The Cocktail Party has started. Everything else takes a back seat today, but there still is enough intrigue to keep the remote handy and the cooler full.

Here are the 6 biggest storylines I’ll be following in and around the SEC.

1. This is Kirby Smart’s biggest game

I usually overreact on Sundays, but it’s not a stretch to stress how critical this Cocktail Party is for Kirby Smart.

He can’t let Dan Mullen and the Gators wrest control of the East against this loaded Georgia team, even though the Dawgs haven’t looked anything like a team that features multiple NFL Draft prospects.

Smart’s game-day smarts already have been called into question.

Georgia has more talent than Florida. It has more elite recruits than Florida.

If Georgia stumbles, and tumbles to a 10-3 season, how much confidence will Georgia fans have that Smart really is capable of bringing the first national title since Herschel?

If Georgia wins, those questions disappear for a while longer.

The shine wears off quickly in this sport.

Just ask Gene Chizik.

2. Biggest difference between Joe Burrow and Jake Fromm

Joe Burrow is going to make a ton of money because he repeatedly makes throws over the middle.

Jake Fromm plays football as if he’s a member of a golf gallery: behind the ropes, outside of the fairway.

Fromm’s preference for throwing wide was the biggest reason Isaac Nauta never really reached his potential at Georgia. The one game Fromm leaned on Nauta? Last year in the Cocktail Party.

Fromm loves the back shoulder throw. NFL scouts love a QB who can exploit the middle of the field, somebody who is unafraid to challenge a triangle of 3 defenders because he has enough confidence, arm strength and skill to fit a ball into a tight window.

Fromm hasn’t really shown that. South Carolina exploited’s Fromm’s reliance on outside throws. Florida’s DBs are better than South Carolina’s.

There will be opportunities today over the middle. Georgia’s ability to win might hinge on Fromm’s willingness and ability to hit them.

3. I’m just gonna leave this right here …

Chad Morris is 0-13 in the SEC. Arkansas’ agony actually extends a bit further. The Hogs have lost 16 consecutive SEC games and are just 1-21 since beating Mississippi State in November of 2016.

Mississippi State is 1-4 in the SEC this season, its bowl hopes on life support.

Morris essentially guaranteed his Hogs will beat the Bulldogs Saturday.

Both coaches are feeling the heat.

Saturday’s game at Arkansas might as well be called Buyout Bowl.

With each passing week, it’s getting more difficult to envision either coach back on the same sidelines next year. I think Joe Moorhead has seen enough to know exactly how high the SEC West mountain is and will exit for Rutgers, no harm meant, no harm done.

Morris still thinks he’s a QB away from turning it around. Unless Morris’ son is as good as Deshaun Watson, I’m less convinced.

4. The Playoff rankings come out Tuesday …

LSU, Alabama and Ohio State are idle today. Clemson might as well be. The Tigers host Wofford. We’ve seen some crazy stuff this season, but, no, Clemson will not become the 51st Power 5 team to lose to an unranked team this season on Saturday.

At any rate, the Playoff discussion will dominate the down moments during today’s rather lackluster slate.

In Sunday morning’s Week 9 Overreactions, I had it like this:

1. LSU. No. 2 Alabama. No. 3 Ohio State. No. 4 Clemson.

That’s exactly how AP voters had it later Sunday, too.

I’ve had Clemson as high as No. 1. I’ve had LSU at No. 1 several times, earlier than AP voters.

I expect no surprises when the first Playoff rankings are revealed Tuesday night. It’ll be those 4, with no debate about LSU at No. 1.

As for 2-3-4, I’m fine with whatever order you want. I can make a case for each. Alabama has the weakest résumé in the group. Just know, among analysts, the Clemson fatigue factor is alive and well.

I’ve pointed out, several times, that the Tigers are who I think they are: a beast. They were bored. But they’ve re-engaged since the UNC scare. They averaged 49.7 points in 3 October games — more than any other Power 5 outfit this month.

I think the committee is smart enough to realize all of that. It would not surprise me, at all, if Clemson opens at No. 2.

5. Forget the officials, Gamecocks. Play on …

South Carolina has a dangerous game tonight against Vanderbilt, made more dangerous by the fact the Gamecocks still are bitter about the officiating in the Florida game.

The Gamecocks have dropped 2 straight.

It’s time to stop complaining and start playing.

One more loss means the Gamecocks will have to beat Clemson to make a bowl. Do not put yourself in that position.

Hit reset. Vandy already has ruined one SEC East team’s dreams. Don’t let them ruin yours, too.

6. You’re going to miss Joey Gatewood

Bo Nix has had his shot. Several of them. He’s completing 54% of his passes. That’s 13th among 13 SEC starters who have qualified for inclusion. That’s fine if Auburn were 13th among SEC teams. But Auburn showed, again, that it has a championship-worthy defense. And Nix showed, again, that’s he not at that level.

Did you see how angry Gus Malzahn got Saturday when Joey Gatewood thought he heard his name called and started to go in the game? Malzahn all but told him, get your butt back on the bench, I don’t trust you.

Gatewood has now left the team, and I don’t trust Gus to fix this.

I don’t get it. Nix wasn’t getting the job done, and it cost Auburn a shot at the Playoff. He’s not Trevor Lawrence. He’s not Jalen Hurts.

Maybe Gatewood would have been an utter disaster. Maybe he would have completed even fewer passes. That’s what some thought about Justin Fields last year, too.

All I know is, I sure would have like to have found out while he was still in an Auburn uniform.