SEC Roundup

Going into the fifth full weekend of the football season, the SEC is shaping up as the continental divide of college football. It is a conference with three of the top five teams in the nation, four in the Top 10 and a whopping six (including Vandy!) in the Top 25. There are also several teams that are struggling. Sitting in the middle is UK, unbeaten but unloved (on a national scale at least).
Here is the rundown of the haves and have nots in the SEC.

Haves:

LSU-Obviously sitting pretty at #5 with a tough road game at Auburn out of the way. The rest of the schedule is difficult but doable, with the potential season maker a tough tilt at Florida on October 11th. The Tigers could lose that game and still make the SEC championship, but also have to get past Alabama and Georgia at home. Its going to be an exciting month and a half for Tiger fans.

Alabama- Nick Saban has the Tide sitting sweet at 4-0, including a real statement to open the year over Clemson in Atlanta, and a 49-14 drubbing of Arkansas. The biggest test of the season comes this weekend at Georgia. Pull an upset, and Saban is the talk of college football, having the Tide back a year ahead of schedule. The Tide also has the aforementioned trip to LSU. Right now, I'd say advantage: LSU. If these teams are tied in the SEC West race going into the last week of the season, LSU is heading to Arkansas, while will Alabama will head to the Iron Bowl to play. . .

Auburn- The only conference "have" with a loss, Auburn showed me something on Saturday. Auburn lacks a signature win but has a favorable schedule in the coming weeks. The Tigers could easily enter their home date with Georgia on November 15th at 9-1. There is only one top 25 opponent in the interim, and its Vandy. A game at West Virginia also lurks. That doesn't look like quite the test it did when the game was scheduled.

(I am through 3 teams and have come up with seven must see games left in the regular season. Is there really a debate about the best conference in America?)

Florida- The Gators look bored off to a 3-0 start. Their SEC West schedule is favorable, with the only tough game, LSU, being at home. Florida does have to travel to Vandy, where their fans will probably outnumber those of the Commodores. Of course, the game that shall remain nameless is scheduled for November 1, with the winner the clear SEC East favorite pitting the Urban Meyer's club against. . .

Georgia- which has looked solid if unspectacular getting out to 4-0. We'll find out how good Georgia really is this weekend when Alabama comes to town. After that, their season hinges on what has to be the toughest back to back games for any college team this year. The Bulldogs will visit LSU on October 25, and follow that up with the game that shall remain nameless in Jacksonville on November 1.

If one of these teams gets through these schedules without a loss and wins the SEC Championship game, shouldn't it be crowned right then? Get this: Every team on this list has to play a current top 5 team on the road, with the exception of Florida, which has to play the highest ranked team, Georgia, at a neutral site.

Haves (honorable mention division):

Vandy- Vandy is having a great season, but cannot be put in the same category as these heavyweights. I may eat those words by the end of the year. Empirically, though, Vandy still has to play four teams ranked ahead of them (including a non-conference game against Wake) as well as Kentucky on the road. A bowl eligible, winning season looks more than likely. Anything above that is gravy.

UK- It would be totally unfair to label a team that hasn't lost a game a "have not". I cannot win by saying much more than that. Either I sound like a pessimist or I make a case that we are better than all of the below teams and buy myself a visit from the Karma Monster later. Not going to do it.

Have Nots :
South Carolina- USC is cautiously placed here. They are 2-2, having lost to Vandy on the road and having given Georgia a run for its money. The 34-0 win against NC State was not all that impressive if you watched it. Both teams looked awful until the Wolfpack decided to give the game away and the Old Ball Coach ran up the score. Still, could this team come into Commonwealth and beat the Cats? Hell yes. Particularly without some healthy high ankles.

Tennessee- UCLA now looks like a D2 team, and as a big fan of that program, I am still mystified as to how UT lost that game at the Rose Bowl. The Vols did not compete against Florida. Not a good sign. They are either going to rally around their coach in the coming weeks (they have to go to both Auburn and Georgia), or UT may be in its way to a losing record. That is a pink slip for Phil Fulmer.

Arkansas- is a couple of plays from being 0-3, with losses to Louisiana Monroe and Western Illinois. Still, as UK well knows, the key is to get the W. The Razorbacks still have to play Texas, LSU, Florida and Auburn. Like Kentucky, they have several swing games that will determine whether they get bowl eligible. I like our chances better. Ooops. Oh well.

Ole Miss- The Rebels are 2-2 without any tough conference games out of the way. The good news is the losses were both to ranked, undefeated teams. The bad news is they haven't beaten anyone. Houston Nutt's team would have to beat every non-top 25 opponent left on the schedule to go 6-6. Not likely.

Mississippi State- Many predicted that this would be a breakout year for Sylvester Croom's squad. Instead, they have taken a step back. The Bulldogs took a beating at Georgia Tech and already boast a loss to Louisiana Tech in the season's first week. The saving grace for MSU is that they have the easiest schedule left in the SEC. The Bulldogs do not have to play Florida or Georgia, and have Auburn out of the way. Still, dates at LSU and Alabama are sure losses and MSU will really have to turn it around to get bowl eligible this year. With Vandy playing the way it is and my uncertainty about how good or bad the Gamecocks are, the Cats trip to Starkville is starting to look like a must win game.

Wow. That was fun but more work than I predicted. More Cat specific content later in the week.