Questions Ahead of Week 12 of SEC Football

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Tucker Harlin

For the sake of record keeping, here’s a review of what I wanted to see in SEC football last week.

DID CARSON BECK COST GEORGIA AGAINST OLE MISS? Kind of. I fault his offensive line as well.

CAN JALEN MILROE WIN IN A TRULY HOSTILE ROAD ENVIRONMENT? Much to my surprise, the answer is actually yes.

WAS SOUTH CAROLINA WALKING INTO WEST END HUNGOVER? If it was, it ate some food and took some Advil at halftime.

Much of the SEC is playing its final non-conference game this weekend, but there are still intriguing matchups that will commence between members this weekend.

Here’s a question for each matchup, roughly in chronological order:

CAN ARKANSAS SHOW UP AGAINST A RANKED OPPONENT?

The last month of college football has me wanting to do a case study on the Razorbacks’ win over Tennessee in early October.

How does a turnover happy quarterback go from gutting out a win against a playoff contender to no-showing twice at home against LSU and Ole Miss in the following weeks?

The good news for Arkansas is the ranked opponent this week is Texas, one the Razorbacks hate more than anyone else in the conference. In theory, they should be up for this game.

Generally speaking however, they always tend to hate their opponents more than their opponents hate them. So why was LSU able to come into DWR and trash them?

We might discover the answer this weekend.

HOW DOES LSU RESPOND TO THE WORST LOSS OF THE BRIAN KELLY ERA IN DEATH VALLEY?

LSU doesn’t lose much at home, and blowout losses in Death Valley occur once in a blue moon.

The Tigers lost 40-13 to Tennessee in Brian Kelly’s first season, but the fact Alabama almost solely ran the ball and won by 29 at night in what is supposedly one of the most hostile environments in the country is an awful look for the Tigers.

Fortunately for LSU, Florida is battered and bruised after stomaching a 49-17 beatdown to Texas in Austin last week.

The biggest variable in Gainesville this week is D.J. Lagway. SEC availability reports list Lagway as questionable, but this one could go either way should Lagway play.

It feels like Brian Kelly needs this win to quiet a growing number of upset fans.

CAN SHANE BEAMER GET OVER THE MISSOURI HURDLE?

The answer to this question should be yes, but Beamer Ball is 0-3 against Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers.

Brady Cook is doubtful per SEC availability report, so that helps. Additionally, the Gamecocks are hot right now with two big runners out of the backfield and two of the best edge rushers in the country on defense.

But outside of 2023, Missouri hasn’t necessarily fielded a better team than South Carolina.

In fact, the 2022 South Carolina team that went on to beat Tennessee and Clemson lost 23-10 to the Tigers at home. Brady Cook wasn’t regarded the way he is now, and the Gamecocks were supposed to have one of the best quarterback draft prospects in Spencer Rattler.

Beamer should get his first win over the Tigers, but it also feels like he’s due a head scratcher loss in the near future.

WILL NICO IAMALEAVA SUIT UP IN ATHENS?

This is one of the simplest questions I’ve asked all year, but it’s the most important question of the weekend.

Should Nico Iamaleava play in Athens, Tennessee’s shot at one of the best wins of the season and a paradigm shift for the Heupel era is strong.

If it’s Gas Pipe Time in Georgia, you the expectation shifts to a competitive loss for the Vols.

The availability reports are receiving more attention than usual.

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