We came so close to another top-ranked tumble. But, alas, Michigan State threw an interception on a 2-point conversion and another interception to seal a 17-16 loss, and No. 2 Ohio State survived. No. 3 Michigan also struggled with Indiana, but won 20-10.
No. 5 Louisville, however, got run out of town with a 36-10 loss to Houston. That is sure to keep the Cardinals out of the playoffs and cast some doubt on Lamar Jackson as the Heisman frontrunner.
With all the recent losses by top-ranked teams, we might get to a point where Alabama could lose and still be ranked No. 1. But even the Tide looked a little lackluster in a 31-3 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga.
We've only got one more week left before championship games, so things are getting intense. Four Big 10 teams are in playoff contention and at least two are guaranteed to lose. The SEC is not the best or most interesting conference in college football right now.
Here's a look at what we learned from watching SEC games in Week 12.
1. Florida closed the deal. The sun came up in the east, your dog chewed on its favorite toy, I found an excuse not to work out and Alabama and Florida will play for the SEC championship. In these uncertain times, it's comforting to know that some things will never change.
Florida (8-2, 6-2) was dealing with a rash of injuries and playing what was supposed to be a home game on the road in what everyone swears is the toughest place to play in college football, but came away with a 16-10 win over LSU.
Derrius Guice gained 83 yards, but he needed 84. Florida stopped him at the goal line on the final play of the game and walked away with the win.
For their trouble, the Gators earned a match with Alabama in the SEC championship game. If ever there was a dubious honor, that is it. We'll break it down more next week, but Florida is the SEC East team best equipped to handle Alabama, and it's still going to be a tall order.
2. It's Iron Bowl time. No football season is complete without the state of Alabama trying to cannibalize itself. This week we saw the College Football Playoff committee doesn't care about losses when it kept Michigan at No. 3 despite a loss to Iowa and only dropped Clemson from No. 2 to No. 4 following a loss to Pittsburgh.
Auburn is better than both those teams, so Alabama's playoff chance isn't in doubt provided the Tide beat Florida in the title game. But both those other losses were by one point, so that's not an invitation to test that theory.
Auburn (8-3, 5-2) has the nation's No. 5 rushing offense (best in the SEC) averaging 297 yards per game. Alabama (11-0, 7-0) has the nation's best rushing defense allowing 68 yards per game. Alabama's rushing offense is 13th nationally (second in the SEC) and Auburn rushing defense is 17th nationally (third in the SEC).
That's the game right there. Whoever can run better should win. You can trust Alabama's passing better than Auburn's, especially if Sean White isn't over his shoulder injury.
If you have no interest in either team, you can play a drinking game. Take a shot every time Verne Lundquist or Gary Danielson references the 2013 "Kick Six." You'll be in the hospital by halftime.[1]
3. Kentucky is bowl eligible. It was a 49-13 win over Austin Peay that clinched it. The Wildcats (6-5, 4-4) now get to play Louisville, which won't be as easy.
Heck, Austin Peay had some fight in the them. The 0-11 Governors got out to a 13-0 lead before Kentucky came back with 281 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Louisville has the nation's No. 6 rushing defense, so…
But never mind all that. Kentucky is going to a bowl. Probably at the Music City Bowl or Birmingham Bowl.
4. Vandy is a win from bowl eligibility. What a final stretch it's been for the SEC East. The lower half of the SEC has made quite a stir over the last few weeks and could salvage something special if Vanderbilt could clinch a bowl. The Commodores (5-6, 2-5) beat Ole Miss 38-17 to make their case.
The SEC could have 12 bowl eligible teams if Ole Miss beats Mississippi State and Vanderbilt beats Tennessee. That would make six teams from each division eligible for the postseason. There's also an outside shot the Commodores could get a bid with just five wins.
If there aren't enough six-win teams to fill up all the bowl spots, five-win teams can get in based on Academic Progress Rate. Last year, three teams earned their way in. This year, Vanderbilt's APR would put them in position to earn one of those spots.
