By Matt Smith
SouthernPigskin.com

Follow us at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin.  Become a fan at the SouthernPigskin.com Facebook Page

Matt Smith recaps week 13 in the SEC.

SEC Week 13 Recap
Scores
No. 5 Texas A&M 34, Tennessee 13
LSU 53, Ole Miss 48
Mississippi State 51, Missouri 32
SEC Championship Game: No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 7 Florida 46

The Big Story
After Florida landed some punches early, Alabama seized control of Saturdays SEC Championship Game and appeared to be on its way to another mauling. Instead, after the Crimson Tide scored touchdowns on their first five drives to take a 35-17 lead, the Gators forced consecutive stops in the third quarters sandwiched by touchdowns of their own to close to within 35-31. Alabama answered, as it always does, scoring 17 points on its final three drives to deny giving Kyle Trask the football in a one-score game until there were just 16 seconds left. Trask was sacked, and Alabama moved to 11-0 with a 52-46 win over the 8-3 Florida in the second-highest scoring SEC Championship Game in history.

Alabamas stars shined on the big stage, with Mac Jones, Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith each delivering Heisman Trophy-worthy performances. Jones threw five touchdown passes, Harris scored five touchdowns and had 255 yards from scrimmage, and Smith caught 15 passes for 184 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Trask proved a worthy foe for a team that had won each of its last six games by at least four touchdowns, throwing for 408 yards and three touchdowns, with his lone major mistake coming on a fourth-quarter fumble.

The Crimson Tide needed a test. It probably wont get one in the Sugar Bowl, as theyll face Notre Dame team that was blitzed by Clemson earlier Saturday in the ACC Championship Game. The Tigers would be capable of pushing Alabama, however, so facing some real game pressure could prove beneficial for the Tide in January. As for its star players, at least two, and possibly all three, could be Heisman finalists when they are announced on Christmas Eve. If I had a vote, I would go 1. DeVonta Smith, 2. Najee Harris, 3. Trevor Lawrence.

Is there a weakness for this Alabama team? The secondary did not have a good night, but Florida has some excellent combative catchers. The red zone defense struggled, as the Gators scored touchdowns on all four trips inside the red zone. Center and emotional leader Landon Dickerson suffered a knee injury late in the game and is likely to miss the CFP. It shouldnt matter in the Rose/Fauxse/Yellow Rose of Texas Bowl against Notre Dame, but those are my concerns should the Crimson Tide ultimately face Clemson, but well cross that bridge when we presumably get there.

Florida heads to the Cotton Bowl for a fun matchup against Big 12 champion Oklahoma. Yes, the last two weeks sting, but the Gators got over the Georgia hump this season to win the SEC East and threw everything it had at No. 1. Star tight end Kyle Pitts, who caught seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown on Saturday night, is moving on, but hopefully Trask elects to play in next weeks game and provide one more night of entertainment before heading off to the NFL.

Top Takeaways
*Texas A&M delivered a workmanlike performance in its 34-13 win at Tennessee, shaking off a Volunteers touchdown on the opening drive of the game to take control and hold Tennessee to just 37 offensive plays. Kellen Mond missed on only six of 32 passes, but did have his first turnover since Oct. 17 when Alontae Taylor intercepted him in the end zone with the Aggies looking for a touchdown to make it a three-score game. Mike Elkos defense delivered another excellent performance, holding the Vols to just 48 sack-adjusted rushing yards.

It wasnt quite enough to earn the Aggies their first-ever playoff berth, but 2020 turned out to be the great season that it was expected to be more than a year ago. Mond made major strides, and the defense had by far its best season since Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012. An Orange Bowl date with North Carolina will be the programs first BCS or New Years Six bowl since 1998. Sundays disappointment is fair, but it shouldnt overshadow the strides the Aggies made this season. Regardless of what happens in Miami next month, Texas A&M has established itself as the clear No. 2 program in the SEC West.

*Did the Aggies deserve a CFP bid? Its hard to find something on their resume that separated them from No. 4 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish had the best win of the season from a rankings perspective, defeating No. 2 Clemson last month. Texas A&M has a top-10 win over Florida, but it doesnt quite compare to beating the Tigers, even without Trevor Lawrence. Notre Dame also won at No. 13 North Carolina by 14 points, while Texas A&Ms second-best win is probably at Auburn, which just fired its coach. The teams are built similarly with dual-threat quarterbacks, excellent offensive lines, talented tight ends, and a stout defense. Each has a blowout loss against a top-two team. Notre Dame beat Clemson, and that was really the only difference.

