Bo Wallace and the Rebels had no problem with Tennessee. (Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports)
Call it “Annihilation Day.”
After more than a month of weekends featuring one-point victories, dramatic comebacks and games hinging on one or two plays, the SEC apparently was due for a clunker in the drama department.
The league got it Saturday when the average margin of victory for the winners was 33.5 points and the closest game was Georgia’s 13-point win over Arkansas.
And that one really wasn’t that close. The Bulldogs led the Razorbacks in Little Rock 38-6 at the half, and it wasn’t until late in the Bulldogs’ 45-32 victory that the Hogs managed to get closer than 19 points.
Consider the halftime margins in the other games.
South Carolina led 28-7 after two quarters on its way to a 41-10 win over Furman.
Alabama was up 45-0 in its eventual 59-0 rout of Texas A&M.
LSU led 27-3 midway through its 41-3 thumping of Kentucky.
Missouri held a 20-0 advantage in its 42-13 victory over offensively-challenged Florida.
The smallest halftime lead of any of the winners was at Mississippi, where the Rebels played it safe early while coping with poor field position and led only 14-3 at the break of their 34-3 victory over Tennessee.
After the carnage ended, the division races shook out this way: Georgia established prime position in moving to 4-1 in the East. Missouri at 2-1 is the only other team in the division with just one league loss, but that setback was to Georgia, giving the Bulldogs the advantage in a potential tie-breaker.
The Bulldogs finish league play with games against Florida, Kentucky and Auburn. The Tigers have Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Arkansas still to play.
In the West, Ole Miss and Mississippi State are the only undefeated teams left with the Rebels at 4-0 and the Bulldogs, who had a bye week, at 3-0 in league play. Right behind them are two one-loss teams, Alabama at 3-1 and Auburn at 2-1.
Among remaining games, Ole Miss still has to play Auburn (at Oxford on Nov. 1) and State still has Alabama to play (at Tuscaloosa on Nov. 15).
The four leaders also play each other on the final weekend of the regular season with State going to Ole Miss and Alabama traveling to Auburn.