If Duke picks up a fifth win over Miami, it would be chosen first according to that ranking. Northwestern already has five wins and would be second. Vanderbilt would be third. Entering Saturday, there were 20 more bowl bids than eligible teams.
5. Ed Orgeron is unlikely to return. Orgeron has won as many games in two years as an interim coach at Southern Cal and LSU as he did in three years as the head coach at Ole Miss.
But LSU hasn't changed much since Les Miles was ousted and the Tigers (6-4, 4-3) are limping along at 6-4. They have a game against Texas A&M to make it a little better, but even with a win there Orgeron would be an unlikely hire.
LSU (6-4, 4-3) is better than its record suggests and an injury to Leonard Fournette has led to Derrius Guice supplanting him as the lead running back. Guice has 120 more yards, two more touchdowns and is averaging 1.5 yards more per carry than Fournette.
That's a good sign for the future for whomever ends up calling the plays.
6. It's been a wacky year for Tennessee. Remember when everything was going great for Tennessee? The Vols couldn't do anything right in the first half and then couldn't be stopped in the second half. They ended Florida's 11-year winning streak, then lost three straight, including one to South Carolina.
Then their starting running back transferred and now they're a win from perhaps going to the Orange Bowl.
Tennessee (8-3, 4-3) needs a win over Vanderbilt and for Alabama to beat Auburn and Florida, and that would put them in line for the SEC's automatic Sugar Bowl bid. That looked like a longshot about two weeks ago, but that's how college football goes.
This season will still be a disappointment, but Saturday's 63-37 win over Missouri was a cathartic one.
7. Mississippi State won't make a bowl. It's been a rough year for the Bulldogs. Half of their seven losses have come down to the last drive.
The Bulldogs (4-7, 2-5) scored a late touchdown against Arkansas, but the Hogs had a comfortable lead and won 58-42.
They still have a chance to disrupt Ole Miss' shot at a bowl (more on this in a minute), and that would be a big boost heading into the offseason.
8. South Carolina will make a bowl. We haven't talked much about the Gamecocks this year, because they've been terrible.
But they quietly picked up wins over people they should have beaten, and pulled off an upset over Tennessee, and got bowl eligible with a 44-31 win over Western Carolina.
South Carolina (6-5, 3-5) could cause some reshaping of the playoff picture with a win over Clemson, but don't put any money on that.
9. We can cool it with the Shea Patterson hype. After leading Ole Miss to a 29-28 come-from-behind win over Texas A&M, Shea Patterson was the next big thing and a Johnny Manziel clone.
But it didn't last long because the Rebels dropped a pre-Thanksgiving turkey with a 38-17 loss to Vanderbilt. Patterson was 20-of-42 for 222 yards and two touchdowns, but that hyped up Ole Miss defense was dreadful.
The Rebels (5-6, 2-5) have to beat Mississippi State to become bowl eligible. I would say that's not a tall order, but you never know.
10. Brent Musburger likes saying "Colby Delahoussaye." This week featured games against Chattanooga, Austin Peay, Alabama A&M and Western Carolina. This is the best I can do.
But seriously, it's the perfect combination of an iconic voice and a great football name. Listening to Musburger say it makes me think he likes saying it as much as I like hearing him say it. It's fun to say and say again.
He doesn't say it so much as he performs it. "COLE-bee … DELL-a-who-say." I'm being generous with the syllables there. Everything after the "DELL" is all one sound.[2]
I bet when Musburger finds out he's covering an LSU game, he just walks around all week saying "Delahoussaye" over and over to make sure he's ready for when the moment comes.
Extra points:
[1] - It's gotten comical. With this being Verne Lundquist's last year in the booth, he knows he'll never get to talk about it again, so he's got to get it all out while he still can. Every game that is close or coming down to the last play or a game-winning field goal, you're sure to hear about it. Something tells me he'll try to sneak it into a Masters broadcast or being it up during March Madness while someone tries to set up a buzzer-beater.
