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We’re nine weeks into the college football season and there’s still plenty to be settled in the SEC. Week 9 did not disappoint, as four of five SEC games were within one score at some point in the fourth quarter. With five weeks left in the regular season, every SEC team is facing critical questions as it aims to end on a high note.
Here are the biggest questions every SEC team must answer down the stretch this season:
RELATED: Week 9 Power Rankings
1. Alabama: Can the Tide prove it’s the best one-loss team in America by the end of the regular season?
2. Arkansas: Did Arkansas progress enough in an easy win over UAB to win an SEC game this year? (The Razorbacks have games left against Mississippi State, LSU, Ole Miss and Missouri — only Missouri is unranked among those four teams).
3. Auburn: Can Auburn’s defense improve from a poor showing against South Carolina? If not, can the offense do enough to carry the team the rest of the season?
4. Florida: Does Florida have any fight left in it? Did the Gators grow enough during the bye week to end the season with a winning record?
5. Georgia: Will Todd Gurley play against Florida? Will Georgia be better with Gurley back in the lineup than it was without him in wins over Missouri and Arkansas?
6. Kentucky: Can the Wildcats win road games against Missouri, Tennessee and Louisville to end the season with as many as eight wins?
7. LSU: With two losses to top 5 teams and a resounding win over Ole Miss, what is LSU’s ceiling this year?
8. Mississippi: Can Ole Miss regroup and move past a gut-wrenching loss to LSU with Auburn coming to town for an SEC West elimination game next week?
9. Mississippi State: Did Mississippi State grow from finally playing in a close game, or was it exposed by an up-and-coming Kentucky team?
10. Missouri: Who is to blame for Missouri’s offensive ineptitude? Can the offense be fixed before the end of the season?
11. South Carolina: Can South Carolina’s defense stop anybody? Seriously, can those guys stop any other offense in the SEC?
12. Tennessee: The Vols continue to progress on the field, but will they win an SEC game against someone besides Vanderbilt this season? Is Joshua Dobbs the team’s future at quarterback?
13. Texas A&M: Did a week away from the field do a reeling Aggies team any good? Can Texas A&M recover to finish the season the way it started the year in September?
14. Vanderbilt: Can Johnny McCrary maintain Vandy’s starting quarterback job the rest of the season? Can he be the team’s quarterback of the future?
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
