Tre Mason's has been a load for opposing defenses. (Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports)
This might be an unusual year in the SEC where there are no coaching firings. At this point of the season, the majority of SEC coaches with poor records are either brand new or have enough equity stored up to survive until next season.
Mississippi State has impressed no one this season, but coach Dan Mullen has raised the level of play to point of being bowl eligible nearly every season.
It is also justified that Florida coach Will Muschamp will return next season after an 11-win season last year. Many fans forget that if Notre Dame had lost to Southern Cal at the end of the year then an Alabama/Florida national championship game would have been probable.
No team has been more disappointing in the league than the Gators. With four straight losses, Florida has fallen below .500 with a 4-5 record (3-4 in the SEC). Muschamp, in his third season as the Florida coach, has a 22-13 overall record. He is 13-10 in the SEC and 1-1 in bowl games. Muschamp has five years remaining on his contract at an average salary of $2,928,791.
Athletic director Jeremy Foley and school president Bernie Machen deserve praise for sticking with Muschamp. There is a lot of speculation that most of the offensive staff will be let go at the end of the year. The inexplicable number of injuries is excusable. No coach can overcome losing double digit starters. Yet, the seat will likely be very warm for Muschamp next season.
AMAZING TIGER/BULLDOG SERIES: It’s amazing the balance of the Georgia/Auburn series being tied 54-54-8. Georgia has a lot to play for since they are still mathematically in the divisional race. The Bulldogs have won six of the past seven games over Auburn. The Tigers are on the verge with a win over Georgia of creating near unprecedented hype for the Iron Bowl against Alabama with the two teams coming in both ranked in the top five and only one loss between them.
What an interesting scenario for Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall who was dismissed by the Bulldogs for a violation of team rules in February 2012. Marshall, who went the juco route to re-invent himself before landing at Auburn, leads SEC quarterbacks with 734 rushing yards. He ran for a career-high 214 yards last week against Tennessee, the highest individual rushing total in the conference this season and third all time among Auburn quarterbacks.
The most interesting matchup in the game is the Auburn rushing attack averaging nearly 320 yards per game against Georgia’s rush defense that has improved to No. 4 in the conference giving up 126 yards a game, but allowing 17 rushing touchdowns.
COMMODORES CONSISTENT: A win against Kentucky on Saturday would qualify the 5-4 Commodores for their third consecutive bowl game. Per ESPN.com, before back-to-back bowl appearances in the past two seasons, Vanderbilt had been to four bowl games in 120 seasons. Another incredible stat from ESPN.com is if Vanderbilt wins the remaining three games against Kentucky, Tennessee and Wake Forest, the Commodores would have 23 wins (with a bowl game still to play) in the past three seasons or the best three-year stretch in school history since Hall of Fame coach Dan McGugin went 24-4-2 from 1926-28.
BULLDOG GAUNTLET: Mississippi State is in the middle of enduring the toughest schedule stretch of nearly any school in the conference. This week’s game against Alabama will be the Bulldogs’ sixth opponent currently among the top 18 in the AP poll.
BC BETTER: Boston College’s Steve Addazio should receive some conference recognition for turning his program around. Tailback Andre Williams has become one of the most dependable runners in the league.
DUKE DOINGS: The Blue Devils cannot stop turning the ball over on offense, but they are still winning. In its last two wins, Duke has turned the ball over four times in each game winning both of them. Conversely, the Blue Devil defense has forced eight turnovers in their last two outings and have given up just 14 points per game over their last four.
