By Matt Smith
SouthernPigskin.com

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Matt Smith recaps week 13 in the SEC.

That was awesome.

Rivalry Week was as good as its ever been, delivering entertaining games with wild finishes all the way through the weekend. The SEC certainly contributed to that, producing perhaps the weirdest Iron Bowl in history, along with a last-second victory on an emotional night in Baton Rouge.

The conference is now ensured of three New Years Six bids and should send 13 of its 14 teams to bowls after Florida and LSU earned their sixth wins on Saturday. It was a crazy 48 hours, and well do our best to recap it all here before spanning the nation and viewing the landscape heading into Championship Weekend.

Game Thoughts and Takeaways
(9) Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 21
It was over when: Matt Corral bounced off a Bulldogs defender for a four-yard touchdown run to finish a six-minute drive early in the fourth quarter to take a 24-6 lead and complete a 21-0 run after facing an early 6-3 deficit.

*Ole Miss defense remains one of the most underappreciated units in college football. The Rebels held their sixth opponent in their last seven games to 26 points or fewer. With the offense slipping from great to good after a slew of injuries, the defense had to shoulder much of the load for the Rebels to produce a spectacular 10-2 season. Coordinator D.J. Durkins head-coaching future is murky after how his tenure ended at Maryland, but he deserved to be a Broyles Award candidate.

*A sloppy track in Starkville seemed to have a bigger impact on Mississippi State, as a second-quarter drive was stalled by three consecutive drops that would likely have gone for touchdowns, followed by a missed field goal. The stand preserved a 10-6 Ole Miss lead. After that failure, the Bulldogs only had one more possession in a one-score game.

*Neither Corral nor Will Rogers wowed statistically, but both were very good again. Corral hit 26 of his 34 throws for 234 yards while adding 42 yards on the ground. Rogers had a rare 20 incompletions on 58 attempts, but drops were a problem.

*Ole Miss has now won three of the last four Egg Bowls in Starkville. They are all but ensured of a New Years Six bowl trip, likely either the Sugar, if Alabama beats Georgia, or either the Peach or Fiesta, if the Bulldogs knock the Crimson Tide out of the top four.

(25) Arkansas 34, Missouri 17
It was over when: Arkansas scored 10 points in two minutes to surround a big defensive play for the third straight week from Montaric cBustad Brown, who intercepted Connor Bazelak to help the Razorbacks turn a 15-point lead into a 25-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

*Despite going in and out of the medical tent, K.J. Jefferson was awesome on Friday afternoon, amassing 320 yards of total offense, finishing with just four incompletions and a 52-yard touchdown pass to, of course, Treylon Burks. His best throw of the day came on a critical third down in which he rolled to his left and found DeVion Warren on the run for a first down, denying the Tigers the ball with only a two-score deficit. He averaged nearly 18 yards per completion. It was another gutty effort from a guy who greatly needs the coming month without a game.

*With the passing game dormant, Tyler Badie did all the work for the Tigers offense, carrying it 41 times for 219 yards and a touchdown, his fifth 200-yard game of the season. Badie also set the school record for rushing yards, sitting at 1,604 with a bowl game left. Connor Bazelak was a disappointing 10-of-26 for just 65 yards through the air.

*At 8-4, Arkansas will await its bowl destination 3 likely the Outback (vs. Big Ten), Gator (vs. ACC) or Texas (vs. Big 12). At 6-6, Missouris bowl destination is now cloudy after both Florida and LSU joined the bowl picture on Saturday.

(1) Georgia 45, Georgia Tech 0
It was over when: It was never not over, but for the sake of completion, well go with Lance McConkeys 11-yard touchdown reception to complete an 87-yard touchdown march to put the Bulldogs ahead 17-0 early in the second quarter.

*Georgia was looking for one quality half of football, and then little else would matter with Alabama looming and style points completely unnecessary. A 24-0 lead and just 67 yards allowed in the first 30 minutes accomplished that, as Stetson Bennett IV was an efficient 10-of-15 with three touchdown passes. He added a fourth early in the second half, finding Brock Bowers for their second scoring hookup of the day, before giving way to J.T. Daniels in the fourth quarter.

*The Bulldogs passing game is starting to look dangerous. Bowers first score was a stunning 77-yard reception on a slant in which Bowers outran the entire Georgia Tech secondary. Thats one thing for a 510d slot receiver with 4.3 speed. Bowers is a 235-pound tight end. Georgia also welcomed back George Pickens for the first time this season after a spring ACL injury. He had one reception for five yards.

