The SEC can only go up from here

Welcome to The Crock Pot, your one-stop in-season shop for all the SEC football news, notes, quotes and mishaps you’ve been stewing over all weekend. SEC Country has been stewing, too, and what we’re cooking up for you every Monday morning is a tasty medley of the conference’s highlights, lowlights and every #ItJustMeansMore commercial in between.

For a while, we’ve fed on the narrative that the SEC is where college football’s elite play and coach on Saturdays. Looking at the overall picture of the sport since 2006, that’s probably still true.

But there’s no way around it: Every team not named Alabama would like to shove 2016 under its bed and forget about it for a long time.

In that sense, Week 13 was a fitting end to the regular season. The SEC went 1-3 against the ACC on Rivalry Week; Florida was easily dispatched by Florida State, Clemson obliterated South Carolina and Georgia collapsed at home vs. Georgia Tech.  Auburn lost a non-competitive Iron Bowl. Tennessee gave up gobs of offensive yards at Vanderbilt. Arkansas lost to Missouri, the conference cellar-dweller. Texas A&M, at one time a College Football Playoff contender, got thrashed at home by an LSU team unsure if its coach would be around the following week.

The ugly wreckage is impossible to ignore. Alabama finished 12-0, and unless Florida pulls off an unlikely upset in Atlanta, the SEC’s next-best team will be 8-4. The Big Ten alone has five teams with better records than that. Auburn should slog its way into the Sugar Bowl almost by default, and likely would be a sizable underdog against the winner of Oklahoma-Oklahoma State.

But it’s not all doom and gloom in the SEC. How could it be when the conference is nestled in the most fertile recruiting grounds in the country? Here’s why we can look forward to 2017:

• Recruiting: Eight SEC teams have top-20 recruiting classes, according to the 247Sports Composite. Alabama is of course still No. 1, followed by Georgia at No. 3, LSU at No. 5 and Texas A&M at No. 9. No other conference has as many teams ranked so highly.
• Coaching: Georgia and Missouri both had first-time head coaches. Will Muschamp was in his first year at South Carolina, and Jim McElwain was in only his second at Florida. Couple that with upward-trending Kentucky and Vanderbilt, and the SEC East should be noticeably improved next season.
• Quarterbacks: Only three seniors regularly started in the SEC this year: Chad Kelly, Josh Dobbs and Trevor Knight. Jalen Hurts, Jacob Eason, Jake Bentley and Shea Patterson were all true freshmen, while Drew Lock, Nick Fitzgerald, Sean White and Kyle Shurmur were sophomores. They’ll of course get better with experience.
• Administration: Often overlooked, Florida, Mississippi State, Missouri and Tennessee are all transitioning to new athletic directors. Maybe this has a minimal effect on Saturday performance, but it does affect a program’s budget, which includes recruiting and travel expenses.
• Money: The SEC benefits from the oh-so-lucrative SEC Network and, of course, having programs that consistently wind up with a surplus (Alabama, Florida, etc.). The average profit for SEC teams in 2014-15 was around the $16 million mark, according to SB Nation. That puts the SEC way above its rival Power Five conferences.

So don’t fret. There’s no denying this was the furthest thing from a banner year, but 2017 promises to be better.

Now let’s grit our teeth and sift through the train wreck that was 2016 by conducting a quick postmortem for every SEC team.

Alabama (still in progress)

The good: Just about everything. No. 1 scoring defense. A studly freshman quarterback. A 12-0 regular season. If Alabama doesn’t win another national title, fans will be disappointed. But hey, you can’t win them all … can you?

The bad: Well, the offense has sputtered at times. The running game hasn’t been the ground-and-pound attack we’re used to seeing with Lane Kiffin at the helm. But the Tide are still averaging almost 40 points per game.

The ugly: If Kiffin gets hired away by archrival LSU … that might qualify. Steve Sarkisian would be waiting in the wings, but what’s preventing Kiffin from taking him, too?

Co-MVPs: Jonathan Allen/Jalen Hurts

Auburn

The good: In a year when Gus Malzahn was fighting for his job and the team wasn’t expected to be very good, the Tigers played far better than expected and rebounded to 8-4. The defense has been excellent — partly due to new coordinator Kevin Steele and partly due to great recruiting in recent years. The offense is littered with young, talented wideouts, and a couple of workhorses emerged in the backfield (Kerryon Johnson, Kamryn Pettway).

