2016 Southeastern Conference football season

2016 Southeastern Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	September 1, 2016 through January 2017
Number of teams	14
TV partner(s)	ABC, ACCN, ASN, CBS, CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, FS1, SECN
Season champions	Alabama
Eastern champions	Florida
Eastern runners-up	Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky
Western champions	Alabama
Western runners-up	Auburn, LSU
SEC Championship Game
Champions	Alabama
Runners-up	Florida

2016 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 15 Florida xy		6	–	2					8	–	4
Tennessee		4	–	4					8	–	4
Georgia		4	–	4					7	–	5
Kentucky		4	–	4					7	–	5
South Carolina		3	–	5					6	–	6
Vanderbilt		3	–	5					6	–	6
Missouri		2	–	6					4	–	8
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$^		8	–	0					13	–	0
No. 18 Auburn		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 21 LSU		5	–	3					7	–	4
Texas A&M		4	–	4					8	–	4
Arkansas		3	–	5					7	–	5
Mississippi State		3	–	5					5	–	7
Ole Miss		2	–	6					5	–	7
Championship: Alabama 54, Florida 16
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of December 4, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016 Southeastern Conference football season will represent the 84th season of SEC football taking place during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on September 1 with Tennessee defeating Appalachian State on the SEC Network.^[1] This is the fifth season for the SEC under realignment that took place in 2012 adding Texas A&M and Missouri from the Big 12 Conference. The SEC is a Power Five conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 12 Conference, the Big Ten Conference, and the Pac-12 Conference.

The SEC consists of 14 members: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt; and is split up into the Western and Eastern divisions, with the champion of each division meeting in Atlanta to compete for the SEC Championship on December 3. Alabama enters the season as defending SEC champions as they defeated Florida in the previous year's championship game. The Tide would then go on to defeat Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl 38–0, and capped off the season with a 45–40 victory in the National Championship Game over Clemson to win their 16th national championship.^[2]

Preseason

Recruiting classes

National Rankings

Team	ESPN[3]	Rivals[4]	Scout[5]	24/7[6]	Total Signees
Alabama	#2	#1	#1	#1	25
Arkansas	#24	#33	#32	#25	20
Auburn	#9	#9	#12	#9	21
Florida	#12	#14	#10	#13	25
Georgia	#7	#10	#9	#7	20
Kentucky	#35	#29	#38	#34	25
LSU	#3	#5	#4	#3	23
Ole Miss	#4	#7	#5	#6	24
Mississippi State	#33	#35	#35	#31	18
Missouri	#51	#52	#57	#53	20
South Carolina	#27	#26	#26	#26	24
Tennessee	#14	#15	#17	#14	21
Texas A&M	#20	#16	#21	#18	22
Vanderbilt	#48	#60	#68	#54	20

SEC Media Days

The SEC conducted its annual media days at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama between July 11 and July 14. The event commenced with a speech by commissioner Greg Sankey, and all 14 teams sent their head coaches and three selected players to speak with members of the media. The event along with all speakers and interviews were broadcast live on the SEC Network and streamed live on ESPN.com. On Monday, the teams and representatives in respective order were as follows: Auburn (Gus Malzahn, Carl Lawson, Montravius Adams, Marcus Davis), Florida (Jim McElwain, David Sharpe, Jarrad Davis, Marcus Maye), and Vanderbilt (Derek Mason, Ralph Webb, Zach Cunningham, Oren Burks). On Tuesday: Georgia (Kirby Smart, Jeb Blazevich, Brandon Kublanow, Dominick Sanders), Mississippi State (Dan Mullen, Richie Brown, Fred Ross, A.J. Jefferson), Tennessee (Butch Jones, Joshua Dobbs, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Cameron Sutton), and Texas A&M (Kevin Sumlin, Myles Garrett, Trevor Knight, Ricky Seals-Jones). On Wednesday: Alabama (Nick Saban, Jonathan Allen, O.J. Howard, Eddie Jackson), Arkansas (Bret Bielema, Brooks Ellis, Deatrich Wise Jr., Jeremy Sprinkle), Kentucky (Mark Stoops, Jojo Kemp, Courtney Love, Jon Toth), and Missouri (Barry Odom, Sean Culkin, Charles Harris, Michael Scherer). On Thursday: South Carolina (Will Muschamp, Deebo Samuel, Marquavius Lewis, Mason Zandi), Ole Miss (Hugh Freeze, Chad Kelly, Evan Engram, D.J. Jones), and LSU (Les Miles, Leonard Fournette, Ethan Pocic, Tre'Davious White).^[7][8][9]

Media Polls

The SEC Media Days concluded with its annual preseason media polls. Since 1992, the credentialed media has gotten the preseason champion correct just five times. Only eight times has the preseason pick even made it to the SEC title game. Below are the results of the media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.

