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THIS wEEk IN THE INSIDE ONE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S PREMIER CONFERENCES | COmPILED BY PaTRICk STEVENS, SPECIaL TO GaTEHOUSE mEDIa
GamE OF THE wEEk NO. 1 ALABAMA (11-0, 7-0 SEC) AT NO. 6 AUBURN (9-2, 6-1)
BY THE NUmBERS STANDINGS (Through Nov. 18)
POwER RaNkINGS Breaking down the SEC
When: 3:30 p.m. EST Saturday Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala. TV: CBS
EAST Team Georgia South Carolina Kentucky Missouri Florida Tennessee Vanderbilt
Conf. 7-1 5-3 4-4 3-4 3-5 0-7 0-7
All 10-1 8-3 7-4 6-5 4-6 4-7 4-7
T25 2-1 1-1 0-2 0-2 0-3 0-3 0-2
WEST Team Alabama Auburn LSU Mississippi State Texas A&M Ole Miss Arkansas
Conf. 7-0 6-1 5-2 4-3 4-3 2-5 1-6
All 11-0 9-2 8-3 8-3 7-4 5-6 4-7
T25 2-0 2-2 1-2 1-3 0-3 0-3 0-5
1. Alabama (11-0): No more gimmes the rest of the way for the Crimson Tide, who will face Auburn in the Iron Bowl. (Last week: 1) 2. Auburn (9-2): Is it possible the Iron Bowl determines where Gus Malzahn is coaching next year? Only in the SEC. (LW: 2)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
3. Georgia (10-1): The Bulldogs have had some issues with Georgia Tech and its triple-option over the years. (LW: 3)
(Through Nov. 18) PASSING YARDS Player 1. Drew Lock, MIZ 2. Kyle Shurmur, VAN 3. Jarrett Stidham, AUB 4. Jake Bentley, SC 5. Shea Patterson, MISS
Yds. 3,247 2,540 2,445 2,429 2,259
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS Player 1. Drew Lock, MIZ 2. Kyle Shurmur, VAN 3. Shea Patterson, MISS 3. Jake Fromm, UGA 5. Jarrett Stidham, AUB
No. 38 22 17 17 16
RUSHING YARDS Player 1. Kerryon Johnson, AUB 2. Benny Snell Jr., UK 3. Nick Chubb, UGA 4. Derrius Guice, LSU 5. Nick Fitzgerald, MSST
Yds. 1,172 1,107 1,045 1,026 968
RECEIVING YARDS Player 1. A.J. Brown, MISS 2. Calvin Ridley, ALA 3. J’Mon Moore, MIZ 4. D.J. Chark, LSU 5. Emanuel Hall, MIZ
Yds. 1085 858 857 725 706
SCORING Player 1. Daniel Carlson, PK, AUB 1. Kerryon Johnson, RB, AUB 3. Benny Snell Jr., RB, UK 4. Andy Pappanastos, PK, ALA 5. Austin MacGinnis, PK, UK 5. Daniel LaCamera, PK, TA&M
Pts. 108 108 98 94 92 92
TEAM STATISTICS (Through Nov. 18) TOTAL OFFENSE Team Missouri Alabama Auburn Ole Miss Georgia Mississippi State Texas A&M LSU Arkansas South Carolina Kentucky Vanderbilt Florida Tennessee
Yds./G 495 479 476 472 431 412 399 395 367 352 352 335 342 296
Pts./G 38.5 41.4 37.6 33.0 35.3 32.5 32.0 26.5 27.3 25.4 26.5 23.0 22.1 19.5
PASSING OFFENSE LEADERS Team Yds. Ole Miss 3,694 Missouri 3,295 Vanderbilt 2,640 Auburn 2,551 Texas A&M 2,540
Yds./G 335.8 299.5 240.0 231.9 230.9
RUSHING OFFENSE LEADERS Team Yds. Alabama 2,973 Georgia 2,941 Mississippi State 2,701 Auburn 2,684 LSU 2,279
Yds./G 270.3 267.4 245.5 244.0 207.2
STaRS OF THE wEEk • QB Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State: Threw for 153 yards and two TDs and rushed for 101 yards and another score to lead the Bulldogs past Arkansas. • WR Al Okwuegbunam, Missouri: Caught five passes for 116 yards and two TDs as the Tigers beat Vanderbilt to become bowl eligible.
STaT OF THE wEEk
2
Teams in SEC history to become bowl-eligible after a 1-5 start. Missouri joined 1983 Mississippi (which went 6-6 with an Independence Bowl loss) as the only teams from the league to do so after its 45-17 defeat of Vanderbilt.
