Ten Takeaways: Week 11

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1. This one's for you, Lane

If you watched Entourage you'll remember that one of the sub-stories throughout the series is the contentious relationship between Ari and Eric. Ari (the main character's agent) makes fun of Eric (the main character's best friend and manager) by calling him "Pizza Boy," because his only pre-Hollywood management experience is working at a pizza joint. E earns Ari's full respect as the series goes on, and eventually becomes a "Pizza Man":

After beating Georgia, I officially declare Lane Kiffin a Pizza Man™️.

It wasn't always pretty, but Ole Miss was commanding in every respect of their 28-10 win, vaulting themselves back into the thick of playoff discussion. The most impressive aspect was how badly the Rebels outclassed the Dawgs up front, especially on defense. Ole Miss forced three turnovers, caused four total fumbles, sacked Carson Beck five times and had nine total tackles for loss. If it feels like no one besides Alabama has done that to Georgia in a long time, it's because no one has:

Their offense didn't need to be great, but they still made some fantastic plays when they absolutely needed to:

I've been a Lane Kiffin hater for as long as I can remember - but credit where it's due here. Ole Miss proved it can win in a way Kiffin's teams usually don't, and their defensive front will be a problem for any team they face in the playoff if they ultimately make it.

Meanwhile, I've gotta eat some crow on the Georgia front. I've been blindly loyal to the idea that the Dawgs would eventually figure it out offensively and outclass any team they go up against like they've mostly done for the past four seasons. We're deep enough into the season where I can't deny the reality anymore, though. 2024 Georgia is a massive step down from those teams, particularly on offense. Carson Beck flat-out doesn't have it, their running back room isn't anything special, and the receivers have been plagued with drops all year. Beyond the season opener against Clemson, they haven't put together a full four-quarter performance vs. a good team. They have one final chance to do that against Tennessee this week, or else their playoff hopes are probably over.

2. Miami finally gets burned

Can we get a round of applause for the Jake Sloat 'Loaty Upset Game of the Week?' A after week nailing the Louisville over Clemson pick, Jake hit the double-barrel W in last week's column with Ole Miss and Georgia Tech both winning on Saturday.

Miami's messed around for the better part of the last month-and-a-half without repercussion. They needed a controversial overturn on a Hail Mary to beat Virginia Tech. Cal led them by 25 late in the third quarter before they rallied for a late victory that came down to a dicey non-targeting call. Finally, they survived two shootouts into the fourth quarter with Louisville and Duke the last three weeks. Cam Ward's ability to make enough magical plays was ultimately the difference in all these games, but the "These guys can't keep getting away with this" vibe was real. It finally caught up to them in Atlanta versus Georgia Tech.

Tech's 28-23 win was comprehensive, but best exemplified by their 17-play touchdown drive that started with 7:47 left in the first quarter and ended at the 12:02 mark of the second:

The Yellowjackets leaned on a mauling run game (271 yards) and a physical defense that did well enough in keeping Ward in the pocket, right down to their game-ending forced fumble:

The result has me feeling vindicated about my opinions on Miami, but I'll play devil's advocate for a second: A loss might not be the worst thing for them in the long run. It throws the ACC Title chase into a bit of chaos, but it hardly kills their playoff hopes. They were fourth in the initial rankings, plus their remaining schedule (Wake Forest, at Syracuse) is far from brutal. Miami will be in the playoff one way or another. In a perfect world, they use this loss as a wake-up call to finish the regular season strong as one of the nation's best teams. Do I believe they'll make any noise if they get there? No! But that's the path this new playoff system has created for the situation they're now in.

3. Alabama embarrasses LSU

The dirty secret about the Alabama-LSU rivalry is that for as heated as it is, the Crimson Tide have mostly dominated it. They're now 8-2 against the Tigers over the last decade after dropping a 42-13 asswhipping that was so thorough that Tiger Stadium looked more like an open practice by the second half.

Maybe this is a bit too hyperbolic, but this game felt like a chance for Brian Kelly to flip the script on the rivalry with Nick Saban finally out of the picture. Unfortunately for LSU, the new boss is the same as the old bosses:

Speaking of things happening repeatedly: A year after running for 155 yards and four touchdowns on the Tigers, Jalen Milroe quadrupled down by rushing for 185 and another four scores. This 72-yarder put the game on ice:

The most important part here is that Alabama's firmly entrenched in the playoff, while LSU is done. The Tide still need some help if they want to play for the SEC title, but not making it to Atlanta doesn't matter for their overall playoff hopes. They should handle business easily to close the regular season, too, against Mercer, Oklahoma, and Auburn. No matter where they end up in the final rankings, I don't think any team's excited about the prospect of matching up with the Tide right now.