The Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide are on a collision course to play in the SEC championship. Before an SEC champion is crowned, teams played in Week 12 action and have rivalry week.
The entire SEC West played non-Power Five opponents in Week 12. However, not every SEC West team won. The Auburn Tigers suffered an embarrassing home loss to New Mexico State.
Georgia cruised on the road at Tennessee. Florida blew a chance to upset Missouri. South Carolina earned an SEC East win over Kentucky.
How do we rank the SEC after a mixed bag of results in Week 12?
14
Vanderbilt Commodores
Record: 2-9
Week 12: off
Vanderbilt had its bye week ahead of a Week 13 game against Tennessee. The Commodores are the worst team in the SEC once again and have not won a conference game since last year.
13
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Record: 5-6
Week 12: Mississippi State 41, Southern Miss 20
Quarterback Will Rogers returned as Mississippi State earned its first win after firing head coach Zach Arnett. The Bulldogs play against Ole Miss next week and are hoping to become bowl eligible.
12
Arkansas Razorbacks
Record: 4-7
Week 12: Arkansas 44, FIU 20
Arkansas took care of business against FIU to win their fourth game of the season. The Razorbacks have suffered a number of one-score defeats this season.
11
Auburn Tigers
Record: 6-5
Week 12: New Mexico State 31, Auburn 10
This has to be rock bottom for Auburn. The New Mexico State Aggies thoroughly dominated the Tigers at home. Auburn paid New Mexico State $1.8 million to play this game and got spanked. The Aggies outgained Auburn 414 to 213 and held the Tigers to 12 first downs.
10
Florida Gators
Record: 5-6
Week 12: Missouri 33, Florida 31
Florida missed a golden opportunity to upset Missouri on the road. The Gators held a lead in the final moments, but runner going out of bounds paired with a fourth-and-17 conversion allowed Missouri to kick a game-winning field goal. If the Gators want to make a bowl game, they will have to beat Florida State next week.
9
Kentucky Wildcats
Record: 6-5
Week 12: South Carolina 17, Kentucky 14
Kentucky continues to lose measuring stick games. The Wildcats have lost to Tennessee, South Carolina and Missouri. Kentucky’s dominant win over the Gators is keeping them ranked ahead of Florida. Kentucky’s 5-0 start to the season feels like ages ago. The Wildcats finish the year 3-5 in the SEC, but could spoil Louisville’s season next week.
8
South Carolina Gamecocks
Record: 5-6
Week 12: South Carolina 17, Kentucky 14
We narrowly rank South Carolina ahead of Kentucky and Florida. There’s a pile up of mediocre teams in the SEC East. South Carolina can make a bowl game if it upsets Clemson next week.
7
Texas A&M Aggies
#12THMAN KICKOFF TEAM BRINGIN' THE HAMMER 🔨 pic.twitter.com/HwZvqGhbRh
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) November 18, 2023
Record: 7-4
Week 12: Texas A&M 38, Abilene Christian 10
In Texas A&M’s first game after the Jimbo Fisher era, the Aggies earned a win over Abilene Christian. They had one of the coolest moments in the SEC all season (see video above) when their walk-ons forced a fumble on a kickoff. The Aggies owe Fisher a $76 million buyout, which means they may not be throwing around as much money as you would expect in their coaching search.
6
Tennessee Volunteers
Record: 7-4
Week 12: Georgia 38, Tennessee 10
Tennessee suffered another blowout loss in Week 12. The Volunteers scored first against Georgia, but that was Tennessee’s only highlight of the day. Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton’s inconsistent play really hurts the Volunteers.
5
LSU Tigers
The two best players in all of college football@JayD__5 @whyguard13 pic.twitter.com/X0ccFWFkUp
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 19, 2023
Record: 8-3
Week 12: LSU 56, Georgia State 14
LSU Tigers star quarterback Jayden Daniels remains a Heisman hopeful. Daniels piled up over 500 total yards and eight total touchdowns as LSU ran up the score on Georgia State.
4
Ole Miss Rebels
Record: 9-2
Week 12: Ole Miss 35, UL Monroe 3
Ole Miss held a 7-3 halftime lead before scoring three straight touchdowns to move to 9-2. Jaxson Dart passed for 310 yards in Ole Miss’ win.
3
Missouri Tigers
Record: 9-2
Week 12: Missouri 33, Florida 31
Star wide receiver Luther Burden hauled in a clutch reception on fourth-and-17 to help Missouri set up a game-winning field goal. Missouri will play in a New Year’s Six Bowl if the Tigers can beat Arkansas next week.
2
Alabama Crimson Tide
Record: 10-1
Week 12: Alabama 66, Chattanooga 10
Alabama earned a hefty win over Chattanooga to move to 10-1. The Crimson Tide will play the Bulldogs in the SEC championship and could still make the College Football Playoff. Before then, Alabama plays at Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
1
Georgia Bulldogs
Record: 11-0
Week 12: Georgia 38, Tennessee 10
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and the Bulldogs capped another undefeated SEC regular season against Tennessee. Beck played another efficient game as Georgia crushed the will of Tennessee. The Dawgs are the SEC’s top team until they lose.
