SEC Coming Attractions: Auburn, Ole Miss in elimination game; more in Halloween Edition
A key question with this season's SEC upstarts wasn't necessarily how they would handle success, but whether a setback could derail it all.
With Ole Miss, we're about to found out.
After seeing its perfect season fall apart in Death Valley, the No. 7 Rebels now have to rebound in a hurry against fourth-ranked Auburn or its playoff and West hopes could be finished.
What amounts to a division elimination game in Oxford takes center stage heading into Week 10, but it's far from the only thing you should be paying attention to while sorting through mounds of Smarties, Tootsie Rolls, candy corn or whatever else you're stealing from your kid's trick-or-treat haul.
Herewith, your SEC Coming Attractions, Halloween Edition:
Auburn's running game vs. Ole Miss' defensive front. The Tigers' spread-option running game tops the SEC with 281 yards per game, while the Rebels' run D was -- up until last weekend's struggles against LSU -- fifth in FBS. Ole Miss is 23rd after giving up 264 yards in Baton Rouge, and took a hit with linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche's season-ending ankle injury. There are more injury concerns with Denzel's brother, defensive tackle Robert, and safety Cody Prewitt dealing with undisclosed injuries. The Land Sharks are stingy, giving up only eight TDs all season, while Auburn has scored on 93.5 percent of its 31 red-zone trips (seventh in FBS). Something has to give. And Ole Miss' penchant for forcing turnovers with 24 gained, including 17 interceptions, is only more reason for Gus Malzahn to go ultra conservative and keep the ball in the hands of quarterback Nick Marshall and running back Cameron Artis-Payne. The Rebels were simply on the field too long against LSU, with the Tigers holding the ball for 36 minutes, including 28:15 in the first half. Should Auburn's ground game follow suit, it will put even more pressure on Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace, who is coming off his worst game of the year. If the Rebels D can't rebound in a hurry, the West race will go on without them.
Grab Your Popcorn: The great thing about "Freddy vs. Jason" -- well, to be honest, we're using "great" lightly here -- was not knowing who was going to survive. Gus Malzahn vs. Hugh Freeze is exactly like that, except with visors.
If Florida's Will Muschamp is looking for something to take his mind off his job security ahead of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (sorry, no name change here), might Coming Attractions suggest 'Zombieland.' Woody Harrelson's Tallahassee character holed himself up in a booth Alamo-style, drawing all the undead to him to save the others. That's Muschamp, who has the whole of Gators Nation bearing down on him as he tries to avoid going 0-4 in the annual rivalry game against No. 9 Georgia. The Bulldogs opened as a 13-point favorite and there's the potential running back Todd Gurley could be back in the fold -- at least Muschamp thinks he will, saying Monday: "Absolutely. I would expect him to play." -- meaning this could get ugly. This game could all but secure Muschamp's fate, and as bad as Florida has been -- dropping three of its last four -- he has gotten the Gators up for this game in the past, losing by three last season and never by more than eight. Every indication is this is the end for Muschamp, but what if he ends that skid in this rivalry? Could that be enough to keep him around?
Grab Your Popcorn: There's some sacrilege in comparing Muschamp to a character that shares a name with rival Florida State's home, but hey, Tallahassee survived, so maybe there is hope for the beleaguered Gators coach.
Much like the concerns with Ole Miss, Kentucky found itself in new territory after a 5-1 start. Blitzed by LSU, the Wildcats alleviated any concerns by giving top-ranked Mississippi State more than it bargained for. Mark Stoops has this team on the cusp of a breakthrough behind quarterback Patrick Towles, one that could come Saturday at Missouri. The Wildcats, who are 2-3 in league play, haven't won three SEC games since 2009 and can hit that figure with two games to play (Nov. 8 vs. Georgia and Nov. 15 at Tennessee). Missouri is coming off two straight wins against the division's worst teams (Florida and Vanderbilt) and QB Maty Mauk -- who has a 39.5 completion percentage in conference games and has thrown two TDs to five picks -- has to face a Kentucky passing defense that's 15th in FBS (185.6 ypg) and is tied for fifth with 13 picks. A win here and Kentucky is bowl eligible and it's well within reason to think it can wind up finishing second in the division.
Grab Your Popcorn: Some may not consider "Underworld" an actual horror movie, but let's take a look at the Lycans and vampires' secret war. The Lycans found a new way to kill vampires and suddenly, Kentucky has found a way to knock off SEC foes with consistency.
Jones has recruited well at Tennessee. His current crop ranked third by Scout.com, and a year ago he brought in a 32-member group that was ranked fourth. But after finishing sixth in the East last year with two SEC wins, Jones' Volunteers are now 0-4 and have lost their last two league games by a combined 68-23. With three wins overall and four games to play, ending Tennessee's four-year bowl drought is no guarantee, especially facing Missouri (6-2) and Kentucky (5-3) before playing struggling Vanderbilt (2-6). That puts the onus on this week's trip to South Carolina, because it may be a stretch to think the Vols can fall in Columbia, then win out and reach the postseason. It's been more than a month since the Gamecocks have won an SEC game (Sept. 20 at Vanderbilt), but they put a scare into Auburn behind a revitalized Dylan Thompson at quarterback. The passing D has been the Vols' strength (ranking 13th in FBS at 181.3 ypg) and should Joshua Dobbs get the nod again at QB, Tennessee's offense should be able to do enough damage vs. an 89th-ranked South Carolina defense. But if the Volunteers can't get out of Columbia, things could get dicey over the final weeks for Jones and Co.
Grab Your Popcorn: Imagine Jones holed up somewhere in Knoxville, taking the arm of a five-star QB, the legs of a blue-chip back and creating his own football god capable of leading the Volunteers back to relevancy. It's a gridiron Frankenstein, and of all that monster's depictions, nothing is better than watching Peter Boyle "Puttin' on the Ritz" in "Young Frankenstein."
The drop-off in Derek Mason's first year at Vanderbilt has been monumental. Granted, after losing the SEC's all-time leader in receptions and yards and needing to play 31 freshman this season, Mason's rookie woes aren't all that surprising. It hasn't all been bad, as they hung with South Carolina, Kentucky and Missouri, but after making three straight bowl games -- and winning the last two -- under James Franklin, the Commodores are winless in the SEC and 2-6 overall. Saturday may be their most realistic shot at another win this year as they host Old Dominion, but even that isn't a sure thing. The Monarchs, who are in the process of reclassifying from FCS to FBS as a Conference USA member, are riding a four-game losing streak, but they're averaging 481 yards per game and 33.1 points, not a good sign for a Vandy team that has been bad on D (412 ypg) and given up 32.8 points (tied for 98th). In the midst of an 0-for SEC run -- which would be its fifth since 1992 -- this is a game the Commodores can't afford to drop, as it may provide the last positive in Mason's debut season.
Grab Your Popcorn: Writer/director George A. Romero called his 1985 zombie flick "Day of the Dead" a "tragedy about how a lack of human communication causes chaos and collapse even in this small little pie slice of society." That's pretty much what's going on right now in Nashville.
