I don’t know how to tell you this, other than to tell you this:

Washington and Oregon are 2 of the 4 best football teams in the country — and both might be better than any team in the SEC.

Georgia is only as good as the ligament in Brock Bowers’ ankle. The Big Ten is a 3-team charade that will sort itself out soon enough. Ditto, the ACC.

Saturday provided much-needed clarity, and that’s just some of the 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 7 in and around the SEC.

10. No, Oregon wasn’t exposed as a Playoff fraud

Here we go: Oregon lost. Oregon is done. Blah, blah, blah.

Please, people. Did you watch the game? Have you watched previous games?

If Alabama still has a Playoff path, so does Oregon.

If Texas still has a Playoff path, so does Oregon.

Heck, if the Ohio State-Michigan loser still has a Playoff path — and you saw last year that it clearly did — so does Oregon.

Saturday’s Oregon-Washington showdown merely strengthened Washington’s case. It didn’t end the Ducks’ bid.

Far from it.

It emphatically reaffirmed everything I’ve been saying about the Pac-12 since Week 1: Somehow, some way — and don’t ask me how because I’m as shocked as you are — the Pac-12 is the best in all the land.

It’s not even really close.

I’ve had Washington at No. 1 at various points in my weekly 4 Playoff teams and y’all called me crazy.

I agree. I should have had the Huskies No. 1 every week. My bad.

We are in the age of the quarterback, and the Pac-12 has the 3 best QBs in the country. I’ve said that all season. Every other conference’s No. 1 QB is no better than the Pac-12’s No. 4.

Washington-Oregon was 2019 LSU-Alabama. Appreciate greatness and recognize it when you see it.

I hope you saw it.

Good news if you didn’t: You will get another chance.

9. Don’t turn on Mark Stoops now, Kentucky …

After a 38-21 beatdown at home Saturday, Mark Stoops has officially entered Joe Tiller Territory.

Remember Tiller? He inherited a dormant Purdue program that had 15 losing seasons in 16 years and promptly took the Boilers to 8 consecutive bowl seasons upon arrival.

He spoiled Purdue fans with 9-wins seasons and its first trip to the Rose Bowl in 30+ years. (They haven’t been back since that 2000 trip, either, by the way.)

Over time, as 9 wins turned into 6 and 7, the expectation of more caught up with Tiller. Never mind the fact that he created the lofty expectations or made fans of a basketball school care about football.

Purdue fans became entitled and wondered why they couldn’t be Michigan or Ohio State. After 12 seasons, a program-record 87 wins, a program-record 10 bowl trips, a program-record 4 bowl wins, Purdue fired Tiller after a 4-8 dip in 2008.

They should have named the field after him instead.

The Boilers have been to 6 mid-tier bowls in the 13 seasons since and are on their 4th coach. They’ve won 8 or more games just twice, something Tiller did 6 times.

Fast-forward to Kentucky.

It was a bad 7-day stretch. First, the Cats fold against an SEC heavyweight — and then Mark Stoops responded about how Georgia bought itself a pretty darn good football team. Saturday, the Cats got blown out by Mizzou. Cue the buyout search.

This is Stoops’ 11th season at Kentucky.

Like Tiller, Stoops is his program’s winningest coach, has been to the most bowls and won the most bowl games. The 2023 season will add to at least 2 of those categories.

Still, the Cats have lost at least 3 SEC games every year under Stoops. They’ve only beaten 2 SEC teams that went on to finish with a winning conference record.

It’s easy to pile on and wonder why Kentucky can’t reach an SEC title game, when 10 other programs have — including Mizzou, which arrived 1 year before Stoops.

Don’t. Understand the history, understand the ceiling. It’s perfectly acceptable to want to raise both, but understand how quickly everything can fall apart if the guy who raised the expectations no longer is calling the shots.

8. Build the statue …

KJ Jefferson produced the SEC Play of the Year and his signature moment as an Arkansas Razorback.

Not only did he shake off a sure sack, he did so while also having to hold onto the football. And the funniest part about this play is the referee had so much confidence in Jefferson that he allowed the process to play out. Jefferson dosey-doed with Tide DB Terrion Arnold for 3 full seconds before wriggling free. No doubt, this play would have been blown dead for most other QBs. Progress was stopped, and there was no need to risk injury.

Clearly, Jefferson doesn’t need protecting.

What he needs is better teammates.

7. Putting Nick Saban’s 200 wins in perspective

Nick Saban won his 200th game as Alabama’s head coach Saturday — his 291st overall. (The NCAA has other numbers. Whatever. Like anybody pays attention to their emails.)

Saban’s Alabama total doesn’t need much perspective, but I’ll happily provide some, anyway.

The only coaches in SEC history with more victories at the same school are Bear Bryant (232 at Alabama) and Vince Dooley, who won 201 at Georgia.