Neither team proved that it has a claim to being the best team in the country, which is all we should be concerned about when choosing CFP teams 3 is every team who may be the best team in the country part of the playoff? This year, as in most years, that answer is categorically yes, as no team below No. 3, and more realistically No. 2, can make that argument.

Quick Hitters
*All it took for Mississippi States offense to get doing was . . . a touchdown on a muffed punt return? That was the jolt of energy the Bulldogs needed on Saturday after spotting Missouri an early 7-0 deficit. After that fortunate break to even the score, 3-7 Mississippi State rolled to a 51-32 win over the 5-5 Tigers in a wacky but sloppy game in Starkville. Both teams turned the ball over four times, but the Bullies won the points off turnovers battle, 27-15. Two one-sided defeats is a humbling way to end a strong first season for Eliah Drinkwitz in Columbia, but he looks like he belongs in the SEC.

*So, whats going on at Auburn? The most logical assessment is that Auburn planned to promote defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, but fell just short of having the needed support from its power brokers to pull the trigger. Now, its wide open. Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is in play. Billy Napier might be in play for yet another SEC job. West Virginias Neal Brown, my preferred candidate right now, has some buzz. This search hasnt quite reached the levels of the 2017 Tennessee search, but its getting there with each passing day. Never a dull moment at Auburn.

*Its a shame the Ole Miss-LSU game didnt happen with more eyes on it. The Tigers 53-48 win, played mostly in a downpour in Baton Rouge, featured more than 1,100 yards and 101 points, with LSU converting six Ole Miss turnovers into 33 points. Matt Corral, who is now officially the male equivalent of the girl whos too hot not to date but too crazy to get attached to, threw five interceptions for the second time this season, and his 409 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns werent enough to overcome the mistakes. Ole Miss erased a 37-21 second-half deficit with a 27-3 run, but after four straight touchdown drives, the Rebels final two possessions ended with a punt and a Corral fumble, sandwiched around a 45-yard touchdown reception by Kayshon Boutte that broke the LSU record for receiving yards in a game. The score gave Boutte 308 yards for the day, surpassing Josh Reeds 293-yard day for the Tigers against Alabama in 2001.

*A theme that was pervasive down the stretch in the SEC was the juice provided by quarterback changes, with Georgia and LSU being the primary beneficiaries. Max Johnson improved to 2-0 as LSUs starter with his 435-yard day against a porous Ole Miss defense, faring much better in poor conditions than Matt Corral in throwing just a single interception. LSUs 2021 quarterback situation is murky, but Johnson has put his name into the hat with his play in two come-from-behind wins the past two weeks. Boutte, who has 416 yards the past two weeks, could enter 2021 as a preseason All-SEC selection. The Tigers season is over after their opt-out of a bowl last week, but they couldnt have asked for a better finish coming off the blowout loss to Alabama a fortnight ago.

Around The Nation
*I thought Lincoln Riley got away with a poorly-coached game in Oklahomas 27-21 win over Iowa State that gave the Sooners their sixth straight Big 12 title. Oklahoma had chances to bury the spunky Cyclones after taking a 24-7 lead, but some funky and conservative play-calling let Iowa State hang around until Brock Purdy was intercepted in the final minute with Iowa State driving for the game-winning touchdown. The Sooners defense continues to impress, and Spencer Rattler might have the second-best arm in college football behind Trevor Lawrence, but Saturday wasnt Rileys finest hour. Regardless, its a scoreboard business, and Riley is now 4-for-4 at winning the Big 12. Oklahoma now heads back to AT&T Stadium in 10 days to face Florida in the Cotton Bowl.

