The Most Surprising Teams In College Football

We are just past the mid-way point of the college football season and several teams have performed just as well as people thought they would at the beginning of the season, most notably Alabama and Oregon. While a handful of teams have been really disappointing such as Arkansas, Michigan St., and Virginia Tech, there have also been a couple of surprise teams, specifically undefeated Oregon St. and Mississippi St. and Big 12 darling Texas Tech.

#7 Oregon St. - 6-0 (4-0 in the Pac-12):

Before the college football season began, most people assumed that a team from Oregon would be heading into the last week of October unbeaten. While Oregon have cruised through their first 7 games without a blemish on their record, their rivals just up north in Corvallis have also shocked the college football world with a 6-0 start. Although the Beavers still have to get by Washington, Arizona St. #17 Stanford, and California, there is a definite possibility that the winner of the Civil War game in Eugene will move on to play in the Pac-12 Championship Game and possibly even the BCS title game.

The impressive play of Oregon St. has been such a surprise to the country because of how poorly the team played last season. Mike Riley's club finished the 2011 season with a woeful 3-9 record, which included an embarrassing loss at home to FCS school Sacramento Sate in non-conference play. However, Sean Mannion looks greatly improved behind center in his second year as the teams starting quarterback and the Beavers defensive unit has not let up more than 7 points at home this season.

The Beavers have had really good quarterback play from both their starter Sean Mannion and their backup Cody Vaz. Mannion began the season by throwing a touchdown in each of the team's first 4 games and had a 379 yard performance in a win on the road against UCLA and a 433 yard game against Arizona in Tucson. When Mannion was sidelined for two games due to a knee injury, Cody Vaz stepped in and the offense didn't miss a beat. Vaz threw for 323 yards and added 3 touchdowns in a 42-24 rout over BYU, a team that has held four of its eight opponents to seven points or less.

#11 Mississippi State Bulldogs - 7-0 (3-0 in the SEC):

Mississippi St. Athletic Director Scott Stricklin better be ready for a nerve-wracking off-season, as the Bulldogs head coach, Dan Mullen, is going to be one of the most desirable names in all of college football. Mullen, who was the offensive coordinator at Florida from 2005 to 2008, has led Mississippi St. to a very surprising 7-0 start, especially considering the team was 2-6 in conference play last season and lost their starting quarterback Chris Relf and star running back Vick Ballard.

Although the Dwags offense has been better than expected, the team's calling card is their stout defense. The Bulldogs may have the best defensive backfield in the country, as Johnthan Banks and Darius Slay are two of the nations best cornerbacks. Banks and Slay, who are tied for the 4th in the FBS with 4 interceptions, are apart of a Bulldogs secondary that has held five of their seven opponents to less than 175 yards passing.

Despite starting out the season 7-0 for just the second time in school history, and playing in the vaunted Southeastern Conference, the Mississippi St. Bulldogs are ranked outside the top 10 and many people consider them the 4th best team in their own 7 team SEC division. Aside from college football phonetics, not many people even know that the Bulldogs are one of the few remaining unbeaten teams. A large reason for their lack of national attention has been the Bulldogs lack of a major win, as the club's 4 non-conference victories (Jackson St., South Alabama, Troy, Middle Tennessee) are obviously nothing to brag about, and their 3 SEC wins are against teams who have yet to win a conference game (Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee). Although they have had a fairly easy schedule through mid-October, the Bulldogs have still only allowed more than 14 points in two of their seven contests and they have won by double-digits in every one of their 7 victories. Dan Mullen's squad will have a chance to prove themselves in their next 3 games, as they travel to Tuscaloosa to take on #1 Alabama this weekend, then return to Starkville to play #20 Texas A&M, and then finally travel to Death Valley to play #6 LSU in early November.

#14 Texas Tech Red Raiders - 6-1 (3-1 in the Big 12):

In Tommy Tuberville's second season in Lubbock, Texas Tech had its worse year since it became a member of the Big 12. The Red Raiders didn't appear in a bowl game for the first time since Spike Dykes's last year as the school's head coach in 1999 and the team lost 7 games for the first team in over two decades since 1990. TTU also finished with just 2 conference wins, their fewest league wins since they joined the Big 12 in 1996. However, Tuberville's ball club has drastically turned things around this year, as the team's offense is one of the most explosive attacks in the country and has propelled the Red Raiders to an impressive start including two Big 12 wins against ranked opponents (West Virginia and TCU).

Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege leads one of the most high powered offenses in all of college football. The Red Raiders have scored more than 40 points in five of their seven games and Seth Doege leads the nation with a whopping 28 touchdown passes, which is about 4 per game. The gun slinging quarterback is averaging over 360 yards passing per game as well, which is the 4th most in the FBS. Doege, who threw for 499 yards and 6 touchdowns against West Virginia and 318 yards and 7 touchdowns against TCU, is very well suited to run the Raiders fast paced spread attack. The senior QB completes a high percentage of his passes (70.8 percent, which is 5th best in the nation) and isn't overly turnover prone, as he is averaging just 1 pick for every 40 passing attempts.

Although the Texas Tech offense will get most of the praise and accolades for the program's strong start, the improvement of the team's defense has been the biggest change from last year's disappointment. The Tech defense shut down Geno Smith and the dangerous West Virginia passing game in their 49-14 victory over the Mountaineers two weeks ago and are allowing just over 21 points per game, which is very solid considering their offense can put up so many points.

Don't Overlook The West Coast Of College Basketball

The struggles of the Pac-12 have been very well documented this year and the conference has been historically bad. Currently, no Pac-12 team is ranked and no Pac-12 team has even received a vote in the AP poll since week 11 when Stanford was 15-3 before the Cardinals lost 5 of their next 6 conference games. In fact, California was the last ranked team inside the top 25 for the Pac-12 all the way back in week 4 of the polls and no Pac-12 team has been ranked inside the top 15 all season. Even when it appeared that the Washington Huskies, the most talented team in the Pac-12, had turned the corner after their disappointing 5-5 start to the season, they went to Eugene and lost to the Oregon Ducks by 25 points and were 2 of 16 from three point land.

The Pac-12 is in serious danger of just receiving two bids to the NCAA tournament, which they also did in 2010 when just California and Washington made it into the big dance.

With the Pac-12 way down this year, the perception around the country is that the entire west coast is struggling. However, just because the major conference out west is not playing high level basketball, doesn't mean that the west is struggling as a whole and the west coast shouldn't be overlooked, as numerous teams are having very impressive seasons from the Mountain West and the West Coast Conference.

The Mountain West, just like it has been for the past few years, is incredibly strong this season, as the conference will definitely get at least 3 teams into the tournament and could very possibly receive 5 invitations to the big dance. The conference has received multiple bids to the tourney every year since 2001 and they are looking for their most teams in the big dance since they got 4 teams into the NCAA's in 2010. UNLV and San Diego St. are also representing the Mountain West in the AP top 25 poll and the MWC has two teams in the top 14 of the polls, which is just as many as the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Only the Big 12 has more teams in the top 14 of the AP poll than the MWC.

While UCLA is having a horribly disappointing season, as the Bruins are 14-10 including just 7-5 in the weak Pac-12 after being ranked inside the top 20 of both preseason polls, two UCLA transfers, Mike Moser and Chace Stanback, have led UNLV to an incredibly impressive 21-4 start. Under first year head coach, Dave Rice, after Lon Kruger left the Rebels to take the job at Oklahoma during the summer, UNLV has returned to the days of Jerry Tarkanian with a high flying offense. The Rebels are averaging 80 points a game, which is 9th in the country, and they are 3rd in the nation at 18.3 assists per game. 

Mike Moser is a double-double machine down in the blocks for the Rebels, as he has 13 in 25 games. The forward is averaging 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, as the big man is dominate on the glass, despite being undersized at just 6-8. Chace Stanback is also so difficult to defend for the Rebels because of the threat that he poses from beyond the arc. The senior compliments Moser very nicely from the perimeter, as he is averaging slightly less than 14 points per game and is able to knock down the three ball, as he is shooting it at a 45 percent clip from deep. 

The Rebels are sitting in line for a 3 or 4 seed, as they have built a very impressive resume with victories over North Carolina at the Las Vegas Classic, Illinois on the road by 16, Pac-12 leader Cal at home by 17, WAC leader Nevada, as well as home conference wins over New Mexico and Colorado St. UNLV is looking for their highest seed since they were a 1 seed back in 1991 when they made it all the way to the Final Four for the second straight year before losing their undefeated season in the National Semifinals to eventual champion Duke by 2 points.

