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SEC fans are a prideful bunch. From historically great programs to wonderful fan traditions to the conference’s recent dominance over the college football landscape, there’s plenty to chant “S-E-C!” about. Here’s a look at five things the conference’s fans can point to after week 6 of the regular season.
- The Top 5. As it stands this week, the SEC West’s four powerhouse teams — Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn — all sit in the top five of the AP poll. While the rest of country screams about an SEC bias, the four teams have done everything in their power to prove their worth. Mississippi State has beaten three straight top-10 teams, Ole Miss has the best defense in the nation, Alabama bounced back from its loss to the Rebels with two straight smothering defensive efforts and one of the most convincing wins of the season over Texas A&M, while Auburn’s only loss came at the hands of the No. 1 Bulldogs on the road.
- Darn good defenses. All of the winning squads in Saturday’s SEC tilts crunched their opponents’ offenses. Alabama, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU combined to allow just 19 points, while Georgia held Arkansas to 6 points until the game was well out of reach. That’s the kind of performance the SEC came to be known for during it’s rise to the top of the college football world.
- National spotlight. For the third time in four weeks, ESPN’s College GameDay will be making a stop at an SEC venue. After the two Mississippi schools hosted the show in back-to-back weeks, GameDay stayed in the Southeast for a week when they visited Florida State. This weekend, they’ll be in Baton Rouge when the No. 24 Tigers take on No. 3 Ole Miss, giving SEC fans another chance to show off for the cameras.
- Power football. Alabama, LSU and Georgia all lined up and ran the ball like the forward pass hadn’t been invented yet on Saturday. Each team ran for more than 200 yards, with Alabama pushing 300 and LSU topping that number. Old-school football fans can rejoice that this style still exists in the SEC.
- Star power. It’s not just the big names that are starting to make national waves, but the guys who were only known to their team’s fans coming into the season. Georgia’s Nick Chubb has exploded onto the scene in place of Todd Gurley, Senquez Golson is second in the nation in interceptions for Ole Miss’ Landshark defense, Missouri’s Shane Ray is among the best in the country at getting to the quarterback, and a host of others have showed out on the national stage.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