The bad: Auburn finished outside the top 40 in scoring offense for the second year in a row, and the unit was held to a total of 48 points in the Tigers’ four losses this season. “Offensive guru” Gus Malzahn needs to right that side of the ball quickly — particularly if Rhett Lashlee winds up landing another job.

The ugly: Malzahn’s game-planning against Clemson and then Alabama, for one. His management of Sean White (or White’s failure to fully disclose the extent of his injury) in the Georgia game. The usage (or non-usage) of John Franklin III. Yuck.

MVP: Carl Lawson

Arkansas

The good: Austin Allen and Rawleigh Williams. The Hogs were inconsistent and painfully thin at certain areas, but man do they have a good QB/RB combo. Williams led the SEC in carries and yards rushing, while Allen led the league in yards per attempt (8.5) and was stellar for a first-year starter with little to no pocket protection.

The bad: Speaking of the offensive line, its pass blocking ranged from barely competent to woefully insufficient in 2016. The Razorbacks allowed 29 sacks — second-worst in the SEC — and watched Allen take hit after hit after hit. The pass rush remained pretty weak, too.

The ugly: The run defense, which allowed 350-plus yards to LSU and Texas A&M, and a school-record 543 against Auburn. There were injuries along the front seven, but for a Bret Bielema-coached team to be that bad at stopping the run? Shocking.

MVP: Austin Allen, with a hat tip to Dan Enos

LSU

The good: Derrius Guice, Leonard Fournette (when healthy) and the offensive line. LSU averaged 6.27 yards per carry in 2016, good for fourth-best in the nation. The Tigers defense, meanwhile, was elite under first-year coordinator Dave Aranda.

The bad: Once again, the passing game. Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural combined for just 734 yards and 4 touchdowns this season. Brandon Harris didn’t progress over the offseason, which thrust Danny Etling into the starting role by Week 3. Only Auburn threw for fewer yards among SEC teams.

The ugly: Fournette’s ankle ailments. Tough break for No. 7 this season.

MVP: Tre’Davious White

Ole Miss

The good: Chad Kelly when he was playing, and the passing game. Hugh Freeze’s offense remains incredibly tough to defend, even for mighty Alabama, and the combination of Kelly and his receivers kept the Rebels competitive in several games. Kicker Gary Wunderlich also had a great season (22 of 23 on FG attempts).

The bad: Everything on defense. Freeze had the right idea: Torch it and start anew.

The ugly: The NCAA investigation is still ongoing. Maybe we’ll hear the final verdict in 2020.

MVP: Evan Engram

Mississippi State

The good: The Bulldogs got better as the season progressed, as did quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. Beating Texas A&M and Ole Miss in November proved just enough to get this team into a bowl game of some sort, and that’ll send players into the offseason feeling a bit better about 2016.

The bad: The defense and the kicking game. Mississippi State allowed 35-plus points to six teams, including UMass and Samford, and looked lost at times under first-year DC Peter Sirmon. Junior Westin Graves finished the year 10 of 18 on field goal tries.

The ugly: How do you lose to South Alabama? How??

MVP: Nick Fitzgerald

Texas A&M

The good: Huge props to whoever recruited Trayveon Williams and Justin Evans. Running back and offensive line were major areas of improvement for the Aggies, and the pass rush remained a bright spot with Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall in the fold.

The bad: The injury to Trevor Knight derailed the offense late in the season, and the defense also faded big-time down the stretch. Texas A&M allowed 490 yards or more against Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU and both Mississippi schools. The loss to Ole Miss, debuting a freshman quarterback on the road, was inexplicable. Defensive coordinator John Chavis was expected to make that unit much, much stouter in Year 2.

The ugly: The entire month of November. Same old story for the September champions.

Co-MVPs: Christian Kirk/Myles Garrett

Florida

The good: Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State all scored at least 30 points, but Florida held the other nine teams it played to 14 or fewer. Geoff Collins and the UF defense have been great this year, led by a ball-hawking secondary that’s arguably the SEC’s best. Sophomore tailback Jordan Scarlett emerged as a feature back late in the season, and the offensive line went from allowing 45 sacks last year to 21 this year. Huge turnaround for the “dead fish” up front.

The bad: Once again, the offense. The Gators ranked worse than at least four other Florida FBS schools in total yards and points scored — for the second year in a row, no less. Jim McElwain and Doug Nussmeier need to figure this thing out fast. They know it, too, if reports are true that UF is reaching out to a former 5-star transfer quarterback.

The ugly: Injuries. Florida is a team of walking wounded at this point and enters the SEC title game without eight regular starters.

