There are almost no absolutes in the SEC this season.

Texas A&M was an impressive surprise, while South Carolina was doomed to struggle for 6 wins … until the Gamecocks beats the brakes off the Aggies on Saturday night. There were plenty of other surprises — Georgia’s offensive struggles, Ole Miss’s explosion, Vandy’s taking care of business.

A very hectic week changed perceptions, too. Here’s where we think every SEC team finishes the regular season, after Week 10.

Georgia (11-1, 7-1 after 34-20 win over Florida)

Georgia didn’t do anything super impressive. But the next 2 weeks will tell the tale for the Bulldogs. Handle Ole Miss on the road and Tennessee at home and book the Playoff. Split the 2 and probably do the same. Lose both and it gets dicey in a hurry. Tennessee looked a lot like Georgia this week — solid defense, offense that struggled at times to get out of its own way. Ole Miss could be the big threat here.

Texas (11-1, 7-1 after week off)

The Horns got a week off and suddenly don’t look likely to have a whole lot of trouble at A&M or Arkansas. Texas feels like a safer potential 11-1 team than the Bulldogs.

Tennessee (10-2, 7-1 after 28-18 win over Kentucky)

The Vols had some self-inflicted trouble against Kentucky, but did enough to get by. They’ll have to play better than that at Georgia in 2 weeks. On the road, we’ll pick against the Vols, but this isn’t the Georgia team of a couple years ago. UT could well end up 11-1 after all is said and done. Even at 10-2, their Playoff situation looks pretty good.

Alabama (10-2, 6-2 after week off)

The Tide have to win at LSU, but if they’re able to do that, their Playoff dreams are still very much alive and well. The ugly loss for A&M probably bumps Bama up a step. They’re a solid No. 4 team for the CFP from the SEC, which looks like a reasonable thing after a chaotic Saturday across the country.

Texas A&M (9-3, 7-2 after 44-20 loss to South Carolina)

The Aggies are now probably out of the SEC race and the Playoff race. Texas is likely to best them to close the season, which will probably leave a 9-3 Aggie team looking at a top non-CFP bowl. The nature of their drubbing from South Carolina did nothing to help with style points.

LSU (9-3, 6-2 after week off)

The Alabama game is the story here. The winner is in the Playoff hunt, and the loser is basically out. It’s a pretty easy run post-Alabama for the Tigers, so next week is the one to circle on the calendar.

Ole Miss (9-3, 7-2 after 63-31 win over Arkansas)

The Rebels are probably going to lose to Georgia, but that’s far from a sure thing. It probably ends up being the game Ole Miss has to win for a Playoff shot, because a 9-3 team that lost to Kentucky is probably stuck on the outside. The last two wins are looking pretty safe, so it’s all about Georgia next week.

Missouri (9-3, 6-2 after week off)

The Tigers are the weakest of this potential multitude of 9-3 teams. South Carolina suddenly looks like a very plausible loss, and Arkansas certainly has a puncher’s chance. 8-4 was very much in the conversation, but Arkansas didn’t look great this week.

South Carolina (8-4, 5-3 after 44-20 win over Texas A&M)

The offense was explosive and pretty much wrapped up a bowl. At this point, wins over Wofford and Missouri at home look entirely plausible, with at Vandy being very much in the running too. We could have stopped at 7 wins, but this Carolina team looked like an 8-win team against the Aggies, so we’ll make the leap.

Vanderbilt (7-5, 6-3 after 17-7 win over Auburn)

Vandy got it done, which is a good thing because these next 3 games are looking pretty brutal. South Carolina is up and down and Vandy’s smashmouth style could be problematic. LSU on the road is a big ask and Tennessee will probably be playing for a Playoff spot. Still, somebody is going to end up on the wrong side of the Commodores and Vandy will get its 7th win.

Arkansas (6-6, 5-4 coming off 63-31 loss to Ole Miss)

Maybe Bobby Petrino can take over the defense, too. The Razorbacks take a step back, just because they don’t seem exceptionally likely to win at Mizzou. That one feels like a very slight advantage for the Tigers. Factor in a loss to Texas and a win over La. Tech and 6-6 ends up being the record.

Oklahoma (5-7, 5-4 after 59-14 win over Maine)

Maine was an easy win, but that looks like it. At Missouri is probably the best shot at a 6th win and bowl eligibility, but with the game on the road, the Tigers look like the better team. Oklahoma ended up drawing a brutal schedule, and this horrific offense (despite a good day this week) doesn’t do enough heavy lifting to win.

Florida (5-7, 4-4 after 34-20 loss to Georgia)

The Gators just didn’t have quite enough juice in the tank and with DJ Lagway possibly finished for the season, the ceiling is lower by the minute. Florida State is awful, but that’s the only likely win left in the Billy Napier era.

Kentucky (4-8, 3-6 after 28-18 loss to Tennessee)

Speaking of no offense, Kentucky just cannot get out of its own way. They’re also pretty horribly beaten up by this point. Next week brings FCS Murray State, but then Texas should end any bowl hopes pretty quickly the following week.

Auburn (4-8, 3-6 after 17-7 loss to Vandy)

Auburn had to get past Vandy to have even a shot at a bowl appearance. While they’re good enough to outlast ULM, they’re not good enough to outlast Alabama or Texas A&M.

Mississippi State (2-10, 2-7 after 45-20 win over UMass)

That was it for the Bulldogs for the season. It’s been a rough run.

Joe Cox

Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.