Predicting every SEC team's final record after Week 3
Week 3 in the SEC was a wild one. We’re down to 2 unbeatens and 1 winless team. Given all of this additional knowledge, let’s reset the clock and forecast how your favorite SEC team will end the regular season.
Alabama: 10-0
There was a temptation to move the Tide to 9-1. Maybe the Ole Miss offense is that sharp … or maybe this game was a wake-up call to the fact that all the Tide’s defensive issues didn’t simply disappear.
Arkansas: 3-7
It was a loss, but the Razorbacks hung with Auburn for the full 60 minutes, and again give no reason to think they’ll lay low, even if the overall record does land south of .500. The West is as scrambled as any division in college football, and Arkansas will surprise a couple more teams before it’s done.
Auburn: 6-4
It’s fair to say that after the Tigers struggled that much with Arkansas that virtually any remaining game on the schedule could go either way. Auburn is devoid of any real identity 3 weeks into the season, and that won’t go over well with this fan base.
Florida: 8-2
The good news is that the remaining schedule is pretty soft aside from the Georgia game. That said, Saturday’s A&M game was one that you couldn’t lose if you want to win the East. Maybe the gap in the East isn’t between the top 2 and everyone else … maybe it’s Georgia and everybody else. Speaking of which …
Georgia: 9-1
Georgia/Bama has overtaken Georgia/Florida as the game of the year. Given the way Bama struggled with Ole Miss, there might be more weakness there than we had anticipated … but given UGA’s inconsistent work, it might not be the team to cash in. Still, Georgia is officially the team to beat in the East.
Kentucky: 4-6
The Wildcats got back on track, and as up and down as the East is, they could still salvage a serviceable season. On the other hand, a week after having no defense, the Wildcats seemed to have no offense.
LSU: 5-5
Anybody can have an upset loss, but losing to Mississippi State and Missouri definitely casts a pall over the season for the Tigers. The defense has been shockingly bad, and while some fall-off was expected in 2020, this much wasn’t.
Mississippi State: 3-7
Losing to Arkansas doesn’t seem so shameful any more, but getting drilled by Kentucky isn’t a good sign. The Bulldogs’ offense was all shine and sparkle in Week 1, but since then, it’s been nothing but ugly — giving up as many points to opposing defenses as they have scored on offense.
Missouri: 4-6
No, LSU isn’t the ’85 Bears, but that still was an impressive win for Mizzou. As competitive as the East is, the Tigers will be in plenty of games the rest of the way. Finding an offensive identity with the passing game is a promising development, but so far everybody is throwing on LSU.
Ole Miss: 5-5
The Rebels can’t stop anybody. Meanwhile, they also seem like they can score on anybody. Does 5-5 not seem entirely perfect for that? They get outscored 5 times, and 5 times they’ll outscore somebody.
South Carolina: 2-8
Yes, the Gamecocks won, but in a week when Missouri and Kentucky definitely made strides, it’s hard to be optimistic about the fate of this team. This figures to be a tough year with the writing potentially already on the wall for Will Muschamp.
Tennessee: 5-5
The Tennessee from the 1st half of Saturday’s game with Georgia would go 7-3. The Vols from the 2nd half would go 3-7. So we’ll split the difference, and acknowledge that the Vols got an absolutely horrible schedule.
Texas A&M: 7-3
Big-time victory for the Aggies in a week when suddenly, there aren’t too many games that aren’t in play for the rest of their run. If A&M can finagle its way to second in the West, that would be a substantial step forward for Jimbo Fisher’s team.
Vanderbilt: 0-10
Just hard to see much else happening.