SEC Football: Every Team's Best Moment from 2014 College Football Season
The SEC watched its streak of seven straight national titles come to an end in 2013 but rebounded with another solid year this season.
Alabama made the inaugural College Football Playoff, and for a while it looked like the Tide might be joined by a second member of the conference. Alas, the chips fell otherwise, but Mississippi State and Ole Miss still finished in the top 10, Georgia still finished in the top 15 and Missouri and Auburn still finished in the top 20.
But more than just the best teams in the SEC had great moments in 2014. From top to bottom—yes, this even includes Vanderbilt—every program gave its fans at least one big reason to cheer.
Here is the highlight each team will remember most fondly.
Alabama
1 of 14
The Moment
Scoring 28 unanswered points in 15 minutes against Auburn.
What Exactly Happened?
Auburn had Alabama on the ropes, taking a 33-21 lead in Tuscaloosa. It parried an Amari Cooper touchdown with a Daniel Carlson field goal to keep the lead at more than one score, 36-27.
But from there, the Iron Bowl turned one-sided.
Cooper caught a 75-yard touchdown on the next play from scrimmage. Nick Perry intercepted Nick Marshall. Blake Sims ran for an 11-yard touchdown, then hit DeAndrew White for the two-point conversion. Auburn punted. Alabama drove 72 yards in 10 plays for another touchdown. Auburn reached the red zone, then came up short on fourth down. Alabama scored another touchdown.
In the span of 15 minutes of game time, Alabama turned a 36-27 deficit into a 55-36 lead against its most hated rival and the team that ruined its previous season. It went on to win the game 55-44.
Why Did it Matter?
Had Alabama lost, Ole Miss would have won the SEC West and relegated the Tide to, most likely, the Peach Bowl.
Instead, they are playing Ohio State in the national semifinal.
Auburn is playing Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.
Arkansas
2 of 14
The Moment
Martrell Spaight strips Anthony Jennings in the red zone against LSU.
What Exactly Happened?
Arkansas had a 17-0 lead with less than nine minutes to play against LSU, but no one in the building felt safe. They had seen this too many times: their team snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The Razorbacks had lost their previous 17 SEC games.
LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings took off on a 2nd-and-2 from the Arkansas 27-yard line and gained first-down yardage. It looked like the Tigers would score, and the game would turn into a nail-biter.
But linebacker Martrell Spaight poked his hand through traffic to jar the ball away from Jennings. Darius Philon hopped on the fumble to revert possession back to the Razorbacks. The shutout remained in tact, and LSU finished the game with a paltry 123 yards.
Why Did it Matter?
Arkansas was 4-5 and needed two wins in its final three games to reach the postseason. With Ole Miss and Missouri looming, it couldn't afford to choke away a winnable game.
The Razorbacks rode their shutout of LSU into a shutout of Ole Miss the following week to clinch bowl eligibility. But they came up short at Missouri in the regular-season finale.
Had they lost to LSU, their season would be over.
Instead, they are still going strong.
Auburn
3 of 14
The Moment
Kris Frost strips Laquon Treadwell at the goal-line against Ole Miss.
What Exactly Happened?
Auburn had a 35-31 lead with less than two minutes remaining, but Ole Miss had a 3rd-and-3 on the Tigers' 20-yard line. Bo Wallace hit Laquon Treadwell for the first down…and then some. Treadwell broke through the defense and went streaking for the end zone.
But linebacker Kris Frost came from nowhere to save the season, yanking Treadwell down at the goal-line. Treadwell shattered his ankle in gruesome fashion—which was difficult to watch—and fumbled the ball in what appeared to be an upshot of the injury.
Cassanova McKinzy recovered in the end zone, and after a lengthy review process, the play was ruled a touchback for Auburn.
It won by the same score, 35-31.
Why Did it Matter?
Auburn at Ole Miss was the first game billed as an "elimination game" for the College Football Playoff. Both teams entered with one loss and couldn't afford to lose a second game.
The Tigers survived another week in the playoff discussion, although they promptly lost to Texas A&M one week later. They finished having lost three of four games, which may not sound good but sounds a whole lot better than having lost four of five.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Florida
4 of 14
The Moment
Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor rush for 389 yards against Georgia.
What Exactly Happened?
Georgia came to Jacksonville hot, having just beaten Missouri and Arkansas with ease. Florida came to Jacksonville frigid, having just lost a heartbreaker to LSU and a blowout to Missouri.
