By: Cole Mantell (@LightningDragon)
We have reached the midpoint of Season 22! So far, we know a lot about the SEC. And yet, as this week shows, we still have so much left to learn. We are left with one team dominating the standings. One team is falling behind at 0-4. And the rest of the middle is still up for grabs. That leaves all-important playoff spots well up for grabs, and a chaotic race in store for the SEC playoff teams.
Florida Shocks the SEC (And the World)
We should have seen this coming. After so much talk about parity. After how crazy each close win was, at least in the regular season, for Auburn. At some point, your luck will run out in the CFSL. After 16 straight regular season wins, while playoff success had yet to come to Auburn in the Justin Duke era, Auburn felt like they were in a class of their own in their conference. Even after a season-opening loss to Florida State, the conversation, from my articles included, felt that Auburn was still nearly as good as before, even if they couldn’t win every (regular season) game.
However, that’s not what I want to talk about with this game. Auburn will be fine. They may not win the SEC, and rival Alabama certainly is loving that. But last Tuesday was not about Auburn. It was about Florida.
These Gators, since AD Adam Smith took over, have always been a team under the national radar. Whether it was Kentucky’s domination, then Auburn’s incredible streak, and now Alabama’s revenge tour, Florida certainly was an improving team. But they never had a win like this under Smith. To take down the #2 team in the country, in front of your home crowd? To do it, while holding Auburn to negative rushing yards? Forget about making a statement, what the Gators did is tantamount to a revolution of the SEC order.
All the while, Florida said, both publicly and privately, they could win this game. They know what they have. And while maybe Florida isn’t a Top 5 team quite yet, I bet if you asked every team ranked in the Top 5 this week which team they’d least like to play in Week 5, most of them would say Florida. Auburn will be fine, but Florida sits at midseason tied for 1st in the SEC. A fateful matchup against Alabama later this season, now just might decide the SEC title.
May The Doubters Stay Silent in Tuscaloosa
Ok. Part of the blame here lies with me. Last week, I picked the Alabama-Tennessee game as my Potential SEC Game of the Week. After the start Alabama has had to this season, Tennessee taking down or even playing Alabama close was a storyline so juicy I couldn’t resist. Of course, after staying undefeated and still being ranked below rival Auburn, I think we can put to rest any rumor of this Alabama team being unrecognized.
Tennessee certainly showed more fight than in previous editions of this rivalry matchup. While that may be a low bar, as I’ve said previously in this series, this Tennessee team is a far superior version of the teams of the recent past. But this game was all about Alabama, specifically on offense. QB Johnny Ray Davis threw 5 touchdowns, avoided too many costly mistakes, and let his defense do the rest. It was a balanced pass attack, with four WRs (Troy Tree, Kyle Claxon, Denver Anthony, and Kolby Coffey) each having at least 70 receiving yards and a touchdown. That’s not only dominant but a sustainable way to build offense in the modern CFSL.
Tennessee can hold its head high, even if they still looking for their first-ever win over rival Alabama. For the Crimson Tide, however, more awaits. They are not indisputable as the kings of the SEC, joining Ohio State as one of two remaining undefeated teams left in the CFSL. If I had a vote (which I no longer do), Alabama is easily the #1 team in the CFSL at midseason. Assuming they can take down upstart Florida and the reeling Auburn Tigers, the SEC is theirs for the taking.
Ricky Rak the Pancake King
Sometimes I go looking through the record books, looking for stories to tell. In the all-time CFSL career record lists, you rarely see a current player on the list. If you do, it certainly is a story to talk about. To see one climbing the list of Top 10 in a category as a junior? That’s nearly unheard of in this era of the CFSL. For all the fans of the unappreciated WR block, Kentucky WR Ricky Rak has been the best active pancake chef in the CFSL for a long time.
No underclassman in CFSL history has produced as many pancakes as Rak has. Rak is the only CFSL player to ever have more than 100 pancakes in their freshman and sophomore seasons. Only three other CFSL players have ever had two seasons of 100 pancakes. Rak, who sits 2nd in the CFSL right now with 29 pancakes, has the opportunity to become the first-ever CFSL WR with three such seasons.
Rak sits at 279 career pancakes entering this week. That’s already the 5th most in CFSL history, with plenty of time to keep climbing. Former Michigan and Miami WR JaMarr Carr has maybe an unbreakable record in this category with 427 pancakes in his career. But if anyone can break the record, Rak is your guy. Funny enough, the only other active player in this delicious Top 10 is teammate Lemandon Lloyd. While Kentucky hasn’t had the start to their season they may have wanted, that doesn’t mean you should forget about the talent here looking to turn their season around.
Players Who Stood Out This Week
In the battle of teams looking for their first win, Georgia OLB King Harris reigned on defense. Harris had 8 tackles, along with an interception and forced fumble in Georgia’s win. On the other side, while his team lost, Kentucky SS Taj Washington now leads the CFSL with 39 tackles. He will be a part of a tough battle for the All-American award at Safety.
We’ve already talked about the Auburn-Florida game, but I’ll highlight some more performances from the Gators’ big win. WR CJ Jackson might have been the MVP of the game, with 12 receptions for 202 receiving yards with a touchdown too. His partner in crime, WR Duke Hancock, also had 159 receiving yards with two receiving touchdowns of his own too.
Finally, while Tennessee may have lost, they still had some notable performances. CB Trae Gaither, a senior who has only worn the orange of the Volunteers, was a dynamo on special teams. He had 7 kick returns, running them back for a combined 151 return yards this week.
SEC Results Week 4
Georgia beats Kentucky, 34-24
Florida beats Auburn, 48-36
Alabama beats Tennessee, 51-28
SEC Schedule Week 5
Wednesday, February 5th
Kentucky vs Alabama (6:30 PM, YouTube)
Thursday, February 6th
Florida vs Tennessee (6:30 PM, Twitch)
Auburn vs Georgia (6:30 PM, YouTube)
Potential SEC Game of the Week
We have two interesting choices for this award Thursday night. But I will give the award to the SEC game on YouTube in that 6:30 slot. Auburn vs Georgia might not only tell us a lot about where the SEC as a conference is, but it might just be the first must-win game of the season for both teams in the SEC.
Auburn will enter likely as a favorite on the road but don’t discount the atmosphere of Athens, especially in a rivalry game. At 2-2, and already 0-1 in SEC play, Auburn absolutely cannot afford another loss. Especially not one in a game that could knock them out of automatic bid territory. For Georgia, the Bulldogs finally got their first win of the season over now 0-4 Kentucky. They have a big SEC win, but now have a tough back half of the schedule. Every team Georgia plays from here on out is currently 2-2 or better. In those final 4 games, Georgia likely will need to go 3-1 to get an automatic playoff spot. That starts at home against rival Auburn.