SEC Champion Voting

• Alabama – 223
• LSU – 59
• Tennessee – 29
• Georgia – 7
• Florida – 5
• Ole Miss – 4
• Texas A&M – 1
• South Carolina – 1
• Arkansas – 1
• Vanderbilt – 1

References:^[10][11]

Preseason All-SEC: Media

First Team Offense

Position	Player	Class	Team
QB	Chad Kelly	SR	Ole Miss
RB	Leonard Fournette	JR	LSU
RB	Nick Chubb	JR	Georgia
WR	Calvin Ridley	SO	Alabama
WR	Christian Kirk	SO	Texas A&M
TE	O. J. Howard	SR	Alabama
OL	Cam Robinson	JR	Alabama
OL	Dan Skipper	SR	Arkansas
OL	Greg Pyke	SR	Georgia
OL	Alex Kozan	SR	Auburn
C	Ethan Pocic	SR	LSU

First Team Defense

Position	Player	Class	Team
DL	Jonathan Allen	SR	Alabama
DL	Myles Garrett	JR	Texas A&M
DL	Carl Lawson	JR	Auburn
DL	Derek Barnett	JR	Tennessee
LB	Reuben Foster	SR	Alabama
LB	Kendell Beckwith	SR	LSU
LB	Jalen Reeves-Maybin	SR	Tennessee
DB	Eddie Jackson	SR	Alabama
DB	Teez Tabor	JR	Florida
DB	Tre'Davious White	SR	LSU
DB	Cameron Sutton	SR	Tennessee

First Team Special Teams

Position	Player	Class	Team
P	JK Scott	JR	Alabama
K	Daniel Carlson	JR	Auburn
RS	Christian Kirk	SO	Texas A&M
AP	Christian Kirk	SO	Texas A&M

Preseason All-SEC: Coaches

First Team Offense

Position	Player	Class	Team
QB	Chad Kelly	SR	Ole Miss
RB	Leonard Fournette	JR	LSU
RB	Nick Chubb	JR	Georgia
WR	Calvin Ridley	SO	Alabama
WR	Christian Kirk	SO	Texas A&M
TE	O. J. Howard	SR	Alabama
OL	Cam Robinson	JR	Alabama
OL	Dan Skipper	SR	Arkansas
OL	Greg Pyke	SR	Georgia
OL	Alex Kozan	SR	Auburn
C	Ethan Pocic	SR	LSU
AP	Christian Kirk	SO	Texas A&M

First Team Defense

Position	Player	Class	Team
DL	Myles Garrett	JR	Texas A&M
DL	Jonathan Allen	SR	Alabama
DL	Derek Barnett	JR	Tennessee
DL	Carl Lawson	JR	Auburn
LB	Reuben Foster	SR	Alabama
LB	Kendell Beckwith	SR	LSU
LB	Jalen Reeves-Maybin*	SR	Tennessee
LB	Jarrad Davis*	SR	Florida
DB	Eddie Jackson	SR	Alabama
DB	Teez Tabor	JR	Florida
DB	Cameron Sutton	SR	Tennessee
DB	Tre'Davious White	SR	LSU

First Team Special Teams

Position	Player	Class	Team
P	JK Scott	JR	Alabama
K	Daniel Carlson	JR	Auburn
RS	Christian Kirk*	SO	Texas A&M
RS	Evan Berry*	JR	Tennessee

(*) Indicates tie

References:^[12][13][14]

Head Coaches

Three SEC teams hired new head coaches for the 2016 season. All three were in the Eastern Division, and all three were replacing coaches who had spent at least 11 seasons at their respective schools. Former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart was hired to replace long-time coach Mark Richt at Georgia, who left for the same position at Miami.^[15][16] Missouri promoted defensive coordinator Barry Odom to head coach to replace long-time coach Gary Pinkel who resigned at the end of the season.^[17] Former Florida head coach Will Muschamp was hired to replace long-time head coach Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, who resigned halfway through the season.^[18] Muschamp had spent the previous season as defensive coordinator at Auburn.

