Tennessee’s game against Arkansas wasn’t the only matchup worth watching on Saturday. The SEC proved to deliver some true drama for the ages before the sun even went down.
Here are four things you must know about the SEC slate on Saturday and how it might affect the Vols:
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer isn’t Nick Saban
Former Alabama coach Nick Saban was always fantastic at motivating his players, especially after big wins. You don’t have to go into the history books to prove as much. Saban was a master at regrouping his team no matter what happened the week before. Who can forget the term “rat poison” in references to any positive comments about his team? Rat poison quelled the Crimson Tide as it lost to Vanderbilt 40-35 for the first time in 40 years.
Just look at last season for proof that Saban was a master at keeping his team focused no matter what they did the week before. Alabama hammered Mississippi State 40-17 after a big win against Ole Miss the week before. Then, Bama beat LSU 42-28 after beating the Vols the week before 34-20.
Want more proof from JUST last year? Alabama won the Iron Bowl, which is always a big game, against Auburn 27-24. then beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game by the same score.
Alabama was 64-3 as the No. 1 team in the nation before playing Vanderbilt. Now, Bama, led by Deboer, is 64-4. The loss against the Commodores was so bad that it could loom large when the College Football Playoff committee has to distinguish between several SEC teams that could have 10 or more wins at the end of the season.
Kirby Smart is much more Saban-like
If any team was going to have a hangover from the Game of the Century, which seems a bit mislabeled in retrospect, it was supposed to be Georgia, right? After all, the Bulldogs lost last week’s matchup against Bama. However, Georgia seems to be hitting its stride, especially in a 31-13 win over Auburn on Saturday.
Georgia was a touchdown pass away from coming back from two deficits against the Crimson Tide, one of which was a 31-7 halftime score when Alabama looked ready to roll the Dawgs. Georgia, however, tamed the Tigers with ease at home.
The trip to Athens on Nov. 16 certainly seems much more daunting than when the Vols host Alabama on Oct. 19. The SEC – and Tennessee’s football schedule – looks much different than it did just a week ago.
Texas A&M is the new competition for SEC teams scraping for a College Football Playoff spot
The No. 25 Aggies hammered No. 9 Missouri, which never really looked the part of a College Football Playoff contender as the Tigers struggled against lessor opponents this season. The script flipped on both teams as they now appear to be headed in far different directions following the 41-10 win by Texas A&M against hapless Auburn.
Texas A&M still has to play two ranked opponents, against No. 13 LSU and No. 2 Texas. However, both games are at in College Station. Texas A&M will be favored in every other game they play. They could easily be 10-2 at the end of the season. Remember that their one loss this season was against No. 7 Notre Dame.
Ole Miss is confoundingly frustrating to watch
Tennessee fans should celebrate the fact that they don’t have to face the Rebels this season. UT fans have seen former coach Lane Kiffin’s antics first hand, when his players faked injuries against the Vols’ high-tempo offense in 2022. Well, now Ole Miss fakes injuries against normal offenses and, seemingly, on every drive.
Ole Miss beat South Carolina 27-3 on Saturday. Did the Rebels really need to slow the game down against the Gamecocks? Something needs to be done to address Kiffin’s stunts. However, no one has come up with an answer to such tactics.
It’s time for faking injuries to be a real topic of conversation sooner rather than later. If the Rebels make the College Football Playoffs, which could still happen with a favorable schedule, such poor sportsmanship will be a bad look for the SEC.