San Diego St. is keeping the Mountain West extremely interesting, as they have been way better than expected and are challenging the Rebels for the regular season conference crown. Steve Fischer should get some serious National Coach of the Year consideration for the job he has done with the Aztecs. After San Diego St. went 34-3 last season and made it to their first sweet 16 in school history, little was expected from the team this year. The Aztecs were losing a majority of their core including star forward and second-team All-American Kawhi Leonard, first-team All-Mountain West guard D.J. Gay, second-team All-Mountain West forward Malcolm Thomas, and honorable mention All-Mountain West forward Billy White. Those four guys were the team's leading scorers and combined for 67 percent of the team's points.

However, Jamaal Franklin and Chase Tapley have stepped up big time for the Aztecs and have carried the team to a very surprising 20-3 start. Franklin, who is also averaging 7.2 rebounds per game, is a big 6-5 guard-forward, who causes a lot of matchup problems because of his size and is averaging 18 points in the team's 7 conference games. He leads the conference in scoring. Tapley is a lethal three-point shooter and is hitting 43 percent of his jumpers from behind the arc. Tapley was 8 for 10 from three in a very close loss to the Baylor Bears on the road earlier in the season.

Like the Rebels, San Diego St. is in line to receive a 3 or 4 seed for the tournament. The Aztecs beat Arizona on the road, New Mexico on the road in the pit, Cal at home, as well as UNLV at home after Jamaal Franklin beat the buzzer with a game winning layup. The Aztecs square up with the Rebels once again on Saturday at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas in a rematch of two of the best teams not just on the west coast, but in the entire country.

The Mountain West should also gain a lot of respect because they are much more than a two team league.

New Mexico is one of the most overlooked teams in college basketball and, as of now, they are firmly in the tournament as anywhere from an 8 seed to a 10 seed. The Lobos are 19-4 and have solid wins over Arizona St., Washington St., Boston College, USC, Oklahoma St., St. Louis, Wyoming, and Colorado St.

Also, Wyoming and Colorado St. are both on the bubble and they are each at 4-3 in the conference.

The Wyoming Cowboys are 18-5 and have victories over Colorado, Colorado St., and got the signature win they so desperately needed when they shocked the UNLV Rebels by 2 points at home last week.

The Colorado St. Rams are 15-7 and need to notch some more victories in conference play to get one of those last four spots in the tourney. The Rams do have some quality wins under their belt however, as they have victories over Colorado, Denver, and like Wyoming, got a signature win, when they beat San Diego St. by 17 points at home. 

The West Coat Conference is also having an incredibly strong year. The WCC has been dominated by Gonzaga since Mark Few took over the program in 1999. The Zags have been the regular season conference champion 11 straight years dating back to 2001 and have won the conference tournament 10 times in 13 tries since 1999.

However, the WCC is much more than a one conference league this season, as Saint Mary's and BYU are two very solid teams, especially the Gaels, who have more than enough talent to make a run into the second week of the tourney. The WCC is looking to get 3 teams into the NCAA's for the first time since 2008 when the Zags, Saint Mary's, and San Diego all made the big dance from the conference.

Despite losing their leading scorer, Mickey McConnell, the Gaels are currently ranked inside the top 15 and have just three losses all season with an overall record of 22-3 including an 11-1 mark in conference play. Saint Mary's will likely receive a 4 or 5 seed, as they swept their season series with BYU, beat Gonzaga at home, and still have an opportunity to get a quality victory over 23-1 Murray St. on the road in Kentucky in BracketBusters later this month. The Gaels are going to get their best seed since they were an 8 seed in the 1989 NCAA tournament.

The Gaels are led by the two-headed monster of point guard Matthew Dellavedoa as well as forward Rob Jones. Dellavedoa is averaging just under 16 points per game and more than 6 assists per game, while shooting 46 percent from the field, 84 percent from the free-throw line, and nearly 40 percent from three. Dellavedoa is an all-around star and can do it all for the Gaels. He dished out the dimes in the Gaels' 98-82 victory over BYU, as he had 12 assists, but he can also score the basketball when he needs to, like he did against Gonzaga, when he was 5 of 10 from three and had 26 points in the team's 83-62 victory at the McKeon Pavilion.

