Ad Disclosure
Here’s our weekly look at the coaches with the most riding on this weekend’s games.
MOST TO GAIN
Jim McElwain & Mark Richt: This one’s pretty simple: the winner gets the inside track to the division title with just two conference games left to play, as both Florida and Georgia tangle with nonconference foes in the final two weeks of the regular season.
For McElwain, this is his first time in Jacksonville for the annual soiree once officially — and still practically — known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. A win would all but clinch the division for the Gators and make McElwain’s debut season comparable to those of Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, both of whom won national titles at the school.
For Richt, a win would salvage a season that went sideways after an ugly loss to Alabama. The Bulldogs came into the year as the favorites in the East, but back-to-back losses — including a squandered 21-point lead at Tennessee — left Georgia fans frustrated. A victory over the rival Gators would wipe much of that angst away.
Gus Malzahn: It’s been a season of bitter disappointment for Auburn. The preseason goals are long since washed away, but the Tigers still have something to play for. One of the unique features of college football is that the bowl structure allows multitudes of teams to finish the season with a postseason win and establish positive momentum for the coming year. That might feel hollow for a team that opened the season in the top 10, but it beats the heck out of the alternative. At 4-3 and with a home game against Idaho coming in November, Auburn probably needs just one more conference win to get bowl eligible.
MOST TO LOSE
Hugh Freeze: Memphis? Who’s Memphis? Ole Miss’ 23-3 win over Texas A&M has retroactively smoothed over a rough patch in the Rebels’ schedule and reminded us that this is a team with just one conference loss, very much in the thick of a tight race in the West. The bad news: a loss makes matters much more complicated — especially with dates against LSU and Mississippi State still looming in the last two weeks of the season.
Kevin Sumlin: It’s been a rough stretch for Texas A&M. Two weeks ago, the Aggies had playoff aspirations and one of the conference’s most efficient offenses. Seven turnovers and two losses later, they have neither. But if back-to-back defeats to Alabama and Ole Miss seemed unpleasant, consider the possibility of a loss against a struggling South Carolina team.
Butch Jones: Tennessee performed admirably last week against Alabama, but after too many missed opportunities early in the season, the Vols can’t afford moral victories. The good news is that the schedule relaxes dramatically from here on in; no team left on the schedule is currently ranked, making a late-season run toward a respectable record a real possibility. But with four losses already on its ledger, Tennessee has precious little margin for error.
Brent Holloway is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State.
