We’re officially past the halfway point of the season and things are starting to take more shape. I think we have a little better idea of who these teams are, but an awful lot can still happen the second half of the season. Through 8 weeks, we have EIGHT teams with only one conference loss or less. A lot of this will work itself out with some key head to head matchups on the way…some this coming weekend. It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve put together the Power Poll (sorry, had some travel obligations), so time to re-rack everyone and see where things stand. Enjoy!
- Alabama – Yep, they’re still on top and look to be hitting their stride. Like Georgia, this isn’t the typical Bama juggernaut that beats teams a week before kickoff…there are a handful of teams in the conference that can beat Bama on a good day. Unfortunately, Tennessee gave Bama a 14-point swing gift at the end of the first half and that was that. Take a look at the final score and consider that 14-point swing…game could’ve looked a lot different. Doesn’t matter…they’ve been the best team in the conference since their trip to Athens.
- Georgia – If we were doing the “Most Entertaining” power poll, Georgia is #1 without question. Our games are starting to resemble a 15 round Rocky vs. Drago fight. We may not be dominant and I don’t know if we’ll ever put together a complete game (you know, those things when both the offense and defense play well in the same contest…we used to be pretty good at it), but we seem to keep winning and have a couple of impressive scalps to our credit. Good time for an off week.
- Texas A&M – How is the lone undefeated team in the conference only #3 in this poll. After all, they’re #3 in the entire country. Maybe I’m an idiot…my wife would substantiate this claim. Or, maybe Texas A&M has had all the stars align thus far? Let’s take a look at their season. The Notre Dame win on the road is now aging nicely. My only issue with A&M is all their conference wins were at home…until this weekend when they barely got by a 2-5 (0-3) Arkansas team on the road. But that’s all good, they can make me look like an idiot by beating LSU on the road this weekend. I’m going to go ahead and call the upset…A&M drops one to the Tigers this weekend.
- Ole Miss – That offense is legit and the Laner is a great coach. Though Spurrier will never be replaced as the most fun coach to beat, Lane Kiffin shares some of those same Spurrier qualities and traits that make beating his teams a hell of a lot of fun. Another tough road trip to Oklahoma this weekend, but if they get through that one…the road to the CFP looks very promising. They might want to thing about getting at least some sort of a run defense, but maybe this is just how they choose to roll.
- Vanderbilt – The pimps from Nashville continue to hang around the upper echelon of the conference. The LSU win last week is the brightest spot on their resume so far. Big showdown with Missouri this weekend, which feels like a CFP elimination game, and Gameday will be on hand. Let me say that again…Week 9 Gameday will be in Nashville for Vanderbilt/Missouri and there are CFP implications on the line. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
- Missouri – Very similar resume to Vanderbilt…home loss to Bama and some solid wins, but nothing against a ranked opponent (Vandy has the LSU win and they are still in the Top 25…so they got the nod). Barely survived against Auburn on the road, probably should have lost…but hey, that’s what Auburn does. If I had to put money on it, I think Missouri goes down this weekend, but should be a close one.
- Oklahoma – Considering how bad Texas looked against Kentucky, that loss in the Red River Shootout is not doing them any favors. Nice rebound with a solid win over a Gamecock team that gets worse every hour. Will be a very interesting game this week against Ole Miss. Does Ole Miss respond to their first loss and play well on the road? Does Oklahoma have enough offensive fire power to keep up with Ole Miss offense? Can’t believe they gave Oklahoma a 12:00 p.m. kickoff for this game…would be very pissed if I were a Sooners fan.
- Tennessee – What could’ve been for the Vols. Looked like they would go into halftime down only 2 points…throw a Pick 6 to end the half and down 16 points. They still have opportunities on the schedule to improve their resume…Oklahoma and Vanderbilt both at home. No more margin for error if they want to make the CFP. I could see the Florida game in Gainesville being a tricky contest that might surprise them. These guys are hell at home, purgatory-ish on the road.
