After Week 9: Still trying to work out the top of the SEC…
Even more annoying than Gary Danielson’s voice, the CBS break-f0r-advert music, and SEC’s non-understanding of the holding law on Saturday was trying to work out – some hours after the dust had settled – who in the hell was the best team in the SEC.
LSU’s offense had been stymied by Auburn, but still did enough to win (if Auburn had had any offense, this article might be different). Alabama destroyed Arkansas…….but it was Arkansas.
At the bottom, it’s easier. Arkansas is the bum of the division, and might well be one of the worst Power-5 teams in the country (CONFIDENT BET: They would beat Rutgers).
I also went 4-1 straight-up this week, only missing out on Missouri’s abysmal performance against Kentucky.
Anyway, so here we go.
- LSU (8-0): The Tigers struggled, held, bashed, and got it done against Auburn. LSU wasn’t brilliant, but they weren’t terrible. The offensive line gave Joe Burrow enough time to throw for 32 completions in 42 attempts, and for 376 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.
- Alabama (8-0): No Tua, no problem. The Tide whacked a horrible Arkansas team. The lightshow beforehand spurred Nick Saban’s passionate comments beforehand, although there was some annoyance that the lightshow was still going when Arkansas was trying to get a snap put together.
- Florida (6-1): The Gators chomped through bye-week. If they can keep Jonathan Grennard and Jabari Zuniga healthy for the Cocktail Party, Dan Mullen might have a Bulldog as a scalp.
- Georgia (6-1): The Bulldogs will hopefully have spent bye week working out a better scheme than three yards and a cloud of dust. It might work for a bit against Kentucky, but it ain’t gonna work against Florida.
- Auburn (5-2): If only the Tigers had an offensive plan. If only. If Gus Malzahn gets fired, it will be because of his offensive plan. We also know this: Bo Nix is a freshman quarterback, and is now playing like one.
- Texas A&M (5-3): All gamblers who took Texas A&M -10 over Mississippi State should be thanking the bookmakers for making it the easiest bet of the day.
- Kentucky (4-4): Lynn Bowden, the converted WR-now-QB, caused Missouri a ton of problems in the Wildcats’ runaway victory in the rainstorm on Saturday. The Wildcats are a good side, and we underestimated them.
- Tennessee (3-5): Tennessee has won two out of the last three SEC games, and dropped 41 on South Carolina in the process. The cylinders at Neyland are beginning to fire, and there’s a smile on Pruitt’s face.
- Missouri (5-3): The Tigers’ hangover after the loss to Vanderbilt was evident, and the team is falling fast after their second straight incompetent loss. The fire under Barry Odom’s ass is warming up, too.
- South Carolina (3-5): South Carolina WR Bryan Edwards made an unwordly catch against Tennesee, but where was the defense? After giving up 41 points, we’d say non-existent.
- Ole Miss (3-5): Win over Bye Week. We are still unsure about Matt Luke.
- Vanderbilt (2-5): Vandy has some momentum here. And the fact that it can’t be in worse shape than the two teams below it.
- Mississippi State (3-5): The Bulldogs are an utter trainwreck. They didn’t put up a lot of fight against Texas A&M, and lost their fourth straight. The knives are sharpening for Joe Moorhead – despite the fact that a lot of people forget that three of his defensive players went pro last year. The offense isn’t particularly mobile, and it can’t rely simply on Kylin Hill – who actually had his best day of the season against A&M.
- Arkansas (2-6): Chad Morris has called the Hogs in his press conference, telling the media that the Razorbacks ‘were going to win’ against Mississippi State. Right now, it’s Arkansas’ best bet to bring home, er, any sort of bacon with their 89th-ranked defense and 98th-ranked offense.