A year after SEC football was left for dead, 8 teams led the charge in reclaiming the SEC’s title as the best conference in the country.
We’ve already discussed how fickle bowl season can be on this site. In that same article, we also proclaimed the SEC’s greatness. No I don’t think the fact that 8 teams were better than their bowl opponents makes the SEC the greatest conference in the country. I just think it is more affirmation and recognition that SEC football, which sent 10 teams bowling, is the best and deepest conference in the entire country.
It is good to be an SEC football fan today. Even the SEC Network is loving it. Their ratings from the countless replays of SEC bowl games have to be insanely better than they were last year. No one wanted to rewatch the SEC go 0-2 in New Year’s Six games and lose in the College Football Playoff. Thanks to an 8-2 record from SEC football, the replays are fun to watch from top (Alabama, Ole Miss) to bottom (Auburn, Georgia).
So how’d they do it? How did SEC football reclaim their throne as the king of college football? Let’s take a look.
LSU: LSU represented SEC football well in bowl season. They put on a throwback performance, like they played all year. Quarterback finally completed over 50% of his passes (all LSU needs to be competitive every week) and the defense limited the Red Raiders to under 30 (30!) yards total rushing. That about sums it up. Wait. I’m missing something. O yeah! Leonard Fournette cut up like it was September, rushing for 212 yards and 4 touchdowns. That’ll do it every time.
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Auburn: Just like LSU, Auburn represented SEC football in old school fashion. One of the league’s worst defenses dominated a projected first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft in Paxton Lynch. The defense, which again is terrible by SEC standards, made Lynch look silly. Lynch, who destroyed the secondary of Ole Miss, completed only 16 of 37 passes for 106 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
Mississippi State: Dak Prescott and the defense. That is how the Bulldogs made SEC football look good and destroyed North Carolina State in their own backyard in the Belk Bowl. Prescott threw for 380 yards and 4 touchdowns, though he did have one interception. The defense limited North Carolina State quarterback Jacoby Brissett all day, limiting him to 12-28 passing and intercepting him twice.
Texas A&M: Texas A&M entered as a favorite and disappointed SEC football fans to an extent. Jake Hubenak played as well as can be expected after the turmoil A&M experienced at quarterback. The Aggies didn’t get destroyed, though, unlike so many SEC opponents during bowl season. By playing a quality game amidst tons of turmoil, the Aggies helped the SEC in a smaller fashion. No conference can win them all. You just hope your conference doesn’t get blown out.
Alabama: On the biggest stage that the SEC has had thus far this bowl season, Alabama put on the most dominant performance. No team played a
more complete performance against as high caliber of an opponent. Alabama made SEC football fans proud in the College Football Playoff. Jake Coker (25-30/286 yards/2 TDs) had the best performances of his career and the defense absolutely destroyed Michigan State’s offense. Connor Cook completed less than half his passes and the running game was nonexistent. The National Championship against Clemson should be a great game.
Ole Miss: With the exception of Alabama, no team in the conference represented SEC football better than Ole Miss. The Rebels put on a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. The scoreboard and stat sheet actually make the game look closer than it was, as Oklahoma State quarterback J.W. Walsh led two touchdown drives late to make the game look more respectable. Coach Gundy knew Freeze had called off the dogs and took a knee to end the game rather than try to score once again. Kelly tied a Sugar Bowl record for passing touchdowns (4), the rushing attack added over 200 yards and the defense embarrassed Oklahoma State’s high powered offense.
Tennessee: Much like Alabama and Ole Miss put on the best performances for the conference, the Tennessee Volunteers put on the best performance for the SEC East. They destroyed a Northwestern team that had every right to feel like they had been wronged by not being in a New Year’s Six game. Northwestern was surely wishing for a different opponent (New Year’s Six or not) after being ran off the field by Tennessee. Northwestern played 2 quarterbacks and both had 2 interceptions a piece and quarterback ratings of less than 10. Nasty.
Florida: Even SEC football isn’t perfect. Give Florida a quarterback and maybe this is a game.
Georgia: There was nothing really impressive about Georgia’s victory against Penn State. The passing attack was mediocre, the rushing game was slightly above average and the defense did a solid job of limiting big plays and forcing a turnover. The impressive part comes from Georgia beating a James Franklin team while basically having no coaching staff of their own. That is impressive enough by itself.
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Arkansas: Arkansas continued the SEC’s dominant performances against their bowl opponents with a 22 point victory against the Kansas State Wildcats. Kansas State was overmatched in every aspect and it showed, as the Razorbacks dominated the game. Quarterback Brandon Allen threw for 315 yards and Alex Collins contributed 185 yards to go with 3 touchdowns on the ground. The Razorbacks put a dominant stamp on SEC football’s bowl season.
All that is left now if for Alabama to beat Clemson in the National Championship.