MVP: Teez Tabor

Florida

The good: Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State all scored at least 30 points, but Florida held the other nine teams it played to 14 or fewer. Geoff Collins and the UF defense have been great this year, led by a ball-hawking secondary that’s arguably the SEC’s best. Sophomore tailback Jordan Scarlett emerged as a feature back late in the season, and the offensive line went from allowing 45 sacks last year to 21 this year. Huge turnaround for the “dead fish” up front.

The bad: Once again, the offense. The Gators ranked worse than at least four other Florida FBS schools in total yards and points scored — for the second year in a row, no less. Jim McElwain and Doug Nussmeier need to figure this thing out fast. They know it, too, if reports are true that UF is reaching out to a former 5-star transfer quarterback.

The ugly: Injuries. Florida is a team of walking wounded at this point and enters the SEC title game without eight regular starters.

MVP: Teez Tabor

Georgia

The good: Beating Auburn, North Carolina and Kentucky — all commendable efforts. The defense, though young at several positions, didn’t experience too much of a fall-off from last season. Jacob Eason finished his freshman year with respectable numbers and looks the part of a future star.

The bad: Bad blocking doomed Georgia more than once this season, and it kept the rushing numbers relatively meager for an attack led by Nick Chubb and Sony Michel — both NFL-caliber backs. The Bulldogs hired Sam Pittman, widely considered an elite O-line coach, last offseason. He still has major work to do in revamping his unit. They also need serious improvement at wide receiver.

The ugly: Whether it was blowing late leads against Tennessee and Georgia Tech, or losing to Vanderbilt, or beating Nicholls State and Louisiana-Lafayette by a combined 16 points, this team lacked a killer instinct all season. Kirby Smart’s lack of head coaching experience has become painfully obvious to the Georgia fans who wanted Mark Richt gone.

MVP: Isaiah McKenzie

Tennessee

The good: Josh Dobbs put up huge numbers in some of his games, and the Vols finally broke that ugly Florida losing streak. The team also welcomed a couple of breakout performances at receiver from Jauan Jennings and Josh Malone. Numbers-wise, UT’s offense was among the best in the conference. Derek Barnett was and still is a stud.

The bad: And yet, that same offense had a nasty habit of sleepwalking through the first half. That became a season-long trend for the Vols, who routinely played to the level of their opponents early only to come surging back in the second half.

The ugly: Where to start? Injuries killed this team all year. Jalen Hurd transferred midseason. The defense completely collapsed late. Worst of all, the SEC East favorites — at one time in control of their own destiny — dropped baffling games to South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Champions of Life, indeed. Butch Jones is about to become Champion of the Hot Seat.

MVP: Derek Barnett

Kentucky

The good: Eddie Gran completely revitalized the Wildcats on offense, as they surged from 24.7 points per game last year to 31 in 2016. The one-two punch of Benny Snell and Boom Williams compensated for the loss of quarterback Drew Barker to a back injury. Oh, and beating Lamar Jackson. That’s an incredible way to end the season.

The bad: The young group improved as the season went on, but defensively, Kentucky still needs serious work. Seven teams scored 34-plus points against them, and the pass rush was basically non-existent in a few games. Even since Mark Stoops took a more active role on defense, the improvements haven’t been apparent.

The ugly: September losses to Southern Miss and Florida. Two weeks in, more than a few thought 2016 might doom Stoops at Kentucky.

MVP: Benny Snell

South Carolina

The good: Will Muschamp has done what he does best: Recruit and coach defense. Excluding the Clemson beatdown, South Carolina has been competitive in all of its games this season, and the Gamecocks also have the No. 16-ranked recruiting class in the country. Jake Bentley looks like he’ll be a big-time player for years to come, especially with Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards around.

The bad: The Kurt Roper-Muschamp reunion hasn’t paid immediate dividends, and much of that can be attributed to the absolute mess of an offensive line. You saw it in the Clemson game on Saturday, as Bentley got banged up in the pocket time and time again. They got manhandled running the ball in several games this year, too. O-line will be priority No. 1, 2 and 3 this offseason.

The ugly: Early-season quarterback management. Flopping between Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain likely contributed to the offense’s sluggish start to 2016.

Co-MVPs: Darius English/Jamarcus King

Vanderbilt

The good: For a team that won 7 games in its first two seasons under Derek Mason, beating Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee is phenomenal. The Commodores also lost to South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky and Auburn by a touchdown or less. This really was a sneaky good season for Vandy, and Mason deserves major props for it. The defense kept the ‘Dores in several games, the offense committed very few turnovers and the team overall played mostly clean, mistake-free football.

