Eight of the fourteen member institutions of the Southeastern Conference find themselves in different spots in this week’s rankings. The changes mostly occur in the bottom half, where anybody could be anywhere. Really, after LSU, anybody could be anywhere on any given week. But these rankings are true because they analyze the whole season and how each team is trending, not what we just saw. YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHERE I HAVE AUBURN.
1. LSU (7-0)
The Purple Tigers, like they’ve done most of the year (at least since beating Auburn), looked beatable and played down to their competition for a half or so. But in the end, they are still undefeated.
(Last Week: #1, beat Western Kentucky 48-20)
2. Alabama (7-1)
And now we begin the list of teams that could probably be anywhere. Selling a game as a big rivalry doesn’t change the fact that Alabama needed a last minute touchdown to beat a now 4-loss team.
(Last week: #2, beat Tennessee 19-14)
3. Florida (6-1)
Florida has gone from barely winning, to beatdowns of good teams, to losing their quarterback, to hanging with the SEC’s best team. The rest of the season will tell their tale, but for now they are near the top just because who else should be?
(Last week: #3, Bye)
4. Ole Miss (6-2)
Ole Miss moved up two spots because they still control their own destiny. In the SEC, they have one loss. In the SEC, they’ve beaten two of the top 5 teams. But in the SEC, they were also blown out by Florida. It will take some stuff to get them above this spot.
(Last Week: #6, beat Texas A&M 23-3)
5. Texas A&M (5-2)
This is a very, very generous spot for the Aggies. As the season goes on, it appears that they will be dropping swiftly. There are quarterback, team, and coaching problems in College Station.
(Last week: #4, lost to Ole Miss 23-3)
6. Mississippi State (6-2)
The maroon Bulldogs are about where they’ll be all year. They aren’t bad, they aren’t good, and they probably aren’t going to move too much, unless it’s down.
(Last week: #5, beat Kentucky 42-16)
7. Auburn (4-3)
No I will not drop Auburn for losing a SEC road game in 4 OTs. In fact, after what I saw, it’s wrong that I didn’t move them up. I just can’t with the loss to Mississippi State right above them.
(Last Week #7, lost to Arkansas 54-46)
8. Georgia (5-2)
The Dawgs appear to be a lot like Texas A&M. They have no offense with the loss of Nick Chubb. Florida will beat them this weekend and the spiral will begin.
(Last Week: #8, Bye)
9. Arkansas (3-4)
Arkansas just beat Auburn at home in 4 OTs. A win in 4 OTs is a win. But it’s not a defining win. Somebody had to win. These rankings are a full season assessment, and Auburn is moving up, while Arkansas hasn’t overcome four losses in their first six games. Sorry.
(Last week: #12, beat Auburn 54-46)
10. Tennessee (3-4)
I would have Tennessee higher, but they match Arkansas in number of losses, and Arkansas beat the Vols a few weeks back. It’s still somehow too early to tell where they’ll end up.
(Last week: #10, lost to Alabama 19-14)
11. Kentucky (4-3)
The Wildcats have been relegated to their normal spot in any SEC rankings after being blown out by Mississippi State. It was fun while it lasted. But hey, it’s almost basketball season.
(Last week: #11, lost to Mississippi State 42-16)
12. South Carolina (3-4)
What can you say about South Carolina? Really… what can you say?
(Last week: #13, Bye)
13. Vanderbilt (3-4)
But really, what can you say about the Commodores? They are officially not the worst team in the SEC. That doesn’t make them any better than what they were, but…
(Last week: #14, beat Missouri 10-3)
14. Missouri (4-4)
…Missouri is just bad. They suspended Maty Mauk and have since been atrocious on offense. The Tigers are what we expected when they joined the SEC. It just took a few years.
(Last week: #10, lost to Vanderbilt 10-3)
1 comment
Hard to take this serious.