By Matt Smith
SouthernPigskin.com

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Georgia just avoided another bad loss by defeating Georgia Southern in overtime.

Results

(8) Florida 23, Florida Atlantic 17 (OT)

The Citadel 23, South Carolina 22

(22) Ole Miss 38, (15) LSU 17

(2) Alabama 56, Charleston Southern 6

Auburn 56, Idaho 34

Mississippi State 51, Arkansas 50

Georgia 23, Georgia Southern 17 (OT)

Tennessee 19, Missouri 8

Texas A&M 25, Vanderbilt 0

Kentucky 58, Charlotte 10

What We Learned

1. Hugh Freeze after a loss is money in the bank.

Ole Miss has lost six regular-season games over the past two seasons. Five times, Freezes team has responded with a victory, with the only loss coming last year to Auburn when Laquon Treadwell fumbled on the one-yard line and broke his leg while going into for a late go-ahead touchdown. Three of those victories came against teams ranked higher than the Rebels. Saturday was the latest example, as Ole Miss took control of LSU early and, despite a few brief moments of peril in the third quarter, cruised to a three-touchdown victory.

Identifying tangible factors to explain why Freeze has succeeded in this position is a difficult task. Whether it was a heartbreaking defeat to Arkansas or a blowout loss to Memphis, hes been able to get his team refocused seven days later. For the first time since that night in Tuscaloosa, we saw the Ole Miss team that defeated Alabama. It all came together for the Rebels in a situation in which theyve thrived so often.

2. The Les Miles thing might have legs.

Miles has won 110 games at LSU, including a pair of SEC titles and a national championship in 2007. Hes lost more than three games in a season just three times. But have five straight defeats to Alabama and a continued inability to produce a productive offense worn thin amongst the power brokers in Baton Rouge? It seems like they have, and Miles now might truly be coaching for his job in next Saturdays home finale against Texas A&M.

Make no bones about it. LSU is a great job where 10 wins a year should be par for the course, with an SEC title every five years a reasonable goal. Miles has done both of these, but the Tigers are now just 8-7 in their past 15 SEC games. Thats not good enough. Id ask Miles to move on from Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator, but I couldnt cut the cord entirely. Not yet. But athletic director Joe Alleva might think differently. Its an interesting test case for an interesting figure.

3. Alabamas toughest remaining game is Auburn.

I said last week on radio that the Tigers are more likely to defeat Alabama than Florida is. I hesitated afterwards, because it sounded somewhat crazy, but after seeing Florida barely escape Florida Atlantic, I absolutely believe the Crimson Tides biggest hurdle is next week in the Iron Bowl, not Dec. 5 in the SEC Championship Game.

Theres an element of unknown with Auburn, because the Tigers have had some brief flashes this season. Florida is Alabama Lite. That doesnt beat Alabama. You have to be different than the Crimson Tide to beat them. Ole Miss was, and Auburn certainly is. If Alabama wins one of these games by 40, its probably more likely thats it Auburn. But if Alabama somehow stumbles, next Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium is also where its most likely to be.

4. Nick Saban got his point across.

Were smart enough to know that Sabans Wednesday night rant that included musical references and marriage advice was a pre-meditated attempt to gain the focus of his team in a week where its so easy to start thinking ahead. Unlike many of its SEC brethren, Alabama devoured its pre-Thanksgiving cupcake without leaving any crumbs. Message received.

Saban didnt need an inspired team to defeat Charleston Southern, but he clearly saw something in mid-week practices that concerned him. A reminder that the best defense of the past quarter-century in college football allowed 300 rushing yards in this situation in four years ago got the attention of his team, as Alabama rolled to a 49-0 halftime lead over the Buccaneers. Its a small factor in the big picture of who he is, but pushing that button is yet another sign that Sabans greatness stems not only from being a great recruiter and tactician.

5. Dak Prescotts greatness was on full display in Fayetteville.

If you told me in the summer that Prescott would throw for 500 yards in a game that did not go to overtime, Id have said you were crazy. Thats what happened on a frigid night in northwest Arkansas, as Prescott passed for 508 yards while completing 38 of 50 attempts in Mississippi States 51-50 win over Arkansas. Five of those completions were for touchdowns, including the game-winner to Fred Ross with three minutes to go.

Ive detailed the progress Prescott has made as a passer this season many times, but nobody saw a stat line like the one he produced Saturday night coming. After a 31-14 Bulldogs lead turned into a 42-31 deficit, Prescott put the team on his back with three touchdown drives in the final quarter. Hes not the mythical figure that Tim Tebow was, but this No. 15 has probably done more for his program than Tebow did for Florida.

6. Gary Pinkels career will probably end on Friday.

Missouri entered the weekend needing one more win to reach a bowl game and extend Pinkels head-coaching career by a month. The Tigers failed to get their sixth win on Saturday night in an ugly 19-8 defeat to Tennessee and now must upset Arkansas on the road on Friday afternoon to get to 6-6.

Despite the Razorbacks being just one game better at 6-5, its hard to paint a scenario where Missouri goes down to Fayetteville and wins. Pinkels Faurot Field finale wasnt a storybook ending, and his career likely will end in somewhat inauspicious fashion later this week, but thats OK. Pinkel doesnt need a cherry on top. Bear Bryants career ended in the Liberty Bowl. Steve Spurriers ended with five losses in six games. Even the great ones sometimes have to limp off into the sunset.

