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SEC Football

Week 10: SEC vs. Big Ten

Christopher Smith

By Christopher Smith

Published:

Every Tuesday, we rank the SEC and Big Ten teams in one power poll. The order of the SEC teams is based on the Week 10 SDS SEC Power Poll.

It’s do or die for the Big Ten this weekend, as Ohio State doesn’t have the schedule to challenge for a playoff spot. Michigan State must win for the conference to remain a true contender for the national championship.

Meanwhile, the SEC has come down to three teams in the West Division. Georgia’s upset loss to Florida hurt, but it was inevitable that either Auburn or Georgia would fall off anyway. Given the remaining schedule, the SEC will pare itself down to two hopefuls eventually.

In our combined rankings, the SEC’s strength is up top as the conference claims four of the top five slots.

ONE IS NOT SO LONELY

It wasn’t pretty, but the Bulldogs remain the only SEC team without a loss. Almost every championship team faces a few games that are closer than they should be against an inferior opponent. Winning those games is a good sign for Dan Mullen and Mississippi State, which have Alabama in mind as the team prepares for FCS foe Tennessee-Martin.

1. Mississippi State (8-0)

NOVEMBER GIANTS

The Yellowhammer State puts a team in the national championship every season. The streak is threatening to grow as long as the SEC’s vaunted seven consecutive national championships. There may be bias toward these teams, first of all due to talent and coaching, but second due to recent history. This is the time of year these programs excel, over and over. Michigan State is trying to become a November staple nationally as well.

2. Alabama (7-1)
3. Auburn (7-1)
4. Michigan State (7-1)

CAPABLE OF A TOP 10 FINISH

Each of these teams is capable of a strong finish in the polls, but may have to win out to get there (or at least impress in its bowl game). That’s the ceiling. The basement is out of the Top 25. But there aren’t 10 teams in the country that have looked more impressive than LSU recently, and Ohio State has a huge opportunity in front of it against Michigan State.

5. LSU (7-2)
6. Nebraska (7-1)
7. Ole Miss (4-2)
8. Ohio State (6-1)

STILL HOPING FOR A DIVISION TITLE

The SEC East will come down to Georgia and Missouri, and the Tigers have a huge advantage unless the Bulldogs beat Auburn at home Nov. 15. Meanwhile, Wisconsin and Iowa both remain alive in the Big Ten West, and each team hosts Nebraska in the final three weeks of the conference’s regular season.

9. Georgia (4-2)
10. Wisconsin (5-2)
11. Missouri (7-2)
12. Iowa (5-2)

ONE-DIMENSIONAL OFFENSES

The Gophers and Gators both rely heavily on the run — David Cobb is eighth in the NCAA in rushing, and Florida ran the ball about 143 times Saturday against Georgia. Texas A&M, meanwhile, hasn’t been able to do much of anything on offense, but even at the beginning of the season, the Aggies threw the ball to set up the run. A&M’s game isn’t predicated on talented running backs.

13. Minnesota (6-2)
14. Texas A&M (6-3)
15. Florida (4-3)

THE DEFINITION OF MEDIOCRE

I could waste your time writing in depth about Maryland and Penn State, but watch 10 minutes of one of these teams’ games and you’ll see what I mean. Arkansas, you’ve looked better at times, but you are what your record says.

16. Maryland (5-3)
17. Arkansas (4-5)
18. Penn State (4-3)
19. Michigan (3-5)

SEC WASTELAND

The Vols got a big SEC win last weekend — only it came against the Gamecocks, who are just as bad at football this year as UT. The SEC East is better than the Big Ten West, but its teams generally belong toward the bottom of any ranking involving power conference teams. Yes, as strange as it sounds, I know Rutgers is a Big Ten member. But they’d fit well in the division this season.

20. Kentucky (5-4)
21. Rutgers (5-3)
22. Tennessee (4-5)
23. South Carolina (4-5)

BIG TEN WASTELAND

They may all be better than Vanderbilt. Regardless, the Big Ten basement is pretty full these days. The only oddity is Indiana, which beat current SEC East leader Missouri on the road earlier this season. That was before the team’s starting quarterback got hurt, of course.

24. Northwestern (3-5)
25. Indiana (3-5)
26. Purdue (3-6)
27. Illinois (4-5)

ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER

The Commodores are bad, but maybe not as bad as we feared through the first few games of the season. Vandy now is 3-1 against non-conference opponents, even if the wins have come against Massachusetts, Charleston Southern and Old Dominion. Quarterback Johnny McCrary and running back Ralph Webb have promise. If this team could sneak an SEC win, it wouldn’t be a total disaster of a season for Derek Mason.

28. Vanderbilt (3-6)

Christopher Smith

An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.

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