PUMPING IRON
4. Mississippi State (8-3): A victory in the Egg Bowl gives the Bulldogs a nine-win season for the third time in four years. (LW: 4)
AUBURN HOSTS ALABAMA WITH POSSIBLE CFP POSITION AT STAKE kEYS FOR ALABAMA Establish the run. This really goes for both teams, though Alabama has a few more possibilities simply because of QB Jalen Hurts’ mobility. Between him, Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, the Crimson Tide understands its offensive strength and has ridden it to the nation’s No. 9 rushing offense (270.3 yards per game). It will get its greatest test to date against Auburn’s capable front seven. Handle the environment. Let’s put it plainly: It’s going to be raucous on the Plains. With so much at stake — the SEC West title, possibly a playoff berth and definitely the in-state Iron Bowl competition — it has a chance to be one of the wildest settings of the year
anywhere in college football. kEYS FOR AUBURN Find a big play or three. This is more likely than in recent years for the Tigers, who have mustered a total of 25 points in their last two meetings with Alabama. While RB Kerryon Johnson (1,172 yards) is a reliable workhorse back, a major difference for Auburn in a QB in Jarrett Stidham that can create problems with his arm. A multidimensional offense gives the Tigers some hope this week. Tighten up in the red zone. Auburn has allowed opponents to score 88 percent of the time they reach the red zone, which ranks just 104th nationally. Points figure to be at a premium — Alabama
is allowing 10.2 points per game, while Auburn is surrendering 16.6 per contest — and the Tigers need to make sure Alabama comes away with field goals rather than touchdowns on a few drives deep into Auburn territory. pREDICTION Alabama 16-10. It’s a matchup of top-10 defenses … but also top-20 offenses. Here’s guessing that in this game —and with these front sevens — the defense wins out. Whenever that’s the case, the edge is going to swing to the Crimson Tide. It probably won’t be a by a lot, but Alabama should be favored to nose out a tight Iron Bowl victory and move on to the SEC title game for the fourth year in a row.
BEST OF THE REST THIS wEEk’S OTHER TOp GAMES
No. 7 GEORGIA (10-1) at GEORGIA TECH (5-5)
No. 4 CLEMSON (10-1) at SOUTH CAROLINA (8-3)
TEXAS A&M (7-4, 4-3) at No. 19 LSU (8-3, 5-2)
When: Noon EST Saturday Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta TV: ABC Notes: Georgia leads series 65-41-5 and the road team has won the last four games, including Georgia Tech’s 28-27 victory Chubb last season. The Bulldogs remain in contention for a playoff spot after blasting Kentucky last week to close out their SEC regular season schedule. Kirby Smart’s team rolled up 504 yards as RBs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combined 238 yards and five TDs.
When: 7:30 p.m. EST Saturday Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C. TV: ESPN Notes: Clemson leads series 68-42-4 and routed the Gamecocks 56-7 last season to extend their winning streak to three over Bentley their Palmetto State rival. QB Jake Bentley has led the Gamecocks to five consecutive victories at home. Clemson enters the week still harboring hopes for reaching the playoff for the third consecutive year.
When: 7:30 p.m. EST Saturday Where: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. TV: SEC Network Notes: Louisiana State leads series 32-20-3 and has won all five meetings since Texas A&M entered the SEC in 2012. This game could Sumlin mark the end of coach Kevin Sumlin’s tenure in College Station. The Aggies won at least eight games in each of their first five seasons under Sumlin, but are in danger of dropping three of five to close out the regular season.
ROUNDING IT OUT THE REST OF THE MATCHUpS
Time (EST) THURSDAY 7:30 p.m.
Matchup
TV
Mississippi at No. 16 Miss. St. ESPN
FRiDAY 2:30 p.m. SATURDAY Noon Noon 4 p.m.
Missouri at Arkansas Florida State at Florida Louisville at Kentucky anderbilt at Tennessee
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CBS ESPN SEC SEC
5. Louisiana State (8-3): Tigers face Texas A&M and embattled coach Kevin Sumlin in season finale. (LW: 5) 6. South Carolina (8-3): The Gamecocks have done about as well as anyone could have hoped this year. (LW: 6)
7. Texas A&M (7-4): The only SEC West team the Aggies haven’t beaten since joining the league is LSU. (LW: 8) 8. Kentucky (7-4): Call the second half of the season — with three losses in the last five weeks — a correction for the Wildcats. (LW: 7) 9. Missouri (6-5): Barry Odom warrants a ton of credit for salvaging a 1-5 dumpster fire back in early October. (LW: 9)
10. Mississippi (5-6): The Rebels close out the season in what will almost certainly be interim coach Matt Luke’s finale. (LW: 10) 11. Florida (4-6): The Gators can spoil Florida State’s dreams of a 36th consecutive bowl bid. (LW: 12) 12. Arkansas (4-7): You don’t need a magic eight ball to figure out whether Bret Bielema’s time with the Razorbacks is up. (LW: 11)
13. Vanderbilt (4-7): Best chance yet at a conference victory with Tennessee looming at the end of the schedule. (LW: 13) 14. Tennessee (4-7): Best chance yet at a conference victory with Vanderbilt looming at the end of the schedule. (LW: 14)