But Florida manned up and beat Georgia in the trenches, and running backs Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones made the Dawgs look like Eastern Michigan. Taylor rushed 25 times for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Jones had the exact same stat line, minus five yards.
The Gators trailed 7-0 after the first quarter but rattled off 31 consecutive points in less than 25 minutes. They led 38-13 before Georgia saved face (sort of) on a touchdown with three seconds remaining. The final score was a still-decisive 38-20.
Why Did it Matter?
It's hard to overstate how embarrassing the Missouri loss was for Florida. The Gators trailed 42-0 in the middle of the third quarter despite having allowed just 92 yards of offense. Missouri returned a kickoff, punt, fumble and interception for a touchdown.
Did I mention that the game was on Homecoming?
Florida needed to play well against Georgia—for pride's sake more than anything. It didn't even need to win. All it needed to do was not trip over its shoelaces. Anything past that would have been playing with house money.
But the Gators did one better, dominating Georgia in their best performance of the Will Muschamp era. The win would prove extra important in hindsight, as it was one of just six on the season.
A loss here would have meant a second straight season without a bowl game. In Gainesville, it might as well rain cats and dogs.
"We wanted this one for our coach," said senior center Max Garcia, per Chris Harry of GatorZone.com. "We wanted it for ourselves."
Georgia
5 of 14
The Moment
Todd Gurley scores 100-yard kickoff return against Clemson.
What Exactly Happened?
Georgia led 14-7 after the first quarter of the season-opener against Clemson, but the Tigers stormed back with two straight touchdowns at the start of the second quarter to take a 21-14 lead.
Thanks to Todd Gurley, that lead was short-lived.
Gurley took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, making easy work of Clemson's special teams. Georgia tied the game at 21-21 and would eventually score 31 unanswered points to win 45-21.
Why Did it Matter?
After a year in which he couldn't stay healthy, Gurley was back to looking like a Heisman candidate. It had been a while since Georgia fans had seen him in this type of form. And he finished the game with 198 rushing yards to go with his 100-yard kick return.
Also, let's not bury the lede: Georgia got revenge on Clemson after losing to the Tigers in the 2013 season opener. Gurley's long touchdown swung the narrative of the game, which appeared to be heading toward a repeat of the previous year.
Instead, it turned into the opposite.
Kentucky
6 of 14
The Moment
Bud Dupree scores game-winning pick-six against South Carolina.
What Exactly Happened?
Kentucky hung tough with South Carolina but appeared to be fading away. It just didn't have the talent to hang around for four quarters. The Gamecocks scored three consecutive touchdowns to turn a 24-17 deficit into a 38-24 lead with less than 12 minutes left to play.
But Jojo Kemp willed Kentucky back into the game with a pair of rushing touchdowns out of the Wildcat formation. South Carolina got the ball back with 2:29 on the clock and the score tied 38-38, needing to drive 80 yards for a touchdown or less to set up a field goal.
On the second play of South Carolina's drive, however, defensive tackle Mike Douglas batted a pass into the air, and defensive end Bud Dupree picked it off and ran it back for a six-yard touchdown.
Another interception on the following drive—this one by safety Ashley Lowery—gave the Wildcats a 45-38 win.
Why Did it Matter?
Kentucky isn't supposed to win games like this. It just isn't. It has proved as much for most of the past decade, and it reinforced the point with a triple-overtime loss to Florida in Week 3.
Beating South Carolina would prove to be the apex of Kentucky's season, which petered out with six consecutive losses, but the win should help Mark Stoops build this program regardless.
It was a moment the city of Lexington will remember.
And it'll remember that it didn't come on the basketball court.
LSU
7 of 14
The Moment
Driving 95 yards on 13 plays to beat Ole Miss, 10-7.
What Exactly Happened?
Ole Miss pinned LSU on its own 5-yard line with 11:06 remaining in a game that hadn't seen points since the first half. The Tigers trailed 7-3 and needed to drive 95 yards to take the lead. They honestly might have settled for gaining a few first downs and flipping the field.
But they didn't have to settle. They made that first thing happen. And they did it with one of the most remarkable feats of the season: calling 12 consecutive handoffs before a pass.
Kenny Hilliard, Melvin Jones and Leonard Fournette combined to gain 92 yards on 12 carries, moving LSU to the Ole Miss 3-yard line. From there, scant-used tight end Logan Stokes slipped open for an easy touchdown pass from Anthony Jennings, making the score 10-7.
