Perhaps nothing speaks more to the sorry state of the SEC East than the ridiculous point spread for Saturday’s SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

SEC East champion Florida enters as a 17-point underdog to SEC West champion Alabama.

The Crimson Tide, who have won three of the previous six conference titles, have been impressive as of late, steamrolling their past nine opponents following an early-season loss to Ole Miss.

It has been exactly 20 years since the spread was that big for an SEC title game. It was ironically second-ranked Florida who was then the heavy 24-point favorite over No. 24 Arkansas, and the Gators delivered that night with a 34-3 thumping of the Razorbacks.

Things have changed a bit since then.

The SEC East is no longer the juggernaut it once was with perennial division anchors Florida, Georgia and Tennessee hardly looking like their old selves. Conversely, the SEC West has become a powerhouse with the likes of Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas A&M and Mississippi State all enjoying national prominence in recent years.

It spoke volumes about the SEC East’s rapid decline as of late that conference newcomer Missouri won the past two crowns before being dethroned this fall.

But the 2015 season may have been rock bottom. Four of the seven teams failed to win six games, and they went a combined 2-12 against their SEC West brethren, getting only a Florida win over Ole Miss and a Georgia victory over an underachieving Auburn team.

Seven of those 12 SEC East losses were by 11 or more points, while five were by 21 points or more.

Perhaps no one Saturday was more indicative of the current state of the SEC East than Nov. 21, when South Carolina fell to The Citadel at home, and the Gators and Bulldogs needed overtime to outlast Florida Atlantic and Georgia Southern, respectively.

Florida, which is led by first-year coach Jim McElwain, will nonetheless be playing in its first SEC Championship Game since 2009, but the Gators might be the most flawed 10-win team in recent college football memory with major problems on offense and in the kicking game.

They fell to 10-2 after being drubbed at home 27-2 by rival Florida State this past weekend and now face the daunting prospect of squaring off against a ferocious Crimson Tide defense and power running game in Atlanta.

You’ll understand if there aren’t a whole lot of believers outside of Gainesville.

SEC East team vs. SEC West
Florida W, Ole Miss, 38-10; L, LSU, 35-28
Georgia L, Alabama, 38-10; W, Auburn, 20-13
Missouri L, Mississippi St., 31-13; L, Arkansas, 28-3
Tennessee L, Arkansas, 24-20; L, Alabama, 19-14
Kentucky L, Auburn, 30-27; L, Mississippi St., 42-16
South Carolina L, LSU, 45-24; L, Texas A&M, 35-28
Vanderbilt L, Ole Miss, 27-16; L, Texas A&M, 25-0

(*Note: All SEC teams annually play two cross-divisional games in addition to their six divisional games)