Ole Miss was off on Saturday, but the rest of the SEC did its part in keeping the Rebels' SEC West title hopes alive. However, UM's final two opponents were both impressive in different ways. Let's touch a few subjects on this Sunday morning.
1) The hopes are still alive. Five things must happen for Ole Miss to win the SEC West, and two of those were checked off on Saturday. Alabama jumped to an early lead and held off Mississippi State, 25-20, in Tuscaloosa. Now Alabama controls its West destiny, and State will be in a must-win in Oxford - for the West and the college football playoff.
Later that night, there was even less drama, as Georgia trounced Auburn and ended any AU title hopes. It was a thorough and complete kicking, as all of the Tigers issues came to the surface. Auburn is bad defensively, and unlike against Ole Miss, the Tiger receivers dropped everything in Athens.
Next week is phase three, as Ole Miss must beat Arkansas in Fayetteville. More on that in a second. Then, on the final week of the regular season, the Rebels have to beat State and have Auburn beat Alabama to head to Atlanta. A lot of work left to be done, but for now Ole Miss has to be pleased because it's still mathematically possible.
2) To me, at least, Ole Miss' final two games seem tougher after Saturday. Arkansas snapped a 17-game conference losing streak with a 17-0 beatdown of LSU (how did Ole Miss lose to LSU?) on Saturday night. The Hogs have been improving for a while now, but streaks aren't easy to break. Arkansas has been creative with its ways of blowing games. When a team is losing, it looks for ways to lose in the final minutes, as Arkansas showed against State last year, A&M and Alabama this year, among others.
But in this one Arkansas let Anthony Jennings do Anthony Jennings things while holding LSU to 36 rushing yards on 32 carries. The Hogs found enough offense with two touchdown runs and a 32-yard field goal. In Arkansas fashion, two tight ends were the leading receivers.
Now Arkansas has some confidence and will be playing for bowl eligibility against Ole Miss. It's not an easy game for the Rebels. Arkansas is physical and requires the Rebels to think a little bit. While LSU just powered straight ahead, Dave Womack said the Razorbacks use more scheme and deception with their play calling. Brandon Allen isn't awful, but he's not going to win a shootout. It's all about Ole Miss holding up in the run game for the first time in a few weeks.
Ole Miss fans remember the loss to Texas A&M in 2012 and how breaking the SEC streaked seemed hopeless, but a week later the Rebels blew past Auburn and then beat Arkansas in Little Rock. The day after that Auburn game is what Arkansas is feeling right now. Ole Miss will see a hyped-up team in northwest Arkansas.
Earlier in the day, State got its first loss, but I found myself more impressed with the Bulldogs' resiliency. Having a fumble overturned into a touchdown - though it was the right call - to go down 19-0 in Tuscaloosa is almost impossible to come back from, but the Bulldogs kept their focus and made it a game. Alabama helped by getting away from the run game and Blake Sims struggling to move the football, but even with Dak Prescott throwing it to the Tide three times State got within six points in the second half.
Alabama went on one of those trademark drives to put it away, and Dan Mullen did a brutal job with the clock the final few minutes, but that could have easily turned into a 33-6 game. Instead, MSU can take some positives and know its hopes are still alive. The schedule had set up really well for the Bulldogs all year, and there hasn't been much adversity. Oddly, I came away more impressed with MSU's loss than any of its previous wins.
3) I haven't heard a final verdict, but I feel for Todd Gurley this morning. All that autograph stuff, and ironically, being able to play again may have been the worst thing for him. He was injured late in the win over Auburn and a torn ACL was the immediate concern. It's easy to wonder why he was in the game at that point anyway, but except in extreme cases, I don't like that point since it's impossible to know the thought processes. Hopefully he's OK and it's something minor, but it didn't look good.
