1. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Oops! Alabama scheduled a home basketball game against Louisiana-Lafayette for Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. Eastern, meaning the schedule-makers at the basketball offices didn’t anticipate the football team earning a bid to the SEC championship game. Alabama will play Florida for the SEC title in Atlanta at 4 p.m. Eastern. Of course, Alabama was a 50-to-1 shot to win the national title in the preseason.

This week: vs. Mississippi State, 7:45 p.m. (ESPN)

2. FLORIDA GATORS

Is Tim Tebow back in the Heisman Trophy race? He’ll certainly face strong competition from Texas Tech’s duo of Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, along with Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. After accounting for five touchdowns against Vandy, Tebow now has 27 for the season and the SEC’s best passer rating. “Obviously it was an unbelievable event,” he said. “I loved it. It was an honor to win it and it’d be an honor to go again. But it’s not a focus at all. It’s not even something I worry about or think about.”

This week: vs. No. 24 South Carolina, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)

3. GEORGIA BULLDOGS

It’s time to ease up on E.E. Jones, Georgia’s coach in 1900. Jones is only in the news because his defense was the last to allow 38 points in three straight games before the Bulldogs did it this year. But the Bulldogs returned only three starters from the 1899 team which, as we all know, went 2-3-1 but held all but one opponent to five points or fewer. One of the star players on the 1900 team was a player who weighed only 110 pounds.

This week: at Auburn, 12:30 p.m. (Raycom)

4. LSU TIGERS

Coach Les Miles said freshman quarterback Jordan Jefferson deserves to play and will likely get a chance this Saturday. “I think there will be things that Jordan is really good at,” Miles said. “I think it’ll be a cross section of the offense. I don’t know if it’s as clean as Andrew Hatch’s and Jarrett Lee’s definition would be, but he really took a lot of snaps last week, and he’s really improving. We really think he’s readier now than he’s been.”

This week: vs. Troy, 8 p.m.

5. SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

Steve Spurrier was so upset at defensive back/kick returner Chris Culliver for swinging at an Arkansas player and getting ejected — earning him a first-half suspension for Saturday’s game — that he vented to swimmer Michael Phelps, who was in town visiting friends and attended the game. “I told him I was a little upset at our No. 17,” Spurrier said. “I said, ‘It’d be about like you right before the big meet going for one of those gold medals to go cuss out one of the officials and get ejected.’”

This week: at No. 3 Florida, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)

6. OLE MISS REBELS

The Rebels are improving on the field but regressing on the recruiting trail, currently ranking 50th by Rivals.com. “That’s the least of my worries,” coach Houston Nutt said, “because we’re getting so much positive (feedback) ... We just got another commitment (Monday) night that another big school wanted.” That commitment was running back Tim Simon, from Cordova, Ala. Nutt said he’s in no hurry to fill the rest of the slots in the class because he wants the momentum of an improved season to build.

This week: vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 2 p.m.

7. KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Receiver DeMoreo Ford, from LaGrange, Ga., is giving up football because of concussions. Physicians advised Ford to retire after suffering a concussion against Mississippi State on Nov. 1. Ford, a redshirt junior, finishes his career with 23 receptions for 292 yards and three touchdowns. “DeMoreo has been a really important player in our program,” coach Rich Brooks said. “He’s going to assume the role of student coach.”

This week: vs. Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

8. VANDERBILT COMMODORES

The quarterback situation for Saturday’s game is further muddled by a hip injury to Mackenzi Adams. His status is uncertain. “We won’t know until we see him out in practice running full speed,” coach Bobby Johnson said. “Hip pointers are an unpredictable injury and they are painful. Until we see him trying to run full speed in practice, we really don’t know.” Chris Nickson would start in his place.

This week: at Kentucky, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

9. AUBURN TIGERS

Receiver Montez Billings (broken nose), third on the team with 17 catches, and starting linebacker Merrill Johnson (broken hand) are doubtful for Saturday’s game against Georgia. Coach Tommy Tuberville said Billings likely will practice and has a better chance of playing than Johnson. Defensive linemen Sen’Derrick Marks, Antonio Coleman and Tez Doolittle returned to the practice field Tuesday.

This week: vs. No. 13 Georgia, 12:30 p.m. (Raycom)

10. ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Michael Smith kept his SEC lead over Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno for most rushing yards per game, but it’s close. Smith, who broke the 1,000-yard mark last weekend, averages 112.4 yards per game, with Moreno at 111.3. Six of the Razorbacks’ 15 1,000-yard rushing performances have come in the last four years, thanks to Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.

This week: Off

11. MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

Offensive coordinator Woody McCorvey, a former Tennessee assistant, strongly denied rumors about his health. He underwent an undisclosed medical procedure shortly before the start of the season. “If I wasn’t healthy, I never would have come back out here,” McCorvey said. “I’m not that ignorant that I will put my health, or put this football team, in jeopardy. Woody McCorvey’s fine. Wherever that rumor came from, I don’t know. But Woody McCorvey’s fine.”

This week: at No. 1 Alabama, 7:45 p.m. (ESPN)

12. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

Oklahoma is averaging 35.5 points ... in the first half. Tennessee averages 16 points for an entire game, which ranks 115th in the country. Only four teams are worse: UCF (15.67), Washington (14.67), Washington State (13.9) and, yes, Wyoming (11.8). Tennessee has been held under 10 points four times this season. It had happened only five times under Phillip Fulmer before this miserable 2008.

This week: Off