Alabama Fan Goes Around The Horn In The SEC: What Just Happened?

Auburn and South Carolina have claimed their respective spots in the championship game. That much is for sure, but does that mean the season is over for the rest of the SEC? Oh, Hail No!

Before the crown of the SEC is handed over to a new champion, each contender will have to face one tough opponent.

Georgia at Auburn

After one exhausting week of innuendo and outright lies during an re-opened investigation of irregularities during the desperately seeking Cam Newton recruitment, the FBI stepped in to add credibility and bring the much-needed threat of real punishment for not telling the truth in this saga.

The SEC and NCAA have remained quiet but most are sure that both bodies have their agents involved and are letting matters play out as they should. Cameron Newton remained eligible to play college football during Week 11, and play he did.

Thirty rushes for 151 yards and two touchdowns, 12 completions for 148 yards and two touchdowns against one interception.

That's enough offense for an entire game for most teams, but Terrell Zachary, Michael Dyer and Ontario McCalebb piled on more, as the Tigers rushed for a total of 315 yards, while the Bulldogs scampered only 81 yards for the entire game.

Andrew Murray did pass for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the hard-fought loss to the Tigers.

Without question, the Georgia Bulldogs came to Jordan-Hare to crush dreams but only showed their teeth in the fight for the first half. Despite outplaying Auburn in the first 30 minutes, all they had to show for it was a tied score.

With the opening second-half kickoff, a successful onside kick, Auburn took control of the game.

And with all that was going on, Michael Dyer quietly broke a 28 year old record held by a truly great freshman running back, Bo Jackson. Jackson was on hand to congratulate the freshman from Little Rock, Arkansas.

Dyer, with an 11-yard run in the third quarter, passed the 829 yard mark set by Jackson in 1982. Dyer has accomplished this achievement with one regular season game remaining and two post season games to play. He may well surpass 1000 yards on the year.

At 11-0, the Auburn Tigers are much in need of a bye week. Two weeks of preparation for the in-state rival and undoubtedly more Cam scrutiny by the media, NCAA, SEC and FBI, the team will then travel to Tuscaloosa for the 2010 Iron Bowl.

Make no mistake, this will be the Tigers' toughest test; only time will tell if Alabama will be their toughest opponent.

They will have to play with less depth in the first half, as two of the backup defensive linemen received half-game suspensions for throwing punches at the end of the Georgia game.

The Crimson Tide will be ready to defend their state title on the home turf of Bryant-Denny. Much will be written between now and then about how the respective fan bases expect this final game to be played out.

Truthfully speaking, all bets are off, all money is good and way too much effort will be spent in the process. It will be up to the teams that take the field.

South Carolina at Florida

The Ole Ball Coach returned to the house he made famous and and added to his wins in "the swamp" with a victory over the Gators.

For a venue that boasts "where only Gators get out alive" the home team couldn't prevent the Gamecocks from scratching and pecking their way to an Eastern Division title. The Gamecocks are rewarded with their first opportunity to compete for an SEC championship.

Florida kept the game close in the first half but were completely routed in the second frame by Marcus Lattimore and Company. Lattimore alone rushed for 212 yards. South Carolina finished with 395 yards of total offense. The 36-14 skinning of the Gators was the third straight home loss and one of the worst in recent UF history.

For the game, Stephen Garcia threw for 159 yards on 15 completions without a score. He didn't throw an interception or lose a fumble in the game, which made head coach Steve Spurrier very happy.

In fact, at the post-game locker room speech, Spurrier's comment; "we didn't do anything stupid in this game" was most likely directed at his starting quarterback, as are most quips Spurrier belts out following wins or loses. Garcia played a great game and deserves this moment.

Stephen Garcia has overcome difficult challenges in his personal life, and he has made great strides as a starting quarterback.

All this while playing for one of the most demanding head coaches in all of college football. Hats off to Spurrier, Garcia, Lattimore and Jeffery for getting this team to the SEC finale.

But beware, the Clemson Tigers lie in wait. With no championship to play for outside of the state of South Carolina, the Tigers are sharpening their claws in hopes to shred the wattles, earlobes and comb of the Gamecocks into nothing more than pile of bloody flesh.

This game is always hotly contested, and the Gamecocks better keep their heads on their shoulders so that they are able to play at full strength in the SEC championship game.

