College Football Week 11: SEC East and West Divisions Are on the Line
It's Division Decision Saturday.
The SEC East and West could both be decided with two big games.
Meanwhile, the rest of the conference starts to jockey for those coveted bowl positions which, at the time of this writing, seem to weigh heavily in favor of the teams from the SEC West. Let's look at the games.
Last Week: 6-2, Overall: 54-21
J. Newcastle can be heard on "College Football Saturday" each football season on 1300 WTLS & 106.5 FM. His SEC Weekly Preview also appears at Blogcritics.org and Tallassee Times. Follow J. Newcastle on Twitter - twitter.com/j_newcastle.
Florida (6-3) v. South Carolina (6-3)
1 of 7
South Carolina is a team that can't deal with success.
They blew a big lead against Auburn and lost. They beat the No. 1 team in the country (at that time) and turn around to lose to Kentucky.
And now they come off a loss to Arkansas in a game where the Gamecocks came out flat as a board.
Florida, who took three on the chin in the middle of the season, seem to have found a work-around for the inconsistent offense. The Gators defense is still tough to move the ball against and they force a boatload of turnovers.
That should scare South Carolina fans, as the Gamecocks have coughed it up at inopportune times this season in wins and losses.
Florida's special teams can flip the field in their favor as well. The Gators will have to get the Gamecocks defense (which lead the league in sacks) out of the backfield in order to get the ball in the hands of their play makers on the outside.
South Carolina hasn't played well on the road and Florida can smell the blood and a trip back to Atlanta for another shot at the SEC Championship in December in the water.
Florida will be too much for South Carolina to handle.
Florida 33, South Carolina 24
Auburn (10-0) v. Georgia (5-5)
2 of 7
Georgia has defeated one team with a .500 record (Kentucky), while Auburn has downed six teams with winning records.
That should tell you all you need to know about Georgia's wins this year.
Breaking it down even further, Georgia is 0-2 against SEC West teams this season (Arkansas, MSU).
Georgia faithful will tell you the four losses early on are an anomaly, and this is a dangerous team with a renewed purpose. They are drinking the kool-aid with two fists.
Auburn has flat-out dominated the back half of this season. In spite of very real defensive secondary issues, Auburn's front line create havoc for opposing offenses. Factor in QB Cam Newton and the top rushing game in the conference, and Auburn looks like a team on the precipice of a very special season.
Dropping four in a row to Georgia has been a tough pill to swallow for Auburn and they will turn the tables on Saturday.
Expect the Tigers to steamroll past the Bulldogs.
Auburn 31, Georgia 17
Alabama (7-2) v. Mississippi State (7-2)
3 of 7
Alabama plays like a team bit by it's own previous success.
Head coach Nick Saban said as much after the loss to LSU.
Mississippi State plays like a team on a mission. No one thought Dan Mullen would do this much this soon with this team in Starkville, but the Bulldogs have rebounded from two early losses to string together an impressive season, including a stunning win over Florida.
Here's an interesting note: Alabama is ranked seventh in the league in rush defense, while Mississippi State boasts the conferences third ranked rush offense. The Crimson Tide doesn't surrender a ton of points, but that statistic is helped by some early season blowouts.
Mississippi State will give up some yards in the air, but Alabama's offense, which has play makers in the passing game, lacks explosiveness to create opportunities for Alabama to build comfortable leads in a game.
Call it a hunch, but a week off for the Bulldogs, coupled with Alabama coming off a demoralizing loss, are the perfect recipe for an upset Saturday.
Mississippi State 20, Alabama 17
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Tennessee (3-6) v. Ole Miss (4-5)
4 of 7
Neither of these teams is very good.
Ole Miss's defense gives up a lot of points. In fact, they are the worst in the conference.
Tennessee isn't much better.
The difference is on offense. Ole Miss can move the ball on the ground and score points. Tennessee can't do either.
Ole Miss 26, Tennessee 16
Kentucky (5-5) v. Vanderbilt (2-7)
5 of 7
Kentucky isn't special on defense, but that offense is a handful for any team.
Vanderbilt can be a fly in the ointment, but it doesn't take a lot to move them out of the way.
Big Blue has way too much for the Commodores.
Kentucky 34, Vanderbilt 23
Arkansas (7-2) v. UTEP (6-4)
6 of 7
UTEP's not a bad team, but they haven't played anything like the Arkansas offense this year.
The Razorbacks have added a running game to the arsenal in recent weeks, creating more problems for opposing defenses.
This is not a pushover, but should be a fine tune up game as Arkansas prepares for Mississippi State and LSU to end the season.
Arkansas 35, UTEP 17
LSU (8-1) v. Louisiana-Monroe (4-5)
7 of 7
LSU should be wary to avoid the hangover from the win over Alabama.
While ULM won't lay down in Tiger Stadium, they also don't have much to push back with.
LSU's defense is phenomenal and the Tigers have figured out enough on offense to take care of business and win big here.
LSU 35, ULM 6
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