If you like chaos and the sight of SEC administrators banging their heads against walls, you might like the following scenario that has a non-zero probability: A game where Georgia is the No. 1 team in the country but doesn’t qualify for the SEC Championship.
This is how it happens. First, Georgia State wins its last five games and Oregon State loses one game, moving Georgia into first place. Next, Texas A&M wins to become the only undefeated team in the SEC, and LSU wins to become Georgia State. The only team with one loss. The first tiebreaker was a head-to-head match and no match was played. The next tiebreaker is record vs. common opponent, with LSU winning by defeating Alabama.
Lo and behold, instead of the team that won that game actually playing against the No. 1 team in the country, there will be a rematch of last Saturday’s game. fun!
We are still a long way from that happening. Texas A&M could lose one of its remaining three SEC games (South Carolina, Auburn, Texas). LSU could lose to Alabama in two weeks or any of the other three games (Florida, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma). Georgia could lose to Florida, Ole Miss and Tennessee. The door remains open for one-loss Tennessee and Texas, as well as one of the six teams. There are 6 teams. —Suffered two conference losses, including to Alabama and Ole Miss.
Free daily sports updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Free daily sports updates delivered straight to your inbox.
sign up
Well, it could be really fun.
Or maybe it will resolve itself cleanly in the end.
Taurean York and the Texas A&M defense forced three turnovers against LSU on Saturday. (Maria Lysaker/Imagine Images)
The Atmosphere rankings here rank teams based on highly subjective criteria, including sentiment about the program, momentum, expectations, and general perception of how things are going. This isn’t a pure ranking of how good a team is, but neither is the standings anymore. Anyway, the atmosphere:
1. Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC)
38-23 win over LSU
Last week: 4
Mike Elko is using all his first year money to be as bold as his coach. He’s replaced quarterbacks and made them work, eclipsing his predecessor who worked under him for five years. It’s a fun time for the Aggies. Is it true and will it last? No need to worry – enjoy the ride.
even deeper
Kern: Mike Elko’s structured, detailed approach is exactly what Texas A&M needed
2. Georgia (6-1, 4-1)
good bye
Last week: 1
Georgia’s offense ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring, sixth in total yards and tied for eighth in yards per play. Georgia’s defense isn’t all that great either, ranking fourth in points allowed, seventh in total yards allowed and eighth in yards allowed per play. They are all pedestrians, but their schedules are not. Georgia played three top-10 opponents (Texas, Clemson, and Alabama), played three night road games (Kentucky, Alabama, and Texas), and played only one team from a non-power conference. ;Every other SEC team except Florida has played at least two games.
3. Tennessee (6-1, 3-1)
good bye
Last week: 2
Tennessee seems to be in a great position. They have three games to win (Kentucky, Mississippi State, UTEP) and two more to split (Georgia, Vanderbilt) and have a great defense, offense and quarterback. It could roar back to life at any time. But until that quarterback comes back, and consistently, it’s hard to buy in completely.
4. Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2)
Lost to Texas 27-24
Last week: 5
Every week, there’s one team I watch and think about. It was either too high or too low. ” Vanderbilt won last week, but fell in the standings as other teams won big and the Commodores had a middling win over Ball State. But looking back, this is Vanderbilt, so if you’re 5-2, the atmosphere is great. Despite Saturday’s loss, the atmosphere was still high. Texas had several chances to end the game, but Diego Pavia and company kept fighting back. This team remains the most interesting team in the SEC this year, and for good reason.
58-25 win over Mississippi State
Last week: 12
Barring a late-season health scare, Sam Pittman could be a hot spot on the ice. A late-season game against Louisiana Tech should clinch a bowl berth, and all other games (Ole Miss, Texas, Missouri) result in varying degrees of wins. More importantly, the state of play at the University of Arkansas shows the program is in a better situation than it ended last year.
