Dak Prescott is a tough player to contain. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
The SEC season is heading into its final frantic weeks with division title, a conference title, bowl bids and the all-important College Football Playoff berth or berths at stake.
This weekend’s slate of games is a dandy one.
Let’s start off with the big one: No. 1 Mississippi State at No. 5 Alabama. If the Bulldogs are going to hang on to that ranking, they are going to have to handle Alabama on its home field. That’s not easy.
“We are excited. This is a big game. Obviously, having the opportunity to play in big games late in the season is what it is all about,” said Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen. “It is what we work for. Hopefully that becomes the norm for our program as we continue to move forward. We have a great challenge this week in Alabama. They have one of the best, if not the best, defense in the nation.
“They do it how they have always done it. They have great players and they have depth. They are big and very physical. They are strong against the run and can get after the passer with great pass rushers. They have great size in the secondary and can cover really well. They are really a complete defense. That is going to be a great challenge for us.”
Nick Saban knows the Crimson Tide will have to be up for a game that will be just as physical as last week’s overtime win at LSU.
“Defensively, they are one of the top teams in country in terms of scoring defense,” Saban said of the Bulldogs. “They are very physical, they are big up front and they create a lot of pressure. They are one of the best teams in how they affect the quarterback. They stop the run. I think this is when stats kind of get misleading, they’ve been ahead in a lot of their games and the other team is passing the ball on them a lot, so that doesn’t mean they have an issue in pass defense, it just means they’ve had to play against a lot of passes.
“This is a really, really well coached, solid team that has a lot of good players. They are a senior team that has a lot of experience. This is going to be a challenge for us to bounce back and play our best football of the season against probably the best team we’ve played all year.”
Due to the strength of both defenses this might come down to which quarterback can make the big play to win the game. Dak Prescott and Blake Sims have done it all season long. Which one can do it again?
The SEC Crystal Ball believes Prescott has done it with more consistency and picks Mississippi State.
South Carolina at Florida is always interesting due to current Gamecocks’ coach Steve Spurrier’s ties to Florida. Both teams need a win but Florida may need it a little more in order to keep coach Will Muschamp off the hot seat in Gainesville.
“I have great respect for Coach Spurrier and the job he has done as a coach and more than anything as a man,” Muschamp said. “He’s a good guy. He’s been great to me as long as I’ve been at the University of Florida. I really look up to him in this profession. He does things the right way.
“Offensively, they’ve been outstanding this year. The best offense we’ve faced in my opinion to date this season. So we’ve got our work cut out for us defensively, we really do, a team that’s as balanced as they are, as good a job as coach does calling plays.
“Defensively, they’re very young. Lorenzo Ward’s an outstanding coach. They’ve gone through some growing pains, but they’ve had a week off though, so I’m sure we’ll face some things we haven’t totally prepared for and we’ll have to make some adjustments in the game.
“Can’t wait to get in front of our crowd again. I really challenged our football team after the Vanderbilt win about how important it is to take back The Swamp and that’s what we need to do this coming Saturday,” he said.
Spurrier has always been a fan of Muschamp’s and appreciates what he’s done with the Gators program.
“The Florida Gators, the team that seemed to have found their quarterback. Seems like we go through the year and the other team seems to find their quarterback,” Spurrier said. “They’ve always had one of the best defenses in the country and in the conference, and if you take away the Alabama game they’d probably be there right at the top of most defensive categories. They’ve been that way for a while now, very good defense and now they got their offense straightened out, playing with very few turnovers now. That’s what makes them a very good team at this point.
We’re going to have our hands full, but we’ll look forward to going down there. ”
The Crystal Ball flipped a coin and it came up with a Florida win.
The Auburn-Georgia game is always a classic and this year finds both team ranked in the Top 15 again.
Auburn is going to have to hold on to the football if the Tigers hope to beat the Bulldogs — something they didn’t do in the loss to Texas A&M. Georgia will get an emotional lift from the return of tailback Todd Gurley, but will it be enough?
“They’re an outstanding team,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt. “We’ve played 117 times so this will be the 118th time we’ve played and they’ve got us by one game. The point differential is less than one point per game after all these years. It’s been that close. We’re looking forward to being home for the first time in 42 days, we’re looking forward to our fan base welcoming our players and supporting us, and we’re looking forward to playing some exciting football to get our fans excited, too.”
The Crystal Ball says this one could go down to the wire but Auburn should come out on top if they hold on to the football.
Around the rest of the league the SEC Crystal Ball likes Tennessee to beat Kentucky, Missouri to beat Texas A&M and, in a big rivalry game, look for LSU to beat Arkansas … but not by much.
