The third weekend of SEC play leaves the league with 3 undefeated squads and a group of potential College World Series selections. As we round up the results from another week of SEC baseball, here are the 10 biggest takeaways.

1. Florida sitting comfortably on top

The top-ranked Florida Gators (per the Baseball America poll) didn’t provide any reason to move them off the top spot. A 3-game sweep of Troy again showcased Florida for what it is — an extraordinarily balanced team with no apparent weakness. Florida sits in the higher mid reaches of the SEC’s stats in batting average, home runs, ERA, and most everything else — except for winning, where they are 1 of 3 unbeaten teams left. No small factor is playing well under pressure — UF has 3 1-run wins and 3 extra-inning wins. They trailed Troy 7-1 on Saturday before rallying for a 10-7 win.

2. Georgia heating up

Georgia jumped to No. 4 after sweeping a series with Georgia Tech this weekend, which included a 12-0 Saturday shutout (thanks to an unhittable day from UGA ace Cole Wilcox — 7 innings, 3 hits and no runs allowed, 11 strikeouts) which was the Bulldogs’ first shutout of Tech at their home since 1964. UGA won the series by a combined 27-8 count — in part due to Tucker Bradley, who has been on fire at the plate, hitting .447 and leading the SEC with 6 homers and 19 RBI in UGA’s first dozen games. Don’t sleep on the Bulldogs, even as the rest of the SEC is distracted by …

3. UT keeps slugging out wins

While Tennessee’s 12-0 start is impressive, perhaps more impressive is 125 — the number of runs the No. 18 Vols have scored in those wins. How dominant have the Vols been (admittedly against some ho-hum competition)? How about this one — UT has hit 22 home runs (tops in the SEC) … and has allowed 20 total runs (fewest in the SEC).

No Vol has more than 3 homers. Meanwhile, the pitching staff leads the SEC in ERA, at 1.42. That probably won’t hold up in SEC play — which is where junior closer Sean Hunley comes in, with 3 saves and 13 scoreless innings to his credit already.

4. Buzzard’s luck for LSU

LSU’s 7-5 start might be best typified by their Sunday showdown with Oklahoma. Tiger starter AJ Labas held No. 15 Oklahoma hitless for 7 innings. That said, Oklahoma starter Dane Acker held LSU hitless for the full 9 innings. Tigers pitching allowed just two hits, but one was a solo homer by OU catcher Justin Mitchell which was the margin in a 1-0 loss.

Even before that game, LSU was hitting a meager .246, and with plenty of Tiger batting averages in the .200s (and some in the .100s or the .000s), LSU’s bounceback will have to begin at the plate. The Tigers have dropped to No. 20.

5. Rebels keep rolling — and keep opponents from running

While LSU has struggled, No. 9 Ole Miss has been the positive surprise of the West. Since losing their opening game to Louisville, the Rebels have won 10 in a row (including that Louisville series). Last week included a combined no-hitter, and this week included a 2-1 win at a ranked East Carolina squad. Ole Miss ended the weekend with a 9-5 win over Indiana. One potential key to their success? Catcher Hayden Dunhurst has struggled with the bat, but he’s allowed just 1 stolen base this season. Holding opponents to station-to-station baseball has been a huge advantage for Ole Miss.

6. Tough week for Mississippi State, especially at the plate

The other Mississippi school had a rough week. State ended last week with its first loss — to Oregon State, but followed it up Tuesday with a surprising 8-4 defeat against Texas Southern. Then, the Bulldogs lost 2 of 3 to No. 17 Long Beach State. Mississippi State slipped to 4 spots to No. 12 in BA’s poll.

The Bulldogs are near the bottom of the SEC in most offensive categories, hitting below .250 and hanging near the bottom in home runs (7) and stolen bases (8). Pitchers like Christian McLeod (3-0, 1.20 ERA in 15 innings with 23 strikeouts) have been the bright spot.

7. Rocker misses start, Vandy still sorting out hitting

No. 3 Vanderbilt didn’t have any type of disaster but did take a loss to Hawaii on Saturday, ending the weekend at 10-3 on the season. Kumar Rocker was scheduled to pitch Saturday but was scratched. Vandy described it as soreness, but any blip involving Rocker’s right arm sends shock waves throughout college baseball. Tim Corbin said it was “nothing to be alarmed about,” and added that Vandy had to sit him early last season, too.

Vandy lost 3-1 in Rocker’s absence, but culprit was offense, as Vandy managed just 6 hits and struck out 11 times.

In terms of a turn-around, it had to be a good sign for Vandy to end the series with an 11th-inning walk-off homer Sunday by outfielder Isaiah Thomas. Oddly, that was Vandy’s first walk-off homer since 2018. The good news for the ‘Dores is that as nasty as their pitching is, they don’t need much help. Mason Hickman and Rocker are a combined 4-0 with a 0.59 ERA, thanks in part to 47 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings. Don’t forget super freshman Jack Leiter. All he’s done is pick up 2 wins, by pitching 10 innings of 1-hit baseball with 16 strikeouts. The Vandy Boys will be fine.

8. Auburn had a get-back week

After a tough start sent Auburn tumbling down the polls, they took care of business against Alabama A&M and Wright State to remain at No. 24. The Tigers’ week included a shutout of each opponent and a crazy 20-6 win Saturday. Shortstop Ryan Bliss’ 2 home runs helped key the big day, which featured a 10-run 4th inning. Bliss leads the SEC with 23 hits and is 3rd with 17 RBI. The last time Auburn had scored 20 runs was against Alabama in 2018, which reminds us …

9. Alabama continues to show out … admittedly against not-so-great competition

Alabama is 12-0 — but still not ranked. Admittedly, the Tide haven’t exactly played a murderer’s row of great programs, although they did sweep Harvard this weekend, in a level of vengeance against the smart kids unseen since Good Will Hunting. Freshman outfielder Owen Diodati has been an early standout at the plate for Bama, and it’ll be interesting to see how long the Tide can keep rolling — as they’ve already racked up the 2nd-best start in program history. Their first big test won’t come until March 20-22, when they travel to face No. 13 Arkansas.

10. Arkansas’ perfect start meets a winless week

Arkansas entered the week 7-0 and ranked No. 9. A trio of losses to Oklahoma, Texas, and Baylor caused the Razorbacks to slide to No. 13 in the new poll. The good news for Arkansas is that they had a puncher’s shot in all 3 games, bringing the tying run to the plate in the 9th against Oklahoma, losing a 1-run battle to Texas on Saturday, and again falling a run shy against Baylor on Sunday. Heston Kjerstad and his teammates could just as easily as not look great again when they open SEC play in two weeks at Mississippi State.