By Matt Smith
SouthernPigskin.com

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Recapping all of the weekend action in the Southeastern Conference.

Alabama looked vulnerable for more than 45 minutes in Baton Rouge, but the Crimson Time clamped down to ensure that there would only be one SEC team ranked in the top four of the first College Football Playoff rankings to stumble on Saturday.

The SEC East fell to 1-9 in games against the SEC West this season after Florida was run out of Fayetteville, further showing the major imbalance between the two divisions that is unlike any other conference in college football.

Everything held true to form outside of Starkville, but lets look back at the eight-game slate in the SEC in Week 10 before looking ahead to both the conference and national title picture.

Game Recaps

Mississippi State 35, (4) Texas A&M 28

What happened: The Aggies failed to wake up in time for an early kickoff in Starkville, as Nick Fitzgerald played like a star under center for the Bulldogs with 391 yards of total offense and a pair each of rushing and passing touchdowns. Two long touchdowns from Christian Kirk, one on a punt return, narrowed a 21-point lead to seven, but the Aggies could get no closer, seeing a last-gasp onsides kick attempt fail with 90 seconds left.

What it means: Texas A&Ms playoff hopes are gone, as they were eliminated from SEC West title contention. They can still find themselves in a New Years Six Bowl, as they close the season with three home games in a 12-day period starting with Ole Miss next week. Mississippi State kept slim bowl hopes alive at 4-5, but even if they dont reach the postseason, the Bulldogs at least came up with one shining moment with an upset of a playoff contender. Fitzgerald, only a sophomore, will be a player to watch in the SEC heading into 2017.

(9) Auburn 23, Vanderbilt 16

What happened: Auburn couldnt get its offense going against a stout Vanderbilt defense led by all-world linebacker Zach Cunningham, but the defense held the Commodores to just one touchdown and carried the load in an ugly, but entertaining game on The Plains. Kamryn Pettway went over 150 yards rushing for the fourth straight game, but pulled up with a leg injury late in the game. Vanderbilt led at halftime, and Kyle Shurmur played one of the best game in his career in completing 24 of 36 pass attempts. Cunninghams block of a Daniel Carlson field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter might be the play of the year.

What it means: The Iron Bowl is now winner-take-all for the SEC West if both Auburn and Alabama are victorious next week. Even with two losses, the Tigers probably control their own destiny to reach the College Football Playoff. Vanderbilt showed some progress offensively, and a win at Missouri next week, which would likely ensure a bowl trip even with a 5-7 finish (more on that later), should be expected.

Ole Miss 37, Georgia Southern 27

What happened: The Rebels spotted the Eagles a 21-10 lead, but scored 21 unanswered points to take a two-score lead at halftime. Georgia Southern controlled the line of scrimmage into the second quarter, but talent ultimately won out, as the Eagles could not find the end zone over the final 40 minutes. Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly left the game with a knee injury, and his college career is now over.

What it means: The Rebels werent going to have their A-game in a morning kickoff against a Group of Five opponent, but they got it together just in time to avoid a loss that likely would have ended any hopes of a bowl game. This team is madly inconsistent, but is good enough to go to Texas A&M and throw a wrench into the New Years Six bowl picture with an upset in College Station.

Arkansas 31, (11) Florida 10

What happened: Arkansas Santos Ramirez intercepted a Luke Del Rio pass and returned it for a touchdown on the Gators first offensive play 3 a sign of what was to come on a day in which Florida could get nothing going against the Razorbacks defense. The Gators averaged just 0.9 yards per rush in another ugly performance. Arkansas ran for 223 yards on the ground, with 148 coming from Rawleigh Williams III.

What it means: The SEC East is now up for grabs, as Florida holds a one-game lead in the loss column over Tennessee, which beat the Gators and would win a tie. Florida can clinch the division next week with a win over South Carolina and a Tennessee loss to Kentucky. At 6-3, Arkansas doesnt have a ton to play for over the coming weeks, but the Hogs appear poised for another strong close to the season. Running the table and winning 10 games is not out of the question for a team that has played well every November under Bret Bielema.

South Carolina 31, Missouri 21

What happened: The Battle of Columbia saw the Tigers and Gamecocks trade touchdowns into the third quarter, but South Carolina scored the final 10 points of the game to move to 5-4 and all but clinch a bowl bid with Western Carolina of the FCS still to play. Jake Bentley was solid again in his third career start for the Gamecocks, missing just six of his 28 pass attempts and not turning it over. Three turnovers, including two Drew Lock interceptions, did in a Missouri team that has now lost 11 straight SEC games.

What it means: Will Muschamp is going to get the worst roster in the SEC to a bowl game. For all the criticism of him at Florida, hes done a tremendous job this season. How sweet would it be for Muschamp to upset the Gators next week in his return to Gainesville? Missouri just cant put a complete game together, and it remains the only SEC teams without a conference win. There isnt enough talent to overcome the dips and mistakes that have permeated every Tigers game this season.

Tennessee 55, Tennessee Tech 0

What happened: Tennessee got back on track with a rout of neighbor Tennessee Tech. Joshua Dobbs missed just one pass on a short day of work, and John Kelly had his first 100-yard game on the ground. The Vols held the ball for less than 19 minutes, but the defense held the Golden Eagles to just 3.0 yards per play.

What it means: Not much. Well find out next week against Kentucky whether or not the Vols have kept it together after a few weeks of complete turmoil. The SEC East title is well within reach, so its hard not to think there wont be a spirited effort. Star running back Alvin Kamara may be back from a knee injury, and this season isnt completely down the drain just yet.