LSU would win by that exact margin.
Why it Mattered?
LSU entered the game 6-2 but had lost in embarrassing fashion to the only quality SEC teams on its schedule: Mississippi State and Auburn. It needed to prove it could beat one of the big boys.
At the time, boys didn't come much bigger than Ole Miss, which was 7-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country. The Rebels has the supposed "best defense in college football," armed with monsters such as Robert Nkemdiche up the middle.
But the Tigers made the "Landsharks" look soft on what would prove to be the game-winning drive. They showed that even in a down season by LSU standards, this team can still play with the best.
That is the sign of a strong program.
Mississippi State
8 of 14
The Moment
Dak Prescott scores back-to-back long touchdowns against LSU.
What Exactly Happened?
Mississippi State took a 17-0 lead in Tiger Stadium, but LSU chipped away to make it 17-10 at the start of the third quarter.
On the heels of a Tigers defensive touchdown, Mississippi State drove toward midfield and faced a 3rd-and-3 at its own 44-yard line. But Dak Prescott, undaunted by the atmosphere in Baton Rouge, took a designed quarterback run for the first down and never stopped going, weaving across the field for a preposterous 56-yard touchdown.
Then, after Mississippi State forced a punt, it got the ball back and faced a 3rd-and-8 at its own 26-yard line. This time it dialed up a passing play, and when his first read wasn't there, Prescott scrambled. He shirked an LSU tackle and rolled left to find Jameon Lewis for an even-more-preposterous 74-yard touchdown.
Mississippi State took a 31-10 lead and would go on to win 34-29.
Why Did it Matter?
It looked for a brief moment like LSU would mount a comeback. Mississippi State threw the first punch, but it appeared to have run out of gas. It would lose in Baton Rouge for the 15th (!!!) consecutive time.
But Prescott flipped the narrative in two short bursts, throwing his name into the Heisman race all the while. He didn't make the trip to New York, but his name was among the leaders all season. And Mississippi State enjoyed a season for the ages, rose as high as No. 1 in the rankings, finished 10-2 and made the Orange Bowl.
This is where the story all got started.
Missouri
9 of 14
The Moment
Markus Golden strips Alex Collins to seal the win against Arkansas.
What Exactly Happened?
Missouri scored 18 unanswered points to take a 21-14 lead over Arkansas, but the Razorbacks were driving to tie the game.
A 4th-and-13 roughing the passer penalty kept the drive alive in Arkansas territory. A 4th-and-5 reception by Hunter Henry kept the drive alive once more. Arkansas was officially threatening: inside the Missouri 40-yard line with less than three minutes on the clock.
But two plays after Henry's conversion, defensive end Markus Golden jarred the ball away from running back Alex Collins, then hopped on the recovery to give the ball back to Mizzou.
The Tigers gained one first down then killed the clock.
Why Did it Matter?
How did it not?
Missouri needed this win to clinch the SEC East on the final day of the regular season. A loss would have given the division to Georgia, which beat the Tigers 34-0 but lost two SEC games to their one.
Even though Missouri lost (by a lot) to Alabama in the conference title game, it was still better to make it there than to not. Three years into their SEC experiment, the Tigers have won their division twice.
Ole Miss
10 of 14
The Moment
Senquez Golson intercepts Blake Sims to beat Alabama.
What Exactly Happened?
Ole Miss mounted a frantic comeback to take the lead against Alabama, benefiting from a fumbled kickoff to score back-to-back touchdowns. But the extra point after the second touchdown was blocked, which meant Alabama was driving to win the game—not tie the game—when it got the ball with 2:54 left to play.
Blake Sims led the Tide down to the Ole Miss 22-yard line, where it faced a 2nd-and-3. He took a shot for O.J. Howard in the end zone, hoping that his 6'6" tight end could make a play. But instead, 5'9" interception machine Senquez Golson climbed the ladder and came down with the game-sealing interception.
Ole Miss won 23-17.
Why Did it Matter?
ESPN's College GameDay came to Oxford for the first time ever. It was the biggest game in modern program history.
Plus…it was the only game Alabama lost all season.
More than that, it was a touching bit of revenge for Golson, who was posterized by Alabama running back Trent Richardson (yes, he used to be good) back in 2011. Matt Hinton of Grantland called Golson's pick the Play of the Year, Redemptive Division.