*Georgia Tech allowed 110 consecutive points over the course of three games to end its season. The Yellow Jackets gave up the final 10 points in a loss to Boston College, were beaten 55-0 by Notre Dame a week ago. They finished 3-9 and head into 2022 with a tenuous head coaching situation as Geoff Collins enters Year 4 with a 9-25 record.

Florida 24, Florida State 21
It was over when: Parker Grothaus illegally kicked an onsides kick attempt with 49 seconds left, giving the Florida the ball and denying the Seminoles a chance at a game-tying field-goal drive. Grothaus essentially whiffed, capping a hilarious game full of sloppiness and lacking aesthetics.

*The first half was a mess, as Jordan Travis and Emory Jones combined to throw four interceptions in a 7-7 game. Three of the four were from Jones, preventing the Gators from taking advantage of 210-128 total yards advantage in the first 30 minutes.

*Anthony Richardson replaced Jones in the third quarter, playing his best football since September in guiding back-to-back touchdown drives, the first aided by a short field after a fumbled punt by Florida State. The Gators led 24-7 at that point and hung on the rest of the way. Richardson finished 5-of-7 for 55 yards and a touchdown pass.

*Florida State fumbled four times, but was fortunate to lose only one. The game featured 22 penalties for 196 yards and took nearly four hours. It was not a thing of beauty by any definition of the term.

*The Gators await their bowl destination, should they choose to go to one. Likely options include the Gator, Birmingham or Gasparilla.

(3) Alabama 24, Auburn 22 (4OT)
It was over when: Bryce Young found John Metchie for a conversion one play after the Crimson Tide had broken up a T.J. Finley pass in the top of the fourth overtime to give Alabama one play to win the game.

*It was a dumb game for a variety reasons, but lets start by tipping our cap to Young, who was under constant pressure, lost his top receiver, Jameson Williams, to a targeting ejection and played the late stages of the game without his best running back, Brian Robinson. Nevertheless, Young was outstanding down the stretch, executing a 97-yard touchdown drive in just over a minute to send the game to overtime. Young capped the drive with a brilliant throw to JaCorey Brooks. His line 25-of-51 for 317 yards, two touchdowns and an interception was mediocre, but he never relented on a challenging day, and Alabamas CFP hopes remain alive.

*Auburn had a chance to make things early impossible for Alabama to come back after a fourth-down stop, but Tank Bigsby curiously ran out of bounds on a second-down play, giving Alabama the ball with 1:35 to play instead of under a minute. There are zero excuses for a mistake there. It was an inexcusable gaffe, and it almost certainly cost the Tigers the game.

*Auburn managed just 159 yards of offense and 2.4 yards per play, as T.J. Finley was sacked six times and Bigsby managed just 63 yards on 29 carries. Finley injured his ankle in the fourth quarter and played the rest of the game with a significant limp, but prior to the injury, he never looked comfortable against Will Anderson and the Alabama pass rush. He gutted it out with Auburn having nowhere else to turn, but it was overall a disappointing performance.

*Alabamas offensive line has been shaky all year, but no team teed off on it quite like Auburn did, sacking Bryce Young seven times. Like Auburns, the Tides running game was held in check, with Robinson amassing only 64 yards. Defensive coordinator Derek Mason had a great game plan, trusting his cornerbacks, especially after Williams left the game. It should have been enough to win.

*The game went to a two-point shootout after trading touchdowns and then field goals in the first two overtimes. The shootout was implemented first in 2019 beginning in the fifth overtime, and then moved up to the third overtime for this season. The entire overhaul was a gross overreaction a seven-overtime LSU-Texas A&M game in 2018. As usual with rules put in place in the name of player safety, it was greatly short-sighted and illogical, and turned what should have been a classic finish to a classic rivalry game into something that left us feeling unsatisfied. My only hope is that Saturdays Iron Bowl was the last two-point shootout this sport sees.

*Does Alabama have a chance against mighty Georgia? The Crimson Tide are banged up after having to go to the final whistle in three of the past four weeks, while the Bulldogs are as fresh as a team can be going into December after yet another blowout win. Getting Williams back will help, and Young is a big-moment player, but unless Anderson can be a complete game-wrecker on defense, its hard to paint a path to victory for Alabama next Saturday in Atlanta.

*Did Young win the Heisman with his fourth-quarter and overtime play? After C.J. Stroud disappointed in Ohio States loss to Michigan, the top spot began to open. Youngs numbers werent great, but this isnt a year for big numbers, and Young was brilliant in the key moments. I dont know if Young has to beat Georgia to win it, but a long day against the 8Dawgs could still lose it for him. The good news for Young? Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett is the only other contending offensive player in action next week.

