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Inside the SEC West: The Iron Bowl will determine the division’s champion
By Clint Lamb
Published:
Well, it looks like the Iron Bowl is going to determine the winner of the SEC West.
Alabama didn’t play its best game, but there are very few people who would argue that they’re not the No. 1 team in the country.
On the other hand, Auburn — despite having two losses — is definitely in the Playoff race, and after seeing what it did to No. 1 Georgia, Alabama is going to have its hands full going into Jordan-Hare Stadium in two weeks.
Here’s what else is going on in the West:
Alabama
Outside of the 59-0 thrashing that Alabama gave Vanderbilt in Week 4, the Crimson Tide’s SEC schedule splits have looked vastly different on the road than at home.
Including that 59-point victory — which heavily skews the numbers — Alabama is averaging a 24.7-point win away (only 7.5 points if you don’t include the game against Vandy). On the other hand, the average margin of victory at home has been 36.8 points.
Week 11 was Alabama’s toughest game yet, but the Tide managed to escape Starkville with a 31-24 victory over an impressive Mississippi State team.
The injuries on defense do seem to be a concern, however, as the Bulldogs were able to attack the middle of Alabama’s run defense multiple times. That success resulted in running back Aeris Williams churning out 97 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries (4.4-yard average).
Arkansas
It was yet another ugly week for the Razorbacks. They suffered a loss of 21 points or more for the sixth time this season, falling to LSU 33-10.
Senior quarterback Austin Allen started, but he was benched in favor of Cole Kelley after it was clear that he wasn’t 100 percent.
The more unfortunate news is that Kelley was arrested on Sunday morning for driving while intoxicated, so it could be time to see sophomore Ty Storey for the final two games.
With the team’s only four victories coming against Florida A&M, New Mexico State, Ole Miss and Coastal Carolina, it’s only a matter of time before the Bielema era in Fayetteville is over.
Auburn
The only team that some could argue looked as good as Auburn on Saturday is No. 7 Miami, which beat No. 3 Notre Dame 41-7.
The Tigers’ 41-17 victory was a beatdown that the score doesn’t even do justice. There might not be a hotter team in the country, and it couldn’t be happening at a better time.
All signs are pointing to the Iron Bowl being the deciding factor in who represents not only the SEC West in the conference championship game, but maybe who represents the SEC in the Playoff.
Yet again, the Tigers were balanced — rushing for 237 yards while gaining 251 through the air.
LSU
Those who were expecting there to be a lingering hangover following LSU’s loss to rival Alabama were certainly disappointed.
The Tigers looked great in their Week 11 matchup against the Razorbacks. Granted, Arkansas is the worst team in the SEC, but the 33-10 victory put LSU back on track.
After a rocky start to the year, star RB Derrius Guice has 494 yards and four touchdowns on 62 carries (7.97-yard average) over his last three games.
Week 12 will see LSU face off against a Tennessee team that just fired head coach Butch Jones.
Mississippi State
Mississippi State has three losses this year, but they were to Georgia, Auburn and Alabama — all top 10 teams.
Believing in moral victories is foolish in college football, but there is no denying that the Bulldogs deserved to win against the Tide on Saturday night.
With the last two weeks featuring Arkansas and Ole Miss, it’s likely that State will finish with a 9-3 record, putting them at third in the SEC West.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss managed to take care of an inferior opponent in a big way on Saturday. The Rebels handed Louisiana-Lafayette a 50-22 loss, and it came mostly from the hands of former JUCO quarterback Jordan Ta’amu.
He finished with 418 yards passing (with a 77.8 completion percentage) and five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing).
Ta’amu has been good enough to be a starter next season, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out once Shea Patterson is back in 2018.
Texas A&M
The Aggies came out firing against New Mexico on Saturday. Back as the starting QB, Nick Starkel threw a 60-yard dime to WR Christian Kirk on the first play from scrimmage, and it was all A&M from that point on.
Starkel finished with 416 yards and four TDs through the air, completing 21 of 30 attempts.
The ups and downs on the 2017 season have been apparent, and it still remains to be seen whether Kevin Sumlin will survive to see 2018 as head coach.
Tweet of the week
Arkansas fans last night: “This season can’t possibly get any worse.”
Arkansas fans this morning: pic.twitter.com/b6idjIJDvg
— Trent Shadid (@Shadid13) November 12, 2017
Quote of the week
“We whipped the dog crap out them, didn’t we?” – Gus Malzahn following Auburn’s 41-17 victory over Georgia.
Clint helps cover the SEC West for Saturday Down South. His work can also be found on USA TODAY Sports, The 'Bama Beat podcast and The Bullpen with TonyMac and The Lamb. Previous stops include SEC Country, 247Sports and Touchdown Alabama Magazine.
