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There are a lot of cupcakes on the SEC’s Week 12 menu.
It starts with Florida Atlantic visiting Florida and The Citadel traveling to South Carolina for noon games on Saturday.
Charleston Southern plays at Alabama and Idaho heads to Auburn in 4 p.m. kickoffs.
And in night games, Georgia Southern faces Georgia between the hedges, and even Kentucky gets a potential break with a visit from Charlotte.
The biggest matchups of the week are in the West with Ole Miss hosting LSU and Arkansas entertaining Mississippi State.
Here’s what the league’s coaches had to say about their teams’ respective games this weekend:
Nick Saban, Alabama: ”When they had the ball, they drove it and didn’t score,” Saban said of Mississippi State, which the Tide trounced 31-6 last week. “It’s always important to be able to make big plays. It’s hard to score if you don’t make some big plays somewhere along the way.”
Bret Bielema, Arkansas: “I preach to our players all the time that you get better as the year goes on,” Bielema said. “I’m not one of those coaches who believe in the status quo. You’ve heard me say it. I think you get better every day. Otherwise, you’re not doing anything.”
Gus Malzahn, Auburn: “It’s going to be tough on Austin to play this week,” Malzahn said of starting center Austin Golson, who suffered a knee injury last week against Georgia that will likely keep him out of Saturday’s game. “I know he’ll want to and he’ll try, but I think it’s going to be tough.”
Mark Richt, Georgia: “We just want to win,” said Richt. “However we do that, we’re happy. Bottom line. We may throw for a lot more than 70 yards or whatever. We may not. We’re going to do whatever we think gives us the best chance to win. We’re really not too worried about stats right now.”
Mark Stoops, Kentucky: “We have two games left and it starts this week with Charlotte, and I promise you the team will come out inspired and ready to play,” Stoops said. “I completely understand (the fans’) frustrations. I also am not going to let our team and our coaching staff … we understand where we are going, what we are doing and where we are headed.”
Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: “They move people and we can’t get moved,” Mullen said of the Razorbacks. “You’re just fighting for that territory right there. It’s that simple, and you have to be physical and stout. They’re using big human beings to try to move you.”
Gary Pinkel, Missouri: “One of the most difficult things when you do what I did, you rock the world of all your coaches,” said Pinkel, who has announced he is stepping down after the season for health reasons. “There was no other way to do it,” added Pinkel, whose Tigers host Tennessee this week.
Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss: “It is really, really difficult to manage the young kids’ psyche and the coaches’ psyche. Everyone,” Freeze said. “I can’t speak for (LSU), but I know firsthand the disappointment that not only comes from a loss, but a loss of being in a position you really want to be in.”
Shawn Elliott, South Carolina: “How many times have we went out there and celebrated a victory?” Elliott said of his 3-7 Gamecocks. “So any opportunity to go out there and face a football team and get a win is going to feel good at this point.”
Butch Jones, Tennessee: “I have a tremendous amount of respect for him,” Jones said of Pinkel, his coaching counterpart this week. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be coaching in this game with him.”
Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M: “They pride themselves on three-and-outs,” Sumlin said of the Vanderbilt Commodores, who host the Aggies on Saturday night. “Last week, they had 6 on 15 possessions the other team had. We’ll have to be efficient, and you combine that with a west coast-style offense and a running back creeping up on 1,000 yards, they’re going to try to control the ball. They make it hard to score. They’re going to hold people to field goals, control the clock and the game and play good defense. That’s been their formula.”
Derek Mason, Vanderbilt: “I think Kyle is intelligent in terms of how he approaches the game,” Mason said of starting QB Kyle Shurmur. “He’s a student of the game. He’s been around the game a long time, and he’s just going to continue to do the things that (offensive coordinator) Andy (Ludwig) asks him to do.”
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