Tennessee 45, Vanderbilt 21
It was over when: Cedric Tillman took a quick pass from Hendon Hooker and ran it 46 yards for a Tennessee touchdown just 33 seconds into the third quarter. The score gave the Vols a 31-7 lead, and Vanderbilt would never get within two scores the rest of the afternoon.

*Tennessee stuck to the ground for the most part, compiling 285 rushing yards while attempting just 18 passes. Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small both went over 100 yards and combined for three touchdowns.

*Vanderbilts Rocko Griffin also went over 100 yards, but it took him 30 carries to get there. The promising sophomore closed the season with consecutive games in triple digits.

*Theo Jackson began the scoring with a pick-six less than three minutes into the game. It was the Vols third such play of the season.

*The Vols will await their bowl destination, but staying in-state for the Music City Bowl in Nashville is the most logical guess. Potential opponents could be Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota or Penn State.

LSU 27, (15) Texas A&M 24
It was over when: Max Johnson threw a dart to Jaray Jenkins down the right sideline for a 28-yard game-winning touchdown pass with just 20 seconds remaining. The Tigers marched 85 yards in just 98 seconds to send departing head coach Ed Orgeron out with a victory.

*LSU came to play for Orgerons finale, as was anticipated. The Tigers led from midway through the first quarter until Texas A&M jumped in front for the first time with a Zach Calzada touchdown pass to Jalen Preston with less than eight minutes to play. A stop looked like it would hand the Aggies victory, but Texas A&M could not get a first down, and LSU got the ball back for a drive that Orgeron and his players will remember forever.

*The game featured 10 sacks, with Texas A&M holding a 6-4 advantage. Michael Clemons had 3.5 sacks for the Aggies, with linebacker Damone Clark registering 2.5 sacks for the Tigers.

*Calzada played arguably his second-best game of the season, finishing 20-of-35 for 242 yards and three touchdowns, two coming to Preston in the fourth quarter to help the Aggies storm back from a 20-10 deficit. His future as a starting quarterback in the SEC is murky, but he was a fighter all season long.

*Johnson also has a cloudy future. He matched Calzadas three touchdowns on Saturday night, and just edged him with a 58 percent completion percentage to Calzadas 57 percent. A tough kid with a good arm, Johnson continues to struggle inside the pocket and working through progressions while handling the rush. I put most of that on coaching, so with the right staff coming in, Johnson could be a productive starter in this league nine months from now.

*Texas A&M will likely fall out of the Citrus Bowl with its fourth loss of the season. The Aggies have never played in Tampa, so the Outback Bowl seems like a plausible destination. With 13 SEC teams being bowl-eligible and five of them being 6-6, LSUs landing spot is highly unpredictable, but it is certain that it will be without Orgeron as head coach. Offensive line coach Brad Davis will guide the Tigers in their bowl game.

Kentucky 52, Louisville 21
It was over when: Will Levis scored rushing touchdown No. 4 on the night midway through the third quarter, as the one-yard score sent much of Cardinal Stadium to the exits with the Wildcats taking a 31-7 lead.

*Levis had touchdown runs of 29, 7, 5 and 1, getting the payoff with running back Chris Rodriguez carrying much of the load to get into scoring range. Rodriguez finally reached the end zone himself late in the third quarter, closing the night with 121 yards on just 16 carries, slicing and dicing an average-at-best Louisville defense. Kavosiey Smoke and LaVell Wright also added touchdowns late in the game, as Kentucky finished with seven rushing touchdowns and 364 yards.

*After becoming the first quarterback to throw for 300 yards and run for 200 yards last week against Duke, Malik Cunningham was held in check by a tough Wildcats defense. Cunningham had just 180 yards of offense with a rushing touchdown on a disappointing night.

*After losing five straight in the series, Kentucky has now won four of the past five meetings and three straight in Louisville. With Texas A&Ms upset loss to LSU, the Wildcats seems likely to land in Orlando for the Citrus Bowl against either Iowa or Michigan State.

(23) Clemson 30, South Carolina 0
It was over when: With South Carolinas doing being ineffective, Clemsons 79-yard touchdown drive early in the second quarter that made it 17-0 felt like the dagger. Kobe Pace broke through the Gamecocks defense for a 34-yard touchdown.