After losing to Auburn in dramatic fashion and falling to 2–2 for the first time since 2001, LSU fired head coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron on September 25, 2016. During his 11+ seasons as head coach, Miles led the Tigers through one of the most successful periods in school history during which they averaged nearly 10 wins per season, won the 2008 BCS Championship and appeared in the 2011 Championship Game, won 2 SEC titles, appeared in the post-season each year with 7 bowl victories, signed 9 top 10 recruiting classes, and had 69 players drafted by the NFL. Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.^[19]

Note: All stats shown are before the beginning of the season.

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	SEC record
Alabama	Nick Saban	10	191–60–1	100–18	57–12
Arkansas	Bret Bielema	4	86–44	18–20	7–17
Auburn	Gus Malzahn	4	36–16	27–13	13–11
Florida	Jim McElwain	2	32–20	10–4	7–1
Georgia	Kirby Smart	1	0–0	0–0	0–0
Kentucky	Mark Stoops	4	12–24	12–24	4–20
LSU	Les Miles	12	139–53	112–32	61–27
Ole Miss	Hugh Freeze	5	64–25	34–18	17–15
Mississippi State	Dan Mullen	8	55–35	55–35	26–30
Missouri	Barry Odom	1	0–0	0–0	0–0
South Carolina	Will Muschamp	1	28–21	0–0	0–0
Tennessee	Butch Jones	4	71–44	21–17	10–14
Texas A&M	Kevin Sumlin	5	71–33	36–16	17–15
Vanderbilt	Derek Mason	3	7–17	7–17	2–14

References:^[20][21]

Rankings

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
Alabama	AP	1 (33)	1 (54)	1 (56)	1 (50)	1 (50)	1 (53)	1 (56)	1 (60)	1 (60)	1 (60)	1 (60)	1 (61)	1 (61)	1 (61)
	C	1 (55)	1 (62)	1 (62)	1 (59)	1 (61)	1 (57)	1 (58)	1 (61)	1 (63)	1 (63)	1 (62)	1 (63)	1 (63)	1 (64)
	CFP	Not released									1	1	1	1	1
Arkansas	AP	RV		24	17	20	16	22	17	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	24	18	22	17	22	17	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released										25
Auburn	AP	RV	RV	RV		RV	RV	23	21	15	11	8	18	16	18
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	17	12	8	16	16	19
	CFP	Not released									9	9	15	13	14
Florida	AP	25	RV	23	19	23	18	18	15	14	10	22	21	13	15
	C	25	25	23	16	21	18	14	12	12	9	16	18	13	16
	CFP	Not released									11		23	15	15
Georgia	AP	18	9	16	12	25	RV	RV
	C	16	9	13	11	20	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Kentucky	AP	RV
	C
	CFP	Not released
LSU	AP	5 (1)	21	20	18	RV	RV	RV	25	19	15	19	16	25	21
	C	6	22	22	17	RV	RV	25	23	19	14	19	14	RV	21
	CFP	Not released									13	24	16		21
Mississippi State	AP
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
Missouri	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Ole Miss	AP	11	19	19	23	16	14	12	23				RV
	C	12	18	17	21	17	14	13	22	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
South Carolina	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Tennessee	AP	9	17	15	14	11	9	9	18	18	RV	RV	RV	24	RV
	C	10 (1)	14	15	12	11	9	11	19	18	RV	RV	RV	24	RV
	CFP	Not released											19	17	22
Texas A&M	AP	RV	20	17	10	9	8	6	6	9	7	10	23	22	RV
	C	RV	24	20	13	10	7	6	6	10	7	11	22	22	RV
	CFP	Not released									4	8	25
Vanderbilt	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released

Regular Season

Index to colors and formatting
Non-conference matchup; SEC member won
Non-conference matchup; SEC member lost
Conference matchup

All times Eastern time. SEC teams in bold.

Rankings reflect those of the AP poll for that week until week 10 when CFP rankings are used.

