SEC
Southeastern Conference1. Alabama (11-0, 7-0)
Is any team in a generation more prepared for the big stage than Alabama? No way. In five seasons of dominance since 2009, Alabama has played top-10 foes 17 times and is 14-3 in that stretch and has won seven of the last eight such meetings. Side question: Is AJ McCarron now the Heisman front-runner? Here's saying Jameis Winston likely holds a lead, but the off-the-field allegations against him are going to be impossible to judge. An Alabama win Saturday in what will be the most-watched college football game in the country this year would go a long way to making McCarron the Heisman favorite.
• Saturday: at Auburn, 3:30 (CBS)
2. Auburn (10-1, 6-1)
Want a reason to believe Auburn can win Saturday? Alabama's losses since 2008 -- Florida, Utah, South Carolina, LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M and LSU again -- all have come against mobile quarterbacks. Most of those guys used their feet to extend plays and look down the field, but all of the guys in that select group -- Alabama is 61-7 since the start of 2008, for crying out loud -- could move. There is no doubt Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall can move -- he may be the fastest starting quarterback in the league since Matt Jones was at Arkansas -- but will he be able to hit plays down the field? That's the biggest key of this Iron Bowl.
• Saturday: vs. Alabama, 3:30 (CBS)
3. Missouri (10-1, 6-1)
Any one have any more questions? Nope. These Tigers are complete and supremely impressive. Missouri overpowered Mississippi and now stands one win from a spot in the SEC title game. And figure this: With Florida resembling a dumpster fire filled with dirty diapers stuffed with Indian food, the Vols in complete rebuilding mode and Georgia and South Carolina having to replace longtime starting quarterbacks, Mizzou likely could be the favorite in the SEC East next year, too.
• Saturday: vs. Texas A&M, 7:45 (ESPN)
4. LSU (8-3, 4-3)
Do you know what the ultimate compliment is for the state of a program? Try this: LSU will go 9-3 and play in a New Year's Day Bowl game in a full-blown rebuilding year. The Tigers had to restock a defense that lost 10 starters and are a Tana Patrick strip and some self-inflicted fourth-quarter wounds in Athens and Oxford from being right there in the mix for the national title. Still, a 9-3 run and a possible trip to the Cotton Bowl is not too shabby in a year that the defense had to be reconstructed.
• Friday: vs. Arkansas, 2:30 (CBS)
5. South Carolina (9-2, 6-2)
How in the world can South Carolina be a six-point favorite over Clemson? That's easy. South Carolina has two distinct advantages that have proved immensely fruitful recently in this rivalry, which is filled with more hate and vitriol than most of us outside of its parameters know and way more than the "Palmetto Bowl" tag this rivalry carries. First, South Carolina's defensive line has dominated this game during the Gamecocks' four-game winning streak in the series. Second, the Ol' Ball Coach has dominated in the coaching circle. USC's defensive line gets a slight edge over the Clemson O-line again this year -- and in truth, Clemson's defensive front has been among the nation's best. But we'll alway prefer the side with a Spurrier rather than a Dabo.
• Saturday: vs. Clemson, 7 (ESPN2)
6. Texas A&M (8-3, 4-3)
Want to know how tough the SEC is, part 1,208? Try this stat: The Aggies have three projected first-round NFL picks on offense -- quarterback Johnny Manziel, tackle Jake Matthews and receiver Mike Evans, who is dy-NO-mite -- and will have to pull an upset in Columbia, Mo., to avoid an 8-4 season, which is likely the same record Ole Miss will post. Every week is a challenge, gang, and with that amount of talent leaving College Station, and the number of big-boy jobs coming open that A&M coach Kevin Sumlin could be a candidate for, this could be an offseason of much unrest.
• Saturday: at Missouri, 7:45 (ESPN)
7. Georgia (7-4, 5-3)
Where does Aaron Murray rank among the all-time greats in SEC history? Thankfully Murray set all those amazing SEC records before his career ended last week with an ACL injury against Kentucky. As for Murray's place in history, well, as great as all the numbers are -- he's the all-time SEC leader in passing yards, completions, passing TDs and total offense -- the one number that must be mentioned is 0. As in zero SEC titles in his four years as a starter. Certainly ranking the all-time SEC quarterbacks is more than just winning games, but to counterbalance the argument, would you rather have AJ McCarron or Murray? Interesting debate, for sure.
