The SEC’s playoff picture got a lot cleaner after last weekend, and Georgia is the team sitting on top of the pile.
The Bulldogs’ 42-7 rout of Ole Miss in Oxford pushed them into the No. 1 spot in the conference pecking order, while Alabama, Texas and Tennessee all kept themselves in the mix with important wins. Alabama handled LSU 31-13 on the road, Texas beat Missouri 34-20 away from home, and Tennessee blasted Kentucky 34-6.
That trio is still hard to sort out. Texas beat Tennessee, Tennessee beat Alabama, and Alabama and Texas won’t get a chance to settle it on the field. Texas does own four wins over teams projected to finish with eight victories - Ohio State, Tennessee, Missouri and Ole Miss - but the Longhorns also have two damaging losses to four-loss teams, Oklahoma and Florida.
LSU’s playoff path looks especially bleak after the loss to Alabama. The Tigers have just one win over a power conference team on pace for eight victories, Clemson, and even that looks less impressive now that Clemson sits at 6-3 after edging Syracuse. LSU could still cling to a tiny CFP hope, but it would need to win its final three games against Texas, Tennessee and Arkansas to even keep the discussion alive.
Here’s how the SEC stacks up heading into Week 11.
Georgia sits alone in Tier 1 at 8-1 after the blowout at Ole Miss, and the Bulldogs return home to face Missouri. Alabama is next at 7-2 and heads to Vanderbilt. Texas, also 7-2, travels to LSU, while Tennessee, likewise 7-2, goes to Texas A&M.
Alabama looks like the safest bet of the group this weekend. The Crimson Tide did lose at Vanderbilt two years ago, but Diego Pavia is not playing quarterback for the Commodores.
Georgia has the tougher assignment on paper with Missouri coming in, though the Bulldogs get that one at home. Texas and Tennessee both have to survive road tests to avoid a third loss, with LSU and Texas A&M trying to salvage what’s left of their seasons.
Tier 2 starts with Kentucky at 7-2 after the loss to Tennessee, followed by Ole Miss and LSU, both 6-3, and South Carolina, also 6-3. Kentucky gets Florida at home, which gives the Wildcats the easiest bounce-back spot of the bunch.
Ole Miss and LSU, meanwhile, are trying to recover from home losses that added up to 53 points last Saturday. South Carolina has been one of the hottest teams in the league, and the Gamecocks now have to prove it can travel by going to Arkansas.
Missouri leads Tier 3 at 6-3 after falling to Texas, and the Tigers get the toughest assignment of the week with a trip to Georgia. Oklahoma, now 5-4 after beating Florida 23-7, hosts Ole Miss. Florida, also 5-4, heads to Kentucky after that loss, and Auburn, another 5-4 team, goes to Mississippi State after edging Arkansas 26-23.
Missouri could still give its slim playoff hopes a jolt by winning at Georgia, though that’s not exactly the most likely outcome. Oklahoma, Florida and Auburn can all become bowl eligible with a win this week, and that would mean something in Gainesville and Auburn with new head coaches in place.
For Oklahoma, bowl eligibility won’t satisfy much of anybody. Brent Venables needs a win over Ole Miss to quiet the noise around the program, at least for now.
Tier 4 is where the SEC’s struggling group sits: Texas A&M at 4-5 after losing to South Carolina, Vanderbilt at 4-5 after beating Mississippi State 25-23, Mississippi State at 4-5 after that loss, and Arkansas at 3-6 after falling to Auburn. All four are at home this week, but none appears close to bowl eligibility.
Mississippi State has the best chance to win Saturday, though the Bulldogs will be without their No. 1 quarterback. Texas A&M is the one to watch here, especially if it can throw a wrench into Tennessee’s playoff push.
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