The bad: The offense, particularly when the Ralph Webb attack isn’t rolling, remains an area Vandy needs to improve. However, that simply may come with time. Over his his last four games, Kyle Shurmur has thrown for 1,162 yards and 5 touchdowns at a 61.2 percent clip. And he passed for 416 yards against Tennessee alone.

The ugly: Making it rain with boxes of LIFE cereal.

MVP: Zach Cunningham

Missouri

The good: After starting the year 2-7, ending with wins against Arkansas and Vanderbilt — plus a competitive game at Tennessee — is saving grace for what has been a trying, difficult year for first-year coach Barry Odom. The offense put up some big yardage totals, but otherwise, there wasn’t a whole lot to brag about in Columbia.

The bad: The defense, of course. Missouri went from being fairly stout on that side of the ball (when Odom was defensive coordinator) to porous and lifeless for much of the year. Only five Power Five programs allowed more yards per game than the Tigers.

The ugly: “D-Line Zou” was pretty atrocious up front this season, and on top of that, the school fired position coach Jackie Shipp because of a reported argument he had with a player last week at Tennessee.

MVP: J’Mon Moore

Awesome moment of the week

You know a moment is moving when it almost makes Nick Saban cry.

Alabama walk-on running back Lawrence Erekosima was being honored on the field for senior day when he was greeted by a surprise guest: His mother, Jacqueline Page, a servicewoman in the Army who arrived home early from her deployment in Kuwait.

“I almost cried,” Erekosima said, via our own Marq Burnett. “I had to hold it in. I dropped one tear like Denzel (Washington).”

Check out Marq’s story for more info and the video. Really great.

Interesting stats of the week

1) Everyone but you: Missouri’s 2016 schedule featured 11 bowl-eligible teams, including Eastern Michigan (7-5) and Middle Tennessee (8-4). The only one to not make a bowl? Delaware State, which is 0-11 this season. Overall, Tigers opponents had a combined record of 80-60 this season. For comparison, Alabama’s opponents (excluding Florida) had a combined record of 85-58.

2) Rocky defense: Tennessee gave up 3,169 total yards in games against Kentucky, Missouri, Vanderbilt Alabama and Texas A&M. Meaning the Vols gave up more yards in five games than the Crimson Tide have allowed in 12 (2,961). Injuries have played a role here, but this surely wasn’t what they envisioned when defensive coordinator Bob Shoop was hired.

3) Making them count: Texas A&M only returned 12 punts this season, but the Aggies returned 4 of them for touchdowns. They also averaged an FBS-best 28.6 yards per return, a full 10 yards better than the No. 2 team in that category (Western Kentucky). Christian Kirk, responsible for 11 of those punts, also led the SEC with 77 catches.

4) Return to the norm? Only one SEC tailback averaged more than 20 carries per game this year (Kamryn Pettway). The conference either had one or zero such backs from 2012-14. But last season, Derrick Henry, Leonard Fournette, Ralph Webb, Jalen Hurd and Alex Collins all topped the 20 touch-per-game mark. Henry and Fournette combined for 695 carries in 2015. Incredible.

5) By another measure: Ole Miss is the 29th-best team in the country — according to ESPN’s FPI metric, at least. Texas A&M finished up at No. 15 on that list, while 7-4 LSU resides at No. 7 — ahead of 10-2 Wisconsin and Penn State, among others.

Projecting the College Football Playoff rankings

Ohio State outlasted Michigan in an epic edition of The Game, Clemson shellacked South Carolina and Washington picked up a statement win over its in-state rival. The Wolverines shouldn’t fall far, though. Don’t expect a ton of top-10 movement for the second straight week. Auburn, Florida and Tennessee are all due for drops, and LSU should make a reappearance.

Here’s how the Top 25 should shape up before conference title week:

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Washington
5. Michigan
6. Wisconsin
7. Penn State
8. Colorado
9. Oklahoma
10. Oklahoma State
11. USC
12. Florida State
13. West Virginia
14. Western Michigan
15. Auburn
16. Stanford
17. Navy
18. Florida
19. Louisville
20. LSU
21. Virginia Tech
22. Nebraska
23. Iowa
24. Pittsburgh
25. USF

Bowl projections replay

Wonder where your SEC team is going bowling? I’ve re-posted my projections (which I explain here) below:

Trust-o-meter

Here’s how I voted in this week’s edition of the official SEC Country Power Poll:

