When you think that you’ve seen everything, just wait for the next week of SEC baseball. Alabama endured a scandal, lost a coach, and won a key series. LSU fell out of the national driver’s seat (temporarily, at least), and Kentucky blasted South Carolina. Not that there wasn’t a ton more, because it’s SEC baseball, of course there was. With just a pair of weekend series matchups left, here’s how SEC baseball heads down the season’s home stretch.

14. Mississippi State (24-23, 6-18)

Sure, Arkansas was better than the Bulldogs. But 31-10 better in Starkville? For that matter, State had 15 hits in the series, while the Razorbacks had 31 runs. State’s 9.67 ERA in conference games is still something. Now they head to LSU and face an angry group of Tigers, with even playing in Hoover looking pretty unlikely.

13. Ole Miss (25-23, 6-18)

The pitching staff faced the league’s worst offense — by far — in playing Missouri. How’d it go? Well, Ole Miss lost the series and allowed 38 runs in the 3 games. Auburn and Alabama are the last 2 conference opponents for Ole Miss, but a pitching staff that has allowed a league-high 59 homers in SEEC play could be easy pickings for both teams.

12. Missouri (27-20, 7-17)

Yes, the horrific Mizzou offense came roaring to life. And with the awful play from the Mississippi schools, the Tigers now have an excellent shot to at least get to Hoover and play for their postseason lives. Georgia heads to CoMo and the Tigers will then go to Auburn to finish league play. Realistically, Mizzou is not going to make the NCAA Tournament, but they could finish with a decent burst of momentum and reach double-digit league wins.

11. Georgia (27-21, 10-14)

On the other hand, Georgia won its series at Tennessee and looks like a team that genuinely should make the NCAA Tournament field. You can argue Georgia is too low in these rankings. But Bama beat Vandy, A&M beat Florida, and Auburn beat LSU. Dropping Tennessee to 11th seemed a little much, and Kentucky swept South Carolina. So here they sit, probably playing better than this mark. Jarvis Evans came up huge, entering Saturday’s game after starter Charlie Goldstein hurt himself pitching to the first batter and shutting down UT’s offense. UGA goes to Mizzou and then hosts LSU. A sweep against Mizzou would just about cement the Bulldogs’ NCAA hopes.

10. Tennessee (32-16, 12-12)

Again, the teams that were right behind the Vols had unbelievable weeks and meanwhile, UT lost its series to Georgia. The worst SEC record on the road this year? That would be the 2-11 Vols. UT will host Kentucky and then travel to South Carolina to close league play. A hosting spot would be a stretch right now for UT, which went from being back in the national hunt to an ugly series loss that dropped them out of the Top 25 national rankings at the same time the SEC’s bubble teams all took big steps forward. The Vols aren’t on the NCAA bubble, but they’re not among the league’s top teams right now, either. They could fix it by hosting Kentucky and going to Carolina to finish the regular season … or could slide onto the bubble with a couple of series losses.

9. Alabama (32-16, 11-13)

What a week. After sports books dropped action on Alabama games in exotic locales like Ohio and New Jersey, Brad Bohannon was fired for his role in whatever exactly it was that went down. So an Alabama team coming off a series loss to LSU faced top-5 Vandy with a change in the dugout and … won the series? Holding Vandy to 7 runs in the series was massive, and new head coach (former pitching coach) Jason Jackson came up smelling like a rose in his debut.

Saturday’s series winning 8th inning homer from Mac Guscette was a feel good moment for a team that definitely deserved it …

8. Texas A&M (28-20, 11-13)

A&M went into Gainesville off a rough week and delivered a result that in another week would have been shocking and attention grabbing — holding the Gators to just 10 runs in 3 games and winning the series. A&M improved to 11th in the SEC in ERA in league play, and has a great chance to end up with a winning SEC mark. The Aggies finish by hosting Alabama and then traveling to Mississippi State. Finish strong and A&M just might sneak into the region hosting conversation, say with a 16-14 SEC record.