Week One

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
September 1	7:30 p.m.	Appalachian State	#9 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	SECN	W 20–13 OT	100,074	[22]
September 1	8:00 p.m.	South Carolina	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	ESPN	SCAR 13–10	30,304	[23]
September 3	12:00 p.m.	Missouri	West Virginia	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	FS1	L 11–26	60,125
September 3	12:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	SECN	L 20–21	57,075
September 3	3:30 p.m.	#16 UCLA	Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	CBS	W 31–24 OT	100,443
September 3	3:30 p.m.	#5 LSU	Wisconsin	Lambeau Field • Green Bay, WI	ABC	L 14–16	77,823
September 3	4:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech	Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	SECN	W 21–20	69,132
September 3	5:30 p.m.	#22 North Carolina	#18 Georgia	Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA	ESPN	W 33–24	75,405
September 3	7:30 p.m.	Southern Miss	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	ESPNU	L 35–44	57,230
September 3	7:30 p.m.	UMass	#25 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	SECN	W 24–7	88,121
September 3	8:00 p.m.	#20 USC	#1 Alabama	AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX	ABC	W 52–6	81,359
September 3	9:00 p.m.	#2 Clemson	Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	ESPN	L 13–19	87,451
September 5	8:00 p.m.	#11 Ole Miss	#4 Florida State	Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN	L 34–45	63,042

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Nick Chubb	Georgia	Erik McCoy	Texas A&M	Jonathan Allen	Alabama	Deatrich Wise Jr.	Arkansas	Elliott Fry	South Carolina	Jonah Williams	Alabama
Reference:[24]

Week Two

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
September 10	12:00 p.m.	Nicholls State	#9 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	SECN	W 26–24	92,746
September 10	12:00 p.m.	Prairie View A&M	#20 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	SECN	W 67–0	96,412
September 10	3:30 p.m.	WKU	#1 Alabama	Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	ESPN2	W 38–10	101,821
September 10	3:30 p.m.	Kentucky	Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	CBS	FLA 45–7	85,821
September 10	4:00 p.m.	Wofford	#19 Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	SECN	W 38–13	64,232
September 10	4:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	SECN	W 47–24	29,627
September 10	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas	#15 TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX	ESPN	W 41–38 2OT	48,091
September 10	7:00 p.m.	South Carolina	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPN2	MISS ST 27–14	57,763
September 10	7:30 p.m.	Jacksonville State	#21 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	ESPNU	W 34–13	98,389
September 10	7:30 p.m.	Arkansas State	Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	SECN	W 51–14	86,825
September 10	7:30 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	SECN	W 61–21	51,192
September 10	8:00 p.m.	Virginia Tech	#17 Tennessee	Bristol Motor Speedway • Bristol, TN	ABC	W 45–24	156,990‡

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Austin Allen	Arkansas	Dan Skipper	Arkansas	Micah Abernathy	Tennessee	A.J. Jefferson	Mississippi State	Daniel Carlson Tre'Davious White	Auburn LSU	Johnathon Johnson	Missouri
Reference:[25]

Week Three

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
September 17	12:00 p.m.	Ohio	#15 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	SECN	W 28–19	101,362
September 17	12:30 p.m.	Vanderbilt	Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ACCN	L 7–38	41,916
September 17	3:30 p.m.	#1 Alabama	#19 Ole Miss	Vaught-Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	CBS	ALA 48–43	66,176
September 17	4:00 p.m.	East Carolina	South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	SECN	W 20–15	80,384
September 17	4:00 p.m.	New Mexico State	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	SECN	W 62–42	49,669
September 17	7:00 p.m.	Mississippi State	#20 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN2	LSU 23–20	99,910
September 17	7:00 p.m.	#17 Texas A&M	Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	ESPN	TAMU 29–16	87,175
September 17	7:30 p.m.	North Texas	#23 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	ESPNU	W 32–0	86,848
September 17	7:30 p.m.	#16 Georgia	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	SECN	UGA 28–27	57,098
September 17	7:30 p.m.	Texas State	#24 Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	SECN	W 42–3	72,114

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Jalen Hurts	Alabama	Frank Ragnow	Arkansas	Justin Evans	Texas A&M	Arden Key	LSU	Eddie Jackson Josh Growden	Alabama LSU	Traveon Williams	Texas A&M
Reference:[26]

Week Four

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
September 24	12:00 p.m.	Kent State	#1 Alabama	Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	SECN	W 48–0	101,821
September 24	12:00 p.m.	#12 Georgia	#23 Ole Miss	Vaught-Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	ESPN	MISS 45–14	65,843
September 24	3:30 p.m.	#19 Florida	#14 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	CBS	TENN 38–28	102,455
September 24	3:30 p.m.	Mississippi State	UMass	Gillette Stadium • Foxboro, MA	ASN	W 47–35	13,074
September 24	4:00 p.m.	Delaware State	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	SECN	W 79–0	53,472
September 24	4:30 p.m.	Vanderbilt	WKU	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 31–30 OT	23,674
September 24	6:00 p.m.	#18 LSU	Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	ESPN	AUB 18–13	87,451
September 24	7:30 p.m.	South Carolina	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	SECN	UK 17–10	51,702
September 24	9:00 p.m.	#17 Arkansas	#10 Texas A&M	AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX	ESPN	TAMU 45–24	67,751