Jones, much like Mike Moser, is an undersized forward, as he is just 6-6, but he is relentless on the boards and is an absolute beast on the glass. Jones is averaging 14.6 points to go along with his 10.6 rebounds per game. Jones has had at least 10 rebounds in 18 of the Gaels 25 games and has had 14 double-doubles including a 24 point, 15 rebound performance against BYU earlier in the season.

The Zags, for once, and the Cougars are both chasing the Gaels for the regular season conference title but they are both solidly into the NCAA tournament. Gonzaga will likely be a 5 or 6 seed, while BYU could be anywhere from a 9 seed to a 11 seed.

The Bulldogs played an incredibly tough non-conference schedule but it benefited them because they got quality victories over tournament teams such as Notre Dame, Arizona, and Xavier. The Zags also got a big conference win at home over Saint Mary's this week in a highly contested and very well played game.

The Cougars have been a very nice surprise. They have victories over WAC leader Nevada, Pac-12 teams such as Oregon and Utah and played Baylor very tough, despite eventually falling by 3 points at home. The Cougars are going to receive a nice seed because they have beaten all the teams that they should have beaten. However, they don't have any eye-popping victories as of yet, as they lost to Saint Mary's twice and Wisconsin as well. However, they still play Gonzaga once more and have the WCC conference tournament coming up in March.

Gonzaga could be the perfect model of consistency in all of college basketball. They have made the tournament every year since 1999 and have won at least one game in the big dance in 10 of their 13 trips to the tourney since then. This year is no different from the typical Gonzaga squad, as they are a hard-working team that plays very well together. Forwards Elias Harris and 7 foot Robert Sacre control the paint and both average over 6.5 rebounds per game and 11.5 points per game.

BYU is also a very intriguing team. Following the loss of National Player of the Year, Jimmer Fredette, who averaged nearly 29 points per game for the Cougars last year, very little was expected of the team. However, they have far exceeded expectations under Dave Rose, and are 20-6 including 8-3 in conference. Forward Noah Hartsock has taken a much larger role on the team this season and has increased his point total from 8.6 to 17.6. The senior is shooting just under 57 percent from the field. Hartsock and Brandon Davies, who was suspended last season for breaking the school's honor code policy, form a formidable duo down in the blocks. Davies is averaging 14.4 points and 8 rebounds per game.

Although the Pac-12 is having a horrible year, the Mountain West and the West Coast Conference have a number of teams that are going to get into the NCAA tournament and a group of teams, such as UNLV, San Diego St., Saint Mary's, and Gonzaga, who could make a deep run in the tournament. West coast basketball is not down as much as it might seem at first glance.

Jimmer Fredette struggles as Florida advances to the elite eight

BYU and Florida needed two overtimes to decide a winner last year in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Cougars and the Gators met again in the sweet sixteen this year and once again needed an extra period to decide the winner.

Although Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points, he really struggled and was harassed by the Florida defense for the entire game. Fredette went 11 for 29 from the field and shot a career high 15 threes but only made 3 of them. The SEC player of the year Chandler Parsons said about his team making it difficult for Fredette to score, "That's just a credit to our guys on defense especially Kenny Boynton. He stayed with him and made it difficult for him out there." Fredette didn't get a lot of help from his teammates, as no other Cougar was in double figures. BYU shot 37 threes and only hit 10 of them. The Florida head coach Billy Donovan said, "I know there's a lot made of Jimmer Fredette, and he's a great player, but we really felt coming into the game the key was to shut down the other four players on the floor... I think the biggest thing was we were able to hold all their guys under double figure points other than Fredette." Jackson Emery began the game very hot, as he hit his first 3 three pointers and had 9 points. However, Emery had to go to the bench after he picked up his 2nd fouls with 11:41 remaining in the first half. Emery didn't score another point for the rest of the game and missed four three pointers in the second half and overtime. 

Alex Tyus was the difference maker down in the post for the Gators, as the Cougars couldn't guard the big 6-8 forward. He only missed one shot the entire game, going 8 for 9 from the field. Tyus had 19 points and 17 rebounds. When BYU came to double team him down low, Tyus kicked the ball out to Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker, and Chandler Parsons for open threes, which finally began to fall in overtime. Florida coach Billy Donovan said, "The thing about Alex is he never really gets fazed with the moment or with what's going on. One of the things I've tried to pull out of him and get him to see is that when he has a lot of activity and he's flying around the court, because of his athleticism, he's got a great ability to impact a game." BYU really missed their 6-9 forward Brandon Davies, who was suspended because he broke the schools honor code by having sex with his girlfriend. The cougars were forced to constantly double team the post because they had nobody who could guard Tyus down low. 