[2] - I also like how Musburger says "ballyhooed." One day we'll get a "You are looking live at the much ballyhooed Colby Delahoussaye" and I will make it my ringtone.
No. 5 Louisville, however, got run out of town with a 36-10 loss to Houston. That is sure to keep the Cardinals out of the playoffs and cast some doubt on Lamar Jackson as the Heisman frontrunner.
With all the recent losses by top-ranked teams, we might get to a point where Alabama could lose and still be ranked No. 1. But even the Tide looked a little lackluster in a 31-3 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga.
We've only got one more week left before championship games, so things are getting intense. Four Big 10 teams are in playoff contention and at least two are guaranteed to lose. The SEC is not the best or most interesting conference in college football right now.
Here's a look at what we learned from watching SEC games in Week 12.
1. Florida closed the deal. The sun came up in the east, your dog chewed on its favorite toy, I found an excuse not to work out and Alabama and Florida will play for the SEC championship. In these uncertain times, it's comforting to know that some things will never change.
Florida (8-2, 6-2) was dealing with a rash of injuries and playing what was supposed to be a home game on the road in what everyone swears is the toughest place to play in college football, but came away with a 16-10 win over LSU.
Derrius Guice gained 83 yards, but he needed 84. Florida stopped him at the goal line on the final play of the game and walked away with the win.
For their trouble, the Gators earned a match with Alabama in the SEC championship game. If ever there was a dubious honor, that is it. We'll break it down more next week, but Florida is the SEC East team best equipped to handle Alabama, and it's still going to be a tall order.
2. It's Iron Bowl time. No football season is complete without the state of Alabama trying to cannibalize itself. This week we saw the College Football Playoff committee doesn't care about losses when it kept Michigan at No. 3 despite a loss to Iowa and only dropped Clemson from No. 2 to No. 4 following a loss to Pittsburgh.
Auburn is better than both those teams, so Alabama's playoff chance isn't in doubt provided the Tide beat Florida in the title game. But both those other losses were by one point, so that's not an invitation to test that theory.
Auburn (8-3, 5-2) has the nation's No. 5 rushing offense (best in the SEC) averaging 297 yards per game. Alabama (11-0, 7-0) has the nation's best rushing defense allowing 68 yards per game. Alabama's rushing offense is 13th nationally (second in the SEC) and Auburn rushing defense is 17th nationally (third in the SEC).
That's the game right there. Whoever can run better should win. You can trust Alabama's passing better than Auburn's, especially if Sean White isn't over his shoulder injury.
If you have no interest in either team, you can play a drinking game. Take a shot every time Verne Lundquist or Gary Danielson references the 2013 "Kick Six." You'll be in the hospital by halftime.[1]
3. Kentucky is bowl eligible. It was a 49-13 win over Austin Peay that clinched it. The Wildcats (6-5, 4-4) now get to play Louisville, which won't be as easy.
Heck, Austin Peay had some fight in the them. The 0-11 Governors got out to a 13-0 lead before Kentucky came back with 281 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Louisville has the nation's No. 6 rushing defense, so…
But never mind all that. Kentucky is going to a bowl. Probably at the Music City Bowl or Birmingham Bowl.
4. Vandy is a win from bowl eligibility. What a final stretch it's been for the SEC East. The lower half of the SEC has made quite a stir over the last few weeks and could salvage something special if Vanderbilt could clinch a bowl. The Commodores (5-6, 2-5) beat Ole Miss 38-17 to make their case.
The SEC could have 12 bowl eligible teams if Ole Miss beats Mississippi State and Vanderbilt beats Tennessee. That would make six teams from each division eligible for the postseason. There's also an outside shot the Commodores could get a bid with just five wins.
If there aren't enough six-win teams to fill up all the bowl spots, five-win teams can get in based on Academic Progress Rate. Last year, three teams earned their way in. This year, Vanderbilt's APR would put them in position to earn one of those spots.
If Duke picks up a fifth win over Miami, it would be chosen first according to that ranking. Northwestern already has five wins and would be second. Vanderbilt would be third. Entering Saturday, there were 20 more bowl bids than eligible teams.