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Joshua Dobbs	Tennessee	Jordan Sims	Ole Miss	Armani Watts	Texas A&M	Derek Barnett Denzil Ware	Tennessee Kentucky	Daniel Carlson	Auburn	Trayveon Williams	Texas A&M
Reference:[27]

Week Five

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
October 1	12:00 p.m.	#23 Florida	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	SECN	FLA 13–6	30,565
October 1	12:00 p.m.	Alcorn State	#20 Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, AR	SECN	W 52–10	46,988
October 1	3:30 p.m.	#11 Tennessee	#25 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	CBS	TENN 34–31	92,746
October 1	3:30 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	SECN	W 58–7	84,243
October 1	4:00 p.m.	#9 Texas A&M	South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	SECN	TAMU 24–13	78,245
October 1	7:00 p.m.	Kentucky	#1 Alabama	Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	ESPN	ALA 34–6	101,821
October 1	7:00 p.m.	Memphis	#16 Ole Miss	Vaught-Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	ESPN2	W 48–28	65,889
October 1	7:30 p.m.	Missouri	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	SECN	LSU 42–7	102,071

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Derrius Guice	LSU	Dan Skipper	Arkansas	Derek Barnett	Tennessee	Daeshon Hall	Texas A&M	Dan Skipper Riley Lovingood	Arkansas Tennessee	Joshua Jacobs	Alabama
Reference:[28]

Week Six

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
October 8	12:00 p.m.	Auburn	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPN	AUB 38–14	60,102
October 8	3:30 p.m.	#9 Tennessee	#8 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	CBS	TAMU 45–38 2OT	106,248
October 8	4:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	SECN	UK 20–13	55,030
October 8	7:00 p.m.	#1 Alabama	#16 Arkansas	Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	ESPN	ALA 49–30	75,459
October 9	2:30 p.m.[a]	Georgia	South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	SECN	UGA 28–14	77,221

^{^[a]} The game between Georgia and South Carolina was rescheduled due to Hurricane Matthew; game originally scheduled for October 8 at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.^[29]

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Trevor Knight	Texas A&M	Jon Toth	Kentucky	Minkah Fitzpatrick	Alabama	Carl Lawson	Auburn	JK Scott	Alabama	Jalen Hurts Traveon Williams	Alabama Texas A&M
Reference:[30]

Week Seven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
October 14	9:15 p.m.	Mississippi State	BYU	LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	ESPN	L 21–28 2OT	62,184
October 15	12:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	SECN	VANDY 17–16	92,746
October 15	3:30 p.m.	#1 Alabama	#9 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	CBS	ALA 49–10	102,455
October 15	4:00 p.m.	Missouri	#18 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	SECN	FLA 40–14	88,825
October 15	7:00 p.m.	#12 Ole Miss	#22 Arkansas	Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	ESPN	ARK 34–30	73,786
October 15	7:30 p.m.	Southern Miss	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	SECN	W 45–10	102,164

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Rawleigh Williams III	Arkansas	Jonah Williams	Alabama	Zach Cunningham	Vanderbilt	Derek Barnett	Tennessee	Darrius Sims	Vanderbilt	Jalen Hurts	Alabama
Reference:[31]

Week Eight

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
October 22	12:00 p.m.	UMass	South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	SECN	W 34–28	73,428
October 22	3:30 p.m.	#6 Texas A&M	#1 Alabama	Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	CBS	ALA 33–14	101,821
October 22	4:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	SECN	L 45–51	52,351
October 22	6:00 p.m.	#17 Arkansas	#21 Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	ESPN	AUB 56–3	87,451
October 22	7:30 p.m.	Mississippi State	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	SECN	UK 40–38	50,414
October 22	7:30 p.m.	Tennessee State	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	ESPNU	W 35–17	31,084
October 22	9:00 p.m.	#23 Ole Miss	#25 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN	LSU 38–21	101,720

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Leonard Fournette	LSU	Alex Kozan Ethan Pocic	Auburn LSU	Jonathan Allen	Alabama	Montravius Adams	Auburn	Austin MacGinnis	Kentucky	Benny Snell, Jr.	Kentucky
Reference:[32]

