The SEC West proved to be the toughest division in college football yet again, as the SEC beat up on each other in week 11 of the college football season. 
The game of the week was the No. 5 ranked University of Alabama Crimson Tide which traveled to Tiger Stadium to face Les Miles and the Louisiana State Tigers. Alabama was one loss away from virtually being eliminated from the first ever college football playoffs. LSU was 46-4 in night games with Les Miles as head coach coming into Saturday night. The game was a defensive battle with the score tied 10-10 until the final minute of the game. With under 1:30 left in the game, Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon fumbled the football, and it was recovered by LSU junior linebacker Lamar Louis at the Alabama six yard line. LSU capitalized with a 39-yard field goal by kicker Colby Delahoussaye. This gave LSU a 13-10 lead.
It looked like Alabama was finished. The offense had been inconsistent all game, there were no timeouts remaining and only 50 second remained on the game clock. However, LSU place kicker Trent Dominique’s kickoff went out of bounds, which gave the Crimson Tide great field position on their 41-yard line. Alabama quarterback Blake Sims struggled all game, but managed to pass for 50 yards and rush for five in the final drive of regulation to set up a 27-yard Adam Griffith field goal to send the game to overtime. 
Alabama received the ball first in overtime, and Sims completed a pass to sophomore tight end Brandon Greene all the way to the LSU one yard line. However, due to a personal foul, Alabama was backed up to the 15 yard line.  Nevertheless, five plays later Blake Sims completed a six-yard touchdown pass to Andrew White to take a seven-point lead over LSU. LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings threw four straight incomplete passes in the overtime possession to end the game. Les Miles will be questioned for a long time to come for his play calling at the end of the game. LSU’s offense had success throughout the game running the football, and then to throw the ball every down in overtime was odd. Alabama somehow escaped Death Valley with a 20-13 win over the Tigers. Alabama will now prepare for a showdown in Tuscaloosa this Saturday against the No. 1 ranked Mississippi State University Bulldogs. 
Many fans expected Auburn to dominate Texas A&M in Jordan Hare Stadium, similar to the way Alabama dominated them on Oct. 18. The Aggies started freshman quarterback Kyle Allen in his first ever SEC game.  However, Allen threw two touchdown passes within the first three minutes of the game to give the Aggies a 14-0 lead. Nevertheless, the Tigers bounced back to tie the game at 14 with 2:32 left in the first quarter. Allen threw two more touchdown passes in the second quarter. Down 28-21, Auburn attempted a 40-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the half.  Auburn kicker Jay Lambo’s attempt was blocked and returned for a 65-yard touchdown by senior defensive back Deshazor Everett.  This gave the Aggies a 35-17 lead going into halftime. 
Allen could not continue the excellent play in the second half. The Aggies scored 35 points in the first half, but only six points in the second half. With under seven minutes remaining in the game, Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall rushed for a six yard touchdown to make the score 41-38 in favor of the Aggies. After forcing the Aggies to punt, Auburn drove 78 yards down the field to the Texas A&M two yard line. The Tigers looked destined to come from behind and defeat their opponent like they had done so many times before.  However, disaster struck for the Tigers. The read handoff that Marshall and running back Cameron Artis-Payne run so often was fumbled by Marshall and recovered by Texas A&M. Auburn looked to be doomed, but they got another chance. After using their final two timeouts, Auburn forced the Aggies to punt. Auburn received the ball with 1:28 remaining in the game and great field position on the Aggie 42 yard line, but the unthinkable happened again. On the third play of the drive, Marshall fumbled the snap, and Texas A&M recovered.  Texas A&M upset No. 3 ranked Auburn 41-38. The surprising thing about the game was that the loss was the result of their typically sure-handed offensive leaders. Marshall and Artis-Payne have become known for their relatively mistake-free approach to the offense. The duo does not typically make mistakes. If there is ever an Auburn turnover, it is usually becuase the defense makes a great play, not because of a bad play by the offense. 
Ole Miss hosted a division II school this week. To put its back-to-back heartbreaking losses behind, the Rebels defeated Presbyterian College 48-0, and had the void of losing Laquon Treadwell filled. Vince Sanders caught two touchdown passes and had 110 yards receiving. Ole Miss will have a bye week to prepare for Arkansas on Nov. 22
No. 20 Georgia bounced back from its disappointing loss to Florida with a 63-31 win at Kentucky. Georgia will play on the road against Auburn this Saturday, and Kentucky will travel to Tennessee.  Florida handily defeated Vanderbilt 34-10 and hosts South Carolina this Saturday.
Mississippi State remains the only unbeaten team in the SEC, while Alabama is the only team in the conference with one loss. It is almost certain one of these teams will represent the SEC West in the SEC championship game on Dec 6. There is also a great chance the winner of the game next week will represent the SEC in the first ever NCAA playoff. This is a huge game for the Alabama Crimson Tide, but this is unchartered territory for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs can quiet all the naysayers with a win next week and virtually guarantee a spot in the SEC Championship for the first time since 1998. Even with a win over Alabama, MSU would have to win against either Vanderbilt or Ole Miss to clinch the trip to Atlanta. The matchup with Alabama next week may be the biggest game in Mississippi State football history. This is, of course, the first time that MSU will  head to Tuscaloosa as the No. 1 team in the country.