The game was very close throughout with the score tied at halftime and at the end of regulation. With 48 seconds remaining in the second half, Kyle Collinsworth made one of two free throws to tie the game at 68. Although Kenny Boynton missed a three pointer with 25 seconds left in the game, Erving Walker ran down the ball to give Florida the final shot. Walker said about the play, “It was so big because they could have easily gone the other way. Fredette is so good at drawing fouls and taking a last shot. It would have been game over for us. That was a big rebound.” Fredette also realized the importance of that rebound by saying, “We had a chance, we got a stop, but we had a chance to get a rebound and they got the offensive rebound and put it out. And you never know what could have happened if we got that rebound. But they definitely had fresh legs and they were ready to go in that overtime. Chandler Parsons missed a difficult shot at the buzzer and the game went into overtime. The extra period was all Florida as they outscored the Cougars 15 to 6. Fredette struggled in the overtime missing two three pointers and committing two costly turnovers. Kenny Boynton and Chandler Parsons both hit three to secure the victory and a regional finals appearance.

The win sends Florida into the elite eight and one win away from returning to the final four since they won the second of their back to back championships in 2007. They will play Butler in the regional finals on Saturday, as the Bulldogs beat Wisconsin 61 to 54. Donovan has been very appreciate of his teams performance this season by saying, "It’s been so rewarding for me to see them make the journey they’ve made to this point right now. It’s been very rewarding and fulfilling for me, and I hope in some way I’ve been able to give them as much as they’ve given me."

A Key to Florida vs BYU

How Florida will defend Jimmer Fredette: Before Florida was set to take on BYU in the first round of last years NCAA tournament, Florida coach Billy Donovan said, "Being in the SEC, we had a chance to see a lot of great point guards in John Wall and Devan Downey, and I don't think either one of those two guys impact the college game like Fredette does. He has a totally different effect level on the game." BYU went on to beat Florida by 7 points 99 to 92 in double overtime. In that game, Kenny Boynton guarded Jimmer Fredette for nearly the entire game and Fredette scored 37 points on 13 for 26 shooting from the field. Coming into their sweet sixteen matchup against BYU and Fredette, Donovan said, "I really felt like last year, because of our lack of depth, I thought [Boynton] got worn out as he started to get into that into the first overtime, then second overtime. I just don't think it can be one guy. Now there's going to be some possessions and some plays in the game where whoever's on him, they're going to be on an island by themselves. That's gonna happen." Donovan hopes that Boynton, at 6-2, can use his length and his great athleticism to frustrate Fredette. He said, "What makes [Boynton] good is he has great, great feet and he has great lateral movement, and he can play close enough to people and keep people out of the lane. He can really, really spread himself out and athletically he can really move his feet. He's got great ability." Jimmer has struggled against guys with great length and athleticism this season. When the 6-8 Billy White from San Diego St. guarded Fredette in the Mountain West tournament championship game, Jimmer settled for 7 threes and struggled, going 10 for 25 from the field. Boynton has been resting a sore left ankle all week in preparation to guard the crafty Fredette. Boynton has shown he can defend the best in the country including John Jenkins from Vanderbilt, who went 3 for 15 from the field and only scored 10 points in the SEC tournament semifinals when Boynton was guarding him. Boynton will try to keep Fredette out of the lane and not let him get to the free throw line, where he shoots nearly 90 percent. He will try to make Jimmer settle for deep jump shots and threes, where he is under 27 percent since February 2nd. Although Jimmer will get his points as the ball is constantly in his hands for the Cougars, the key to the game will be how many shots it takes for Jimmer to get his points and if he can get his teammates open for layups and threes.

Predictions for Conference Tournaments

Going into Thursday, 13 teams have clinched automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. There are still 19 automatic bids that have not yet been handed out to fill the 31 automatic bids into the field of 68. Here are my predictions on some of the major conference tournaments during Champ Week. (Teams that are underlined are competing for a top four seed, teams that are in italics are in the tournament but not competing for a top four seed, and bold teams are on the bubble).