Week Nine

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
October 29	12:00 p.m.	Kentucky	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	SECN	UK 35–21	50,234
October 29	3:30 p.m.	#14 Florida	Georgia	Everbank Field • Jacksonville, FL	CBS	FLA 24–10	84,681
October 29	3:30 p.m.	Samford	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	SECN	W 56–41	58,019
October 29	7:15 p.m.	#15 Auburn	Ole Miss	Vaught-Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	SECN	AUB 40–29	65,927
October 29	7:15 p.m.	#18 Tennessee	South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	ESPN2	SCAR 24–21	78,696
October 29	7:30 p.m.	New Mexico State	#9 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	ESPNU	W 52–10	99,960

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Kamryn Pettway	Auburn	Martez Ivey	Florida	Jamarcus King	South Carolina	Adrian Middleton	Kentucky	Daniel Carlson	Auburn	Benny Snell, Jr.	Kentucky
Reference:[33]

Week Ten

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
November 5	12:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	#9 Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	ESPN	AUB 23–16	87,451
November 5	12:00 p.m.	#4 Texas A&M	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	SECN	MISS ST 35–28	58,407
November 5	12:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern	Ole Miss	Vaught-Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	ESPNU	W 37–27	60,263
November 5	3:30 p.m.	#11 Florida	Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	CBS	ARK 31–10	74,432
November 5	4:00 p.m.	Missouri	South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	SECN	SCAR 31–21	73,817
November 5	4:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	SECN	W 55–0	98,343
November 5	7:30 p.m.	Georgia	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	SECN	UGA 27–24	62,507
November 5	8:00 p.m.	#1 Alabama	#13 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	CBS	ALA 10–0	102,321

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Nick Fitzgerald Rawleigh Williams III	Mississippi State Arkansas	Martinas Rankin	Mississippi State	Ryan Anderson	Alabama	Lewis Neal	LSU	JK Scott Rodrigo Blankenship	Alabama Georgia	Jake Bentley	South Carolina
Reference:[34]

Week Eleven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
November 12	12:00 p.m.	South Carolina	Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	CBS	FLA 20–7	89,614
November 12	12:00 p.m.	Mississippi State	#1 Alabama	Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	ESPN	ALA 51–3	101,821
November 12	12:00 p.m.	Kentucky	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	SECN	TENN 49–36	101,075
November 12	3:30 p.m.	#9 Auburn	Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	CBS	UGA 13–7	92,746
November 12	3:30 p.m.	Vanderbilt	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	SECN	MIZZOU 26–17	50,261
November 12	7:00 p.m.	#24 LSU	#25 Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, AR	ESPN	LSU 38–10	75,156
November 12	7:30 p.m.	Ole Miss	#8 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	SECN	MISS 29–28	104,892

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Jalen Hurts	Alabama	Martez Ivey Ethan Pocic	Florida LSU	Maurice Smith	Georgia	Charles Harris	Missouri	Gary Wunderlich	Ole Miss	Shea Patterson	Ole Miss
Reference:[35]

Week Twelve

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
November 19	12:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Lafayette	Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	SECN	W 35–21	92,746
November 19	12:00 p.m.	UTSA	#25 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	ESPNU	W 23–10	102,502
November 19[b]	1:00 p.m.	#23 Florida	#16 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	SECN	FLA 16–10	102,043
November 19	3:30 p.m.	Missouri	#19 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	CBS	TENN 63–37	101,012
November 19	4:00 p.m.	Western Carolina	South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	SECN	W 44–31	76,650
November 19	4:30 p.m.	Austin Peay	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	SECN	W 49–13	48,948
November 19	7:00 p.m.	Chattanooga	#1 Alabama	Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	ESPN2	W 31–3	101,821
November 19	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPNU	ARK 58–42	58,538
November 19	7:30 p.m.	Alabama A&M	#15 Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	SECN	W 55–0	87,451
November 19	8:00 p.m.	Ole Miss	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	SECN	VANDY 38–17	27,763

^{^[b]} The game between LSU and Florida was rescheduled from October 8 and moved from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to Tiger Stadium due to Hurricane Matthew. The two school's athletic departments agreed to buy out their respective Week 12 non-conference opponents (South Alabama, and Presbyterian) to schedule this game. As a result of playing the game in Baton Rouge, the two schools agreed to play the next two games of the series in Gainesville.^[36][37]