7. Kentucky (33-13, 14-10, No. 19 in Baseball America)

Or perhaps even more surprising, Kentucky swept South Carolina and in fact, did not trail for a single inning en route to a combined 30-12 beatdown. UK is now 2nd in the league in ERA in conference games, 2nd in batting average in those games, and first in stolen bases. That (and a massive 27 sacrifice bunts more than double 2nd-place South Carolina’s total) has helped Kentucky survive just 17 homers in conference play, a number which isn’t just dead last in the SEC, it’s barely half of 13th-place Mizzou’s 32 homers. Pitch well, string together singles, and win games — it’s working for Nick Mingione. The Wildcats have to finish at Tennessee and then hosting Florida, but a pair of wins total would be a winning season and given UK’s No. 2 national RPI, might result in a regional hosting gig for the Bat Cats.

6. Auburn (27-19-1, 11-13, No. 25 in BA)

Meanwhile, Auburn decided to play David to LSU’s Goliath, capping one of the wildest weekends of college baseball in the history of Alabama — or probably any other state for that matter. The Tigers going from a hideous pitching staff to one that held LSU to 11 runs in 3 games is nothing short of miraculous. Auburn just keeps throwing arms at you, and they’re starting to figure things out pretty well. Need evidence? Dylan Crews went 2-for-12 with a pair of singles in the series. Don’t even get us started on the finale, when Auburn won the series by run-ruling the Tigers. Having bested South Carolina and LSU, Auburn now finishes by going to Ole Miss and hosting Mizzou. A .500 conference season is definitely within range, which seems amazing after a rough start for the Tigers.

5. South Carolina (36-11, 14-9, No. 6 in BA)

The Gamecocks got swept by Kentucky and have now lost consecutive series matchups to Auburn and UK, which is not how they hoped to finish conference play. Kentucky freshman Travis Smith was dominant on Friday and set the tone for a weekend of USC playing entirely from behind. The Gamecocks finish by going to Arkansas and then hosting UT, and if the bats don’t get going, Carolina could head into postseason play having lost its last 4 SEC series.

4. Florida (37-12, 15-9, No. 7 in BA)

Florida had a tough series loss in a surprising way. The aces on the mound were kind of ho-hum, and UF put up just 4 runs in the last 2 games of the series. UF has a tough finish to the schedule, as they host Vandy and then head to Kentucky. It’s fairly significant for UF to finish on a high note, because given their offensive might and top-heavy rotation, they could be dangerous in the postseason … but it’s time to get moving.

3. Vanderbilt (33-13, 17-7, No. 3 in BA)

Can’t cut the Commodores any slack, either. Vandy’s bats went suddenly silent against an Alabama team that had to be emotionally spent. The Vandy Boys finish by going to Florida and then hosting Arkansas. Both are good chances for Vandy to get rolling again. A team that leads the SEC in hitting, pitching and fielding in conference play can’t stay down long. Can it?

2. Arkansas (36-12, 17-7, No. 4 in BA)

And finally, a team that won its series! Arkansas had no trouble hitting, but then, neither does anybody else who plays Mississippi State. The Hogs finish their home conference schedule by hosting South Carolina, and Arkansas looks to improve on a 28-3 home record. Brady Slavens has a 3-game league homer streak, and if the Hogs can hold off Carolina and then win at Vandy, they will earn that top seed in Hoover.

1. LSU (37-10, 16-7, No. 2 in BA)

But they lost. And so did Nos. 3, 4, and 5 in this power ranking. LSU should be fine, but if there’s anything here to worry about it’s this: Paul Skenes continues to be brilliant — he has a 2.22 ERA in league play, with 91 (yes, 91) strikeouts in 48 2/3 SEC innings. The rest of LSU’s staff? Ugh.

LSU’s team 6.06 ERA is even further down the SEC pecking order if Skenes is out of the picture.

The Tigers have had some injury issues, but they have to find real help. Ty Floyd has the stuff, but his 4.86 ERA for the year isn’t too imposing … and he’s probably the best of a motley non-Skenes crew.

But Mississippi State and Georgia give LSU a pretty easy path to finish the regular season. Even though poor Dylan Crews is down to a humble .463 batting average. Sometimes it’s tough being the king, which LSU remains in the SEC.

Moving forward, LSU looks like the No. 1 team in the country every time Skenes pitches … and an upset candidate when he doesn’t. That’s a scary proposition given the double-elimination format of postseason play.