*The Clemson defense is back to playing at an elite level. After being the only team this season to shut down Wake Forest last Saturday, the Tigers had a much easier task on Saturday night in Columbia. They made the South Carolina offensive stat sheet laughable, holding the Gamecocks under 100 total yards until late in the third quarter. Injuries have ravaged this unit, but theyre as healthy as theyve been since September and are closing the season by playing up to the standard this program has set for itself during its dynastic run from 2015-2020.

*Clemson has its star running back of the future in true freshman Will Shipley, who ran for 128 yards and a touchdown. The ground game performance overcame another shaky day from D.J. Uiagaleilei, who failed to reach 100 yards passing on 19 attempts.

*Zeb Noland replaced Jason Brown in the third quarter after Brown was just 8-of-19 for 67 yards and two interceptions. Noland was the starter prior to injury in October, and Brown had gone 2-1 in three SEC starts in Nolands absence.

*Despite some ugly performances this season, South Carolina scrapped and clawed its way to 6-6 and will play in a bowl game for the first time since 2018. The Dukes Mayo Bowl in Charlotte seems the like ideal fit for a team that should sell plenty of tickets after the recent dry spell.

Power Ranking the SEC
1. Georgia (12-0, 8-0)
2. Alabama (11-1, 7-1)
3. Ole Miss (10-2, 6-2)
4. Arkansas (8-4, 4-4)
5. Kentucky (9-3, 5-3)
6. Mississippi State (7-5, 4-4)
7. Texas A&M (8-4, 4-4)
8. LSU (6-6, 3-5)
9. Auburn (6-6, 3-5)
10. Tennessee (6-6, 3-5)
11. Missouri (6-5, 3-5)
12. Florida (6-6, 2-6)
13. South Carolina (6-6, 3-5)
14. Vanderbilt (2-10, 0-8)

National Thoughts
ACC: No. 18 Wake Forest (10-2, 7-1) recovered nicely from a loss at Clemson last week, dominating Boston College (6-6, 2-6), 41-10, to claim its first ACC Atlantic Division title since 2006xa6Joining the Demon Deacons in Charlotte next week will be No. 17 Pittsburgh (10-2, 7-1), which denied Syracuse (5-7, 2-6) a bowl trip with a 31-14 win in the Carrier Domexa6On Friday, North Carolina (6-6, 3-5) collapsed, allowing two touchdowns in the final two minutes surrounding an onsides kick in a 34-30 loss to No. 20 N.C. State (9-3, 6-2)…Virginia Tech (6-6, 4-4) surprisingly claimed bowl eligibility, winning the Commonwealth Cup for the 17th time in 18 years with a 29-24 comeback victory at Virginia (6-6, 4-4)xa6Miami (FL) (7-5, 5-3) capped a strong close to the season, hammering Duke (2-10, 0-8), 47-10. The Blue Devils lost seven of their eight ACC games by 25 points or more, and a change at head coach is likely.

Big 12: Bedlam lived up to its name, as No. 7 Oklahoma State (11-1, 8-1) won a sloppy, wacky, but highly entertaining battle with rival Oklahoma (10-2, 7-2), eliminating the 10th-ranked Sooners from CFP and Big 12 title contention with a 37-33 win. The teams combined for five turnovers, with each fumbling a punt deep in their own territory. The Cowboys managed just 354 yards despite scoring 37 points, an incredibly efficient yards per point ratio (9.6)xa6No. 8 Baylor (10-2, 7-2) will be Oklahoma States opponent for the Big 12 title next week after surviving Texas Tech (6-6, 3-6) in Waco, 27-24. The Red Raiders missed a game-tying 53-yard field goal on the final playxa6West Virginia (6-6, 4-5) held off Kansas (2-10, 1-8) to earn a bowl bid, winning 34-28 in Lawrence, while Iowa State (7-5, 5-4) ended TCUs season with a 48-14 thrashing in Ames (5-7, 3-6)xa6Texas (5-7, 3-6) snapped a six-game losing streak, pitching a second-half shutout in a 22-17 win over Kansas State (7-5, 4-5).

