Florida had a nice cushion in the SEC East division race, but a big loss at Arkansas prevented it from separating from the pack.
The Gators’ loss could have cost them their spot at the top of the SEC East, but Kentucky was unable to take advantage of the opportunity, losing at home to Georgia 27-24.
Kentucky’s loss also keeps South Carolina’s improbable division hopes alive for another week, and four teams are still in the hunt.
Let’s break down the division scenarios for each team.
Florida Gators (6-2, 4-2 SEC)
Saturday’s loss at Arkansas certainly didn’t help, but the Gators still lead the East. The Gators would have had the SEC East all but wrapped up with a win, but now they have to regroup for two more crucial conference games.
Still to play: vs. South Carolina, at LSU.
Florida wins East if:
- It wins two remaining SEC games.
- It wins one game, Tennessee loses one more game and the Gators advance on tiebreaker over Kentucky.
- Kentucky loses one more game and Tennessee loses two more games.
Kentucky (5-4, 4-3)
The Wildcats let an opportunity to claim a lead in the SEC East slip through their fingers by losing to Georgia on Saturday night. Kentucky isn’t out of it quite yet, though, but it needs help.
Still to play: at Tennessee
Kentucky wins East if:
- It beats Tennessee and Florida loses two remaining SEC games.
South Carolina (5-4, 3-4)
Against all odds, the Gamecocks still have a shot at winning the division after Week 10. Winners of back-to-back SEC games, South Carolina’s odds are slim but anything can happen. For the Gamecocks to be the division’s representative in Atlanta, there must be a three- or four-way tie. If that happens, South Carolina would hold head-to-head advantages over Florida and Tennessee.
Still to play: at Florida.
South Carolina wins East if:
- It beats Florida in Week 11 and Florida loses to LSU in Week 13 and Tennessee beats Kentucky and then loses one of two remaining SEC games.
Tennessee (6-3, 2-3)
The Vols’ loss at South Carolina really did a number on their division hopes. With three SEC games left, however, Tennessee is still in position to make a late-season run at the top.
Still to play: vs. Kentucky, vs. Missouri, at Vanderbilt
Tennessee wins East if:
- It wins remaining SEC games and Florida loses at least one more SEC game (Tennessee would advance due to head-to-head victory).