6. Texas (7-1, 3-1)
27-24 win over Vanderbilt
Last week: 7
If you wanted to draw such an inference, you could point out that Texas’ most convincing SEC win was against former Big 12 partner Oklahoma State. In the other three games, they lost at home to Georgia State by 15 points, beat Vanderbilt by three points, and struggled at home against Mississippi State, which had a one-win margin and then trailed by 22 points. But this is a small sample and there’s a lot of football left, so I won’t point out anything about it.
even deeper
Rex Road: Texas Quinn Ewers had a better day than expected at Vanderbilt.
good bye
Last week: 6
If you’re wondering why most of the teams in the top half of the standings aren’t playing, it’s probably because they’re busy playing South Carolina, which has already played LSU, Ole Miss, and Alabama. Dew. The Siamcocks take on Texas A&M this week and then play Vanderbilt and Missouri. And just for fun, the season ends at Clemson. If the ranking holds, seven of the 12 games will be against ranked opponents.
even deeper
What the University of Alabama gained from shutting out the University of Missouri after falling behind
8. Alabama (6-2, 3-2)
Defeat Missouri State 34-0
Last week: 13
It remains to be seen whether this is the team that went up 28-0 against Georgia or the team that made a big splash over the next three and a half games. But the win over Missouri State halted the momentum, leaving a week left for LSU to prepare for what could potentially decide the Tide’s chances of making the playoffs.
even deeper
Have Alabama and Karen DeBoer found a new identity for Missouri?
9. Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2)
26-14 win over Oklahoma
Last week: 10
Ole Miss’ offense in its first four games against three non-power conference teams and Wake Forest: 214 points, 2,683 yards. Ole Miss’ offense in its next four games, all against SEC teams, was 96 points and 1,311 yards. Yes, three of their SEC opponents have better defenses: Kentucky, South Carolina, and Oklahoma State. But there’s still a pretty big difference.
10. Florida (4-3, 2-2)
good bye
Last week: 8
Despite his slow momentum, Billy Napier may be doing enough to earn another year with the Gators. If it were a close call, you would think he would come back given the investment the interim president and athletic director have in him. But all that could quickly come to an end if Georgia gets robbed in Jacksonville on Saturday.
11. LSU (6-2, 3-1)
Lost to Texas A&M 38-23.
Last week: 3
This could still be a playoff team. They need to beat Alabama in two weeks and win all the other games that will give them an advantage. But Brian Kelly’s team hasn’t done enough to be trusted. The defense seemed to be holding it together well, but was run over by the backup quarterback. Garrett Nussmeyer looks like a first-round quarterback, but then throws in three picks. It will probably finally come together in the next few weeks, but Tigers fans must be frustrated waiting for that to happen.
12. Auburn (3-5, 1-4)
Beat Kentucky 24-10
Last week: 14
The losing streak ended at 4. The story is very much alive as this team is one bad play away from going 5-2 with three games left (California, Oklahoma State, Missouri). This isn’t the kind of story that Vibes would fully embrace, but Hugh Freeze certainly would.
13. Missouri State (6-2, 2-2)
Lost to Alabama 34-0.
Last week: 9
Realistically, any playoff hopes are over. Perhaps if Missouri can win, the argument can be made based on Brady Cook missing most of Alabama’s game. And it’s worth a try. However, this team is currently minus-52 in points against power conference opponents, without a big win and with zero chances in the final stages.
14. Mississippi State University (1-7, 0-5)
Lost to the University of Arkansas 58-25.
Last week: 11
After three straight weeks of looking decent, the streak ends and the atmosphere returns to normal. Mississippi State has had some down years, but hasn’t won in the SEC since 2002. Zach Arnette carried on from last year’s rough patch and still managed to go 5-7. I know the athletic director wanted a coach, but oh well.
15. Oklahoma (4-4, 1-4)
Lost to Ole Miss 26-14.
Last week: 16
Well, at least the first half of Saturday was good. But in the big picture, we still argue that holding Oklahoma to 12 points or less makes up for an eight-point deficit, which doesn’t say much about the current state of the program.
According to @PFF_College, none of Ole Miss’s sacks on Jackson Arnold yesterday were blitzed.
Arnold was sacked nine times. The guys are just losing one on one.
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) October 27, 2024
16. Kentucky (3-5, 1-5)
Lost to Auburn 24-10.
Last week: 15
Mark Stoops has made a solid name for himself over the past few years by winning games he should have won, rather than just beating higher-ranked teams. This year, he had a big win at Ole Miss and pushed Georgia to the brink, but lost at home to Auburn, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, and was terrible at Florida.
Stoops has had a pretty good run at Kentucky, and that’s not to say it’s over. But it feels pretty close to that.
(Top photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images)