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Rawleigh Williams lll	Arkansas	Will Holden Dan Skipper	Vanderbilt Arkansas	David Reese	Florida	Derek Barnett	Tennessee	Eddy Pineiro	Florida	Tyrie Cleveland	Florida
Reference:[38]

Week Thirteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
November 24	7:30 p.m.	LSU	Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	ESPN	LSU 54–39	102,961
November 25	2:30 p.m.	Arkansas	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	CBS	MIZZOU 28–24	51,043
November 26	12:00 p.m.	Georgia Tech	Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	SECN	L 27–28	92,746
November 26	12:00 p.m.	Kentucky	#11 Louisville	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	ESPN	W 41–38	54,075
November 26	3:30 p.m.	#13 Auburn	#1 Alabama	Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	CBS	ALA 30–12	101,821
November 26	3:30 p.m.	Mississippi State	Ole Miss	Vaught-Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	SECN	MISS ST 55–20	66,038
November 26	7:30 p.m.	South Carolina	#4 Clemson	Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC	ESPN	L 7–56	81,542
November 26	7:30 p.m.	#17 Tennessee	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	SECN	VANDY 45–34	38,108
November 26	8:00 p.m.	#15 Florida	#14 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	ABC	L 13–31	78,342

Players of the Week

Offensive		Offensive Lineman		Defensive		Defensive Lineman		Special teams		Freshman
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
Derrius Guice Nick Fitzgerald	LSU Mississippi State	Cam Robinson	Alabama	Mike Edwards Zach Cunningham	Kentucky Vanderbilt	Marcell Frazier	Missouri	Austin MacGinnis	Kentucky	Leo Lewis	Mississippi State
Reference:[39]

SEC Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance	Reference
December 3	4:00 p.m.	#1 Alabama	#15 Florida	Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA (2016 SEC Championship Game)	CBS	ALA 54–16

References:^{[40][41][42][43]}

SEC vs other Conferences

SEC vs Power Conference matchups

This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12)^A the SEC plays in non-conference (Rankings from the AP Poll):

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Significance	Score
September 3	#20 USC	#1 Alabama	AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX	Advocare Classic	W 52–6
September 3	#2 Clemson	Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	Auburn–Clemson football rivalry	L 13–19
September 3	#22 North Carolina	#18 Georgia	Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA	Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game	W 33–24
September 3	#5 LSU	Wisconsin	Lambeau Field • Green Bay, WI	Lambeau Field College Classic	L 14–16
September 3	Missouri	West Virginia	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV		L 11–26
September 3	#16 UCLA	Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX		W 31–24 OT
September 5	#11 Ole Miss	#4 Florida State	Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL	Camping World Kickoff	L 34–45
September 10	Arkansas	#15 TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX		W 41–38 2OT
September 10	Virginia Tech	#17 Tennessee	Bristol Motor Speedway • Bristol, TN	Battle at Bristol	W 45–24
September 17	Vanderbilt	Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA		L 7–38
October 14	Mississippi State	BYU	LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT		L 21–28 2OT
November 26	#13 Florida	#15 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	Florida–Florida State football rivalry	L 13–31
November 26	Georgia Tech	Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate	L 27–28
November 26	Kentucky	#11 Louisville	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	Governor's Cup	W 41–38
November 26	South Carolina	#4 Clemson	Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC	Battle of the Palmetto State	L 7–56

^A The SEC recognizes independents Army, BYU and Notre Dame as power five teams for scheduling purposes.^[44]

Records against non-conference opponents

Bowl games

(Rankings from final CFP Poll; All times Eastern)

Date	Time	Bowl Game	Site	TV	SEC Team	Opponent	Result
January 2, 2017	8:30 PM	Sugar Bowl (New Year's Six)	Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LA	ESPN
January 2, 2017	1:00 PM	Outback Bowl	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ABC
December 31, 2016	11:00 PM	TaxSlayer Bowl	Everbank Field • Jacksonville, FL	ESPN
December 31, 2016	11:00 PM	Citrus Bowl	Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL	ABC
December 30, 2016	3:30 PM	Music City Bowl	Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TN	ESPN
December 30, 2016	12:00 PM	Liberty Bowl	Liberty Bowl • Memphis, TN	ESPN
December 29, 2016	5:30 PM	Belk Bowl	Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC	ESPN
December 29, 2016	2:00 PM	Birmingham Bowl	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	ESPN
December 28, 2016	9:00 PM	Texas Bowl	NRG Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPN
December 26, 2016	5:00 PM	Independence Bowl	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	ESPN2

