The third week in October used to mean Alabama vs. Tennessee. But that no longer applies since the Southeastern Conference started messing with tradition. Now the third week in October means it is time to start trying to figure out which teams in the league are going to become bowl eligible.
Unfortunately, this year it is also time to try and figure out which key players are going to still be able to play when bowl season finally rolls around.
Some of the bigger names in the conference are no longer able to play due to season-ending injuries.
The list of the wounded players includes some of the biggest names on some of the top teams, namely Georgia and Florida.
At Georgia, receivers Malcolm Mitchell, Justin Scott-Wesley, Michael Bennett and tailback Keith Marshall are all gone for the season. Tailback Todd Gurley is still trying to come back from an injury but Mark Richt is not looking for him to play this week and doesn’t want to predict when he thinks Gurley will be back.
At Florida, the latest injury to end a star player’s season came last week when tailback Matt Jones went down with a knee injury. Jones joins linebacker Matt Rolin, wide receiver Andre Debose, offensive lineman Chaz Green, quarterback Jeff Driskel, defensive tackle Dominique Easley and defensive back Nick Washington as players who are out for the year.
Arkansas defensive tackle Robert Thomas will miss the rest of the season with a broken leg.
Ole Miss has lost three straight games to teams ranked No. 1, No. 24 and No. 6. And through that run the Rebels have had their share of injuries, starting last Saturday night’s injury to Serderius Bryant who was carted off the field on a stretcher.
“You see other teams that go through it. Unfortunately, we’ve joined the ranks with them,” said Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze. “We had a lot of kids out, from Serderius and Robert Nkemdiche. Temario Strong, who was playing a critical role for us, went out in the second quarter. Jeff Scott goes out on his second carry and had to leave. Mike Hilton, who had a huge role in the game for us, goes out, as well as Issac Gross. Barry Brunetti’s shoulder just kept getting tighter and tighter. He took that hit on the sideline and didn’t feel good enough to go at the end. Chief Brown, C.J. Johnson and Carlos Thompson; we’ve got a laundry list. With Aaron Morris already out, we’re certainly reeling a bit in injuries. It’s part of the game. You sure hate it. You hate it for the kids.”
While there are some great players who are out for the year, others dinged up include Missouri quarterback James Franklin, Kentucky QB Jalen Whitlow, South Carolina tailback Brandon Wilds, Alabama center Ryan Kelly.
But through all the injuries, the race to become bowl eligible and be ready to fill any of the SEC’s bowl commitments continues. Midway through October, two teams—Alabama and LSU — are already qualified with six wins.
Missouri has six wins but only five have come against FBS teams. South Carolina has five FBS wins while Georgia and Florida each have four FBS wins. Texas A&M has five wins but the Sam Houston State win doesn’t count towards its FBS total. Auburn already has five wins but the Western Carolina win came at the expense of the FCS Catamounts.
Vanderbilt and Tennessee still have shots at becoming bowl eligible in the SEC East, while almost all of the SEC West teams have a shot at notching the six FBS wins in order to reach a bowl game.
The SEC needs 10 bowl-eligible teams to fill its bowl obligations.