Six takeaways from Week 7 in the SEC

The dust has settled on Week 7 in the SEC and several new and old story lines have emerged, including statement wins for Alabama, LSU and even, to a lesser extent, South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi State.

Here are several takeaways from the Week 7 in the SEC.

Harris The New Grier: The absence of Will Grier wasn’t the difference in Florida’s Week 7 loss to LSU. Harris threw for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Gators saw their undefeated streak end at six. Florida quarterbacks have thrown for at least 250 yards four times this season, with Grier and Harris each accomplishing the feat twice. It’s the first time since the 2009 that a Gators quarterback has gone for more than 250 yards that many times. Harris, however, was sacked five times, a number that will have to come down if Florida wants to extend that 250-yard passing mark to five games against a tough Georgia defense in Week 9.

Bama and LSU, the elites: Both Alabama and LSU made statement wins in Week 7 with victories over undefeated squads in No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 8 Florida, respectively. Both programs can now stake claims to being the team-to-beat in the SEC this season. If Alabama can survive Tennessee and the Tigers can get past Western Kentucky unscathed in Week 8, it’ll set up a matchup between the Crimson Tide and LSU in a Tuscaloosa heavyweight fight that could very well determine not only the SEC West champ, but which SEC team has the best chance at making the College Football Playoff. Who doesn’t want to a good ole fashion Alabama-LSU matchup for all the marbles?

Bullish Dogs: Mississippi State showed its resiliency during its 45-20 Week 7 win over Louisiana Tech, challenging program marks for comebacks and points scored. The 14-point deficit is the second-largest lead the program has ever erased for a win, while their 45 points is the most posted on La. Tech since winning 48-0 back in 1938. Mississippi State gets stronger later in games, outscoring opponents 55-12 with no touchdowns in the fourth quarter of games this season, best in the SEC.

Same Ole Miss: It looks like 2014 all over again in Oxford. Ole Miss dropped its second game of the season, this time to American Athletic Conference’s Memphis. The Tigers are 6-0 now (and finally are ranked), but the Rebels needed to win that game to remain a contender. Last year’s squad started 7-0, before middling out and finishing 9-4 and getting drubbed by Texas-Christian in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. It’s only going to get tougher for Hugh Freeze’s squad, who still have to host Texas A&M, LSU and Arkansas, while traveling to Auburn and Mississippi State for this year’s Egg Bowl. The loss almost dropped No. 13 Ole Miss from the rankings.

Limping Bulldogs Alive: Georgia is still alive in the SEC East, courtesy of the Bulldogs’ 9-6 win over Missouri and Florida’s loss to LSU. Mark Richt’s squad (5-2, 3-2) gets its shot at the division-leading, one-loss Gators in Week 9 after each squad first enjoys a much-needed bye week. The Bulldogs are mathematically alive, but the Georgia offense hardly looks as if they’re of a title-winning caliber. Richt still has a powerful run game and one of the best offensive lines in the division, but inconsistency under center with Greyson Lambert is beginning to take its toll as UGA failed to find the end zone for the first time since Central Florida held the Bulldogs out of the end zone during the 2010 Liberty Bowl.

RELATED: UGA ekes out win over Mizzou

Life In Columbia: No team in the country has been through the adversity that the South Carolina Gamecocks have faced in the past week or so. Days after deadly floods ravaged the state and forced the relocation of the team’s Week 6 matchup to Baton Rouge, legendary Gamecock head coach Steve Spurrier abruptly resigned from the program. South Carolina turned to co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Shawn Elliott to pilot the ship in the interim. After Week 7’s tilt with Vanderbilt, it’s easy to see why. They might not win many more games and plenty of holes persist on both sides of the ball. But after watching how Elliott and the Gamecocks handled themselves through the tough times and came out with fight should make them a team to quietly (or loudly) root for the rest of the way. More importantly, after watching his pre- and post-games speeches, it’s impossible not to get fired up by the Interim Ball Coach.

Stick around to the 2:27 mark of the post-game speech when the coach really let’s himself loose.