- LSU – It’s “do it” time for Brian Kelly. Absolutely have to win this weekend at home against the Aggies, or the season gets completely derailed…that’s why I’m calling the LSU victory. That said, they follow that up with a trip to Bama…tough draw. Final game of the regular season is at Oklahoma…I guess I’m saying LSU has a couple more losses on that schedule. In retrospect, can LSU claim a proud victory at this point in the season? It’s not Clemson. It’s not South Carolina. It’s not Florida. I’m going to need a money line on Brian Kelly’s potential firing at the conclusion of this season.
- Texas – How these guys only have 2 losses is amazing. The Oklahoma win was a bit of a surprise, but the performance against Kentucky was as ugly of a win as you’ll ever see. I’d love to see them dump one to MSU this weekend to completely kill hope for their season…don’t want them to have any confidence or anything to play for when they come to Athens. Did anyone’s bingo card have Texas as the 10th best team in the conference at the midseason point?
- Florida – Could have easily lost to MSU this weekend, but MSU copied Miami and gagged away an opportunity to win the game…imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. How telling is it that Florida fans were booing Napier for winning a conference game? Well, they got their wish with Napier being released. How the mighty have fallen. We’re living in some pretty special times when Vanderbilt is competing for a spot in the CFP while the Florida program feels completely lost in the bottom half of the conference…and searching for a new head coach in the middle of the season.
- Mississippi State – The 0-3 conference record should merit a worse place on this list, but a close Tennessee loss, combined with games on the road against A&M and Florida is a pretty tough slate, no? They had every opportunity to beat the Gators on the road and pissed it away. These guys are not a bad team…they’re a tough out. Could easily see them beating Texas this weekend at home.
- Arkansas – They’re 0-3 in the conference and have only won 2 games this season…why are they the best of the bottom quartile? Have you seen who they’ve had to play? The Notre Dame loss was bad…OK, total ass kicking. But, the 3 conference losses have been to Ole Miss, Tennessee and A&M…all by a total of 12 points. These guys don’t suck, they just can’t finish.
- Auburn – See above…I don’t think Auburn is a bad team…they just can’t play a complete game and finish off an opponent. The defense is very good, maybe great. The offense is, well…less than desired. All of their conference losses were very close, and to excellent competition. I almost feel sorry for them…almost.
- South Carolina – These guys are pretty much a mess…and the next three games can only be classified as BRUTAL. The Gamecocks are flirting with a 4 win season after being a Top 15 preseason team. If Dylan Stewart wants to hit the portal, I know a spot for him.
- Kentucky – Is it basketball season yet?
Go Dawgs!
Arkansas can’t quit handing out turnovers in buckets like it’s 10 pm on Halloween night. With some semblance of a defense and putting a plug in the turnover machine, they could beat anyone in the conference. They have LSU, Missouri, and Texass at the end of the season, and I’d imagine they’ll upset at least one of those teams, if not more than one.
Ole Miss won’t score 5 TDs on their first 5 possessions this week. The OU defense is stout. Not sure how Mateer is doing but it wouldn’t surprise me to see OU win.
Also, I’m not looking forward to going to Starkvegas. Trap game.
Venerables is a D Coach like Kirby.
God I hate texass.
Moe -You like Texas more today than you ever will.
I got this feeling that Dawgs and ‘Bama are on a collision course for a rematch, either in the SECCG or the playoff.
The only way I would want to see us in the SECCG is if we have 2+ losses and we need to win it to make the CFP. If we win out, I would be perfectly to have us sitting in 3rd place behind an undefeated aTm and Bama. We’d still get in the CFP, probably host a 1st round game, and give this walking wounded team an extra week of rest.
This sucks they’ve ruined everything to make this the best approach but you’re correct. Winning the SECCG is losing it’s luster fast.
Great ranking. I agree with all 16 teams give or take one or two. I think Ole Miss and Miss State win this weekend.
I.may be using past performance against A&M but I can see them losing 3 games beginning this weekend. I also think Oklahoma has a bad offense and while the defense is good some.of that is due to who they have played.
The Dawgs have a hard row ahead but Gunner gives me great confidence in the offense and I am seeing us get better every week. I watched the game last night after being in Sanford Saturday and from tv we played a lot better on defense than what my lying eyes told me there in person during the 2d half.