Big Ten: Add Ohio State to the list of dethroned multi-year conference champions, as No. 5 Michigan (11-1, 8-1) delivered a stellar performance on both sides of the ball to defeat the second-ranked Buckeyes (10-2, 8-1) for the first time since 2011. The Wolverines dominated on the ground with a 297-64 advantage and sacked C.J. Stroud four timesxa6Michigan will play in the Big Ten Championship Game for the first time next week, where No 16 Iowa (10-2, 7-2) will await. The Hawkeyes completed a furious rally past snakebitten Nebraska (3-9, 1-8) on Friday afternoon, scoring the final 22 points in a 28-21 win in Lincoln for their seventh straight win in the Heroes Gamexa6Iowa got necessary help from rival Minnesota (8-4, 6-3) on Saturday, as the Gophers took Paul Bunyans Axe back from No. 14 Wisconsin (8-4, 6-3) with a 23-13 win in Minneapolisxa6No. 12 Michigan State survived both significant snowfall and Penn State (7-5, 4-5), keeping New Years Six bowl hopes alive with a 30-27 win in East Lansingxa6The game was very well-played given the conditions, as Sean Clifford and Payton Thorne combined to throw for 581 yards, five touchdowns and just one interceptionxa6Purdue (8-4, 6-3) and Illinois (5-7, 4-5) were easy winners in their in-state rivalry games, blowing out 2-10 Indiana and 3-9 Northwestern respectivelyxa6Maryland (6-6, 3-6) earned a bowl trip with a 40-16 win at Rutgers (5-7, 2-7).

Pac-12: No. 11 Oregon (10-2, 7-2) won the Pac-12 North with a 38-29 Civil War win over Oregon State (7-5, 5-4). The Ducks will play Utah for the second time in three weeks in Las Vegas on Friday nightxa6The Oregon win denied a division title for Washington State (7-5, 6-3), who snapped an eight-game Apple Cup losing streak with a 40-13 rout of Washington (4-8, 3-6) on Friday nightxa6No. 13 Utah (9-3, 8-1) had little to play for against Colorado (4-8, 3-6), but the Utes handled their business after a sloppy start in their 28-13 home winxa6UCLA (8-4, 6-3) finished a solid season, outscoring California (4-7, 3-5) 25-0 after halftime in a 42-14 triumphxa6The Territorial Cup once again went to Arizona State (8-4, 6-3), with the Sun Devils dominating Arizona (1-11, 1-8), 38-15.

Group of Five: No. 4 Cincinnati (12-0, 8-0) had little trouble with East Carolina (7-5, 5-3), jumping to a 21-3 lead and rolling in a 35-13 road victory. The Bearcats will host Houston (11-1, 7-1) for the American title next weekxa6No. 6 Notre Dame (11-1) completed a dominant November, thrashing Stanford (3-9, 2-7), 45-14, in Palo Alto. The Irish outscored their four November opponents 162-23xa6No. 13 BYU completed a sweep of its five-game Pac-12 schedule, getting a late fourth-down stop to hold off USC (4-7, 3-5), 35-31 in Los Angeles. The Trojans finished the season 2-5 in the L.A. Coliseumxa6Division title winners this weekend included Western Kentucky (C-USA East), Kent State (MAC East), San Diego State (MWC West) and Utah State (MWC Mountain)xa6The Hilltoppers will visit No. 22 UTSA (11-1, 7-1) on Friday, which laid an egg for the first time this season in a 45-23 loss at North Texas (6-6, 5-3).

Matts Top 25
1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Cincinnati
4. Alabama
5. Notre Dame
6. Oklahoma State
7. Ohio State
8. Baylor
9. Ole Miss
10. Oregon
11. BYU
12. Michigan State
13. Oklahoma
14. Utah
15. Iowa
16. Houston
17. Pittsburgh
18. Arkansas
19. Wake Forest
20. San Diego State
21. Clemson
22. Texas A&M
23. Wisconsin
24. N.C. State
25. Kentucky

A Peek at Next Week
Friday
Screen 1: Pac-12 Championship (at Las Vegas): No. 14 Utah vs. No. 10 Oregon, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)
Screen 2: Conference USA Championship: Western Kentucky at UTSA, 7 p.m. ET (CBSSN)

Early Afternoon:
Screen 1: Big 12 Championship (at Arlington): No. 9 Baylor vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State, Noon ET (ABC)
Screen 2: MAC Championship (at Detroit): Kent State vs. Northern Illinois, Noon ET (ESPN)

Late Afternoon:
Screen 1: SEC Championship (at Atlanta): No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama, 4 p.m. ET (CBS)
Screen 2: American Championship: No. 16 Houston at No. 3 Cincinnati, 4 p.m. ET (ABC)
Screen 3: Sun Belt Championship: Appalachian State at No. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Primetime:
Screen 1: Big Ten Championship (at Indianapolis): No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 15 Iowa, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
Screen 2: ACC Championship (at Charlotte): No. 17 Pittsburgh vs. No. 18 Wake Forest, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)

After Dark:
Screen 1: USC at California, 11 p.m. ET (FS1)