Analyzing just how Alabama got in position to tie the game when hope was fading.

Click to expand...

Alabama film review: A second-by-second account of season-saving drive with insight from players-al.com

Biggest Surprises of Week 11-sds

Week in and week out, players and teams surprise us with their performances. We saw several surprises this weekend with an incredible slate of conference games.

Who or what made our cut of the biggest surprises of Week 11?
Kyle Allen’s performance at Auburn: How good was the true freshman in his first road and conference start? Granted, he didn’t face a very good defense, but Kyle Allen looked like the quarterback that should’ve had the job all along in College Station. Allen and the Aggies offense came out aggressive and jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and never really looked back. Allen finished 19 for 29 for 277 yards and four touchdowns. He did throw one interception, but didn’t seem phased by it. Allen finished with a quarterback rating of 83.6 on a scale of 100.
Georgia’s 63-point burst at Kentucky: The Bulldogs went eight for eight on third downs en route to 559 yards of total offense. Hutson Mason had his best game throwing the football, going 13 of 16 for 174 yards and 4 touchdowns. Georgia got Sony Michel back, and Nick Chubb continued his stellar play with a 13-carry, 170-yard effort on the ground. Isaiah McKenzie returned the opening kickoff and a punt back for a touchdown. It was arguably the Bulldogs’ most efficient offensive performance of the season.
Leon Orr-Florida: Now to an off-the-field issue. How weird is this story? Defensive lineman Leon Orr found out prior to Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt that he wasn’t starting. He then got on a bus, went home and head coach Will Muschamp later announced he was no longer with the team. It’s not every day you see a player dismissed from the team because he was upset he didn’t start.
When the dust clears, Alabama still stands: Many counted the Crimson Tide out after its loss at Ole Miss last month. Now after the ravaging of the SEC West, Alabama is still standing. The Tide have two more tests against Mississippi State and Auburn, both of which are at home. With the way Nick Saban’s team played Saturday night in Death Valley, it looks as if when the dust settles, Alabama will be right there. Have we learned our lesson? Never count out a Saban-coached team.

What we’re not overreacting to in the SEC after Week 11 games-sds

Here’s what we’re not overreacting to in the SEC after Week 11:

Mississippi’s 402 yards rushing in Saturday’s win: Running the football’s been a season-long struggle for the Rebels, a team with national championship aspirations after seven consecutive wins out of the gate, but did we see a glimpse into this offense’s backfield of the future over the weekend against Presbyterian? Let’s not get carried away. With eight total starters out, numerous players who haven’t received much burn this season enjoyed big games including ballcarriers Jordan Wilkins and Mark Dodson. Thanks to faulty play up front from an FCS foe who is using its game check to install lights at its home stadium, the pair combined for 299 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries. The video game-like numbers won’t happen again this season for the Rebels’ rushing attack.

Texas A&M’s performance at Auburn: Kevin Sumlin’s team picked themselves off the canvas in the SEC this season with an impressive road win, but did we see major improvement from the Aggies? Kyle Allen’s red-hot start was enough to give Texas A&M a two-touchdown lead early and by halftime, a special teams gift on the last play of the second quarter pushed the Aggies advantage to 17 points. Then, the defense we’ve seen all season showed up. Auburn pulled within three points with 6:42 remaining before two giveaways late cost the Tigers a chance at sending Texas A&M to its fourth straight SEC loss. One of college football’s worst defenses wasn’t chastised postgame despite giving up 582 yards of total offense. Winning often covers up faults and coordinator Mark Snyder did very little to improve his job security.

SEC’s 14 Burning Questions after Week 11

We’re 11 weeks into the college football season and there’s still plenty to be settled in the SEC. Week 11 did not disappoint, as Auburn-Texas A&M and Alabama-LSU turned out to be two of the best games of the season in any conference. The Tigers have fallen out of playoff contention, while Alabama survives for another week.

With three Saturdays left in the regular season, here are the biggest questions every SEC team must answer down the stretch:
RELATED: Week 10 Power Rankings
1. Alabama: Can Blake Sims take advantage of a suspect Mississippi State secondary in this weekend’s showdown in Tuscaloosa?
2. Arkansas: Can the Hogs win an SEC game this season? (This will remain the question facing the Razorbacks until they finally break through in conference play.)
3. Auburn: Will Auburn’s heartbreaking loss to Texas A&M fuel the Tigers in Saturday’s matchup with Georgia, or will the loss cause Auburn to spiral late in the season?
4. Florida: How many yards will Florida’s run-heavy offense, led by Treon Harris and tailbacks Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor, amass against the SEC’s worst run defense in South Carolina this weekend?
5. Georgia: How will Todd Gurley look in his first game back from a four-game suspension this weekend?
6. Kentucky: Can Kentucky’s defense contain Joshua Dobbs better than it contained fellow running quarterbacks Anthony Jennings and Dak Prescott? Did UK learn enough from road losses earlier this season to snap its road losing streak?
7. LSU: Like Auburn, how will LSU respond after a gut-wrenching loss to Alabama last weekend? Will the loss inspire a frustrated Tigers team to close the season with purpose, or have the Tigers peaked in 2014?
8. Mississippi: Can the Rebels get healthy during this week’s bye? Can Hugh Freeze and his staff get their young backups up to speed for the final stretch of the season?
9. Mississippi State: Is Mississippi State really capable of winning a national championship? Saturday’s showdown with Alabama should answer this question.
10. Missouri: What does Aarion Penton’s future with the program hold? If he’s held out of Saturday’s game against Texas A&M, can the Tigers secondary do enough to slow down the Aggies?
11. South Carolina: Did South Carolina move past another frustrating loss to Tennessee during last week’s bye? Can the Gamecocks get back on track with a win against Florida this weekend?
12. Tennessee: With Josh Dobbs at quarterback, is Tennessee capable of winning its final three games of the year? Has the SEC finally figured out Dobbs, or will he continue his success through the end of the season?
13. Texas A&M: Was Saturday’s win over Auburn a fluke, or has A&M turned a corner in 2014? Who is the real Kyle Allen — the player who barely threw for 100 yards against Louisiana-Monroe or the player who picked apart Auburn in an upset win?
14. Vanderbilt: Having officially been eliminated from bowl contention, can Vandy continue to grow the rest of the season? How will Derek Mason and the Commodores approach a difficult final stretch featuring games against Mississippi State and Tennessee?

Steve Spurrier voices support of Will Muschamp-sds

Florida fans’ support of Will Muschamp has taken a significant hit this year, but it appears the embattled head coach as the support of his upcoming opponent.

South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier expressed his backing of Muschamp during his weekly teleconference with the media, saying he wants him to succeed down in Gainesville. Although he didn’t confirm anything, Spurrier also hinted at the possibility the two coaches have talked recently in the midst of Muschamp’s coaching turmoil at Florida.
“I don’t think if we [have talked or haven't talked], I don’t think that should be too much public knowledge,” Spurrier said Sunday. “I will say I consider him a good friend in coaching. I’m pulling for him to make it down there. He’s a good person and good coach. They’ve sort of come together these last couple of weeks since the Georgia game, it seems like.”
Spurrier coached the Gators from 1990-2001 and went 122-27-1 during his 12 seasons in Gainesville and also won a Hesiman Trophy at Florida back in 1966.
Florida and South Carolina will face off this weekend at 12 p.m. in The Swamp.