SEC Midseason Review

Believe it or not, we’re halfway through college football’s regular season. It seems like just yesterday that Auburn was recovering an onside kick on its way to a comeback win against Utah State, but, amazingly, that was a month and a half ago. With six games in the books and six games remaining for most teams, here’s a look at the winners and losers at the midpoint of the SEC season.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE HALF-YEAR: TYLER BRAY, QB, TENNESSEE

Sure, we could have gone with Alabama running back Trent Richardson right here, but do you really expect an Auburn blog to heap praise upon an Alabama player if it’s at all avoidable? Bray was excellent in the first half, averaging 315 yards per game and completing 65 percent of his passes for 1,579 yards, 14 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 165.25 passer rating in five games. Aside from total yards, each of those numbers leads the SEC. Since Bray is likely to miss most or all of the second half with a fractured thumb, he should finish the season averaging over 300 passing yards per game. The last SEC quarterback to do that was Florida’s Rex Grossman in 2001.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE HALF-YEAR: TYRANN MATHIEU, CB, LSU

There are plenty of players to choose from for this award, but we’re going with the best player on the best defense in the conference. The Honey Badger has 41 tackles, five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four pass break-ups, two interceptions, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries — two of those returned for touchdowns. Basically, Mathieu is a menace to opposing offenses and wreaks havoc all over the field. He’s only listed at 5-9, but Mathieu plays much bigger than that.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE HALF-YEAR: MARQUIS MAZE, PR, ALABAMA

Well, we have to give Alabama credit somewhere in this post. Maze is averaging 13 yards per punt return, which actually ranks third in the conference, but he’s done that on 24 (!) attempts. Maze’s 24 returns easily leads the SEC and is 11 more than his closest competitor. His touchdown against Arkansas, 83 yards of weaving and bobbing, zigging and zagging, was a thing of beauty, and the fact that his yards-per-return average is so high despite having so many returns shows you that Maze makes something out of every opportunity he gets.

BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE HALF-YEAR: VANDERBILT’S DEFENSE

Vanderbilt’s defense currently gives up and average of 307 yards and 19.4 points per game, ranking sixth and fifth the SEC, respectively. But that’s after a 34-0 drubbing at the hands of Alabama. If you take out the ‘Bama game, Vandy is giving up 279 yards and 15.75 points per game, which would rank fifth and third, respectively. Either way, the Commodore defense has improved by leaps and bounds since 2010. Last year, Vandy allowed 31 points and 419 yards per game. Those numbers were good for second-to-last and last in the conference. Head coach James Franklin is an offensive guy, but he and his staff have done wonders with the Vanderbilt D.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE HALF-YEAR: STEPHEN GARCIA’S FALL

Garcia entered the year coming of his SEC-leading fifth suspension, and reasonable logic said that, with his off-field problems supposedly behind him, he was poised for a fine year. No one expected great things from Garcia, but after a pretty good 2010 — 148.7 passer rating, 20 touchdowns — the idea that he would play well enough to lead an explosive offense featuring running back Marcus Lattimore and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery wasn’t all that far-fetched. Instead, Garcia completed just 51 percent of his passes for 844 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions in five games. South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier pulled Garcia for Connor Shaw against Kentucky and, seeing that he wouldn’t be winning his job back, Garcia decided to kick back with some brews and some weed, fail a drug test and get kicked off the team. It’s been a long, strange trip for Garcia during his time in Columbia, and having it end like this isn’t really unexpected.

GAME OF THE HALF-YEAR: AUBURN 41, MISSISSIPPI STATE 34

The Week 2 matchup between the Tigers and Bulldogs had it all: plenty of scoring, controversial calls, big plays, a late rally and a stop on the goal line to end the game. It was a game that was supposed to be Dan Mullen’s announcement that State was ready to compete with the SEC’s elite. Instead, it was further proof that, under Gene Chizik, Auburn isn’t going to lose many close games. Since that game, Auburn has had its ups and downs but has been mostly successful. Mississippi State, on the other hand, has stumbled to a 3-3 record, is still winless in conference play and could be faced with a must-win against Ole Miss in the season-ending Egg Bowl to achieve bowl eligibility.

SEC BOWL PROJECTIONS

Allstate BCS National Championship Game: LSU

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Alabama

Capital One Bowl: Arkansas

AT&T Cotton Bowl: Auburn

Outback Bowl: South Carolina

Gator Bowl: Florida

Chick-fil-A Bowl: Georgia

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Tennessee

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State

BBVA Compass Bowl: Vanderbilt