1. Alabama — Where else would the Tide be?
2. LSU — The Tigers’ four losses all came against ranked teams, all by 10 points or fewer.
3. Auburn — Two of its losses were dealt by Playoff teams. The offense was a mess without Sean White, but should improve next year.
4. Florida — The Gators get trounced by their in-state rivals once again. Saturday won’t be pretty.
5. Tennessee — Butch Jones and his staff have some ‘splaining to do after an extremely disappointing loss to Vanderbilt.
6. Texas A&M — The Aggies collapsed in November, but early wins against Auburn and Tennessee still hold weight.
7. Kentucky — Upsetting Louisville and the likely Heisman-winner will do wonders for the Wildcats entering bowl season.
8. Arkansas — Week to week, you never know what the heck you’re going to get out of the Hogs.
9. Mississippi State — Nick Fitzgerald has a bright future. Maybe the Bulldogs do, too.
10. Vanderbilt — Huge win for the Commodores. They’re finally trending upward again.
11. Georgia — Knocking off Auburn at home was nice, but too often this team played even with inferior competition.
12. South Carolina — A 6-win season is nice, but the Gamecocks have a way to go in this rebuild.
13. Missouri — The Tigers have something to build off heading into the offseason, at least.
14. Ole Miss — December can’t come fast enough for Rebels fans.

Headlines from around the league

• Nick Saban addresses rumors of schools pursuing Lane Kiffin (Marq Burnett, SEC Country)
• Jim McElwain comments on Luke Del Rio’s availability after QB dressed for loss at FSU (Ryan Young, SEC Country)
• John Franklin III to discuss Auburn future after bowl (Justin Ferguson, SEC Country)
• Stephen Johnson outduels Lamar Jackson as Kentucky’s unassuming hero (Joe Mussatto, SEC Country)
• LSU parts ways with special teams coordinator (Sam Spiegelman, SEC Country)
• Austin Allen ‘disgusted’ by Razorbacks’ loss to Missouri (Jason Kersey, SEC Country)
• Dabo Swinney responds to allegation that one of his players used racial slur in SC game (Hale McGranahan, SEC Country)
• WATCH: Derek Mason says ‘This is our state’ after upsetting Tennessee (Jesse Simonton, SEC Country)
• Where does Georgia go from here? (Seth Emerson, DawgNation)
• Ed Orgeron Is the Right Man for the LSU Job but Must Make an Instant Impact(Barrett Sallee, Bleacher Report)
• Misery Index: Week 13 (Dan Wolken, USA Today)
• With regular season over, one prevailing mood across SEC: misery (Chadd Scott, GridIron Now)

What you gotta know (besides football)

Gooooaaaaaaa-oh my god: This is the worst missed goal you will ever see in your life. It’s actually more impressive that he missed from that angle than if he had simply, you know, put it in the net. My brain hurts.

That didn’t happen: There were a bunch of stories reporting that instead of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown — great show, by the way — CNN broadcasted 30 minutes of pornography in Boston. As it turns out, all of the outlets who ran with it may have been duped. Gizmodo points out that, besides one woman who tweeted about issues with her cable box, nobody else appeared to have the same problem. This is what happens when no one feels the need to independently confirm something floating around on the Internet. Remember this as we enter the heart of “coaching silly season.”

“If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event, I would win the gold medal“: That’s a quote often attributed to Fidel Castro, the former Cuban dictator who recently died of natural causes at the age of 90. Even he’s surprised he lived that long. Castro’s ex-bodyguard claims there were 638 attempted assassinations of the leader. Many of these failed plots were orchestrated by the CIA under the “Cuban Project,” signed by John F. Kennedy. The mafia tried, too. The futility here is almost incomprehensible.

Final word

For fans, the next few days could hold real excitement if your team is looking for a coordinator. This time of the year often shapes a program for years to come, and I particularly liked how the importance of a good coach was described by The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis in this post-firing piece on Charlie Strong.

“Texas has the kind of resources — whip-out money, boosters, a fertile recruiting ground — that are necessary to power an annual winner. But having these things doesn’t mean you get a berth in the College Football Playoff every year. Texas’s ability to return to its “rightful” spot atop the heap depends, as it always has, on whether it picked the right coach. Just ask Charlie Strong.”

Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida — all the traditional SEC powers have had lean stretches in their history, and it nearly always coincides with mediocre coaching. The Crimson Tide are as good as they are because of Nick Saban. The Vols are as middle-of-the-pack as they are because of Derek Dooley and Butch Jones. It’s as simple as that.

Courtesy of the Cox Media Group

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