Also, the West needs to hope Mizzou keeps winning because Georgia can screw up some plans in Atlanta. I don't think the Tigers can. Mizzou wins the East with victories over Tennessee in Knoxville and Arkansas in Columbia. Has there ever been a more nondescript potential SEC division winner? Mizzou's schedule bypasses Alabama, Auburn, MSU, LSU and Ole Miss, and the Tigers lost to Georgia, 34-0 while struggling to wins against South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
4) Did Auburn's stinker take some shine off Saturday going well for the Rebels? The good thing is if Ole Miss beats Arkansas it gets to play on the Saturday after Thanksgiving before the Iron Bowl. The hope would be there when Ole Miss takes the field. However, right now, it's hard to see a way the Tigers beat the Tide. It's in Tuscaloosa, Alabama needs the win, the Tide hasn't forgotten about last year's Iron Bowl, and the matchup severely favors the home team.
Rivalry games are weird, and that's the best argument for an AU win because the products on the field the last few weeks have gone in different directions. Alabama looks like potentially the best team in the country at the moment, and Auburn may end up very lucky to be 8-4.
5) Where will Ole Miss be in the CFP rankings on Tuesday? The Rebels were 10th this past week. Auburn and Arizona State are going to nosedive out of the top 10. Oregon, Alabama and Florida State are safe in the top four. I think MSU stays in at No. 4 since TCU looked awful at a bad Kansas team. Here's one thing with State though, as it built its resume with those wins against LSU, Auburn and A&M. It's unlikely any of those teams finish with more than eight wins, and one of them will be 7-5. Also, State's nonconference is absolutely awful. It's right there with Vanderbilt as worst in the league.
The Rebels are probably looking at eighth since none of the wins right behind them were eye-popping, but ninth wouldn't be surprising. But in a lot of ways this is irrelevant. Ole Miss has to win out to be considered, and that gives it a huge win over a top-five team and another road win in the SEC. Other teams will lose. It's college football. TCU could lose to Texas. Oregon could lose in the Pac 12 title game. Things happen. For Ole Miss, it's get to 10-2 and put its resume on the table with the two best wins - Bama and Miss. State - out of any other team considered.
Last thing: I credit Florida State for the comebacks, but that glass slipper is going to be crushed somewhere along the line.
This post was edited on 11/16 8:17 AM by Chase Parham
1) The hopes are still alive. Five things must happen for Ole Miss to win the SEC West, and two of those were checked off on Saturday. Alabama jumped to an early lead and held off Mississippi State, 25-20, in Tuscaloosa. Now Alabama controls its West destiny, and State will be in a must-win in Oxford - for the West and the college football playoff.
Later that night, there was even less drama, as Georgia trounced Auburn and ended any AU title hopes. It was a thorough and complete kicking, as all of the Tigers issues came to the surface. Auburn is bad defensively, and unlike against Ole Miss, the Tiger receivers dropped everything in Athens.
Next week is phase three, as Ole Miss must beat Arkansas in Fayetteville. More on that in a second. Then, on the final week of the regular season, the Rebels have to beat State and have Auburn beat Alabama to head to Atlanta. A lot of work left to be done, but for now Ole Miss has to be pleased because it's still mathematically possible.
2) To me, at least, Ole Miss' final two games seem tougher after Saturday. Arkansas snapped a 17-game conference losing streak with a 17-0 beatdown of LSU (how did Ole Miss lose to LSU?) on Saturday night. The Hogs have been improving for a while now, but streaks aren't easy to break. Arkansas has been creative with its ways of blowing games. When a team is losing, it looks for ways to lose in the final minutes, as Arkansas showed against State last year, A&M and Alabama this year, among others.
But in this one Arkansas let Anthony Jennings do Anthony Jennings things while holding LSU to 36 rushing yards on 32 carries. The Hogs found enough offense with two touchdown runs and a 32-yard field goal. In Arkansas fashion, two tight ends were the leading receivers.
Now Arkansas has some confidence and will be playing for bowl eligibility against Ole Miss. It's not an easy game for the Rebels. Arkansas is physical and requires the Rebels to think a little bit. While LSU just powered straight ahead, Dave Womack said the Razorbacks use more scheme and deception with their play calling. Brandon Allen isn't awful, but he's not going to win a shootout. It's all about Ole Miss holding up in the run game for the first time in a few weeks.
