Rival programs Texas and Texas A&M will meet next Saturday for the first time in 13 years and will have an SEC championship game berth on the line when they do.
The winner between the No. 3 Longhorns and No. 15 Aggies will clinch a berth in the SEC title game and will play No. 10 Georgia. The SEC office confirmed Saturday night that following Week 13’s results, the Bulldogs have clinched a spot in the conference title game for the fourth consecutive season.
That’s the unexpected outcome of a stunning day of upsets in the SEC, which saw Ole Miss and Alabama eliminated by taking a third loss, No. 11 Tennessee eliminated because of tiebreakers and Georgia clinch a spot after the new tiebreaker rules were examined.
Here’s a look at the top four teams in the standings heading into Week 14:
| Team | SEC record | Final SEC opponent |
|---|---|---|
|
6-1 |
at Texas A&M |
|
|
6-2 |
n/a |
|
|
5-2 |
Texas |
|
|
5-2 |
at Vanderbilt |
Breaking down the SEC scenarios
• If Texas wins next week, then it has the best record and No. 1 seed. Georgia would then be the second seed whether or not Tennessee wins against Vanderbilt, as Georgia owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Volunteers.
• If Texas A&M wins, it creates either a three-way or four-way tie for first place, depending on whether Tennessee wins. None of the first tiebreakers would appear to apply, so it would go to schedule strength. Texas A&M has that edge right now, and according to the SEC office calculations that would still hold after next week. Here is what they are after this weekend’s games:
| Team | Opponents’ cumulative conference record |
|---|---|
|
28-30 |
|
|
26-32 |
|
|
26-35 |
|
|
23-36 |
But that would only clinch the first seed, and the tiebreaker process would go back to the beginning with the remaining three teams. In that case, Georgia would get the second seed, by virtue of having beaten Tennessee and Texas.
If Texas A&M wins but Tennessee loses, then Georgia still gets the spot via its head-to-head win over the Longhorns.
The bottom line: It’s complicated.
Here are the six SEC tiebreakers, in order:
- Head-to-head competition among the tied teams
- Record versus all common conference opponents among the tied teams
- Record against highest (best) placed common conference opponent in the conference standings, and proceeding through the conference standings among the tied teams
- Cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents among the tied teams
- Capped relative total scoring margin versus all conference opponents among the tied teams
- Random draw of the tied teams
How Auburn upset the Aggies
Auburn receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith made a leaping catch in the middle of the end zone of a two-point conversion pass from quarterback Payton Thorne in the fourth overtime that proved to be the game winner. Texas A&M had a chance to match it, but Marcel Reed’s rollout pass to Amari Daniels was dropped. Auburn fans stormed the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium to celebrate the win, its first over a ranked team in the Hugh Freeze era.
The Tigers (5-6, 2-5) raced out to a 21-0 second quarter lead behind their passing game. Thorne connected on four pass plays of 15 or more yards in the first quarter alone, including a 63-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman and a 60-yard completion to Lambert-Smith.
Texas A&M charged back with three touchdowns on its next four drives to tie the game at 21 with 7:57 to go in the third quarter. Aggies receiver Noah Thomas (five catches, 124 yards) accounted for two of those on touchdown catches of 14 and 73 yards in the third quarter.
Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter (130 rushing yards, three touchdowns) gave the Tigers a 28-21 lead, but Texas A&M responded with a Randy Bond field goal and an 8-yard Daniels touchdown run to take a 31-28 lead with 4:01 left in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers penetrated inside A&M’s 10 in the final minute but settled for a game-tying field goal at the end of regulation.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime and field goals in the second overtime. By rule, teams must attempt alternating two-point conversion plays beginning in the third overtime. Both teams failed to convert theirs in the third overtime.
Looking ahead
Despite the loss, the Aggies still have a chance to make it to the SEC title game for the first time in school history. Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012 but failed to win its division under Kevin Sumlin or Jimbo Fisher.
New coach Mike Elko has a chance to do something neither of his predecessors could, but it will require an upset of rival Texas. A loss will eliminate the Aggies from College Football Playoff contention since they’ll be ranked well outside the top 12.
The Longhorns visit Kyle Field next week, the first time since 2011 the rivals will meet and the 119th edition of the rivalry. Texas leads the all-time series 76-37-5 and won the last meeting 27-25 on a Justin Tucker field goal as time expired.
Earlier in the day, Georgia wasn’t considering the SEC championship a strong possibility, much less clinching a spot before the day was over. More of the discussion had been about whether it would be better to miss the game, rest and prepare for the first round of the Playoff, rather than risk a loss and drop further in the rankings.
“We haven’t really discussed it,” guard Tate Ratledge said. “If it falls into place, we’re going to do our best to go up there and do our best to win it. But if it doesn’t it doesn’t. Right now we’re just focused on (Georgia) Tech.”
(Photo: Michael Chang / Getty Images)
