By Chris Marler
Somehow we are almost at the end of October. While the last several weeks seemed to have ended with more questions than answers, October 19 delivered plenty of answers as well as entertainment.
Eight weeks have gone by, and here’s where we currently are in the SEC: Texas A&M leads the conference standings. Alabama has two losses before November for the first time in 17 years, and Vandy is not only 5-2 but ranked for the first time in over a decade.
Here’s where everyone stands in my Week 9 rankings…
- SEC Refs
I’m kidding. But, they clearly want to get involved in every game, moment, and significant play every Saturday, so maybe we should throw them a bone?
- Georgia
It feels very clear that Georgia is not only the best team in the conference, but if it weren’t for a bad 30 minutes in Tuscaloosa, they would hands down be considered the best team in America. There are still some things they need to clean up, but going into Austin, beating a No. 1 ranked team and holding them to zero points and 38 total yards in the first half was vintage Kirby Smart and Georgia. God help everyone else.
- LSU
If it feels like a bold move to drop Texas past the Tigers, then hear me out? What do we actually know about Texas? They fell on their face in the one game they played anyone with a pulse. LSU, on the other hand, just went to Fayetteville to face a rival who had a week off to prepare and beat them by 24. This team is a bad fourth quarter in Vegas from being undefeated.
- Texas
The offense has a lot of questions to answer after their performance against Georgia. However, the defense played championship caliber football the full 60 minutes. Good luck in Nashville against Vanderbilt, though.
- Tennessee
Full disclosure, I think Ole Miss should be ahead of Tennessee on this list, but at the same time the results have to matter. Tennessee has a more impressive resumé than the Rebels, and they now have a win over a Top 10 team to add to that.
- Ole Miss
Ole Miss finally took their bye week seven weeks into the season. Finally, they got to experience two things that every other SEC team has this season – some much needed rest, and a front row seat to watching chaos in the conference for every team but their own.
- Vanderbilt
They struggled with Ball State but got the win. And again, results have to matter on the field, so at the very least they deserve to be ahead of Alabama. The Commodores are 5-2 on the season and just one win from bowl eligibility. They’re also ranked for the first time since 2013, just in time for Texas to come to town. Fun fact, Vanderbilt has the best all-time record against Texas of any SEC school in history at 8-3-1. Crazier things have happened. Right?
- Alabama
What the hell happened in that locker room at halftime of the Georgia game? Since that win, which looks more and more like a miracle every day by the way, Alabama is 1-2 with a two-point win against three loss South Carolina. Someone on Twitter said last week that the biggest upset of this season was never Vanderbilt beating Alabama but rather Alabama somehow beating Georgia. That feels truer by the minute.
- Texas A&M
Survive and advance from Starkville is about all you can expect sometimes, so I won’t hold the 10-point win over their heads too much. This weekend we get to see how far along the Aggies really are when they host LSU. Side note, did we all overlook how easy this year’s schedule was for the Aggies? They got every tough game imaginable at home, but I digress.
- South Carolina
They were the better team going into Norman, and they damn sure were the better team leaving there. South Carolina beat Oklahoma in every phase of the game to improve to 4-3. Coming into this season, Shane Beamer was 2-10 in road games against SEC opponents. This season he is 2-1 with two wins by over 25 points and the one loss being on the road against Alabama. Talk about turning a corner in Columbia.
- Missouri
A helluva win for Missouri on homecoming over Auburn. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. The Tigers became just the second team in the last 20 years to beat Auburn after Auburn led by 14 or more points in the second half of a game. Brady Cook was phenomenal in the last 17 minutes, coming back from injury. His 17-play, 95-yard drive to win it was the stuff of legend in Columbia, Missouri.
- Florida
Gator fans have been insufferable this season calling for Billy Napier’s job. He responded once again with a huge win despite being a home underdog. The Gators destroyed Kentucky, 48-20, behind backup true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway and backup running back Jadan Baugh. The freshman, Baugh, had five touchdowns, and Lagway had 259 yards passing on just 14 attempts. The Gators have won three of their last four and are now just two wins away from bowl eligibility.
The Bottom Five
- Arkansas
- Auburn
- Mississippi State
- Kentucky
- Oklahoma
