It is fitting, the way this season has unwrapped, that we have to wait until the final regular-season game to see who will be in the SEC Championship Game.
We know LSU will be there. The Tigers kept their national title hopes alive, thanks in part to Ed Orgeron’s bone-headed decision to switch quarterbacks in the red zone at the end of the first half.
Tennessee kept control of its own destiny with the help of a bone-headed roughing the punter penalty on Vanderbilt with the Commodores up 24-13.
Georgia kept its slim hopes alive with a win over Kentucky, but the Bulldogs need Tennessee to lose at Kentucky. Georgia fans may be cursing the Commodores today for blowing a lead, but they must remember how Vandy should have won against Georgia.
Of course, that’s what Vandy does. The ‘Dores have lost 11 of their last 13 games decided by a touchdown or less and have lost 14 straight games when a win would have made them bowl eligible.
I’ve been saying the last few weeks that LSU seems to be last year’s Florida, a team that survives week after week and ends up with the perfect set-ups in the biggest games.
The Tigers are looking at an SEC title game against the Vols. Think about it, the last two teams LSU wants to play are the red-hot Bulldogs or the Florida team that nearly beat them in Baton Rouge. Instead, they are likely to get a Tennessee team that lost twice on the road this year by a combined 63 points.
And then they might get Kansas ” KANSAS! ” in the national title game. Or West Virginia.
With all of this intrigue going on, the message boards are on fire. But not in Baton Rouge or Knoxville or Athens. In Tuscaloosa.
My gosh, how do you lose to Louisiana-Monroe?
Little Nicky, welcome to marriage. Because the honeymoon is over.
It might have been over when the Tide lost to Mississippi State. But that was on the road against an SEC team that is improving.
This was against a Sun Belt team. AT HOME.
One thing Saban is finding out is that there are more issues at Alabama than just a lack of talent. The five players who were suspended the week of the Tennessee game have been an issue and receiver D.J. Hall was suspended for the first half against La.-Monroe.
As a result, this is the sixth straight year Alabama has lost on Senior Day. You could hear the booing from here.