Among current SEC coaches, here’s how they stack up at their school:

  • Georgia: Kirby Smart — 88
  • Kentucky: Mark Stoops — 71
  • Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher — 43
  • Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin — 28
  • Missouri: Eli Drinkwitz — 23
  • Tennessee: Josh Heupel — 23
  • Arkansas: Sam Pittman — 21
  • South Carolina: Shane Beamer — 18
  • LSU: Brian Kelly — 15
  • Florida: Billy Napier — 11
  • Vanderbilt: Clark Lea — 9
  • MSU: Zach Arnett — 4
  • Auburn: Hugh Freeze — 3

Only Smart has an outside chance of joining Bear, Dooley and Saban in the 200 club at the same school.

6. The B1G lie …

Saw this graphic and immediately laughed.

Why?

See: Same story, different year.

Last year, the same 3 Big Ten defenses looked just as dominant throughout the regular season.

And then …

  • TCU scored 45 against Michigan — which hadn’t allowed more than 27 against anybody else and only gave up 15.7 points per game against B1G teams.
  • Georgia scored 42 against Ohio State — the 2nd-most points the Buckeyes surrendered all season and more than twice as much as their average of 20.9 against B1G teams.

Perspective matters, folks.

Play somebody of note outside your conference, then report back.

5. 5 “big wins” that hardly matter now …

Colorado 45, No. 17 TCU 42 (Week 1): What an opening statement in Week 1 from Prime’s Traveling Transfer All-Star team. (At least until TCU suffered its 3rd loss.) The Buffs got to 3-0 and were nationally ranked — unthinkable, actually, given the situation Deion Sanders inherited — before reality hit. The Buffs took expected losses to Oregon and USC, but blowing a 29-point lead against visiting Stanford on Friday night is going to sting awhile. “This one is tough for me,” Sanders told reporters. “I don’t remember being up 29-0 and losing a football game.” It’s OK, Prime. Folks like Danny Kanell will never let you forget it.

Florida 29, No. 11 Tennessee 16 (Week 3): This no doubt will be the Gators’ high-point. Tennessee, meanwhile, still has a chance at the SEC East title.

Missouri 30, No. 15 Kansas State 27 (Week 3): What a win, Mizzou walking it off on Harrison Mevis’ SEC-record 61-yard field goal. Alas, all that momentum came to a screeching halt a few weeks later with a 10-point home loss to LSU. And K-State suffered a 2nd loss soon after and no longer is ranked.

No. 11 Texas 34, No. 3 Alabama 24 (Week 2): The Tide’s rare 10-point home loss to a nonconference team was a field day for the “first time since …” crowd. The obit writers couldn’t resist, either. RIP, Saban Dynasty. Funny thing, though: Not only did this loss not expose the Tide as a Playoff fraud, it eventually served as the turning point.

Duke 28, No. 9 Clemson 7 (Week 1): This opening week loss didn’t officially end Clemson’s Playoff hopes, but it told you everything you needed to know about the reality of the Tigers’ bid. On cue, FSU took out Clemson as well — at Death Valley. Duke, meanwhile, climbed to 4-0 and No. 17 before losing at home to Notre Dame, ending the Cinderella story earlier than expected.

4. The 4 Playoff teams are …

No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 FSU, No. 4 Oregon

Oregon?!? This just in: Oregon would win the Big Ten, ACC and SEC.

Will it win the Pac-12?

Stay tuned. The rematch will tell all — but it shouldn’t eliminate either.

Ohio State plays Penn State on Saturday. Winner advances to a game against Michigan. Winner of that advances to the Playoff. Simple enough?

3. This is your ceiling of acceptance, Florida?

I nearly lost my mind watching Twitter crown Florida’s epic road win over soon-to-be 2-4 South Carolina as “the moment” the worm turned on Billy Napier’s tenure.

Are you kidding me?

The only reason Florida escaped another disastrous loss is because an off-target pass bounced off one receiver’s hands into the unsuspecting hands of another to convert a most unlikely 3rd-down play.

You know, just like they drew it up.

Come on, man. It was a fun win in a wild environment.

But if that’s the moment you suddenly believed in Billy Napier’s vision … Tallahassee help you.

2. Tennessee 20, Texas A&M 13

There’s nothing I can say about Jimbo Fisher and his 4-3 Aggies that you guys won’t top in the comments.

So I’m going to turn this over to you … (just be mindful: It’s Sunday and children do read this).

1. Oh, no, Georgia. Not like this …

It’s this simple: If Brock Bowers is anything less than Georgia’s best player, these Dawgs aren’t good enough to 3-peat. They’re still good enough, however, to beat everybody they’ll face in the regular season.

(Congrats on rallying for a 37-20 victory over Vandy, by the way. The Dawgs trailed Vandy for the first time since 2018 before water found its level.)

This is the 2nd consecutive week Bowers has missed game time because of an ankle injury, which the Dawgs are describing as a tweak.

Georgia has a bye week, so Bowers has 12+ days to rest and recover for the Cocktail Party.

Would you risk it?

Georgia’s schedule is so soft the Dawgs probably could get away with resting Bowers for multiple weeks.

Georgia needs him at full strength in December — and not until.