It was a slugfest in SEC football’s Week 6. Let us take a crack at projecting where your squad will finish up the regular season.
SEC West
Alabama: 12-0
What on Earth, short of a loss, could change our minds? The Crimson Tide certainly looks perfect so far.
Arkansas: 3-9
Arkansas’s next two SEC games are home matchups with Ole Miss and Vandy. We would guess they snag an SEC win somewhere along the line, but if the Razorbacks want to do any better, this is the time to show it.
Auburn: 8-4
There was some thought of sliding Auburn to 7-5, but this Mississippi State game is probably the Tigers’ unexpected loss for the season. Then again, Texas A&M could well give the Tigers a tough game.
LSU: 8-4
Well, Florida took care of LSU’s upset plans, and don’t be surprised if Georgia makes it an SEC East sweep against the Tigers. Games like Mississippi State and A&M don’t look like gimmes anymore.
Mississippi: 6-6
Can the Rebels stop anybody in the SEC? Can Arkansas or Vandy even attempt to stop them?
Mississippi State: 8-4
Why does everybody in the SEC West who isn’t Alabama or Arkansas seem like a potential 8-4 team? Well, probably because they’ll all beat each other up, as Mississippi State just did to Auburn, a week after Kentucky took down State.
Texas A&M: 8-4
Another of the 8-4 teams from the West, although next week’s game at South Carolina could move the needle on A&M one way or the other.
SEC East
Florida: 9-3
Even if Florida does have a stumble in a game where the defense can’t bail them out (Mizzou, Carolina), they’re still back in the conversation in the SEC East. It’s hard to see them beating Georgia, but this has still been a solid year for Dan Mullen.
Georgia: 12-0
Never mind that business about somebody beating Georgia. Four straight tough games are coming for the Bulldogs, but we’re calling it at 4-0, at least for now.
Kentucky: 9-3
Kentucky was outmanned against Texas A&M on the road, but has a fairly light schedule down the season’s second half. They should probably give the ball to Benny Snell a little more than 13 times in a game.
Missouri: 7-5
The second half of Mizzou’s schedule, including Kentucky and Florida, doesn’t look as soft as it once did. Barring a miracle, an 0-3 start in the SEC East finishes any discussion of the Tigers playing the spoiler in the division.
South Carolina: 7-5
Beating Missouri was a aolid victory for Carolina, but it’s hard to project this team for more than seven wins given that the Gamecocks still play Texas A&M, Florida, and Clemson. Beating the Aggies next week would be a statement.
Tennessee: 5-7
The path to six wins still looks awfully steep for Tennessee. In the past, November was good to the Vols, but Kentucky and Mizzou aren’t exactly the little sisters of the poor this year.
Vanderbilt: 4-8
There could still be six wins out there for Vandy, but at this point, there’s not much reason for optimism. Its defense won’t have a prayer against Mississippi, and Tennessee will see the last game as a point of pride.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
