Alabama and Georgia keep rolling: Week 9 SEC Rankings

After Georgia whipped Florida like a buzzsaw in Jacksonville, costing Gators’ head coach Jim McElwain, the amount of people who asked the question increased hundredfold: “Are the Bulldogs the best team in the country?”

It’s important to ask the bigger question: “Are the Bulldogs the best team in the SEC, let alone the country?”

So here we go with our Post-Week 9 SEC Rankings:

  1. Alabama: The Crimson Tide has done nothing wrong this season, and a wins over LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn should further the ‘best team in the SEC’ rankings. Nick Saban’s on his usual rant about not listening to rankings – like the College Football Play-Off one that comes out today – but you can bet he’s checking them out.
  2. Georgia: Kirby Smart went off on a Saban-like  rant about not listening to the College Football Play-Off Committee, and you can bet he’s listening to. The Bulldogs have got the best win between themselves and Alabama (who would have known how terrible Florida State is from then to now?). But outside of that, the Dawgs defense and superb running combo of Chubb and Michel make Georgia one of the top two teams in our rankings.
  3. LSU: LSU has performed well since the Troy upset, going 3-0 and beating Auburn in the process. We’re not sure that Ed Orgeron has taught his Tigers to play all four quarters, though. They’ll need all four if they are to have a hope against Alabama.
  4. Auburn: The Tigers’ excellent defense will get tested at Texas A&M, and we’ll get an eye to whether they can survive the upcoming clashes with Georgia and Alabama.
  5. Mississippi State: Nick Fitzgerald really is a good quarterback, and Dan Mullen really is a good coach. Mississippi State fans would be ecstatic if Mullen stays – especially with some bigger jobs coming to call.
  6. Texas A&M: Getting beaten at home by Mississippi State isn’t the problem. It’s looking as bad as the Aggies did in the process that’s the problem.
  7. South Carolina: If surviving Vanderbilt is a ‘thing’ for South Carolina, then things are OK in Columbia. We’re still not entirely sure about the Gamecocks, but they seem to be rebounding nicely from the loss of Deebo Samuel.
  8. Kentucky: Kentucky is bowl eligble! Go Mark Stoops!
  9. Missouri: Drew Lock and THAT offense have all the momentum right now. Remember, they threw all over Georgia in the first half in Athens. The problem is the defense. But if they can get an unlikely stop, then Missouri may cause some trouble to Florida and Tennessee in the East.
  10. Florida: Directionless, and now head coach-less, the Florida Gators are spinning downwards at a rate of knots. The Florida State game in Gainseville should be a $5 Stubhub ticket. Booze, weed, smelling salts and maybe some acid will be supplied just to make everyone forget about the game.
  11. Arkansas: A fantastic comeback at Ole Miss showed that the Hogs have guts that we didn’t think they had. Could this result have saved Bret Bielema’s job?
  12. Ole Miss: They’ve thrown in the towel now, and it’s not pretty. Unlike a tailgate in Oxford.
  13. Vanderbilt: Great guts against South Carolina, but this team keeps on losing. It hasn’t recovered from the battering against Bama.
  14. Tennessee: Couches were burned when news emerged that Butch Jones HADN’T been fired in Knoxville. Now there’s an ‘Empty Neyland’ campaign, in an effort to show Vols’ fans rage against Jones by not showing up for the home game against Southern Miss. Ironically, the stadium would probably have been 50% full anyway.