Georgia, Tennessee riding high at top of conference: SEC vibes rankings

There’s a scene from a “Simpsons” episode when an elephant is bearing down on a peanut factory, and inside the factory, a manager is feeling suddenly validated: “This is the moment we’ve feared, people. Many of you thought it would never happen. But I insisted we spend two hours every morning training for it. Many of you thought I was mad; many of you requested to be transferred to another peanut factory. But now …”

Then the elephant crashes through the door.

This is how those who kept wondering about the SEC tiebreaker procedures might feel this morning as they survey the conference’s landscape. In a world of mega-conferences, without divisions and with half the teams not playing each other, there was always a chance for a confusing muddle at the top of the standings, with an aeronautics degree required to explain who would make it to the championship game.

And right now, the elephant might indeed be heading toward the peanut factory.

Only two teams remain unbeaten in conference play: Texas A&M and LSU, and they play each other Saturday, so that’s good. But five other teams have only one conference loss, and among those seven teams, most won’t have played each other. Georgia, LSU and Texas, play only two of the other six teams with one loss or fewer. Texas A&M and Tennessee play only three of the other six.

And in the event — not unlikely — that a two-loss team factors in, Alabama and Ole Miss are sitting there, capable of running the table the rest of the way.

Georgia’s Trevor Etienne had three rushing touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ win over Texas on Saturday. (Tim Warner / Getty Images)

So, yeah, brush back up on those tiebreaking procedures, which probably won’t come down to a random draw but could involve “capped relative scoring margin,” a stat given to the SEC by SportsSourceAnalytics.

That’s not a huge deal, you might say, thanks to the expanded College Football Playoff. Perhaps. But the SEC champion getting a bye is a big deal, and the bigger the muddle at the top of the standings, the better the chance for chaos: a Playoff bubble team squeezing into the championship game and stealing a bid, for instance.

Perhaps a better tiebreaker: If your student section throws debris on the field to get a call changed, you’re eliminated. If your coach shoves the other team’s quarterback, even if he didn’t mean to, you’re out. Easy fixes and surprising the SEC didn’t have the foresight.

GO DEEPER

UGA’s Smart on overturned pass interference call: ‘They tried to rob us’

So the vibes in the SEC office — getting ready for tiebreaking headaches, dealing with unprecedented officiating decisions — are stressed. As for the teams, we have another week of wildly fluctuating vibes, with a new basement dweller — hello, Oklahoma — another top program going in the very wrong direction, and a couple of others rocketing up after feel-good wins.

This a reminder that this is not a pure ranking of how good teams are but the feelings around the programs, both within the team and the fan base, and the perception outside, taking into account records, expectations, momentum and just the general mood:

1. Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC)

Won at Texas, 30-15

Last week: 8

For once, the vibes match the real rankings. Everything changed in a night, as the program whose fans were ready to pack this season in now can see the national title back on the table.

GO DEEPER

The fuel Georgia found to knock off No. 1 and flip a switch on its season

2. Tennessee (6-1, 3-1)

Beat Alabama, 24-17

Last week: 6

Last week: Well, Nico Iamaleava isn’t that good, it looks like other teams have figured out Josh Heupel’s offense, and Heupel peaked too early at Tennessee. This week: Hey, we’re back baby! Maybe that’s a bit overexuberant, but other than a trip to Georgia — which is winnable — the Vols’ only other game against a team with a winning record is the season finale at Vanderbilt. There’s a good path to 10-2 and a probable Playoff bid.

GO DEEPER

Tennessee proved against Alabama it’s not a one-hit wonder under Josh Heupel

3. LSU (6-1, 3-0)

Won at Arkansas, 34-10

Last week: 4

Ever since Brian Kelly’s table-pounding after the team’s opening loss, this team has gradually gotten better. That includes the defense, which still ranks second to last in the SEC but just held Arkansas to a season-low 10 points. The big test for the Bayou Bengals comes during the next two weeks: at Texas A&M and vs. Alabama at home.

4. Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0)

Won at Mississippi State, 34-24

Last week: 3

It was a pretty nice Saturday for the Aggies: They got an SEC road win — not a blowout, but whatever — then got home in time to see their rival have their welcome-to-the-SEC humbling. The schadenfreude was oozing out of College Station.

5. Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1)

Beat Ball State, 24-14

Last week: 2

Save the points for SEC games, such as this week when Texas visits. It’s a smart move for a smart school, whose program is now one win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018, but that’s almost an afterthought at this point.

Won at Oklahoma, 35-9

Last week: 11

The offense, and the overall team results, are bizarro, but South Carolina’s defense is legitimate: The Gamecocks held Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU below their season yards-per-play averages, including Alabama more than 2 points below its average.

7. Texas (6-1, 2-1)

Lost to Georgia, 30-15

Last week: 1

The one concern about the Longhorns had been that their dominance was a product of their schedule, and now that’s a big, Stetson-hat-sized concern. The next four games — at Vanderbilt, Florida, at Arkansas and Kentucky — all have the potential to be interesting. Then, of course, there’s the trip to College Station, which sets up to be well beyond interesting. Could this team still win the national championship? Sure. But national title teams don’t usually get beat at home like Texas did Saturday.

