Sometimes even the SEC needs a break. After two consecutive weekends of chaos — Alabama, Georgia and Texas all going down in Week 7, Ole Miss and Tennessee getting upset in Week 8 — order was (briefly) restored on Saturday.
In the conference's lone ranked-on-ranked matchup of Week 9, Georgia exorcised some demons, manhandling Florida and proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the home loss to Auburn two weeks ago was little more than a fluke. Ole Miss, too, had no problems, dropping the clutch on Auburn in the second half of a 30-point win. Ho hum.
The only eyebrow-raiser of the afternoon came in Norman, where the suddenly scorching hot South Carolina Gamecocks kept it rolling with a commanding win over Oklahoma. Shane Beamer's team has likely locked itself out of the SEC title game thanks to three early losses, but how much noise can they make down the stretch? And which program looks like the one to beat as the season hits its home stretch?
Updated SEC power rankings as title favorites emerge in Week 9
- Georgia Bulldogs (7-1)
- Kentucky Wildcats (7-1)
- LSU Tigers (6-2)
- Ole Miss Rebels (6-2)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2)
- Tennessee Volunteers (6-2)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (5-3)
- Missouri Tigers (5-2)
- Texas Longhorns (5-2)
- Florida Gators (5-3)
- Auburn Tigers (4-4)
- Oklahoma Sooners (4-4)
- Texas A&M Aggies (4-4)
- Arkansas Razorbacks (3-4)
- Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-3)
- Vanderbilt Commodores (3-5)
Georgia once again looks like the SEC's team to beat
Yes, losing at home to Auburn is never a good look. But that was as fluky an upset as you'll find, one that required three turnovers to pull off; add in the fact that it came one week after a slugfest win over Alabama, and we can extend Kirby Smart a mulligan.
Especially considering just how impressive the Dawgs have looked otherwise. Georgia has one of the best wins of any team in the country so far, surviving in Tuscaloosa, and they've been pretty much untouchable otherwise. This is a typically physical, nasty defense, and with Gunner Stockton making real strides as a down-field passer, the sky is the limit.
Is LSU the best of the two-loss contenders?
Kentucky is the only other one-loss team remaining in the conference, which will remain true for at least another week with Will Stein's Cats on a bye. But let's be honest: As good a story as this team has been, they've been getting away with it a bit, including consecutive one-point wins at the gun and getting pushed to the limit by Oklahoma last weekend.
And from there, we're left with a pile of two-loss teams, any one of which could feasibly be hoisting the trophy in Atlanta in a few weeks' time. Missouri needs to bring it against one of the SEC elite to earn the benefit of the doubt, and Texas has been downright schizophrenic. And among LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama and Tennessee, the Tigers are the team I have the most faith in right now — as queasy as that makes me.
Yes, Rebels fans, I remember what happened when these two teams met back in September. But that was a long time ago, and whole different version of Sam Leavitt ago. If the strides he's made in the pocket are real, and LSU can continue its defensive growth under Blake Baker, their ceiling is easily the highest of any non-Georgia team in the league. This roster is that good, and I still don't quite trust Ole Miss' defense (or Alabama's offensive line, or Tennessee's quarterback situation) no matter how electric Trinidad Chambliss is.
Don't sleep on South Carolina as a College Football Playoff contender
Atlanta is a long shot; South Carolina already has three conference losses, two of which came against Alabama and Kentucky, meaning they'd lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Tide and Wildcats. But this team is playing as well as anyone right now, and after a dominant win at Oklahoma on Saturday — their third straight after a three-game losing streak — everything else is on the table.
Yes, even a Playoff berth. South Carolina shouldn't have much trouble with Texas A&M at home and road trips to Arkansas and Clemson. That just leaves a massive home date with Georgia on Nov. 21. Find a way to pull the upset there, and the selection committee will have a hard time keeping you out at 9-3 with a victory over the Dawgs.
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