Georgia 27, Kentucky 24

What happened: It was overshadowed by Alabama-LSU in the same time slot, but the 8Dawgs and 8Cats turned in a fun, back-and-forth game that wasnt decided until the final play when Rodrigo Blankenships 28-yard field goal split the uprights after Kentucky had tied the game minutes earlier. The Georgia offense was much better than a week ago in the loss to Florida, with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combining for 42 touches. The Bulldogs had to overcome three fumbles, but Kentucky had two turnovers of its own.

What it means: The SEC East title was there to be had for Kentucky, but they couldnt finish after building a 21-13 lead. It wont be a dream season, but the Wildcats showed enough to think that they could win in Knoxville for the first time since 1984 next week. Georgia ensured it will now at least get to a bowl, and with the offense playing its best game since the season opener against North Carolina, could be primed for an upset next week when Auburn rolls into Athens.

(1) Alabama 10, (13) LSU 0

What happened: A scoreless game into the fourth quarter finally went the way of Alabama, as Jalen Hurts scrambled for a 21-yard touchdown on third down with 13 minutes to play. Danny Etling then threw an interception that set up a short Adam Griffith field goal to seal the game with less than three minutes remaining. Both defenses were outstanding, but LSU never threatened after an early interception was wasted with a missed field goal. Hurts had two turnovers, but never wavered in the pressure cooker of Death Valley, playing a brilliant fourth quarter to give Alabama its 21st straight victory.

What it means: The loss looked too much like a Les Miles game for Ed Orgeron, who had and still may have a legitimate chance to take over the Tigers on a full-time basis. Theres not much to do with an immobile quarterback against the best defense in the country, but even in a loss, LSU had to look different than its prior five losses to the Crimson Tide. It failed to do that. For Alabama, there might be no stopping this team. The running game was decent, and Hurts was again clutch when it mattered most.

Around The Nation

– Bowl Eligibility update: With four weeks to go, we are tracking to around 76 or 77 teams with six or more wins. With 80 bowl slots available, That would leave, at the moment, 3-4 slots to be filled by 5-7 teams with the highest Academic Progress Ratings. Teams with good chances to finish 5-7, in order of APR, are Vanderbilt, North Texas, Boston College and Utah State.

– With Veterans Day this week, we honor the service academies. The Commander-in-Chiefs trophy is headed west, as Air Force completed a sweep of Army and Navy with a 31-12 win in West Point. The Falcons take the trophy for the second time in three years. It wasnt all bad for Navy, as the Midshipmen snapped a five-game losing streak to Notre Dame with a 28-27 win in Jacksonville. After the Irish closed to within a point, the Mids ran out the final seven-plus minutes with a clinically efficient drive to register the mild upset.

– From 2014 bowl season through the end of the 2015 regular season, Michigan State and Notre Dame were a combined 24-3. Since the start of 2015 bowl season, the Spartans and Irish are a combined 5-15.

– Baylor fans: What if it was your child?

– Scary moment in Columbus on Saturday night with Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong lying motionless on the Ohio Stadium turf for several minutes. Fortunately, Armstrong was not seriously injured, and returned to the sideline in street clothes later in the game. No. 6 Ohio State rolled past the tenth-ranked Cornhuskers, 62-3.

– The game of the day in a largely blah week in terms of excitement came in the Little Apple, as Oklahoma State erased a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to knock off Kansas State, 43-37. Coupled with Baylors blowout loss to TCU, Oklahoma State now controls its own destiny in the Big 12 title race. The Cowboys visit Oklahoma on Dec. 3, for what could be a second straight Bedlam game in which the winner claims the league championship.

– Little-discussed story, but Miami (OH) has now won four straight games after an 0-6 start. With games left at 2-7 Buffalo and home to 4-5 Ball State, the Redhawks have a legitimate chance to go from 0-6 to bowl eligibility. Nice job by third-year head coach Chuck Martin.

– Donnel Pumphrey update: The San Diego State tailback had only 112 yards in Saturdays win over Hawaii, bringing his career total to 5,853 yards. He trails Wisconsins Ron Dayne for the NCAA career rushing lead by 544 yards. The Aztecs have three regular-season games left, a likely Mountain West Championship Game and a bowl game. With five games to play, Pumphrey will need to average 109 yards per game to break the record.

– What could have been for N.C. State. The Wolfpack missed a short game-winning field goal attempt at Clemson last month, and Saturday night in Raleigh let Florida State off the ropes by blowing a 20-10 second-half lead in a 24-20 loss. N.C. States Shawn Boone dropped an easy interception on Florida States game-winning drive, one play before Travis Rudolph put the Seminoles ahead to stay. At 4-5, the Wolfpack now have an uphill climb just to reach a bowl.

– What teams control their destiny for conference titles?

ACC: Clemson, Virginia Tech
Big 12: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Big Ten: Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Pac-12: Colorado, Utah, Washington, Washington State
SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Florida

Top 10

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Michigan

4. Washington

5. Ohio State

6. Louisville

7. Wisconsin

8. Auburn

9. Penn State

10. West Virginia

Bowl Projections

CFP Semifinals

Chick-fil-A: (1) Alabama vs. (4) Louisville
Fiesta: (2) Clemson vs. (3) Ohio State

New Years Six Bowls

Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Wisconsin
Cotton: Western Michigan vs. Penn State
Rose: Michigan vs. Washington
Sugar: Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M

SEC Bowls

Citrus: Auburn vs. North Carolina
Outback: Arkansas vs. Nebraska
TaxSlayer: LSU vs. Pittsburgh
Belk: Florida vs. Georgia Tech
Music City: Georgia vs. Iowa
Texas: Ole Miss vs. Baylor
Liberty: Tennessee vs. TCU
Birmingham: Kentucky vs. USF
Independence: South Carolina vs. UTSA
Military: Vanderbilt vs. Temple