5. Ed Orgeron is unlikely to return. Orgeron has won as many games in two years as an interim coach at Southern Cal and LSU as he did in three years as the head coach at Ole Miss.
But LSU hasn't changed much since Les Miles was ousted and the Tigers (6-4, 4-3) are limping along at 6-4. They have a game against Texas A&M to make it a little better, but even with a win there Orgeron would be an unlikely hire.
LSU (6-4, 4-3) is better than its record suggests and an injury to Leonard Fournette has led to Derrius Guice supplanting him as the lead running back. Guice has 120 more yards, two more touchdowns and is averaging 1.5 yards more per carry than Fournette.
That's a good sign for the future for whomever ends up calling the plays.
6. It's been a wacky year for Tennessee. Remember when everything was going great for Tennessee? The Vols couldn't do anything right in the first half and then couldn't be stopped in the second half. They ended Florida's 11-year winning streak, then lost three straight, including one to South Carolina.
Then their starting running back transferred and now they're a win from perhaps going to the Orange Bowl.
Tennessee (8-3, 4-3) needs a win over Vanderbilt and for Alabama to beat Auburn and Florida, and that would put them in line for the SEC's automatic Sugar Bowl bid. That looked like a longshot about two weeks ago, but that's how college football goes.
This season will still be a disappointment, but Saturday's 63-37 win over Missouri was a cathartic one.
7. Mississippi State won't make a bowl. It's been a rough year for the Bulldogs. Half of their seven losses have come down to the last drive.
The Bulldogs (4-7, 2-5) scored a late touchdown against Arkansas, but the Hogs had a comfortable lead and won 58-42.
They still have a chance to disrupt Ole Miss' shot at a bowl (more on this in a minute), and that would be a big boost heading into the offseason.
8. South Carolina will make a bowl. We haven't talked much about the Gamecocks this year, because they've been terrible.
But they quietly picked up wins over people they should have beaten, and pulled off an upset over Tennessee, and got bowl eligible with a 44-31 win over Western Carolina.
South Carolina (6-5, 3-5) could cause some reshaping of the playoff picture with a win over Clemson, but don't put any money on that.
9. We can cool it with the Shea Patterson hype. After leading Ole Miss to a 29-28 come-from-behind win over Texas A&M, Shea Patterson was the next big thing and a Johnny Manziel clone.
But it didn't last long because the Rebels dropped a pre-Thanksgiving turkey with a 38-17 loss to Vanderbilt. Patterson was 20-of-42 for 222 yards and two touchdowns, but that hyped up Ole Miss defense was dreadful.
The Rebels (5-6, 2-5) have to beat Mississippi State to become bowl eligible. I would say that's not a tall order, but you never know.
10. Brent Musburger likes saying "Colby Delahoussaye." This week featured games against Chattanooga, Austin Peay, Alabama A&M and Western Carolina. This is the best I can do.
But seriously, it's the perfect combination of an iconic voice and a great football name. Listening to Musburger say it makes me think he likes saying it as much as I like hearing him say it. It's fun to say and say again.
He doesn't say it so much as he performs it. "COLE-bee … DELL-a-who-say." I'm being generous with the syllables there. Everything after the "DELL" is all one sound.[2]
I bet when Musburger finds out he's covering an LSU game, he just walks around all week saying "Delahoussaye" over and over to make sure he's ready for when the moment comes.
Extra points:
[1] - It's gotten comical. With this being Verne Lundquist's last year in the booth, he knows he'll never get to talk about it again, so he's got to get it all out while he still can. Every game that is close or coming down to the last play or a game-winning field goal, you're sure to hear about it. Something tells me he'll try to sneak it into a Masters broadcast or being it up during March Madness while someone tries to set up a buzzer-beater.
[2] - I also like how Musburger says "ballyhooed." One day we'll get a "You are looking live at the much ballyhooed Colby Delahoussaye" and I will make it my ringtone.
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