Week 8 ‘Uncle Mo’ poll keeps LSU on top, with Ole Miss catching up

Neither division leader played a conference foe in Week 8 (LSU-WKU, Florida bye week), but both division races were impacted by the 11 SEC teams who played.

Uncle Mo watched the games, checked out the polls before and after and read all the beat writer breakdowns to figure out which SEC teams have the most momentum going for them right now.

With a variety of inner-division and cross-division matchups in Week 8, almost every team saw a change in momentum. Let’s see where everyone stands:

1. LSU: The Tigers defeated Western Kentucky 48-20 in a potential trap game sandwiched between Florida and Alabama. The Bayou Bengals would have liked their friends in the SEC East to take down a couple SEC West foes, but No. 4 LSU obviously controls its own destiny as the conference’s only undefeated team. For Week 9, the Tigers get to rest up and plan for a showdown with the Crimson Tide on Nov. 7. 
2. Ole Miss: Memphis might have dented No. 19 Ole Miss’ playoff hopes, but it didn’t break the team’s spirit. The Rebels’ 23-3 win over Texas A&M reminded everyone that they have as good a chance of making it to the SEC Championship Game as media darling Alabama, a team they beat in September. WR Laquon Treadwell and company will be out for revenge against Auburn after last year’s 35-31 loss.
3. Alabama: The Crimson Tide’s come-from-behind win in a close game over an underperforming Tennessee team has causes some pundits to pump the breaks on playoff projections, but every SEC win is good for momentum when No. 7 Alabama needs a perfect finish and possibly some help to make it back to Atlanta. Coach Nick Saban will use this week’s bye to put extra preparation into an upcoming showdown with his old team, LSU.
4. Florida: Two SEC West teams (Alabama and Mississippi State) did the Gators (and Bulldogs for that matter) favors by taking down SEC East rivals Tennessee and Kentucky and adding some extra padding to UF’s cushion as the division leader. On a bye week, the Associated Press Top 25 poll voters bumped Florida two spots up to No. 11. UF’s biggest obstacle in making it back to Atlanta for the first time since 2009 is Georgia, this week’s opponent in Jacksonville.
5. Georgia: In regards to the SEC East, UGA controls its own destiny thanks to the Crimson Tide’s fourth-quarter comeback over the Volunteers. Georgia, currently unranked, is not considered a playoff team, but an SEC championship is in play and that would still be celebrated in Athens. The first step for Coach Mark Richt’s team to making it to Atlanta is a win over Florida in Jacksonville.
6. Mississippi State: The outlook for the other Bulldogs is looking a lot more positive after an impressive 42-16 win over Kentucky. At 2-2 in the SEC, No. 25 MSU’s 21-19 loss to 4-0 LSU hurts, but Coach Dan Mullen’s squad could fight its way back into contention with some help, or play spoiler, with  4-1 Alabama and 3-1 Ole Miss still on the schedule.
7. Texas A&M: Not too long ago, the Aggies were seen as “the team to beat,” but after a 23-3 loss to Ole Miss, upcoming opponents must be looking at Texas A&M as “ a team we’ll beat.” TAMU’s passing offense has struggled mightily in back-to-back weeks, and as a result the one-time division leader is on the outside looking in unless it gets help from its rivals.
8. Arkansas: After early out-of-conference letdowns and a loss to Alabama, Arkansas could not afford a loss to unranked Auburn. It took the Razorbacks defense four tries, but UA finally got a stop to defeat the Tigers 54-46 in quadruple overtime. At 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the SEC, Coach Bret Bielema’s team remains one of the most difficult to figure out.
9. Vanderbilt: Last season, Missouri finished 7-1 in the SEC East and Vanderbilt went 0-8. On Saturday, the Commodores defeated the two-time defending champion 10-3. VU faces a tough upcoming schedule (No. 18 Houston, No. 11 Florida, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Tennessee), but at 1-3 could finish above .500 in the SEC.
10. Tennessee: UT played Alabama close, but another fourth-quarter lead (14-13) evaporated when Crimson Tide RB Derrick Henry crossed the goal line with 2:24 remaining in the game to give UA a 19-14 win. The Volunteers should be favored in all five remaining games (Kentucky, South Carolina, North Texas, Missouri and Vanderbilt), but even a strong close to 2015 won’t make up for a fourth loss in a season with lofty preseason expectations.
11. South Carolina: The Gamecocks were on a bye in Week 8 and didn’t get any significant bump from the conference action. USC is still a mathematical long shot to win the SEC East, needing chaos across the board in November to bring on a 4-4 tie at the top.
12. Auburn: The Tigers fell back to the bottom of the division and left Little Rock with good news and bad news. The AU offense does a decent job of scoring in short-field situations, but the defense can’t force a stop or turnover with the game on the line. At the season’s start, Auburn seemed fully committed to Coach Gus Malzahn, but hot seat chatter will start to increase with bowl eligibility in jeopardy.
13. Kentucky: You know it’s bad at Kentucky when life imitates jokes, but Wildcats football really does seem to suffer once the basketball team has Midnight Madness. Back-to-back losses for UK (4-3, 2-3 SEC), the latest a 42-16 thumping by Mississippi State, means the discussion shifts from winning the SEC East to obtaining bowl eligibility.
14. Missouri: In a 10-3 loss to Vanderbilt, MU failed to score a touchdown in its third consecutive game. The two-time defending SEC East champion is free-falling in the wrong direction. Unless suspended QB Maty Mauk returns and works miracles, it’s difficult to see the Tigers going to a bowl game.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.