SEC Week 13 Preview — Hitting The Home Stretch

Florida's (5-4, 4-4 SEC) overtime loss to South Carolina lead to Will Muschamp's decision to step down as head coach. Muschamp consistently had one of the best defenses in the SEC, but the Gators never found a spark on offense. Starting Treon Harris in place of Jeff Driskel solved the issue temporarily until Saturday. Harris only had 11 pass attempts against one of the worst pass defenses in the country. Muschamp will coach the rest of the season looking for one more win to make a bowl game.

Eastern Kentucky (9-2, 6-2 OVC) may not be a team you have heard of, but they are one of the best in the FCS. Running back Dy'Shawn Mobley leads the Ohio Valley Conference in rushing and has 20 total touchdowns on the season. Eastern Kentucky and Florida have a lot in common in regards to quarterback. They have primarily played Jared McClain and Bennie Coney at quarterback with both showing signs of promise. The Colonels are not going to go down without a fight.

FCS teams are usually schedule to allow for an 'easy win'. That is not necessarily the case on Saturday. Eastern Kentucky players are not strangers to FBS football. Mobley transferred from Kentucky while Coney transferred from Cincinnati. Florida losing is unlikely, but not out of the question.

Georgia's (8-2, 6-2 SEC) 34-7 beat down of Auburn only further proves that they are one of the best two-loss teams in the country. Yet Missouri has to to lose in order for the Georgia to make it to Atlanta. While waiting, the Bulldogs can figure out how many carries Nick Chubb will get against Charleston Southern. Chubb now steps in full time following Todd Gurley's season ending injury, but will likely find the bench if this game gets out of hand.

Charleston Southern (8-3, 3-2 Big South) missed out on their chance to beat an SEC team a few weeks ago in a 21-20 loss to Vanderbilt. The door of opportunity is now closed so preventing a blowout is key. The Buccaneers have managed to hold opponents to just 128 rushing yards per game, but that is against FCS competition. They will have a tough time stopping a tough Bulldogs' ground game.

We will recant our statement on how good Georgia is if they struggle against Charleston Southern. In all fairness, they are one of the better teams in the FCS so it is not impossible just highly unlikely. It should be all Bulldogs on Saturday.

South Carolina (5-5, 3-5 SEC) picked up a big win over Florida in 'The Swamp' after only winning one of their previous five games. The win helps, but it does not solve the Gamecocks' problems. Defense continues to be a pressing issue Steve Spurrier and, statistically, this is the worst defense he has ever had as a head coach. Even with Dylan Thompson and Mike Davis have picking up the slack, do not put South Carolina in any bowl projections just yet.

South Alabama (6-4, 5-3 Sun Belt) is slowly but surely making a name for themselves in the Sun Belt despite still being in the infant stages of the FBS. The Jaguars are already bowl eligible and a big win on Saturday would put them on the map. The only problem is they lack the offensive firepower to do it. South Alabama only averaged 7 points per game in their four losses this season while South Carolina averaged over 32 points per game in their five losses.

It is not uncommon for Sun Belt teams to pull off a big upset against SEC opponents. In fact, there have been a few close calls this season. South Carolina is obviously having a down year, but not bad enough to lose to the Jaguars Saturday.

Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC) may have two losses, but they are not out of the playoff hunt or the SEC title race. If the Rebels win out then all they would need is an Alabama loss to Auburn in order to make it to Atlanta. The hard part will be winning out as they face two tough SEC opponents to end the season. They did get an extra week of preparation for Arkansas' tough ground game. The worry is whether or not the hot and cold Bo Wallace will play well with the absence of Laquon Treadwell.

Arkansas (5-5, 1-5 SEC) finally snapped a 17 game losing streak against conference opponents with a 17-0 win over LSU. The win should give the Hogs a new found confidence that makes them even more dangerous. They just have to figure out how to score against one of the best defenses in the entire country. It is also worth noting that only two SEC teams- Alabama and Mississippi State - have won their next game after playing LSU.

Ole Miss may have one of the best defenses in the SEC, but don;t forget that Arkansas held LSU to 123 total yards. In other words, we may see a low-scoring slugfest in what is arguably the best conference game of the week.

Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC) is new No.1 team in the country following their huge win over Mississippi State. Now the Crimson Tide is in the driver's seat to the first ever playoff as long as they win out. Winning out is not a guarantee, but a win on Saturday is. Alabama may get caught looking ahead to next week's matchup with Auburn, but even that will not be enough to lose to an FCS opponent. The Tide's offense is to fast and their defense will not allow many points if any at all.

Western Carolina (7-4, 5-2 Southern) in all likelihood knows that they are going to lose on Saturday. The Catamounts have played well at the FCS level and came close to beating South Florida earlier in the season, but none of that will matter come Saturday. In the last five years, Western Carolina has been outscored 400-113 against FBS opponents. This will be their third time facing Alabama in the Saban era and in they were outscored 101-6 in the previous two matchups.

Playing in the SEC means playing some of the best teams in the country every week with very few breaks. Alabama and other SEC teams schedule games like this in order to give the players a needed break. You will likely not see the starters in after the first half.

Auburn (7-3, 4-3 SEC) has watched their season take a nosedive after back-to-back losses. The Tigers will not have to worry about a third straight loss as they take on Samford in preparation for Alabama next week. Although their season has hit a snag, they still have the best ground attack in the SEC. Defensive issues has slowed Auburn down, but we do not see a scenario where those problems prevent them from winning on Saturday.

Samford (7-3, 5-2 Southern) rounds at their regular season with their visit to Jordan-Hare. By now it may sound like a broken record, but the Bulldogs are another FCS team that has had a successful season. They just do not have the talent to take down an SEC team. Samford has enough offensive firepower to rack up one or two touchdowns against a struggling Tiger defense. They just won't be able to handle the ground attack that Gus Malzahn coaches so well.

These two teams last met in 2011 and that resulted in a 35-16 Auburn win. The bulldogs may score at least 16 points, but Auburn will score more than 35.

Missouri (8-2, 5-1 SEC) moving up to No. 20 in the rankings proves that they have earned the playoff committee's respect. the Tigers' season took a hit after losing to Indiana at home, yet they lead the SEC East. Maty Mauk is now playing more consistent after a mid-season dry spell that almost cost them a couple of times. Mauk usually garners the attention, but Russell Hansbrough had a career high 199 yards last week against Texas A&M. Missouri needs to finish strong because one loss means that Georgia wins the East.

Tennessee (5-5, 2-4 SEC) has played like a new team since Butch Jones made the decision to start Joshua Dobbs at quarterback. Dobbs provided a much needed offensive spark and now it appears that Tennessee's future really is bright. However, Jones had to suspend A.J. Johnson indefinitely following a sexual assault allegation. Johnson was second in the SEC tackles and team leader. His absence could take a toll on how the Vols play on Saturday.

Tennessee another SEC team that is one win away from bowl eligibility, but Missouri has SEC Championship hopes on the line. The Tigers will be challenged in a hostile environment, and the Vols will be facing a tough defense. This one has the makings of a classic.

Mississippi State's (9-1, 5-1 SEC) national title hopes took a major hit after suffering their first loss to Alabama last weekend. The Bulldogs only fell back to No. 4 in the rankings so there is still a glimmer of hope in Starkville. They cannot afford another loss, but they do not have to worry about one against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs still have the best offense in the SEC and will score in a hurry. The only way Vanderbilt can keep this close is if the Bulldogs play hungover from last week's tough loss.

Vanderbilt (3-7, 0-6 SEC) is probably going to have another rough weekend. Derek Mason's first season was not what everyone hoped it would be even though he inherited a very young team. The Commodores have had to rely on a freshman quarterback to run the show all while having the worst offense in the SEC. That will be the least of their worries on Saturday. Stopping Dak Prescott will be their only hope of pulling off the monumental upset.

With all due respect to Vanderbilt, Mississippi State may be better off playing an FCS team. The Commodores can just not find their rhythm and it is hard to imagine that they will find it anytime soon. The Bulldogs should bounce back with a big win.