowing that that’s Kentucky will offer. PREDICTION: Georgia rolls by 21, and they are back in the play-off conversation. 
3. No.25 Texas A&M at Auburn (-4): If you really love the SEC, then you’ll be tuning into the 2018 version of the Jefferson Sports Pilot Game. We’re neither expecting a great atmosphere or a great game. Both defenses have been excellent, and Texas A&M’s offense isn’t a lot of fun to watch on the road (see Mississippi State game last week). And Auburn’s offense hasn’t been fun to watch at home OR on the road. We expect it to be pretty damned close, but every watching it on TV and who’s actually there will come out and say: “Thank God that’s over”. PREDICTION: Texas A&M with the ‘upset’, winning by 7. But take the ‘under’ on 48-1/2, betting deviants.
4. Missouri vs No.11 Florida (-6): Missouri is winless in the SEC and Florida’s two losses have come against Top 10 teams (and it’s beaten the No.3 team in the Nation). Florida also kept close to Georgia until the fourth quarter, when Georgia’s depth took over. We still don’t trust Feleipe Franks with the ball for Florida, but we might well trust him more bearing in mind how AWFUL Drew Lock has been against ranked teams. Sorry Mizzou, but that’s another SEC loss for you. PREDICTION: Barry Odom’s hot seat gets hotter. Florida by 18.
5. South Carolina vs Ole Miss (Pick-Em): This game’s so great that ESPN’s also showing this one at 12pm. Both sides aren’t great, with Ole Miss maybe swinging the way for ‘greatness’ with its defense. South Carolina, on the other, is so bad that my buddy called me just to tell me how bad the Gamecocks were. Here’s to you, Mr Gamecock Fratboy Fan. PREDICTION: South Carolina by 3 in one of the closest and weirdly entertaining games of the day. 
6. Louisiana Tech vs No.18 Mississippi State (-23-1/2): Nick Fitzgerald hasn’t been lucky with his wide receivers catching the ball – but he was immense in the Bulldogs’ excellent win over Texas A&M last week, throwing two absolute dimes for TDs and rushing for two more. Mississippi State feels ignited again – and that’s bad news for Louisiana Tech. PREDICTION: Mississippi State by 28.
7. Charlotte vs Tennessee (-20-1/2): I expected more from Tennessee at South Carolina, and I’ll expect the Volunteers to coast against a UNC Charlotte team still trying to find itself after the injury to QB Chris Reynolds. PREDICTION: Tennessee by 35.

GAMES FROM ELSEWHERE

1. No.14 Penn State at No.5 Michigan (-10): Penn State pulled out its first victory against a ranked team last week when it won in the rain against Iowa, but facing this Michigan team with all its defensive firepower will be a whole other beast. We don’t know how fully healthy Trace McSorley is, and his WRs drop far too many balls for us to think of anything but the ‘Rines. PREDICTION: Michigan by 18.
2. No.4 Notre Dame (9-1/2) at Northwestern: Notre Dame is good, but games in Evanston this year are weird. Pat Fitzgerald’s Wildcats are not only in control of their own destiny in the B1G West, but they should have beaten Michigan earlier in the year. PREDICTION: ‘Book’ the Irish victory. Notre Dame by 7. 
3. No.13 West Virginia vs No.17 Texas (-2): This game – potentially for a Big 12 Championship Game spot – features two good QBs in Will Grier and Sam Ellinger. But West Virginia has more speed on both sides fo the ball. PREDICTION: I don’t understand why the Mountaineers are a ‘dog. West Virginia by 10.
4. No.7 Oklahoma (-13) vs Texas Tech: If this game’s as good as the 66-59 game in 2016, then it’ll be the Game Of The Day. Oh, and this Kyler Murray kid (Oklahoma QB) is really, really fun to watch. PREDICTION: Oklahoma by 20 in a feisty, fun game.