Predicting every SEC team’s record after Week 7: Will Georgia go undefeated?
By Joe Cox
Published:
If you know it all, you don’t have to ever correct anything. We’ll be the first to admit that maybe we don’t know it all. And we do need some correction.
Like those old stale preseason predictions. Well, we’re throwing them out the window. Based on what we’ve seen so far in 2017, here’s where we think the teams of the SEC end up.
SEC West
Alabama: 12-0
We’re standing pat on this one. Who’s going to challenge the Tide? LSU in Tuscaloosa? Nah. At Auburn? Not really. We’re solid on this one.
Arkansas: 5-7
There just aren’t six wins on that schedule. They’ll beat Coastal Carolina and Mizzou, and we’re giving them credit for one more. Home against Mississippi State maybe? At Ole Miss? Hard to imagine both.
Auburn: 7-5
Back end of this schedule is tough. At A&M, home vs. UGA, and home vs. Bama all look like losses from here. Finishing 8-4 would be good, really.
LSU: 9-3
Only sure loss the rest of the way is at Alabama. Home vs. Texas A&M probably decides second place in the West.
Mississippi State: 7-5
At A&M and home vs. Bama look like losses, and there’s probably one more — perhaps UK or maybe Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl?
Ole Miss: 5-7
They could steal a sixth win somewhere along the way. At some point, the lack of post-season motivation seems likely to hurt.
Texas A&M: 9-3
The idea that a team that blew a 34-point lead with 19 minutes to play at UCLA could play for second place in the West speaks volumes.
SEC East
Florida: 6-5
The Gators have gone from winning the East twice in a row to probably having their bowl hopes hanging on winning at South Carolina, which is far from a sure thing. The amazing thing is that record could and probably should be even worse.
Georgia: 12-0
We’ve held back on this, thinking that there was a loss lurking out there in the weeds. But after watching Auburn and Georgia Tech this weekend, there probably isn’t one. Book it for Atlanta.
Kentucky: 9-3
Sure, that’s insane. But look at that schedule again. Home games against Ole Miss and Tennessee are imminently winnable, and so is a road game at Vandy. Georgia is a loss, and it’s not hard to envision UK stealing either the game at Mississippi State or — more likely — their season finale hosting a stumbling Louisville team. They could fall apart, but never in recent memory have nine wins looked this plausible this late for Kentucky.
Missouri: 3-9
Idaho and U Conn. Sure, they could sneak a win at Vandy or Arkansas. But watch that defense play, and it’s easier to imagine the game at UConn turning into a loss.
South Carolina: 7-5
It’s the schedule. Carolina could end up with eight wins, but having to play Clemson and at Georgia stops the speculation there.
Tennessee: 6-6
Home games against Southern Mississippi and Vandy and a road game at Mizzou are the path to bowl eligibility. That said, 5-7 wouldn’t be at all shocking.
Vanderbilt 5-7
There are a trio of winnable home games — Western Kentucky, Kentucky and Mizzou. But it’s looking unlikely that Vandy pulls a sweep, which leaves them short of six wins.
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.