A fine choice, indeed.
South Carolina
11 of 14
The Moment
Dylan Thompson converts 4th-and-1 to ice the win against Georgia.
What Exactly Happened?
South Carolina managed an improbable goal-line stand and clung to a 38-35 lead after Marshall Morgan missed a 28-yard field goal.
The Gamecocks got the ball back with 4:24 on the clock, converted one first down but came up one yard short on the ensuing 3rd-and-7. Head coach Steve Spurrier was faced with a choice: punt the ball back to Georgia and hope his defense could make a stand, or go for it on 4th-and-1 at his own 49-yard line.
Spurrier opted for the latter, which was risky but came out roses. Quarterback Dylan Thompson plunged forward (and may or may not have gotten a home-field spot) for the first down, and South Carolina knelt the game away without having to put its defense back on the field.
Why Did it Matter?
The Gamecocks got depantsed by Texas A&M in the season opener and barely beat East Carolina the following week. They needed this game to ostensibly get their season back on track
Things did not go according to plan after the upset of Georgia, but in the moment South Carolina appeared to have righted the ship. It was a gutty effort and an all-time awesome gamble by Spurrier.
The rain made things about 12 times cooler.
Tennessee
12 of 14
The Moment
Joshua Dobbs leads miracle comeback against South Carolina.
What Exactly Happened?
Brandon Wilds appeared to have won the game for South Carolina when he ran 70 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks led Tennessee 42-28 with less than five minutes to play.
But redshirt freshman quarterback Joshua Dobbs would have none of that. He drove the Vols 75 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown, then got the ball back after his defense forced a punt and drove them 85 yards in nine plays to tie the game at 42-42 with 11 seconds left.
South Carolina held Tennessee to a field goal in the first half of overtime, but the Vols countered with two sacks of Dylan Thompson and won when Elliott Fry missed from 58 yards out on 4th-and-25.
Why Did it Matter?
Dobbs was making his first career start and solidified his role as a the quarterback of the future in Knoxville.
Only a redshirt freshman, he finished the game with 301 passing yards, 166 rushing yards and five total touchdowns and proved that he could be trusted in the biggest moments of close games.
The outright win would prove important over a moral victory when Tennessee finished the season 6-6. If not for Dobbs' miracle, the Vols would be sitting at home right now instead of prepping for a bowl game.
Texas A&M
13 of 14
The Moment
Kenny "Trill" leads manic comeback against Arkansas.
What Exactly Happened?
Arkansas appeared to have solved Kenny Hill and Texas A&M's offense and took a 28-14 lead into the fourth quarter on a neutral field.
But Hill had one more trick up his sleeve, connecting with Edward Pope on an 86-yard touchdown with 12 minutes left to play and Josh Reynolds on a 59-yard touchdown with two minutes left to play.
Texas A&M forced overtime, where on its first play Hill connected with Malcome Kennedy for a 25-yard touchdown. Arkansas went 4-and-out to follow, and the Aggies won a wild one, 35-28.
Why Did it Matter?
Texas A&M entered No. 6 in the country and improved to 5-0 with the win. Hill looked like a Heisman candidate and—down to the late-game heroics—the second coming of Johnny Manziel.
Things went down…um…hill in the seven games that followed, and it wasn't long before Kyle Allen relieved Hill as the starter. But for one halcyon afternoon, everything was all good in Aggieland.
A moment from a happier time.
Vanderbilt
14 of 14
The Moment
Darrius Sims returns two kickoffs for touchdowns against South Carolina.
What Exactly Happened?
Darrius Sims returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown against South Carolina, staking Vanderbilt to a surprise 7-0 lead.
The Commodores extended that lead to 14-0 but allowed South Carolina to score 24 consecutive points thereafter, at which point it appeared the game was about to get out of hand.
But then Sims returned another kickoff for a touchdown, this time from 100 yards out. The score gave Vandy new life, emboldening it to hold South Carolina to a field goal the next possession and kick a field goal of their own one possession later. It trailed by only three points in the fourth quarter before losing 48-34.
Why Did it Matter?
Vanderbilt needed something—anything—to feel good about after getting blown out by Temple and Ole Miss to start the season. Barely beating UMass in Week 3 was not something to feel good about. In fact, it might have made things even worse.
But Sims gave the Commodores a beacon of hope against South Carolina, which is more than it had in its previous games. It was the best moment from a season that didn't have many good ones.
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