It’s been roughly five years since the last Associated Press poll came out without an SEC team in the top 5, prompting another round of catcalls from conference haters around the nation.

The reality is that things get brutal when SEC play begins, and teams routinely devour one another. There are no easy assignments, and this weekend’s slate of games is no exception.

Here are 10 burning SEC questions as Week 6 approaches.

1. Can a young Florida team handle success after last week’s impressive win over Ole Miss? The Gators made the rest of the college football world stand up and take notice after last weekend’s 38-10 beatdown of Ole Miss. It remains to be seen now whether a young team consisting of 79 underclassmen – including 54 freshmen and just 14 seniors – can handle all the lofty accolades and grandiose media attention suddenly being thrown its way. Handling success, as any coach will tell you, is just as critical as handling adversity. Missouri awaits on Saturday as a decided underdog, but the host Tigers have won two of their last three meetings against Florida, including last year’s 42-13 drubbing at The Swamp.
2. How will true freshman Tigers QB Drew Lock stand up to a ferocious Gators defense? Lock will make his second consecutive start in place of the suspended Maty Mauk, but he’ll learn quickly that the South Carolina defense he faced last week wasn’t the greatest warmup for what he’ll see on Saturday. A relentless pass rush led by Jonathan Bullard and Alex McCalister tormented Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly last week, sacking him 4 times while forcing him into 2 fumbles and an interception. And Kelly even had the luxury of having considerably more offensive weapons at his disposal than Lock does. Lock will need to stay composed and play within himself because you can expect Florida to try to pressure him from the outset and confuse him with different coverages.
3. Will Georgia QB Greyson Lambert be on a short leash against Tennessee this weekend? Lambert obviously had a forgettable game during last weekend’s 38-10 pasting by Alabama, but backup Brice Ramsey was far worse, throwing 2 interceptions, including one that was returned 50 yards to the house. Ramsey, who was also sacked twice, was just 1 of 6 and completed more passes to Crimson Tide defenders than he did to his own teammates. Lambert is clearly coach Mark Richt’s best option.
4. Will Georgia RB Nick Chubb extend his streak of consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing to 14 and break Herschel Walker’s school record? No doubt about it. Everybody knows Chubb is going to get the ball, and Georgia’s shaky quarterback situation just assures him of more work.
5. How badly does South Carolina miss injured tailback Brandon Wilds? Well, let’s just say that it speaks volumes that freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez has led the Gamecocks in rushing in the past three games. Wilds has missed the last two games after suffering a cracked rib in the loss at Georgia on Sept. 19. He did not practice again on Tuesday, but coach Steve Spurrier remains optimistic that he’ll be available to play against LSU this weekend.
6. How much will this week’s bye help Texas A&M as it prepares for the upcoming SEC West showdown with Alabama on Oct. 17? Having this Saturday off will give the Aggies some needed time to get guys healthy and their coaches more time to break down film, but I doubt the week off does much schematically for coach Kevin Sumlin’s staff. There’s no secret to Alabama’s formula for success: a power running game and a dominating defense. But, as Georgia found out last week, doing something about it is another matter entirely.
7. LSU ranks a distant last in the SEC in passing offense at just 95.5 yards passing per game. How much longer can the Tigers go without much production in the passing game? They’ll be fine as long as tailback Leonard Fournette continues to chew up yards like a fat kid taking to cake. The Heisman Trophy frontrunner became the first person in SEC annals to rush for more than 200 yards in three consecutive games when he totaled 233 against Eastern Michigan last week. But quarterback Brandon Harris will have to prove he can make plays with his arm at some point this season. An Oct. 17 home date with Florida could be very telling.
8. Can the reeling Volunteers pick up the pieces after consecutive heartbreaking losses to Florida and Arkansas and three in the past four games? They’d best do so for embattled coach Butch Jones’ sake. The natives are restless in Knoxville as a season that began with so much promise has begun to quickly unravel. Things could get really ugly should the Vols lose to the Bulldogs on Saturday, and then at Alabama on Oct. 24.
9. Is Kentucky bowl-bound this year? Nothing is ever definitive, but it looks pretty likely that coach Mark Stoops’ team might record the school’s first winning season since 2009 and reach the postseason after last week’s 34-27 overtime win over Eastern Kentucky. But keep in mind that the Wildcats began 5-1 last year before dropping their final six games of the season. A nationally televised win over visiting Auburn on Oct. 15 would move the ‘Cats a step closer to making that bowl wish a reality.
10. Could Jeremy Johnson regain the starting quarterback job at Auburn in time for the game at Kentucky on Oct. 15? It sounds as if that will indeed be the case, as coach Gus Malzahn has formally opened the competition between Johnson and Sean White, the redshirt freshman who replaced the confidence-shattered Johnson in the lineup following the disastrous LSU game on Sept. 19. White has started the last two games, but the lack of explosive plays of 20 or more yards continues to be a focus for the Tigers. Johnson, a junior who entered the season with a lot of fanfare, has more natural big-play ability, but he has struggled in reading defenses. His six interceptions led the nation at the time he was removed from the starting lineup. However, Malzahn told reporters this week that Johnson has since had two good weeks of practices and appears more comfortable now. We’ll see about that.