1. Alabama– The Tide is miles ahead of the rest of the SEC and has already clinched the SEC West.
2. LSU– Head Coach Ed Orgeron has this team playing well. It wasn’t enough to beat Alabama, but I’d take LSU against just about anyone else in the SEC right now.
3. Auburn– The Tigers looked determined to make this Iron Bowl really interesting for while, but a loss to Georgia this past weekend dashed any hopes they had of winning the West. Despite the sloppy performance, the run game is still solid, and that defense is nasty.
4. Texas A&M– I feel like the Aggies are four by default. The SEC is just really mediocre outside of Alabama this year. Head Coach Kevin Sumlin has a mess on his hands witha porous defense and no Trevor Knight. Texas A&M looks to be limping to the finish line.
5. Arkansas– It got throttled at home by LSU 38-10 this past weekend after beating Florida pretty bad. I have no clue what to make of this team. Again, the Hogs beat Florida and Ole Miss, so they’re five by default, I guess.
6. Florida– It’s kind of amazing that the Gators are 7-2 with the amount of offense they’ve produced each game. But that’s probably more of an indictment on how bad the SEC East is. The Gators control their own destiny in this division that no one wants to win. So that has to count for something, right?
7. Ole Miss– Shea Patterson shot some life into a fading football team. He gave the Rebels a glimpse into the future in College Station and likely triggered some bittersweet memories of Johnny Manziel from Aggie fans.
8. Tennessee– Head Coach Butch Jones did not lose to Kentucky. I’m trying to be positive here. They still have a puncher’s chance of winning the East, but that ends in a rematch with Alabama. What a prize.
9. Georgia– Head Coach Kirby Smart inked his first signature win by downing Auburn this weekend. His group has struggled at times this year, but a credit to that defense for digging deep and winning a big one for the Bulldogs.
10. South Carolina– Head Coach Will Muschamp’s team isn’t working with much offensively, but they’ve given nearly everyone a fight for four quarters. The cupboard was bare when he arrived, but the Gamecocks are playing hard for him in his first year.
11. Kentucky– It flirted with winning the East for a while, but they can’t really stop anyone on defense. That’s a problem. It’s been a strange year for Head Coach Mark Stoops and his seat would be a lot hotter if not for the absurd 17 million dollar buyout for he and his staff. Someone’s agent deserves a cookie.
12. Mississippi State– Yeah, they got Alabama’d last week, but really: so has everyone else.
13. Missouri– Mizzou beat Vanderbilt over the weekend for its first conference win. Good for them.
14. Vanderbilt– The Commodores had a chance to get to 5-5 by taking care of business against Missouri. They then proceeded to Vandy pretty hard.
