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SEC power rankings, Week 11: Alabama crushes LSU to clinch West, Georgia wins East

By Rucker Haringey

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 03: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks to pass against the LSU Tigers in the first quarter of their game at Tiger Stadium on November 03, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 03: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks to pass against the LSU Tigers in the first quarter of their game at Tiger Stadium on November 03, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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FAYETTEVILLE, AR – OCTOBER 27: Chris Pierce #19, Josh Smith #25 and Jordan Griffin #40 of the Vanderbilt Commodores celebrates after a big play during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Commodores defeated the Razorbacks 45-31. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR – OCTOBER 27: Chris Pierce #19, Josh Smith #25 and Jordan Griffin #40 of the Vanderbilt Commodores celebrates after a big play during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Commodores defeated the Razorbacks 45-31. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Derek Mason’s team will come out of the bye at 4-5. That means they need to win two of their last three games to make sure they achieve bowl eligibility. That’s far from a given for the Commodores. The good news is that Vanderbilt has two very winnable games at home. They travel to Missouri next week, but the ‘Dores finish up the season by hosting Ole MMissand Tennessee. It’s a thin line between success and failure for Mason and company.

Matt Luke’s team headed to the fourth quarter with a lead against South Carolina, but their defense couldn’t finish the job. As such, they suffered a narrow four-point loss to the Gamecocks. Jordan Ta’amu was the start of the show again for the Rebels. He threw for 379 yards and ran for 66 more. It wasn’t enough to score a massive win for his team, but he’s clearly a guy worthy of attention from NFL scouts.

Will Muschamp’s team managed to win a shootout in Oxford, but we didn’t like the way it went down. Giving up over 600 yards of total offense to the Rebels is a pretty big sin. South Carolina was lucky that Jake Bentley showed up in a big way. He went 22 of 32 for 363 yards and two touchdowns. The Gamecocks needed every throw he made to come away with the win. South Carolina fans can celebrate the victory, but the way it happened only makes us question whether or not their team is anything other than average.

Dropping three spots after losing at home to Missouri might seem a little harsh, but this one has been coming for a while. The Gators just don’t have what it takes to win games consistently against good competition at this point in Dan Mullen’s tenure. The biggest moment of the game for Florida might have come when Mullen sent quarterback Feleipe Franks to the bench in the third quarter. He was only 9 of 22 for 84 yards at that point in the game. Don’t be surprised if Kyle Trask gets the start next week against South Carolina.

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