The SEC featured only one ranked matchup in Week 8, but with 11 teams active, a few trends and results stood out.

5. Unable to find the end zone, Missouri is on track to go from first to worst: The Tigers defeated South Carolina 24-10 on Oct. 3. Since then, in losses to Florida, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, MU has failed to cross the goal line, managing only 12 total points. At this point, with conference games against Mississippi State, Tennessee and Arkansas remaining, it’s possible for the two-time defending SEC East champion to finish at the bottom of the division.

4. Another fourth-quarter lead, another loss for Tennessee: It’s hard to understand how the Volunteers defense can play well for three quarters, but repeatedly squander leads in the final 15 minutes. Granted, in Saturday’s 19-14 loss to Alabama, UT’s fourth-quarter lead was only one point (14-13), but a stop could have allowed Tennessee to let running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara run the ball and kill the clock.

3. Vanderbilt is a factor in the SEC East race: A lot of it has to do with scheduling, but who expected the Commodores to be able to say in late October that they could contend for the SEC East? VU has only played four conference games, while some have played five, but at 1-3 after a 10-3 win over Missouri,  it could be part of a three-way tie with Florida and Georgia at 5-3 in the conference at the end of the season. It’s improbable that the Commodores will knock off Florida, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Tennessee, but at the start of November, they’ll be above Missouri and South Carolina in the standings.

2. Auburn can’t buy a defensive stop: It’s rare for a coach to come in and work miracles in his first season coaching players he didn’t recruit, but when Auburn cut a seven-figure check to bring on former Florida coach Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator, it probably expected more improvement than was on display Saturday. The Razorbacks-Tigers game went to four overtimes, and all four times Arkansas scored a touchdown. If AU had been able to force one turnover or make one stop, it could have easily won the game instead of losing 54-46.

1. All those playmakers, but no touchdowns for Texas A&M:  The Aggies have weapons in the passing game (QB Kyle Allen, wide receivers Christian Kirk, Josh Reynolds and Ricky Seals-Jones) that make the vast majority of the conference green with envy. Saturday, Texas A&M managed only three points against an Ole Miss team that saw SEC opponents score 91 points in the three previous contests.