SEC Week 7 went from the predictable (Georgia and Alabama are still very good) to the surprising (why hello there, LSU, and Vanderbilt, you may actually have a team). We’ll tee it up once again on predicting where the teams of the SEC will finish the regular season, this time after Week 7. Here’s the latest:

West

Alabama: 11-1

The bounce-back that we all expected occurred. Which is probably good because Tennessee and LSU both look a little more daunting than they did a month ago. Ditto for Auburn. Alabama’s late schedule presents several possible stumbling blocks, but at the moment, there’s nobody who we’d be comfortable predicting to beat the Tide for the rest of the regular season.

Arkansas: 8-4

Arkansas picked a good time to play Arkansas-Pine Bluff (next week). Alabama is the only relatively sure loss the rest of the way, but Mississippi State and LSU are both dangerous. Frankly, 7-5 got real consideration here, but we’ll project the Hogs to grab that 8th regular-season win.

Auburn: 8-4

On the other hand, we’re a little more bullish on Auburn. They figure to beat Mississippi State and South Carolina and we’ve got them beating Ole Miss or A&M. Considering how much negative mojo the Tigers have battled, that feels like a pretty darn successful debut season for Bryan Harsin.

LSU: 6-6

At the moment, LSU seems likely to win one of a pair of critical November home games with Arkansas or Texas A&M. That projects to get them to 6 wins, although what it means for the long-term future of the program is anything but clear.

Mississippi State: 5-7

State could still well get to .500 or even into a winning season, but aside from Vandy and Tennessee State, that other win is looking harder and harder to get. Home games against Kentucky or Ole Miss are far from certain and road games at Arkansas and Auburn are also pretty tough.

Ole Miss: 10-2

We’re not confident enough in the Rebels to project them at 11-1. Granted, they could certainly get there, but playing at Auburn looks challenging, and hosting LSU and A&M won’t be easy. Feels like somebody pulls off a minor upset there and deals the Rebels a 2nd loss. But our minds could be changed.

Texas A&M: 9-3

The Aggies are playing solid, but we figure like there’s probably another loss out there someplace — hosting Auburn or playing at Ole Miss or LSU are all possibilities, with Ole Miss perhaps the most likely. For the moment, we’ll park the Aggies at 9-3.

East

Florida: 8-4

After the Gators get drubbed by Georgia on Halloween weekend, life gets much easier. How much easier? Missouri might be the best team left on the rest of the schedule. Maybe this is undue confidence giving the recent struggles of Florida, but we’ll stick the Gators at 8-4.

Georgia: 12-0

Playing in Knoxville on Nov. 13 might be the biggest challenge left in UGA’s regular season. Very few teams can score points on this defense, and meanwhile, the offense just hums along no matter who plays. It seems like if it was ever needed, the offense would be capable of making some plays. But will it ever be needed?

Kentucky: 10-2

Kentucky has a very real chance at 11-1, despite getting manhandled by Georgia. That said, Tennessee looks very legitimate, and playing in Starkville has been a real struggle for the Wildcats. We’ll stick with 10-2 for UK, although again, serious consideration was given to calling for 11-1.

Missouri: 5-7

Thank goodness for Vandy and South Carolina. The Tigers are a solid notch above both, but feel just about set in stone as the 5th-place team in the SEC East. This defense has to have some significant changes in 2022, or a new head coach might end up being the biggest change.

South Carolina: 4-8

Forget a bowl, another win for Carolina would be a surprise. Coach Shane Beamer has plenty of work cut out moving forward but was lucky to avoid losing to Vanderbilt in what would have been a negative reminder of just how far down the SEC pecking order the Gamecocks have fallen.

Tennessee: 6-6

The Vols are much better than we thought, but this is the run where the schedule catches up with them. They fought valiantly against Ole Miss, but in their next 3 games, they go to Bama, go to Kentucky and host Georgia. Of the 3, Kentucky is by far their best shot for a win, but that feels really optimistic. Josh Heupel’s team will probably be better than a 6-6 final record, but that’s just how the schedule happens to fall.

Vanderbilt: 2-10

Nearly taking down South Carolina has to be an encouraging sign. But it’s a pretty discouraging trip through the rest of the SEC schedule for Vandy.