Hey guys!
Terrible news: we are already one third of the way through the college football regular season. I’ll wait here while you grieve properly.
Welcome back. Now, even with the knowledge that the season is flying by, I’m still here to guide you through week four of the SEC.
The good part about being four weeks into the season is that we’re starting to see the real identity of several teams. We’re also starting to see a pretty terrible truth: the SEC is kind of down this year. It hurts me to admit it, but outside of the top 2, the mighty SEC isn’t so mighty. Honestly, it’s pretty tough to rank the teams from #3 through #13. (Let’s face it, Missouri is 14. That’s how it goes).
Let’s see how it shakes out. On to the rankings!
1. Alabama – Well, that escalated quickly. The Tide sent a message to the top defense in the conference to the tune of 59-0. The Alabama that took the field last Saturday was a scary team, gashing Vanderbilt on the ground for nearly 500 yards. The Tide also managed to spread the ball around, while the defense shut Kyle Shumur down all game. If this team keeps showing up, the country is being put on notice. They’ll need to shut down Shea Patterson when they welcome Ole Miss for a rare night game at Bryant-Denny.
2. Georgia – Another statement game on the weekend, the Bulldogs demolished Mississippi State and all the momentum they had going. Newsflash: Georgia is good. So good, even Big Natural is ready to buy in! Nick Chubb ran all over the Miss State defense that I hyped up last week. Jake Fromm (State Farm) has really settled into the starting role at QB. I’d expect him to stay there, even with Eason coming back from injury. The Bulldogs head to Neyland Stadium to take on the Vols.
3. Auburn – Here’s where it gets tricky. Auburn jumps to #3 from #6 because they dismantled the worst team in the SEC. I said that Gus Malzahn needed to get his offense on track and that a game against Missouri should do the trick. I was correct. Kerryon Johnson is a massive and athletic running back, as he bruised the Missouri defense all day. Jarrett Stidham had a solid game, and gained some much-needed confidence. They host Mississippi State this weekend.
4. Florida – I said it last week, and I’ll say it again now: Florida is NOT a good football team. I don’t want to rank them at #4, but Kentucky is to blame for this, not me. The Gators didn’t have a spectacular game against the Wildcats, but they managed to sneak out another win. I’ll give Florida credit for that: they find a way to win. Luke Del Rio has earned the starting job, and we’ll see how he leads the team going forward. The Gators welcome Vanderbilt to the Swamp.
5. LSU – This seems like as good of a place as any for the Tigers. A win is a win, but it shouldn’t have been that close with a mediocre Syracuse team. LSU’s defense is uncharacteristically sloppy, and not the tough squad we expected. Danny Etling played well, but Derrius Guice will need to get healthy and be the key to the offense. They welcome Troy to Death Valley this weekend.
6. Mississippi State – Guuuuuuuuys. I literally JUST put you at #2 last week. And this is how you repay me? By getting blown out by Georgia. Bottom line: Mississippi State was exposed on Saturday. Sure, Nick Fitzgerald is a great QB, but he doesn’t have a superstar WR to throw to. When you’re against a solid defense, that makes a huge difference. The plus side? The Bulldogs are still in the top half of the conference. They’ll try to avoid two straight losses when they roll into Auburn.
7. Vanderbilt – Ouch. Talk about your all time biggest backfires. The Commodores were manhandled by the Tide on Saturday. I wouldn’t expect much chatter on who might be next from the ‘Dores for the rest of the season. I still believe that Vandy can rebound and compete with most teams in the East. They have to shake off this beating and move on. From what I know about Derek Mason, I fully expect that to happen. They head to the Swamp this weekend.
8. Kentucky – Will somebody tell Mark Stoops that you’re allowed to play with ELEVEN defenders and you’re allowed to cover receivers? Specifically, ones that are waving their arms to demonstrate how uncovered they are. I was pulling for Kentucky to break the streak, and for a while it seemed likely to happen. And then, you know, it didn’t. Here’s the good news: Kentucky played three solid quarters of football. The bad news: there are four quarters in football. Now Kentucky needs to rebound when they host Eastern Michigan.
9. South Carolina – The Gamecocks picked up a win against Louisiana Tech, but it sure wasn’t pretty. It seems like the loss of Deebo Samuel has crippled the offense. This doesn’t bode well for Jake Bentley, who doesn’t have a #1 receiver to rely on. Now, the Gamecocks will have to rely on their defense to keep them in future games, and I’m not sure how well that will work out. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait long to see. South Carolina heads to College Station for a showdown with Texas A&M.
10. Tennessee – As of right now, Butch Jones is still the head coach of the Vols. To be fair, I’m writing this on a Wednesday night, so that could change by the time you read this on Thursday. Tennessee should have handled UMass with relative ease, but instead turned in a sloppy performance that had the winless Minutemen within striking distance all game. Poor QB play and countless miscues on defense should have Butch Jones plenty worried. John Kelly continues to be the star of the show, but they’ll need more than one player to survive against Georgia this weekend (Also, have a look at Smokey’s article about Butch Jones. That’s a free shout out Smokey, you owe me one).
11. Texas A&M – The Aggies showed signs of life while taking down the Razorbacks in a high scoring affair in Dallas. Here’s the thing: it was an entertaining game. That doesn’t mean the teams are good. They’re not. But I will give credit to freshman QB Kellen Mond, who played a pretty solid game and helped rally the Aggies to a win. The defense, however, let Arkansas run all over them. That won’t get you far in the SEC. Besides, by my count, we’re still two weeks away from the yearly Aggie Collapse. They host South Carolina this weekend.
12. Ole Miss – Bye week for the Rebels, so no movement. They head to Alabama this Saturday.
13. Arkansas – I think we can all agree that Bret Beliema is officially on the hot seat. After letting the Aggies come back and steal a win in Dallas, the Razorbacks are in some trouble. The offense managed to put up points, despite the fact that the pass protection was terrible. The main issue, however, is that the defense couldn’t stop the Aggies, which isn’t an offensive power. Luckily, they can try to work out some bugs when they welcome New Mexico State on Saturday.
14. Missouri – It just gets worse. Can we get another picture or something?
That’s it! Have a great week folks, Poppa Bear loves you.
Poppa Bear is the lead SEC contributor for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter:@SoBroPoppaBear
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