Alabama is on a bye this week after an 8-0 start, which means it’s time for another team in the SEC to grab the spotlight.

The obvious candidate is Georgia, of course. The Bulldogs are 7-0 and fresh off a bye of their own, but now it’s time for the annual pilgrimage down to Jacksonville and a neutral-site affair with Florida. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

Because if it’s not, then Saturday is shaping up to be quite a buzzkill in the conference. Arkansas at Ole Miss? Vanderbilt at South Carolina? Tennessee at Kentucky? It’s safe to say that none of those games will mean much in either division race. Sure, Mississippi State at Texas A&M is mildly interesting in the West, although I repeat: mildly.

UGA-UF will have implications in the East, though. If the Dawgs prevail, as expected, then Florida will be eliminated and won’t make a third trip to Atlanta in a row. But if the Gators do pull an upset, then Georgia has zero margin for error the rest of the way.

Here are some of my favorite reader comments from this past week. I’m still taking applications for third-best team in the league.

"Auburn definitely seems like the clear choice. TAMU could surpass Auburn, but I’d have to see some more evidence first. I’m still kind of expecting them to crash and burn in November, not because of the schedule, just because they’re TAMU." -- CarolinaPhoenix

For Monday, I wrote a column about the top team in the SEC beyond Alabama and Georgia, who are both unbeaten and have been dominant.

The three most likely candidates are Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M, which are all in the West. Nobody in the East deserves consideration, at least not at this point. Florida? South Carolina? Kentucky? No, no and no, I’m afraid.

All three of them can make quality arguments. Auburn will have its chance to prove how good it can be since it hosts both Georgia and Alabama in November. LSU owns a win over Auburn and did so in dramatic fashion, overcoming a 20-0 deficit early in the second quarter. Texas A&M has already played Alabama and put up a better-than-expected fight.

But if I had to pick one of those three clubs, I’d go with Auburn. If coach Gus Malzahn and Co. are hitting on all cylinders offensively, defensively and on special teams, I think they have enough to make a legit run at a conference championship.

Admittedly, it’s difficult to still believe that after watching them collapse against LSU. That’s a tough head-to-head loss in terms of tiebreakers, as well.

There’s something about LSU that gives me pause, even if I can’t really put my finger on it. Yes, consecutive wins over Florida on the road and Auburn at home were impressive, but losing to Troy on homecoming? I can’t get that vision out of my head.

LSU isn’t special in the passing game. Unless Derrius Guice is close to 100 percent, the running game isn’t special, either. The defense is improving at every level, that’s impossible to ignore, but there’s no reason to think that coach Ed Orgeron is finally going to figure out Alabama. Even after a bye, that feels like a boat race in favor of the Crimson Tide.

Texas A&M is another team I’m having trouble buying right now. While coach Kevin Sumlin’s seat isn’t as hot as it was two months ago, as you alluded to, it’s the month of November when the wheels tend to fall off for him. Well, it’s almost November.

I’m not sure the Iron Bowl will be for all the marbles in the West, but Auburn has a puncher’s chance against ‘Bama one way or another.

"I’ve been a Dawgs fan for 45 years. I haven’t been more optimistic or more paranoid about a GA-FL game in my life. I’ll believe the win when I see it. I guess the difference seems to be that Kirby Smart is prepping the team mentally, something that Mark Richt couldn’t seem to do. Will this team break the curse?" -- myhumbleopinion

For Tuesday, I wrote a column about Georgia being light years ahead of Florida and a heavy favorite for Saturday’s tilt. At least on paper.

Your thoughts are similar to a lot of reasonable fans of the Bulldogs. Too often in recent memory, UGA has had the superior squad in Jacksonville and still found a way to retreat back to Athens with a loss. The history there is undeniable.

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Since Steve Spurrier returned to his alma mater as head coach in 1990, the Gators are 21-6 against their interstate rivals. In 15 seasons, 10 of which he won double-digit games, departed Dawgs coach Mark Richt was only 5-10 at “The World’s Largest Cocktail Party.” (I’ll never call it “The River City Showdown,” by the way.)

Only one of those five wins was even remotely convincing, too. In 2007, the Dawgs triumphed 42-30. The other four were one-score victories. UF, conversely, has delivered a few beatdowns the last decade and a half. Even last year’s 24-10 final score didn’t seem that close.

Georgia supporters have every reason to be paranoid. Even this season, when their team has played so well and keeps improving.

As I mentioned in the column, the Bulldogs run the ball, stop the run, pass the ball and stop the pass with more proficiency than Florida. Only in the kicking game do the Gators have a slight edge. But on offense and defense? It’s all UGA.

Still, it’s a rivalry game. Both teams are coming off a bye. Maybe UF coach Jim McElwain used the extra seven days to finally plug some of the holes in his aerial attack. Perhaps the Dawgs will be a little rusty since they were on such a roll before the bye and had their momentum stopped to some degree. Crazier things have happened.

Only in Gainesville could there be so much noise during a bye week. McElwain continues to alienate himself from his own administration, which in turn has alienated him from his own fan base. This might be a square-peg-round-hole situation.

In theory, Georgia should blow the doors off Florida and move one step closer to Atlanta. This one doesn’t lend itself to theory, though.

"The difference is 'Bama is putting up big numbers on SEC competition and pulling starters. Missouri pads the stats on cupcakes and leaves in the starters but looks like a high school team when they take the field against a decent opponent." -- BamaTime

For Thursday, I wrote a column about the bad taste in my mouth after Missouri continued to throw the ball mercilessly on Idaho.

With two minutes left in the third quarter last Saturday, quarterback Drew Lock fired his sixth touchdown pass of the game on the Vandals to extend the Tigers’ lead from 58-14 to 65-14. It sure seemed like stat-padding to me.

Mizzou has a history of doing this under second-year coach Barry Odom. In 2016, he scored 61 points on Eastern Michigan and 79 on Delaware State. So far in 2017, he’s scored 72 on Southwest Missouri State and now 68 on Idaho. Lock had a total of 23 TD passes in those four games and averaged 460 yards passing.

Needless to say, Lock hasn’t been able to put up similar numbers when facing SEC competition. He did have 300-yard days against Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee last season in conference play, but his TD-to-INT ratio in those outings was 5-to-7.

While Lock has improved against league opponents this season, Missouri is 0-4 in the SEC by an aggregate total of 175-89.

Has Alabama run up the score once or twice this year? Maybe, maybe not. But as you suggested, it’s not with starting QB Jalen Hurts taking deep shots down the field late in the second half. He’s usually on the bench relatively early.

As a matter of fact, backup signal caller Tua Tagovailoa has completed at least one pass in six of eight games. With a 28-0 lead, he took over for Hurts this past week against traditional rival Tennessee at about the 10-minute mark of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Lock is still chucking it against lowly Idaho much later in the game with a 44-point edge.

It would be one thing if Lock had a history of lighting up the conference week in and week out. He doesn’t, though. This felt like the big brother dunking on the little brother to make himself feel good since he can’t do it on kids his own age.

Like I wrote, I tend to believe that anything goes through three quarters. Still, Lock should’ve been on the bench up 44 with 17 minutes to go.