A half-game or full-game suspension for throwing punches in this one would be devastating in their quest for their first SEC title.

Alabama hosting Mississippi State

Alabama was expected to come out flat after their hopes and dreams of a repeat national championship faded while the sun set in Death Valley.

But a week of preparation and an opening series that was uncharacteristically up-tempo, set the tone for the return of the elephant stomp to Tuscaloosa's home venue, Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Netting 452 yards of total offense, the Pachyderms scored with uncharacteristic explosiveness rather than the more typical grind-it-out style. In fact, time of possession favored Mississippi State by more than two minutes.

A 10-yard pass to Marquis Maze turned into a 45-yard touchdown reception highlight, that included displays of power and speed by the junior wide receiver.

A 56-yard wide receiver sweep by superstar Julio Jones, and bubble screen to Mark Ingram for 78 yards carried the Tide to a 30-10 victory over the 7-2 MSU Bulldogs

The Alabama kickers added another nine points on a 45-yard boot through the uprights by Cade Foster, while Jeremy Shelley added to the total with accurate place-kicking from 28 and 36 yards out.

Though MSU logged 299 yards of offense with great balance (149 rushing, 150 passing) they could not get into a real rhythm offensively and mount a scoring drive against a resurgent Alabama defense.

Uncharacteristically, the Alabama defense had five sacks in the game and kept dual-threat QB Chris Relf under wraps. Robert Lester captured two more interceptions for a team-high and league-leading seven interceptions on the year.

LSU pounds Louisiana Monroe

One-loss LSU piled on the points in style against their in-state rival in a 51-0 rout of the Warhawks. LSU is hoping to finish the season with a single loss and hope for the worst for the Auburn Tigers.

Should they get their wish and Auburn lose to either Alabama or South Carolina, the Bengal Tigers hope to vault over the Tigers from The Plains in the BCS standings and represent the SEC in a BCS bowl.

As the SEC has learned in 2010, expect anything and every possible combination from the Mad Hatter.

Kentucky dominant over Vanderbilt

Once again, most versatile player in the league, Randall Cobb took over for the Wildcat offense and led his team to victory.

All Cobb did was rush for a career-high 170 yards, scored two touchdowns rushing and set a school record with 279 all-purpose yards in the win against Vanderbilt.

With help from Derrick Locke (145 yard rushing) and Mike Hartline (232 yards passing and 1 TD), the Wildcats overcame a 13-10 halftime deficit to sink the Commodores hopes of a victory on the road in Lexington.

With the win, the Wildcats are bowl-eligible for the fifth straight year, the first year in the tenure of head coach Joker Phillips.

Tennessee routs Ole Miss in Knoxville

While the possibility of victory for the Volunteers was within the realm of reason, a rout of this magnitude was never even dreamed of by the most rabid of Tennessee fans.

Jeremiah Masoli played as if he were still suffering from the effects of a concussion received against Louisiana-Lafayette, making poor decisions hand over foot.

Brandon Bolden did his best to keep his team in the game, rushing for over 100 yards and scoring two touchdowns in the loss. But the Vols jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the first quarter, thanks to miscues by the Ole Miss offense.

For the Vols, quarterback Tyler Bray brought his A-game, which he translated into 18 completions on 34 attempts for 323 yards and three touchdowns.

The true freshman from Kingsburg, Calif., took over the starting role and led his team to victory by the widest margin over the Rebels since 1987.

For the Rebels, there is no time for rest as they will travel to Baton Rouge for a 2:30 p.m. game time against the revved up Bengal Tigers. Despite the horrific results thus far by the Ole Mississippi Rebel Black Bears (what a mouthful), they are always a tough out for the Tigers.

If the Tennessee Volunteers can finish the season with wins against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, they too will be bowl eligible, despite the extremely tough road they have navigated with new head coach, Derek Dooley.

Dooley is a least a contender for SEC coach of the year. Most likely, that award will be presented to Gene Chizik for his success on the Plains amongst all the controversy in 2010. On the heels of an 8-5 season, Auburn is in contention for a BCS national title. Not bad, little sister, not bad!

Georgia must defeat Georgia Tech to become bowl eligible. As it stands, the SEC has eight teams that have 6 or more wins, eight teams that are bowl eligible. Ten teams have the potential to be bowl eligible. All-in-all a very successful season for the best conference in the land.