Atlantic 10:

First Round:

9. Dayton over 8. Umass

5. George Washington over 12. St. Joseph's

7. St. Bonaventure over 10. La Salle

6. Rhode Island over 11. Saint Louis

Quarterfinals:

1. Xavier over 9. Dayton

5. George Washington over 4. Duquesne

2. Temple over 7. St. Bonaventure

3. Richmond over 6. Rhode Island

Semifinals:

1. Xavier over 5. George Washington

3. Richmond over 2. Temple

Finals:

1. Xavier over 3. Richmond

ACC:

First Round:                                                  

9. Miami over 8. Virginia

5. Boston College over 12. Wake Forest

7. Maryland over 10. NCST

6. Virginia Tech over 11. Georgia Tech

Quarterfinals:

1. North Carolina over 9. Miami

5. Boston College over 4. Clemson

2. Duke over 7. Maryland

6. Virginia Tech over 3. Florida St.

Semifinals:

1. North Carolina over 5. Boston College

2. Duke over 6. Virginia Tech

Finals:

1. North Carolina over 2. Duke

Big 12:

First Round:

8. Nebraska over 9. Oklahoma St.

5. Colorado over 12. Iowa St.

7. Baylor over 10. Oklahoma

6. Missouri over 11. Texas Tech

Quarterfinals:

1. Kansas over 8. Nebraska

4. Kansas St. over 5. Colorado

2. Texas over 7. Baylor

6. Missouri over 3. Texas A and M

Semifinals:

4. Kansas St. over 1. Kansas

2. Texas over 6. Missouri

Finals:

4. Kansas St. over 2. Texas

Big East:

First Round:

9. Uconn over 16. DePaul

12. Seton Hall over 13. Rutgers

10. Villanova over 15. South Florida

11. Marquette over 14. Providence

Second round:

9. Uconn over 8. Georgetown

5. St. John's over 12. Seton Hall

10. Villanova over 7. Cincinnati

11. Marquette over 6. West Virginia

Quarterfinals:

9. Uconn over 1. Pittsburgh 

5. St. John's over 4. Syracuse

2. Notre Dame over 10. Villanova

11. Marquette over 3. Louisville

Semifinals:

9. Uconn over 5. St. John's

2. Notre Dame over 11. Marquette

Finals:

2. Notre Dame over 9. Uconn

Big 10:

First Round:

9. Minnesota over 8. Northwestern

7. Michigan St. over 10. Iowa

6. Penn St. over 11. Indiana

Quarterfinals:

1. Ohio St. over 9. Minnesota

5. Illinois over 4. Michigan

2. Purdue over 7. Michigan St.

3. Wisconsin over 6. Penn St.

Semifinals:

1. Ohio St. over 5. Illinois

2. Purdue over 3. Wisconsin

Finals:

1. Ohio St. over 2. Purdue

Mountain West:

First Round:

9. TCU over 8. Wyoming

Quarterfinals:

1. BYU over 9. TCU

5. New Mexico over 4. Colorado St.

2. San Diego St. over 7. Utah

3. UNLV over 6. Air Force

Semifinals:

1. BYU over 5. New Mexico

2. San Diego St. over 3. UNLV

Finals:

1. BYU over 2. San Diego St.

Pac 10:

First Round:

9. Oregon St. over 8. Stanford

7. Oregon over 10. Arizona St.

Quarterfinals:

1. Arizona over 9. Oregon St.

4. USC over California

3. Washington over 6. Washington St.

2. UCLA over 7. Oregon

Semifinals:

1. Arizona over 4. USC

2. UCLA over 3. Washington

Finals:

1. Arizona over 2. UCLA

SEC:

First Round:

E4. Georgia over W5. Auburn

W3. Mississippi over E6. South Carolina

E5. Tennessee over W4. Arkansas

E3. Vanderbilt over W6. LSU

Quarterfinals:

E4. Georgia over W1. Alabama

E2. Kentucky over W3. Mississippi

E1. Florida over E5. Tennessee

E3. Vanderbilt over W2. Mississippi St.

Semifinals:

E2. Kentucky over E4. Georgia

E3. Vanderbilt over E1. Florida

Finals: 

E2. Kentucky over E3. Vanderbilt