Hello darkness, my old friend.
We’ve reached the end of the regular season folks, but man it went out with a bang. LSU and Texas A&M played an instant classic that we’ll all talk about for years. It could have gone down as an all-time great had the officiating not been atrocious.
For a few SEC teams, it’s the end of the road until 2019. For everyone else, we enter conference championship weekend and bowl season! As much as I hate college football season winding down, bowl season is an amazing time of year.
1. Alabama – The Crimson Tide capped off a perfect regular season by sending rival Auburn through the buzz saw. The Iron Bowl was close heading into half time, but was all Alabama after that. Tua Tagovailoa accounted for six touchdowns and has all but tightened his grip on the Heisman Trophy. Now the much anticipated showdown with Georgia. Winner goes to the CFB Playoff.
2. Georgia – With a major beat down of rival Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs seem to be hitting their stride at the right time. Jake Fromm is throwing the ball incredibly well, with D’Andre Swift stealing the show on the ground. They’ll need it their best this weekend in the SEC Championship. If they can win, they’ll go to the playoff.
3. Florida – The Gators ended their season on a high note: they ended FSU’s bowl eligibility streak. Dan Mullen ended his first regular season with nine wins and could have a chance for 10 in a New Year’s Six bowl game. Expect Mullen to continue his upward trajectory of Florida football after bringing in his own recruits.
4. LSU – Typically I would drop a team that lost a little farther than this, but I firmly believe that LSU got hosed by the officiating. Besides, LSU is as good as any team in the SEC (Except for the top two). Ed Orgeron and company won’t land in a New Year’s Six bowl, but they still head to bowl season with nine wins.
5. Texas A&M – Jimbo Fisher finished his first season with a win in seven overtimes over LSU. Kellen Mond has had a stellar season, leading the Aggies to an 8-win regular season. They’ll be landing in a mid tier bowl, which isn’t too shabby for a new head coach.
6. Mississippi State – Thanksgiving night ended with a fight where some football happened to be played. The Bulldogs manhandled the Rebel Landshark Black Bears, happily ending the Ole Miss season on a sour note. But, that doesn’t quite make up for the disappointing season Mississippi State fans experienced. Even Nick Fitzgerald couldn’t score enough points to make the Bulldogs contenders.
7. Missouri – The Tigers ended the season by notching four straight wins, albeit against some inferior teams. Drew Lock managed to increase his draft stock, but will leave a massive hole in Missouri’s offense next season. The lack of defense really caught up to them, but eight wins is still impressive.
8. Kentucky – I’m not blown away by the win against Louisville, mainly because everyone did that this year. But, it was nice to see Kentucky’s offense finally show up for duty after being absent lately. Still, the Wildcats ended the regular season with nine wins and beat Florida. Good for Mark Stoops.
9. Vanderbilt – Derek Mason has the Commodores bowling this year after taking down the Vols yet again. Vanderbilt played some great football one minute, and some baffling football the next. Ke’Shawn Vaughn was a shining example of under utilized talent for the Dores. But, when Vandy goes bowling, that’s a good season.
10. South Carolina – Will Muschamp’s squad didn’t exactly live up to expectations this season. The Gamecocks just couldn’t seem to pull it together with the inconsistent play of Jake Bentley. Losing to Clemson isn’t awful, but they should notch win #7 against Akron this weekend.
11. Auburn – The Tigers should be ranked higher, but the wheels are starting to come off down on the plains. With rumors of restructuring Gus Malzahn’s contract and possible replacements, its early chaos for Auburn. But, all of this coming off a lopsided loss in the Iron Bowl? It’s tough sledding heading into a low tier bowl.
12. Ole Miss – A rough season for the Rebels (Landsharks……Black Bears? I honestly can’t keep up) ended with a figurative and literal beating. Matt Luke is starting to feel the heat, and that could carry on to next season.
13. Tennessee – Missing out on bowl season while also losing to your in-state rival? It was a rough day for the Vols.
14. Arkansas – Hey, at least its over for the year.
Thanks for playing along everyone! It’s been a good run. We’ll see you in bowl season.
Poppa Bear is the Lead SEC Analyst for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter:@SoBroPoppaBear
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