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Week 3 ‘Uncle Mo’ poll: Rebels, Tigers and Bulldogs on top
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Eight conference teams went head-to-head in Week 3. Both divisions felt the momentum impact, especially the SEC West.
Uncle Mo watched the games, checked out the polls before and after and read all the beat writer breakdowns to figure out which SEC teams have the most momentum going for them right now.
The new poll features a few shakeups from last week. Let’s see where everyone stands:
1. Ole Miss: For two weeks, UM’s 70-point scores were dismissed as beating up on weak opponents or running up the score, but now after outscoring Alabama, 43-37, in Bryant-Denny Stadium, the high-powered offense led by QB Chad Kelly has to be taken seriously. Every SEC West team has a tough schedule, but the Rebels took care of arguably its toughest game first.
2. LSU: Who needs a passing game when Leonard Fournette is your running back? The Bayou Bengals are going to run the darn ball until someone figures out how to contain their Heisman candidate in the backfield – and that doesn’t look to be happening any time soon. LSU’s 45-21 win over Auburn showed that the wrong Tigers team was hyped in the offseason.
3. Georgia: The Bulldogs are riding high after hanging 52 points on long-time nemesis Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks. In addition to having the best backfield in the conference – Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Keith Marshall – Georgia has found a dangerously accurate quarterback in Greyson Lambert (24-of-25, 330 yards, three touchdowns). UGA is clearly in the SEC East driver’s seat.
4. Texas A&M: It was a little closer than some expected, but the Aggies ultimately took care of business with a 44-27 win over Nevada. Texas A&M is somewhat of an SEC West unknown right now, but it definitely has more momentum than the four teams with losses.
5. Florida: The Gators crashed Kentucky’s “Super Bowl” with a 14-9 victory at Commonwealth Stadium to make it 29 wins in a row over the Wildcats. There are a number of concerns for UF, but a conference road win is something to build on.
6. Mississippi State: A 62-13 win over Northwestern State doesn’t say much, but the Bulldogs do look a little better after this week’s conference results. The transitive property for sports is usually best left for arguments over beers, but LSU’s dominating win over Auburn does make MSU look a little better. The Bulldogs were a missed field goal away from beating the same LSU team now getting talked about as a potential playoff team.
7. Tennessee: A 55-10 win over Western Carolina doesn’t offer much in terms of momentum, but the Volunteers should go to The Swamp plenty confident of their chances to snap the 10-game losing streak to Florida.
8. Missouri: The Tigers will open SEC play undefeated after a bizarre 9-6 victory over the UConn Huskies. The two-time defending SEC East champion gets the benefit of doubt until proven otherwise, but not a whole lot of positive momentum for Missouri coming from the early nonconference portion of its schedule.
9. Alabama: Momentum swings are big with the Crimson Tide. The 43-37 loss to Ole Miss has spawned hot takes about the end of the Saban-era dynasty. Even when the media is overreacting, once-untouchable Alabama starts to be perceived as vulnerable by fans and players alike. Fortunately for UA, it has many chances to regain momentum and make people forget about the loss to the Rebels.
10. Kentucky: The Wildcats came close, but still fell six points short (14-9) of finally beating Florida. The early dropped touchdown pass loomed large, though UF also left a potential 6-10 points on the field. Coach Mark Stoops’ team opens as favorites against defending division winner Missouri, another chance to grab a signature win.
11. Auburn: AU is reeling after an offseason with lofty expectations and three weeks of performances that have gotten progressively worse. Allowing more than 400 rushing yards to a division rival in a 45-21 loss does a number on a team’s momentum. The Tigers are in desperate of need positive momentum, and can gain it with a win against MSU.
12. Vanderbilt: The Commodores are no longer winless after a 47-7 victory over Austin Peay. Who knew this Vanderbilt team could actually score 47 points?
13. Arkansas: The Razorbacks now have back-to-back non-conference losses after falling to Texas Tech, 35-24. Coach Bret Bielema continues to attract the wrong kind of headlines. To salvage the season, Arkansas will have to turn it around for conference play.
14. South Carolina: USC’s 52-20 loss to UGA has brought on the inevitable questions about how long Steve Spurrier should remain Head Ball Coach in Columbia, S.C. To be fair to Spurrier, he lost his quarterback to injury in last week’s loss at Kentucky and faced one of the best team’s in the conference, Georgia, the following week. But with back-to-back conference losses, the season feels like it’s slipping away from the Gamecocks, and right now, there doesn’t seem to be any Spurrier magic left to bail them out.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
