Best and Worst SEC Football Performances: Week 12

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Nov 21, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators place kicker Austin Hardin (16) misses a field goal during the second quarter against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Austin Hardin, K, Florida

– As I mentioned earlier, kicking is what wins ball games for teams in the SEC these days. Unfortunately for Florida this season, kicking has been anything but their saving grace.

Hardin has struggled all year for the Gators and has seen his role on the team fluctuate from full time kicker, to long-distance guy and even to kickoff specialist.

In Gainesville on Saturday, both teams struggled through the first half and headed into halftime knotted at 0-0. One of the people that struggled the most was Hardin, the junior from Atlanta, Georgia.

Hardin was called on once in the first quarter and once in the third quarter to attempt field goals in the 30-39 yard area of the field. He missed them both.

On the year, Hardin is 5 for 11 and sat out three games in September and October after being benched for not working hard enough. An injury to Hardin’s replacement put him back in the lineup. But that’s not all. He has been giving Gator fans near heart attacks because the missed field goals weren’t the only thing that was bad for Hardin on Saturday.

The Gators needed overtime to take care of the Florida Atlantic Owls and in OT Hardin’s extra point attempt was blocked. That left the score at 20-14 before FAU had a final shot at the end zone. Florida’s defense stood tall and pulled it out, but they wouldn’t have had to if they had a semi-decent kicker.

After the injury to Hardin’s backup, the Gators held an open tryout for kickers on campus. Maybe they should let the kid they let walk on have a shot.

Drew Lock, QB, Missouri

– After ending up on the Best of the Week list last week, Lock finds himself back where he belongs due to the obvious fact that Missouri’s offense is absolute garbage.

Nov 21, 2015; Columbia, MO, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Drew Lock (3) warms up before the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Faurot Field. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Tigers don’t have anything positive to takeaway from a 19-8 loss at home to end their home games this season and the final game of head coach Gary Pinkel’s career at Mizzou.

Lock struggled against Tennessee, completing only 13 of his 30 passing attempts.

That was good enough to get his team 135 yards through the air and zero points. Lock threw one interception in the game.

To be fair, the Tigers’ only score was credited to Lock — as he punched in a one-yard run in the fourth quarter for Missouri.

He had a total of 11 yards rushing in the game, though.

The offensive struggles didn’t stop with Lock, though, as the total rushing yards for the Tigers against the Volunteers totaled 88 yards.

Missouri will face Arkansas in week 13 and I think they will get destroyed again due to the fact that their offense is so atrocious.

Arkansas is riding high after competing really well against SEC foes over the span of the last month and will have no problem showing Missouri who is really boss in the final game of the season for both teams.

South Carolina Gamecocks

– This team lost to The Citadel in week 12. After being behind the entire game, the Gamecocks managed to keep the final scoreline close. They failed to do one thing — salvage anything from this season.

This loss for the Gamecocks is demoralizing for a program that is in a transition phase. That transition might be even longer now since SC will surely have trouble pulling recruits to Columbia.

At halftime, the Gamecocks trailed 14-9. They would end up losing the game 23-22.

The Gamecocks saw good production through the air as quarterback Perry Orth threw for 367 yards and a touchdown but couldn’t find any other spark on that side of the ball.

The biggest problem, though, was South Carolina’s run defense. The Citadel ran for a total of 352 yards and three touchdowns against the Gamecocks defense. That is embarrassing.

The Gamecocks will face off against No. 1 Clemson in the final game of the season in week 13 and it will not end well for South Carolina if they play anything like they did in week 12.

Week 13 is surely going to follow some great storylines and we’ll see which players can forget about everything off the field and focus on winning the game.

Next: The Case for Florida to make the CFP

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