Ole Miss fans remember the loss to Texas A&M in 2012 and how breaking the SEC streaked seemed hopeless, but a week later the Rebels blew past Auburn and then beat Arkansas in Little Rock. The day after that Auburn game is what Arkansas is feeling right now. Ole Miss will see a hyped-up team in northwest Arkansas.
Earlier in the day, State got its first loss, but I found myself more impressed with the Bulldogs' resiliency. Having a fumble overturned into a touchdown - though it was the right call - to go down 19-0 in Tuscaloosa is almost impossible to come back from, but the Bulldogs kept their focus and made it a game. Alabama helped by getting away from the run game and Blake Sims struggling to move the football, but even with Dak Prescott throwing it to the Tide three times State got within six points in the second half.
Alabama went on one of those trademark drives to put it away, and Dan Mullen did a brutal job with the clock the final few minutes, but that could have easily turned into a 33-6 game. Instead, MSU can take some positives and know its hopes are still alive. The schedule had set up really well for the Bulldogs all year, and there hasn't been much adversity. Oddly, I came away more impressed with MSU's loss than any of its previous wins.
3) I haven't heard a final verdict, but I feel for Todd Gurley this morning. All that autograph stuff, and ironically, being able to play again may have been the worst thing for him. He was injured late in the win over Auburn and a torn ACL was the immediate concern. It's easy to wonder why he was in the game at that point anyway, but except in extreme cases, I don't like that point since it's impossible to know the thought processes. Hopefully he's OK and it's something minor, but it didn't look good.
Also, the West needs to hope Mizzou keeps winning because Georgia can screw up some plans in Atlanta. I don't think the Tigers can. Mizzou wins the East with victories over Tennessee in Knoxville and Arkansas in Columbia. Has there ever been a more nondescript potential SEC division winner? Mizzou's schedule bypasses Alabama, Auburn, MSU, LSU and Ole Miss, and the Tigers lost to Georgia, 34-0 while struggling to wins against South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
4) Did Auburn's stinker take some shine off Saturday going well for the Rebels? The good thing is if Ole Miss beats Arkansas it gets to play on the Saturday after Thanksgiving before the Iron Bowl. The hope would be there when Ole Miss takes the field. However, right now, it's hard to see a way the Tigers beat the Tide. It's in Tuscaloosa, Alabama needs the win, the Tide hasn't forgotten about last year's Iron Bowl, and the matchup severely favors the home team.
Rivalry games are weird, and that's the best argument for an AU win because the products on the field the last few weeks have gone in different directions. Alabama looks like potentially the best team in the country at the moment, and Auburn may end up very lucky to be 8-4.
5) Where will Ole Miss be in the CFP rankings on Tuesday? The Rebels were 10th this past week. Auburn and Arizona State are going to nosedive out of the top 10. Oregon, Alabama and Florida State are safe in the top four. I think MSU stays in at No. 4 since TCU looked awful at a bad Kansas team. Here's one thing with State though, as it built its resume with those wins against LSU, Auburn and A&M. It's unlikely any of those teams finish with more than eight wins, and one of them will be 7-5. Also, State's nonconference is absolutely awful. It's right there with Vanderbilt as worst in the league.
The Rebels are probably looking at eighth since none of the wins right behind them were eye-popping, but ninth wouldn't be surprising. But in a lot of ways this is irrelevant. Ole Miss has to win out to be considered, and that gives it a huge win over a top-five team and another road win in the SEC. Other teams will lose. It's college football. TCU could lose to Texas. Oregon could lose in the Pac 12 title game. Things happen. For Ole Miss, it's get to 10-2 and put its resume on the table with the two best wins - Bama and Miss. State - out of any other team considered.
Last thing: I credit Florida State for the comebacks, but that glass slipper is going to be crushed somewhere along the line.
This post was edited on 11/16 8:17 AM by Chase Parham