Awards & Honors

• SEC Offensive Player of the Year:
• SEC Defensive Player of the Year:
• SEC Freshman Player of the Year:
• SEC Coach of the Year:

All-SEC Teams

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Position		1st Team			2nd Team
		Player	School		Player	School
QB
RB
RB
WR
WR
TE
C
OG
OG
OT
OT
AP
DL
DL
DL
DL
LB
LB
LB
DB
DB
DB
DB
PK
P
RS

Reference:

National Award Finalists

Winners in bold

• Heisman Trophy (player of the year) –
• Walter Camp Award (player of the year) –
• Bednarik Award (best defensive player) – Jonathan Allen, Alabama; Myles Garrett, Texas A&M
• Bronko Nagurski Award (best defensive player) –
• Butkus Award (best linebacker) – Kendell Beckwith, LSU; Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt; Jarrad Davis, Florida; Reuben Foster, Alabama
• Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back) – Tre'Davious White, LSU
• John Mackey Award (best tight end) – O. J. Howard, Alabama
• Outland Trophy (best interior lineman) – Cam Robinson, Alabama
• Dave Rimington Trophy (best center) –
• Lombardi Award (best lineman/linebacker) –
• Lou Groza Award (best kicker) – Daniel Carlson, Auburn
• Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete) – Trevor Knight, Texas A&M

Reference:

All-Americans

• HB –
• HB –
• TE –
• OL –
• OL –
• DL –
• DL –
• DL –
• LB –
• LB –
• DB –
• DB –
• DB –
• P –
• AP –
• AP –
• AP –

References:

Home game attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium	101,821[45]	101,821	101,821	101,821	101,821	101,821	101,821	101,821	–	712,747	101,821	100.00%
Arkansas	Razorback Stadium	72,000[46]	69,132	72,114	46,988B	75,459	73,786	74,432	75,156	–	487,067	69,581	100.19%
Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium	87,451[47]	87,451	86,825	87,175	87,451	84,243	87,451	87,451	87,451	695,498	86,937	99.41%
Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	88,548[48]	88,121	85,821	86,848	88,825	89,614	–	–	–	439,229	87,846	99.21%
Georgia	Sanford Stadium	92,746[49]	92,746	92,746	92,746	92,746	92,746	92,746	–	–	556,476	92,746	100.00%
Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium	61,000[50]	57,230	49,669	51,702	55,030	50,414	62,507	48,948	–	375,500	53,643	87.94%
LSU	Tiger Stadium	102,321[51]	98,389	99,910	102,071	102,164	101,720	102,321	102,043	–	708,627	101,232	98.94%
Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium	61,337[52]	57,075	57,763	60,102	58,019	58,407	58,538	–	–	350,904	58,484	95.35%
Missouri	Faurot Field	71,168[53]	51,192	57,098	53,472	52,351	50,234	50,261	51,043	–	365,651	52,236	73.40%
Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium	64,038[54]	64,232	66,176	65,843	65,889	65,927	60,263	66,038	–	454,368	64,910	101.36%
South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium	80,250[55]	80,384	78,245	77,221	73,428	78,696	73,817	76,650	–	538,441	76,920	95.85%
Tennessee	Neyland Stadium	102,455[56]	100,074	101,362	102,455	102,455	98,343	101,075	101,012	–	706,776	100,968	98.55%
Texas A&M	Kyle Field	102,733[57]	100,443	96,412	106,248	99,960	104,892	102,502	102,961	–	713,418	101,917	99.21%
Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium	40,550[58]	30,304	29,627	30,565	31,084	27,763	38,108	–	–	187,451	31,242	77.05%

^B Game played at Arkansas' secondary home stadium War Memorial Stadium, capacity: 54,120.^[59]

Attendance for neutral site games:

• September 3 – Alabama vs. USC, AT&T Stadium: 81,359
• September 3 – Georgia vs. North Carolina, Georgia Dome: 75,405
• September 3 – LSU vs. Wisconsin, Lambeau Field: 77,823
• September 3 – Ole Miss vs. Florida State, Camping World Stadium: 63,042
• September 10 – Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech, Bristol Motor Speedway: 156,990^‡
• September 24 – Arkansas vs. Texas A&M, AT&T Stadium: 67,751
• October 29 – Florida vs. Georgia, EverBank Field: 84,681

^‡ – Current NCAA record for largest attendance to a collegiate football game.

Reference:^[60]

References