7. Mark Richt is still an escape artist.

Georgia never led between late in the second quarter and the last play of the game against Georgia Southern, but for the second week in a row, the Bulldogs rallied in the second half to avoid a loss that would have been highly damaging to Richt. They needed overtime to do it, but Sony Michels 25-yard touchdown run after Georgia had stopped an Eagles fourth-down attempt ensured Richt at least eight wins for the 14th time in 15 seasons.

At 8-3, Richt appears to have survived, if not surviving was even a viable option after the ugly loss to Florida. This doesnt change the bigger picture of what Georgia is and what it should be. The future of this program as an SEC and national title contender is cloudy at best, but we know now that Richt is still going to be captaining the ship for another year at least unless he himself chooses not to do so.

8. Texas A&Ms offseason will be fascinating.

The Aggies will be facing one of the best quarterbacks in college football when they open the 2016 season against UCLA and Josh Rosen next September. Its anybodys guess right now who Rosens counterpart will be. Kyle Allen returned to the Texas A&M starting lineup Saturday night, turning in his best performance of the season in a 25-0 victory at Vanderbilt. Allen threw for 336 yards, including a 95-yard touchdown to Josh Reynolds.

With an 8-5 or 9-4 finish likely, the Aggies wont regress from last seasons 8-5 mark. But changes are likely still coming. Will offensive coordinator Jake Spavital survive? Can Allen hold off Kyler Murray? Will there be a locker room split? 2016 was always pointed to as the big year for the Aggies, but right now, thats based more on talent than production. Its hard to learn much about teams when games arent being played, but that doesnt apply to the first eight months of 2016 for Texas A&M. What the state of this team and program will be come September is a huge mystery.

9. The SEC West race comes down to rivalry weekend for the firth straight year.

Not since 2010, when Auburn locked up the SEC West on No. 13, has the division title been decided prior to Thanksgiving. With Ole Miss defeating LSU, Alabama now has to win the Iron Bowl to earn its fifth trip to Atlanta in eight seasons. An upset on The Plains Saturday afternoon would give control back to Ole Miss heading into the Egg Bowl, which will kick off just as the Iron Bowl is ending.

Arkansas was eliminated from the SEC Championship Game race last week, but could have remained alive for a share of the division crown had it won its final two games. That dream ended Saturday night, and the Hogs now need a win against Missouri just to finish the regular season above .500 for the first time since 2011.

10. 12 SEC teams could still finish 6-6 or better.

Vanderbilts hopes for a .500 season (but not necessarily a bowl game due to 5-7 teams likely having to fill open slots) are gone, but Kentucky is still alive after a rout of Charlotte to climb to 5-6 heading into the rivalry game with Louisville in Lexington. Missouri is the leagues other 5-6 team and concludes its season Friday at Arkansas. After a near-miss last year on the road, Ill call for the Wildcats to take care of business against the Cardinals and earn a bowl bid.

That gives the SEC 11 bowl teams. How will the bowl picture shake out? A win over Florida State likely clinches at least a Sugar Bowl berth for Florida, but the Gators could be in New Orleans even at 10-3. The Egg Bowl winner would be the other option at this point. Whoever emerges from that Ole Miss-Mississippi State game seems destined for the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, with the remainder of the 7-5 or better teams filling the second-tier berths in the Outback, Belk, Music City, TaxSlayer, Texas and Liberty Bowls. 6-6 teams Auburn and Kentucky land the Tier 3 slots in Birmingham and Shreveport.

Bowl Projections:

Cotton (CFP Semifinal): Alabama vs. Michigan State

Sugar: Florida vs. Baylor

Citrus: Mississippi State vs. Michigan

Outback: Ole Miss vs. Northwestern

Belk: Tennessee vs. N.C. State

Music City: Georgia vs. Penn State

TaxSlayer: LSU vs. Duke

Texas: Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech

Liberty: Arkansas vs. Kansas State

Birmingham: Kentucky vs. Memphis

Independence: Auburn vs. Virginia Tech

Arbitrary Top 10

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Iowa

4. Michigan State

5. Notre Dame

6. Oklahoma

7. Baylor

8. Florida

9. Stanford

10. Michigan

Week 13 Lookahead

Welcome to the best weekend of the college football season.

Five conference games and four intrastate non-conference games make up a loaded SEC schedule, which kicks off Friday afternoon in Fayetteville with Missouri at Arkansas (2:30 p.m. ET, CBS).

Saturdays slate is highlighted by the Iron Bowl (2:30 p.m. CBS), as Alabama hopes to lock up the SEC West. Should the Crimson Tide stumble, Ole Miss could steal the division title with a win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl (7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Florida hosts rival Florida State in primetime (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), while LSU hopes to snap its first three-game losing streak since 1999 against Texas A&M (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

South Carolina will try to shock the world against No. 1 Clemson in Columbia (Noon ET, ESPN). Kentucky hopes to reach a bowl for the first time in five seasons, but it must beat Louisville (12 p.m. ET, SEC Network) to do so.

Georgia hopes to put the cap on a miserable season for rival Georgia Tech when Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is renewed in Atlanta (12 p.m. ET, ESPN2). Tennessee hasnt won eight games in a season since 2007, but can get there with a home win over rival Vanderbilt (4 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

Buckle up, yall. Where almost to the finish line, but the home stretch is sure to be full of twists and turns.