Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low
Weird things happen in November. Penn State found out the hard way last week, and we won't even start to get into all the chaos that gripped the month of November a year ago. The only game on the docket this Saturday nationally matching Top 25 teams is No. 25 South Carolina at No. 4 Florida. But there are still some interesting story lines in the SEC, and favorites beware. Of course, the two teams with the most to lose are Alabama and Florida. Both are at home, and both are prohibitive favorites. Sound familiar? Here's a look at what to watch in the SEC in Week 12:
1. Swamp fever: Since being upset by Ole Miss 31-30 at the Swamp on Sept. 27, the Gators have been on a tear. They've won five straight games by an average margin of 37.2 points. Two of those games have been at the Swamp, and Florida has scored more than 50 points each time. They beat LSU 51-21 and Kentucky 63-5, rolling up at least 446 yards of total offense in both games. Simply, they've been about as close to unbeatable as it gets.
2. Head Ball Coach's return: He's still treated pretty warmly by the fans in these parts and deservedly so. After all, Steve Spurrier did win six SEC championships for the Gators in the 1990s. This is his second trip back as South Carolina's coach. His first trip nearly ruined Florida's 2006 national championship season. The Gators needed a last-second block of a field goal attempt to escape with a 17-16 win.
3. Norwood's revenge: South Carolina linebacker Eric Norwood is one of the SEC's hottest players. He had three sacks in the 34-21 win over Arkansas last week and is one of those guys defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson will move around all over the place. Norwood was a freshman on the 2006 team that suffered that heartbreaking loss at the Swamp. He remembers exactly what he thought leaving the field that day: "That we're not going to let it happen again the next time we come down here. It's going to be a different story," Norwood recalled. South Carolina is 0-11 all-time in Gainesville.
4. Surviving the first half: If South Carolina is going to have any chance of pulling off the upset, the Gamecocks have to find a way to hang around in the first half. Very few teams have been able to do that against the Gators and none lately during their five-game winning streak. Florida, averaging 48.6 points during that winning streak, has outscored its opponents 199-23 in the first half this season and has allowed only two first-half touchdowns. "They get control of that football, and you can't hardly get it out of their hands," South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said.
5. Block party: Florida is 17-1 under Urban Meyer when blocking any type of kick in a game and 12-0 when the Gators block a punt. They blocked two punts last week in the 42-14 win over Vanderbilt. Since Meyer's first season at Florida in 2005, the Gators have blocked more kicks against South Carolina (five) than any other team. It's one of the reasons Steve Spurrier went out and got Ray Rychleski from Maryland to be his special-teams coordinator this season. The Gamecocks haven't had a punt blocked this season, but they did have a field goal attempt blocked late in the third quarter of the 24-17 loss to Vanderbilt.
6. Battle of Highway 82: Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom knows the drive well. He grew up in Tuscaloosa, and his mother and brother still live there, so he's made the hour-and-a-half drive from Starkville to Tuscaloosa more than a few times. The last time he navigated that drive for a football game, his Bulldogs upset the Crimson Tide 24-16 in 2006. A third straight win over his No. 1-ranked alma mater this Saturday would be his biggest win yet and would quiet some of the sniping by Mississippi State fans, some of whom are ready to run him out of town a year removed from winning eight games and garnering SEC Coach of the Year honors.
7. Cody watch: Alabama's defensive coaches will be smart with how much they ask nose tackle Terrence Cody to play Saturday. He returned from a sprained MCL last week against LSU and didn't have the same impact up front he did before injuring his knee against Ole Miss and sitting out for two games. The Crimson Tide actually went with a three-player rotation against LSU at nose tackle. Redshirt freshman Josh Chapman and true freshman Marcel Dareus shared the snaps in the middle with Cody, and it was Dareus' most extensive playing time of the season. He finished with three tackles against the Tigers.
8. Tubs' farewell to Jordan-Hare?: Auburn plays its final home game of what's been a disappointing season Saturday against Georgia. And with all the speculation surrounding Tommy Tuberville, you can't help but wonder if it will also be his final game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Some of what's drifting out of Auburn now is that he will be allowed to return next season if he overhauls his staff, which would include getting rid of some assistants that have been with him for a long time. It's a bizarre situation all the way around on the Plains. Tuberville owes Auburn $6 million if he bolts for another job, but Auburn owes him $6 million if he's terminated. It's almost as if both sides are stuck.
9. Bowl games anyone?: Auburn, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt can all become bowl eligible Saturday with wins. The Rebels (5-4, 3-3 SEC) shouldn't have any trouble. They face Louisiana-Monroe at home. The Commodores (5-4, 3-3 SEC) face a more difficult task, as they play at Kentucky. The Wildcats (6-4, 2-4 SEC) became the SEC's sixth bowl-eligible team last week and have won 10 of their last 12 meetings with the Commodores. Ole Miss hasn't been to a bowl game since the 2003 season. Vanderbilt has to go all the way back to the 1982 season to find its last bowl trip. Since 1982, the Commodores are 0-17 in games in which they could have become bowl eligible. The toughest task Saturday belongs to the Tigers (5-5, 2-4 SEC). They face No. 10 Georgia and have yet to beat an FBS team this season with a winning record.
10. Too hard to handle Randall: Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson remarked earlier this week how comfortable Kentucky freshman quarterback Randall Cobb looks right now whether he's throwing the football, running the option or scrambling. "That's pretty amazing for a true freshman who hasn't started every game this year," Johnson said. Kentucky quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders certainly deserves some props for Cobb's play. But, then, this isn't Sanders' first rodeo when it comes to dealing with a freshman quarterback. He was instrumental in getting Casey Clausen, Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer all ready to play as true freshmen at Tennessee.
