We’re heading in to the home stretch of the CFB season (feels like we just started). Alabama punks Tennessee and Georgia suffers an injury blow while a handful of teams hang around waiting to take advantage of a slip-up. Lets get in to the rankings.
1. Georgia 7-0 (4-0)
Georgia stays number one after having the week off. The Bulldogs will play Florida in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party this week in Jacksonville. This will be the first game without Brock Bowers after he had ankle surgery last week. The game is the 3:30pm ET CBS game.
2. Alabama 7-1 (5-0)
The 9th ranked Tide bullied Tennessee, outscoring them 27-0 in 2nd half and won 34-20. Milroe tossed 2 TD and Jase McClellan rushed for 115 yards and the Tide defense completely shut down the Vols gimmicky offense after falling behind 13-0. Alabama is still in the driver’s seat for the SEC West crown but the game with LSU is looming.
Alabama now gets the week off.
3. Ole Miss 6-1 (3-1)
Ole Miss continued to play to their competition and found themselves in a close-ish game with a bad Auburn team but eventually won 28-21. The Rebels rushed for 223 yards as a team and while they were never really in danger of losing (in part because of how horrendous Auburn is) the performance felt underwhelming for a team advertising itself as a legitimate SEC West contender.
Fortunately for the 12th ranked Rebels the SEC Scheduling Gods have smiled on them as they get Vanderbilt at home this upcoming week. Back-to-back weeks with two of worst teams in the SEC will allow them to keep putting pressure on Alabama. The game kicks off at 7:30pm ET on the SECN.
4. LSU 6-2 (4-1)
The 15th ranked Tigers manhandled Army 62-0 at home. There isn’t much to really talk about as LSU played a team that has no ability to exploit their bad secondary and Jayden Daniels put up video game numbers, which he does to everyone. I will say everyone buried LSU after they picked up their two losses but they are hanging around. That win over Missouri is looking better and will get their shot at Alabama soon.
LSU now enters their bye week.
5. Missouri 7-1 (3-1)
20th ranked Missouri beat up South Carolina 34-12. Missouri rushed for 220 yards as a team, but the story is their defense. Missouri dominated the Gamecock OL and flustered Spencer Rattler. 6 total sacks and they held South Carolina to just 69 rushing yards.
Missouri is a good football team and they now enter their bye week still having a shot at the SEC East.
6. Florida 5-2 (3-1)
Florida is coming off their bye week and will head to Jacksonville to take on rival Georgia. They’ll get the first crack at the Brock Bowers-less Bulldogs. I won’t say Billy Napier needs to win that game because I don’t think even the most optimistic Gator fan expects to win but I do think he needs to be competitive. The vibes have improved around Gainesville and getting blown out could derail that.
7. Tennessee 5-2 (2-2)
For about a quarter it looked like Tennessee was going to get a massive road win, but things started to unravel in the 2nd quarter before a total collapse in the 2nd half. The 21st ranked Vols keep trying to force a gimmicky passing game despite having a good rushing attack and a QB who is limited, but the real issue is on defense. Now that they don’t have a record breaking offense to paper over the cracks as the Tennessee defense is got exposed with Alabama gashing them in the 2nd half.
Tennessee now heads to Lexington to take on rival Kentucky. The game kicks off at 7pm ET on ESPN.
8. Texas A&M 4-3 (2-2)
Texas A&M is coming off their bye week and welcomes South Carolina to Kyle Field. It’s probably a must-win for both teams so while not high quality football it should provide high drama. The game kicks off at noon ET on ESPN.
9. Kentucky 5-2 (2-2)
Kentucky is coming off their bye and welcomes their most hated rival Tennessee to Kroger Field. Tennessee has owned the Wildcats for nearly a century, but Mark Stoops needs a win in the worst way. If Kentucky drops three straight games the wheels could come off in Lexington.
10. Mississippi State 4-3 (1-3)
The Bulldogs picked up their first SEC win of the season over Arkansas, 7-3. Yes, that score is correct, it was an ugly game with State only mustering 205 yards of offense. Back-up QB Mike Wright only threw for 85 yards, but his 2nd quarter TD throw to Jo’Quavious Marks was the lone TD of the game and enough to get the win. Wright also rushed for another 60 yards. The Bulldog defense deserves plenty of credit for completely stifling KJ Jefferson and holding Arkansas to just 200 yards of offense.
Up next Mississippi State heads to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on an equally hapless Auburn team. Must-win game if the Bulldogs want to make a bowl in Zach Arnett’s first year. The game kicks off at 3:30pm ET on the SECN.
11. Auburn 3-4 (0-4)
Auburn was able to take advantage of a lethargic team once again and keep the score close before ultimately losing 28-21 to Ole Miss. If Auburn had any pulse, they would have won this game but instead fell behind two scores before a late Payton Thorne TD pass made it appear closer.
Up next Auburn has a crucial home game against Mississippi State.
12. South Carolina 2-5 (1-4)
South Carolina continues to struggle after getting bullied by Missouri 34-12. Their OL is awful, and Spencer Rattler isn’t good enough to overcome it. In what has become a weekly occurrence Shane Beamer found something else to complain about, but at least he didn’t break one of his bones this week.
The Gamecocks now travel to Texas A&M and are desperately in need of some wins if they want to make a bowl game.
13. Arkansas 2-6 (0-5)
I’ve been higher on Arkansas than most but this week was too much even for me. At 2-5 you could point to a brutal schedule as the culprit but losing to a bad Mississippi State team at home just can’t happen. I know the Hogs are probably emotionally drained after 5 tough games with 4 straight on the road (though technically the A&M in Dallas is on a neutral field) but you have to win that game. KJ Jefferson looked exhausted and overwhelmed and as he once again had to carry the offense by himself. When the defense holds a team to 7 points and 205 yards you should leave the field with a win.
I still think Arkansas is a decent team, but the wheels might have completely come off. They now go into the bye week needing to win 4 straight games to make a bowl game.
14. Vanderbilt 2-6 (0-4)
Vanderbilt didn’t lose! The Commodores should be well rested as they head to Oxford to take Ole Miss.