• Saturday: at Georgia Tech, 3:30 (ABC)
8. Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3)
What was that? The Rebels are a confounding bunch, for sure. They beat LSU. They looked terrible against Missouri. Now they face a perplexing short week against a desperate Mississippi State team that has had this one circled since September. This time last week, Ole Miss was a good performance against Missouri from likely heading to the Cotton Bowl. Now it is a bad performance in Starkville from heading to the Music City Bowl.
• Thursday: at Mississippi State, 7:30 (ESPN)
9. Vanderbilt (7-4, 4-4)
Where will James Franklin be coaching next year? Sure, it could be in Nashville, but we're not betting on it. The program has hit its apex, right? A win over Wake Forest -- Vandy is a two-touchdown favorite -- means back-to-back eight-win regular seasons. At Vandy. Franklin is already assured of his third consecutive bowl trip. AT VANDY. So the question remains: Where's he going to hang his headset in 2014? Here's betting it's not at Vandy.
• Saturday: vs. Wake Forest, 12:21 (WDSI)
10. Florida (4-7, 3-5)
Hot seat question 1: How many games must the Gators win next year to save Will Muschamp's job? Muschamp and the Gators have had more injuries than the Alexian field day. That is a fact, and that fact likely will get Muschamp a mulligan. But Florida State likely will drop a Biblical spanking on the Gators in the Swamp on Saturday, and injuries or no, four-win seasons are not tolerated at Florida. Here's saying the over/under for Muschamp to remain in Gainesville is at least eight for next year.
• Saturday: vs. FSU, noon, (ESPN)
11. Mississippi State (5-6, 2-5)
Hot seat question 2: If you are a Mississippi State supporter, and you want Dan Mullen fired, who are you going to get that is better, especially in an offseason in which the competition for hiring the top head coaches could be fierce? We think Mullen gets another year. And we think he could go a long way to flipping the feeling in the state with a win Thursday in the Egg Bowl. If the Bulldogs win Thursday, which team would feel better heading into the bowl season, a potential 6-6 MSU riding a two-game winning streak or a 7-5 Ole Miss bunch on a two-game slide? Big stakes on turkey day for Danny Mullen for sure.
• Thursday: vs. Ole Miss, 7:30 (ESPN)
12. Tennessee (4-7, 1-6)
Is there a more head-scratching result in college football this year in retrospect than the Vols' upset of South Carolina? Maybe West Virginia's shocking win that has Oklahoma State on the outside of the BCS picture, but that's it. We believe Butch Jones has said all the right things. He has embraced rallying phrases and inspired a proud and starving fan base. He also has recruited his buzz cut off. All of those are positives and deserve to be mentioned. His Vols, however, are a miraculous Marquez North one-handed catch from being bagel-and-seven in the SEC. If North had not made that catch, the questions and impressions about this Vols season would be strikingly different, no?
• Saturday: at Kentucky, 7 (ESPNU)
13. Kentucky (2-9, 0-7)
How many folks will be at Saturday's game against UT? We posed this question to TFP UT beat ace Downtown Patrick Brown, and we liked his answer: There will be roughly 1,000 folks for every degree of temperature we have at kickoff. That seems fair, and with temps expected right around 40 degrees, that means the UK-UT game will draw about 10,000 fewer than the UK spring game. If you're counting tickets, would that be more click-by-click than brick-by-brick? When grooming Smokey, do we go tick-by-tick? Is David Copperfield measured trick-by-trick? We say yes. Where were we?
• Saturday: vs. Tennessee, 7 (ESPNU)
14. Arkansas (3-8, 0-7)
Hot seat question No. 3: Would you be all that shocked if Bret Bielema left in the offseason? And would Arkansas fans be all that upset? We think the answer is no to both. After he surprisingly left Wisconsin last year to come to the SEC, Bielema's first year in the best conference in the country has been nothing short of a debacle. How bad, you ask? Well, after the Hogs lost big at LSU, Bielema's team will be one game worse than John L. Smith's train wreck from a year ago. Come everybody, smile.
• Friday: at LSU, 2:30 (CBS)