My SEC thoughts:
Certainly was a wild weekend in the conference, as 4 out of the 5 underdogs won straight up. The overwhelming feeling nationwide is that the SEC is down this year, and I can't argue, but I think there are some factors that play into it. One that can't be ignored is the injuries to teams like UGA, UF, and to a lesser extent, aTm. That's a lot for any college team to overcome. Whether the top teams have regressed or the lower teams have improved is a chicken or egg argument IMO, but the point is that parity is at a higher level in the SEC than at any other time in recent memory. Part of this is due to the proliferation of the hurry up spread offenses that use schemes to level the playing field. Part is due to coaching turnover as well as experienced talent turnover. The thing I take away from a weekend like last week, and the season as a whole, is that if you don't play defense, it's really hard to win all of your games.
Alabama - This team is starting to look like the teams of the past couple of years in that they flat out destroy inferior teams, because they don't let them score. Bama leads the nation in scoring defense, which is a far cry from what we thought after the aTm game. It's been against pretty terrible competition, but they are giving up 3.2 pts/game since aTm. I don't care who you are playing, that is a commitment to playing defense.
Arkansas - hot garbage. Nothing else to say
Auburn - Huge statement win for Gus. If it weren't for Pinkel, he'd be the runaway coach of the year in conference. Even though this team is 6-1 and control their own destiny in the West, I get the feeling that they are kind of paper tigers at this point. They were a great matchup for aTm, esp since aTm can't stop the run. I thought Manziel and the crowd would be too much, and they almost were, so credit to AU for the win. They have a fantastic looking DL, but their back 7 sucks. On offense, they will obliterate undisciplined defenses, but they are relegated to tricks and pace to try to tire out and frustrate good sound defenses. Luckily for them, there aren't many of those in the SEC this year.
aTm - Same story, great O, miserable D. Manziel has gone down 2 games in a row to an injury, and it makes me wonder how much he has left in the tank. His defense gives him no breaks and lets everyone they play hang around longer than they should. Could see this team dropping another game or two
Tenn - Great win for them last week. First win over a ranked conference team since Fulmer I think. They are improving, but still likely only 1, maybe 2 more wins in conference on the schedule (UK & Vandy). I could see them beating AU though
SC - Even though Spurrier completely mis-managed the end of the game, I thought SC kind of sleepwalked through the game. Talent is there, but something is missing with this team
UF - Not much to say that hasn't already been said. Offense is brutal, and now the defense is starting to have injuries take a toll. Going to be tough moving forward, definitely need the bye this week
UGA - Ditto Florida. However, UGA was terrible on defense before the injuries. Getting Gurley back will certainly help, but he doesn't tackle. Similar to aTm, I think their defense will keep everyone they play in the game until the end
Vanderbilt - Big win after being somewhat disappointing so far this season. How do they build on this? They can definitely win 3 of the next 5 and get to some crap bowl played the week after Christmas, which is still a big deal to their program. Not sure how the QB going down affects them, because he didn't look that good to begin with.
LSU - WTF? Can't believe this one. Didn't see much of this one, but did LSU not show up in the 1H? Also strange to see LSU not being able to get a stop when they need it most. Their defense needs to grow up fast with Bama looming
Ole Miss - Nice rebound after losing 3 straight. Not sure what to do with this team. My gut says they are one of about 7 teams in the SEC that could win any week, or look totally inept. I'm thinking they will be thinking of this win on into their bye next week
Nizzou - May not be a real top 5 team, but they keep winning, and the games haven't been close. Pinkel has been in this situation before in the Big12, and I think he will have this team ready to play each week. Not sure they get to Atlanta, but I'm not betting against them for now