*No. 3 Clemson made mincemeat of No. 2 Notre Dame in the days biggest game, capitalizing on some early Irish miscues to score 34 straight points in its 34-10 win in the ACC Championship Game. Like Oklahoma, the Tigers now have won six straight conference titles. Theyre the only team with any hope at beating Alabama, and now head to New Orleans to face Ohio State (more on the Buckeyes in a second). This team has been clicking on all cylinders since getting Trevor Lawrence back for the final two regular-season games. Clemson is the only team who can knock off Alabama, and it seems inevitable that well get that matchup for the national title for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

*Ohio States perfect season was very much at risk in Saturdays Big Ten Championship Game, as the Buckeyes trailed Northwestern well into the second half before pulling away for a 22-10 win. Justin Fields threw a pair of ugly interceptions, but just as Indiana failed to do in its tight battle with Ohio State last month, the Wildcats did not convert either into points. Theres little point in arguing Ohio States playoff merits. It was clear from the initial rankings that the committee was not going to care much about the team playing just six games, and it was no surprise that the Buckeyes were slotted at No. 3 on Sunday, setting up a third semifinal meeting with Clemson in the past five seasons. Ohio States biggest problem is its secondary, and after what Trevor Lawrence did to Notre Dame on Saturday, its hard to see the Buckeyes having much resistance for the Tigers.

*Friday night featured three outright upsets, including Oregons 31-24 win at unbeaten USC to claim its second consecutive Pac-12 title. The 4-2 Ducks will now head to the Fiesta Bowl to face Iowa State, while USC will join a slew of Pac-12 teams in sitting out the bowl season. It was another big-stage failure for USC, while it left Oregon fans wondering how the Ducks lost to both Oregon State and California. Earlier that night, UAB won its second Conference USA title in the past three years with a 22-13 win at Marshall, and red-hot Ball State upset unbeaten Buffalo to take the MAC title.

*Cincinnati overcame heavy rain and a scrappy Tulsa team to earn its first major bowl bid since 2009 with a 27-24 walk-off win in AAC Championship Game. The Bearcats never could pull away from the Golden Hurricane, wasting two trips deep into Tulsa territory in the fourth quarter after a fourth-down failure and a blocked field goal. Tulsa tied the game late in the fourth quarter, but Cincinnati converted a pair of key third downs to help march back into field-goal range, where this time Cole Smith split the uprights with his kick for the win. The performance wasnt enough for Cincinnati to earn serious consideration from the CFP committee for the No. 4 spot, but being ranked No. 9 last week showed that that was a pipe dream regardless of how well it played. Georgia may not be fully interested in the Peach Bowl, but the Bearcats will be dialed in after being unable to play any Power Five teams during the regular season to try to prove their worth.

*What a turnaround by Brent Brennan at San Jose State. After a 3-22 start, Brennans 2019 Spartans team improved significantly to 5-7. They still werent thought to be a Mountain West title contender heading into this season, but instead, the Spartans ran the table to capture their first conference title since 1991 on Saturday with a 34-20 win in Las Vegas over Boise State. Weve had plenty of fun stories in this 2020 season, but few can top San Jose States journey from the cellar to the throne in just two seasons. Its now off to the Arizona Bowl on New Years Eve, where San Jose State will face MAC champion Ball State in a nationally-televised game on CBS.

A Peek at Bowl Season
The Big Ones
Rose Bowl (Arlington): No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame, Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State, Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Weve had 12 CFP semifinals, and nine of them have been pretty much decided by the end of the third quarter. I dont have much of an argument against that increasing to 11 out of 14 on New Years Day. Alabama and Clemson have clearly separated themselves. Ohio State has comparable talent, but the Buckeyes arent a complete team right now, and its unlikely it will become win in the next 12 days. If Notre Dame doesnt repeat the self-inflicted mistakes that aided Clemsons runaway on Saturday, it should fare better against Alabama than it did in the 2012 national championship game. That doesnt mean it will be competitive in the second half, but it could help the Irish gain back some respect it surrendered on Saturday.

Dont Miss
Cotton Bowl: No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Florida, Dec. 30, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Peach Bowl: No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Georgia, Jan. 1, 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Orange Bowl: No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 North Carolina, Jan. 2, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Flip Around
Gasparilla Bowl: South Carolina vs. UAB, Dec. 26, Noon ET (ABC)
Music City Bowl: Missouri vs. No. 15 Iowa, Dec. 30, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Armed Forces Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Tulsa, Dec. 31, Noon ET (ESPN)
Liberty Bowl: Tennessee vs. West Virginia, Dec. 31, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Texas Bowl: Arkansas vs. TCU, Dec. 31, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Citrus Bowl: Auburn vs. No. 14 Northwestern, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET (ABC)
Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. No. 23 N.C. State, Jan. 2, Noon ET (ESPN)
Outback Bowl: Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Indiana, Jan. 2, 12:30 p.m. ET (ABC)