State of the SEC – Week 7
The SEC is full of surprises this year. Mississippi State and Kentucky might be the biggest ones, however. PHOTO: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
Just when you thought the SEC couldn’t get any crazier, Mississippi State did something they’ve never done in school history. After the Bulldogs handed Auburn a decisive 38-23 loss, Mississippi State vaulted past Florida State to claim the No. 1 spot in this week’s AP Poll for the first time in school history.
Before we get started, here’s the updated SEC standings after Week 7:
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The state of Mississippi continues to be the epicenter of college football, as Ole Miss dominated Texas A&M in a 35-20 rout that wasn’t anywhere as close as the score suggested. The two Mississippi schools are a combined 12-0 and 6-0 in the SEC.
The two Alabama schools, however, have fallen behind the Bulldogs and Rebels. As previously mentioned, Auburn fell to Mississippi State, and Alabama barely escaped Fayetteville with a 14-13 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks that required the Crimson Tide to intercept a pass with less than 2 minutes to go to seal the victory.
Speaking of escaping, how about that LSU-Florida game? Both the Tigers and Gators did everything they could to lose the game, but ultimately LSU prevailed 30-27 on a Colby Delahoussaye 50-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining after Florida QB Jeff Driskell tossed an interception on the Gator’s previous possession.
Gators’ coach Will Muschamp’s seat just got even hotter after this one.
The Gators were in prime position to make some noise in the East, but instead it was the Georgia Bulldogs who drew the attention on Saturday. Even without Heisman candidate running back Todd Gurley, the Bulldogs ran all over Missouri in a 34-0 victory.
Freshman Nick Chubb filled in nicely for Gurley (who is suspended indefinitely amidst an NCAA investigation), carrying the ball a career-high 38 times for 143 yards and a score. Georgia also limited Missouri’s QB Maty Mauk to only 97 yards passing and forced him to commit 5 turnovers (4 interceptions and a fumble), making him look less like a future Heisman hopeful and more like an FCS quarterback in over his head.
And don’t look now, but Kentucky is 5-1 and second in the SEC East. After spotting UL Monroe a 14-3 lead, the Wildcats scored 45 unanswered points and won by a score of 48-14. One reason Kentucky struggled early was because they only converted 1-of-12 third down attempts on the day, but Mark Stoops and his staff will take the win.
Kentucky is now just a win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2010. The Tennessee Volunteers would love to be in their position, and they were able to move a little closer to the 6 win plateau with an easy 45-10 victory over Chattanooga on homecoming.
The one SEC team that is not destined to make it to a bowl game is Vanderbilt, and they showed why again on Saturday, squeaking out a 21-20 victory over FCS opponent Charleston Southern. While the Buccaneers were an undefeated team heading into this matchup, Vandy’s inability to score and win against an FCS program highlights their struggles on the season.
In Vanderbilt’s two wins against Massachussettes and Charleston Southern, they have won by a combined 4 points. In their 5 losses, they have been outscored by an average of 23.8 points. Their closest loss: A 17-7 affair with Kentucky.
There’s a reason Vanderbilt is at the bottom of the SEC.
Analysis
Now that the SEC season is completely underway, teams are starting to beat up on one another and knock each other out of the polls. After Week 7, six SEC teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.
1. Mississippi State
3. Ole Miss
6. Auburn
7. Alabama
10. Georgia
21. Texas A&M
The SEC still has 5 teams in the top 10 and two in the top 3, but Texas A&M has plummeted after two consecutive losses, and Missouri was knocked out after the brutal loss to Georgia.
As it stands right now, Georgia looks to be the favorite to win the East. If Todd Gurley is out for a significant period of time, however, that could quickly change. Sure, Chubb was admirable against Missouri, but the Bulldogs can only do so much without their best player.
As for the West, well, it’s anyone’s guess at this point. The Egg Bowl (Ole Miss vs. Mississippi St.) and the Iron Bowl (Alabama vs. Auburn) look like they will be the deciding factors still, but those games won’t be played till the end of the regular season.
Plenty can still happen between now and then, as Arkansas looks dead-set on upsetting someone’s hopes of winning the West, and LSU and Texas A&M are capable of winning any game remaining on their schedule. The East is still just as undecided, and it truly looks like the SEC is as wide open as it has been in quite some time.