State of the SEC – Week 8
The SEC West just got a whole lot scarier Saturday thanks to Alabama returning to its dominant ways. PHOGO: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
All things have a way of righting themselves, and the SEC, for the most part, did just that on Saturday. Teams who had surprised early and those who had disappointed more or less returned to form Saturday as some of the murky waters began to clear a little.
Here are your updated SEC standings after Week 8:
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Let’s start at the top. The top of the SEC East, anyway.
Georgia became the first SEC East team to defeat a West opponent when they dispatched Arkansas 45-32 Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville. With the victory, the Bulldogs take a commanding lead in the East over 2nd place Missouri. And they hold the tie-breaker over the Tigers.
What makes all of this even more impressive is the fact that Georgia is winning, and winning decisively, without running back Todd Gurley. Freshman RB Nick Chubb had an all-time great performance against Arkansas, becoming the first Bulldog freshman to rush for 200 yards since 1987.
Speaking of Missouri, how about their performance against the Florida Gators? The Tigers followed up an embarrassing 34-0 loss to Georgia last weekend with a stellar 42-13 rout of the Gators, but they didn’t win by piling up yards.
In fact, Missouri’s offense looked terrible against Florida, managing only 119 yards of total offense and committing 11 penalties for 74 yards. Tigers QB Maty Mauk looked dreadful, completing only 6-of-18 passes for 20 yards and an interception.
How did the Tigers win, then? They won thanks to 4 return touchdowns (a kick, punt, fumble, and interception return), and it all started with Marcus Murphy returning the opening kick 96-yards for a score. All in all, the Gators committed 6 turnovers and found themselves playing musical chairs with their quarterbacks.
A chorus of “fire Muschamp” could be heard from the Florida fans in Gainesville, and with good reason. In the last decade, 96 teams have managed less than 140 yards of total offense. Only two of those teams have won the game in which they did so, and both of those victories came against the Muschamp-led Gators.
If Muschamp’s seat was hot before, it has to be on fire now.
In the West, Alabama responding to critics with a 59-0 thrashing over Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide led 45-0 at the half and scored on their first 8 possessions of the game. They out-gained the Aggies 602-172 and never committed a penalty.
After a 23-17 loss to Ole Miss and a closer-than-expected 14-13 victory over Arkansas, Crimson Tide fans were beginning to become restless. Nick Saban’s team responded on Saturday with their most complete performance of the season, looking very much like the Championship Crimson Tide teams Saban coached in the late 2000’s.
Meanwhile, Texas AM continues their SEC slide, losing their 3rd straight game in the conference. They’ve been outscored 142-51 during that stretch, and their defense has reverted back to its 2013 form.
LSU shut down Kentucky and ended most of the speculation of the Wildcats winning the East with a decisive 41-3 victory in Baton Rouge Saturday night. The Tigers held Kentucky to 217 yards of total offense and never let them gain momentum.
The Ole Miss Rebels and South Carolina Gamecocks took care of business, as Ole Miss ran away with a 34-3 victory against Tennessee and South Carolina torched Furman for a 41-10 win.
Analysis
After Florida State’s questionable 31-27 victory over then No. 5 Notre Dame and Alabama’s annihilation of Texas A&M, the SEC was able to do something no conference has before: Place four teams into the top 5 of the AP Poll.
The states of Mississippi and Alabama can rejoice for now, as they have four of the country’s top 5 teams after Saturday’s match-ups. Here are all the SEC teams currently ranked:
1. Mississippi State
3. Ole Miss
4. Alabama
5. Auburn
9. Georgia
24. LSU
The SEC has five teams in the top 10 and six ranked teams overall. Of those six, five are from the West, including the four in the top 5. Missouri and Texas A&M were the only other SEC teams to receive votes.
Georgia now seems like the odds-on favorite to win the East, while it still remains to be seen who will be triumphant in the West. Mississippi State and Ole Miss both have plenty of tough tests remaining, as do Alabama and Auburn. It still will likely come down to the last weekend of the season when each in-state team will square off against each other when Alabama takes on Auburn and Mississippi State goes against Ole Miss.