GO DEEPER

Steve Sarkisian created Texas QB controversy with Arch Manning, even if he says he didn’t

Beat Kentucky, 48-20

Last week: 15

(Looking around.) So we’re doing this? Yeah, we’re doing this. The vibes basement dweller early in the season, the team with the dead coach walking, is still hanging around and improving. By lasting this long, Billy Napier now gets an awkward reunion with Jaden Rashada before or after the team’s game against Georgia in Jacksonville. Hug it out, fellas.

GO DEEPER

Billy Napier and Florida won a game they couldn’t lose, but a rugged path is still ahead

Beat Auburn, 21-17

Last week: 9

Per Adeen Rao of Rock M Nation, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz spotted a bowl rep after Saturday’s game and blurted out: “Uh, oh, Cheez-It Bowl.” By record, Drinkwitz should have nothing to worry about. By look, however, this is the worst 6-1 team in the country, by far: barely skating by in home games against Boston College, Vanderbilt and now Auburn, getting clobbered at Texas A&M. Still alive for the Playoff? Sure. Looking like it will stay that way much longer. Ehhhh …

10. Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2)

Bye

Last week: 10

The Rebels had to be happy with how their bye week went because their faint Playoff hopes reside in beating Georgia and that being a resume-building win. First up, Oklahoma and Arkansas, which should be no problem, but when a team can’t beat Kentucky at home, a lot could be a problem.

11. Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4)

Lost to Texas A&M, 34-24

Last week: 16

Is this too high? Maybe, but the vibes keep steadily improving in Starkville, even in defeat. There have been three straight weeks during which Jeff Lebby’s team acquitted itself well as a heavy underdog, to the point when it’s probably time to stop making the Bulldogs heavy underdogs every week. Arkansas, which goes to Starkville this week, needs to be wary.

12. Arkansas (4-3, 2-2)

Lost to LSU, 34-10

Last week: 5

Oof. Saturday was the worst loss of the season, and it came at home, a big hit to what had been such positive vibes. This week in Starkville needs to be a win, and that along with a later game against UTEP would at least mean bowl eligibility, with games against Texas, Ole Miss and Missouri offering more upset chances. But if the Razorbacks mess around and lose to that improving Bulldogs team, things will get dicey again.

GO DEEPER

Smith: Alabama’s season isn’t over, but it’s time for some hard truths

13. Alabama (5-2, 2-2)

Lost at Tennessee, 24-17

Last week: 7

Let’s not overreact too much. Kalen DeBoer’s two losses each have come by one possession, and the team’s win over Georgia looks good. But … yeah, there are two losses, and the win over Georgia was almost a catastrophic loss. DeBoer went to Tuscaloosa and embraced the pressure. Well, here it is.

GO DEEPER

Rexrode: Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama program lacks the discipline, mystique of Nick Saban era

Advertisement

14. Auburn (2-5, 0-4)

Lost at Missouri, 21-17

Last week: 13

At this point, you almost wonder whether Hugh Freeze is throwing games so Auburn doesn’t have to play a meaningless bowl game and can spend December concentrating on the transfer portal. In fact, the perfect scenario might be going 5-7, but the fifth win being in the Iron Bowl, and that’s very much on the table.

15. Kentucky (3-4, 1-4)

Lost at Florida, 48-20

Last week: 12

Your obligatory, “Well it’s almost basketball season” reference, this time with Mark Pope offering new coach excitement. As for the other Mark, the Stoops one coaching football, this has gotten back to the early-season, post-South Carolina feeling. It’s not good, but it’s hard to tell whether it’s leading to anything.

Speaking of which …

16. Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3)

Lost to South Carolina, 35-9

Last week: 14

As a general rule, when people are looking up a coach’s buyout number, things aren’t great. A further general rule, when the reaction to seeing that buyout could involve profanity, things really aren’t great.

This summer, for reasons that weren’t entirely clear, Oklahoma gave coach Brent Venables a two-year contract extension, with a buyout that would cost the school about $44.8 million.

The contract extension might have been a stroke of genius by longtime athletic director Joe Castiglione, who is one of the most respected ADs in the country, and he might have looked at the 2024 schedule and decided to stave off any hot-seat talk. But did Castiglione foresee it would be this bad?

Yes, Oklahoma is down its top five receivers. And yes, the hope is that Venables can fix the quarterback situation during the offseason and that can turn things around. But the way this team is losing, falling behind 21-0 to South Carolina a few minutes into the game and looking overmatched, doesn’t inspire confidence. Venables is trying to stop the bleeding by firing offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, whom he just hired this year.

It’s one thing to be struggling, which Oklahoma is. It’s another to feel stuck. That’s called purgatory.

(Top photo of Kirby Smart: Tim Warner / Getty Images)