The final weekend of the 2012 Southeastern Conference football season went pretty much according to form with one major variance that took place in Oxford, Mississippi.
While conference teams were holding serve against the top teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference around most of the conference schedule, there was one upset taking place with Ole Miss knocking off Mississippi State 41-24 … although a 17-point difference would indicate that regardless of the two team’s records going in that it was not an upset. Ole Miss was clearly the best team on Saturday night.
Thanks to the win, Hugh Freeze’s Ole Miss Rebels became the ninth SEC team to qualify for a bowl game. With nine teams qualified for the postseason and 10 bowl ties, the conference will not be able to completely fill its commitments but it came close.
The win by the Rebels in the Egg Bowl is a big step for Freeze’s team, who snapped a three-year losing streak to Mississippi State and a three-game season losing streak that almost cost Ole Miss a bowl game.
“It’s so important. I hate to keep saying it, but those seniors have had to go through two or three years of having to hear what they’ve had to hear everywhere they go, and you know how social media is and even how our own people talk about how bad it is,” said Freeze.
“Well, I would like to take this opportunity to challenge us. Let’s stick together through the thick and thin. We’re going to have some fun times together. Those kids have had some difficult times, and now they can hear the good side of it, so I’m thrilled. To send them out to a bowl game somewhere will be really nice.”
It was especially rewarding considering how close the Rebels had been in the last two losses, both of which they blew fourth quarter leads only to lose.
“Those losses were heartbreaking and I feel honored to get this one. It’s just a great feeling,” said linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche.
“It’s a great feeling to finally get number six and we are looking forward to continuing our season,” said safety Cody Prewitt.
“Last year hurt, so we got the bowl game this year and I’m happy,” said wide receiver Donte Moncrief, who had three touchdown receptions against Mississippi State.
All in all, it was a pretty good weekend for SEC teams.
In other conference games, LSU beat Arkansas, Texas A&M beat Missouri, Alabama shutout Auburn and Tennessee stopped Kentucky. The conference had big wins in the rivalry games with the ACC as Florida beat Florida State for the Gators third win over a Top 10 team this season, Georgia beat Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt beat Wake Forest for the Commodores’ sixth win in a row, and South Carolina downed Clemson.
The biggest news around the rest of the league was not a surprise, but Auburn fired coach Gene Chizik after Alabama’s 49-0 win over the Tigers.
“As expected Coach Chizik handled the news with dignity and class,” said athletic director Jay Jacobs. “He knows this is a tough business that often requires tough decisions.”
Auburn finished this season at 3-9 and 0-8 in SEC play.
Auburn joins Tennessee and Kentucky as SEC teams looking for a new coach. Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson are included on the Auburn search committee that will be looking for the new coach.
Alabama and Georgia now prepare the SEC Championship Game this weekend while the rest of the seven bowl-eligible teams wait to see where their seasons will continue but they are comfortable in the knowledge that the season will continue.