We are now seven weeks through the college football season, and things are starting to get weird. The SEC feels like it's is as open as it has ever been. Outside of Texas, it doesn't feel like there's a truly dominant team who is 100% going to make the conference championship game.
As it stands today, the LSU Tigers are one of three undefeated teams in SEC play. With six more games on their schedule, I thought it would be a good time to go through and look at the state of the SEC to get an idea of their chances to make the SEC title game in Atlanta.
1. Texas A&M: 5-1 (3-0)
Not even a full calendar year after they fired Jimbo Fisher, the Texas A&M Aggies are sitting in first place in the SEC standings. They suffered a week one loss to Notre Dame, but since then have rebounded well and hold wins over Florida, Arkansas and Missouri. They will travel this weekend to face Mississippi State, so they'll likely be 4-0 in SEC play by the time the Tigers come to town on October 26th.
2. Texas: 6-0 (2-0)
The Texas Longhorns currently look like the best team in the SEC. They're undefeated on the year, but haven't truly been tested yet. They get their first big test this weekend when Georgia comes to town, so we'll really find out just how legit the Longhorns are on Saturday.
3. LSU: 5-1 (2-0)
Sitting pretty in third place are the LSU Tigers, who, despite a week one loss, have rebounded and are coming off an impressive win over Ole Miss. They have some big tests ahead of them with road trips to Arkansas and A&M the next two weeks before coming home to face Alabama. It's a tough schedule, but if the Tigers can find ways to beat the Razorbacks and the Aggies on the road, they should be feeling pretty good about themselves when they host the Tide.
4. Georgia: 5-1 (3-1)
Kirby Smart's squad looked like the best team in the country early in the season, but a near-loss to Kentucky and a loss to Alabama have put a dent in their season. They still have everything to play for and I expect them to be towards the top of the standings at the end of the year, but they need to find a way to beat Texas in Austin this week if they want to return to the SEC Championship.
5. Alabama: 5-1 (2-1)
Alabama was on top of the world just a few weeks ago after defeating Georgia, but a road trip to Nashville proved to be too tough for the Tide, who fell to Vanderbilt in one of the most stunning upsets in recent memory. If Nick Saban was still the coach there, they probably would've came out and stomped South Carolina at home the next week, but he's not, and they almost suffered another heartbreaking loss to the Gamecocks. The Tide have to travel to Tennessee, host Missouri and then travel to LSU for their next three games, so things don't get much easier for them the rest of the way.
6. Tennessee: 5-1 (2-1)
The Tennessee Volunteers found themselves ranked as high as fourth in the nation before suffering a loss at the hands of Arkansas two weeks ago. They've fallen down to No. 11 over the last two weeks, but have a chance to climb the rankings again with a win over No. 7 Alabama this week. Outside of a matchup with Georgia, their schedule isn't too hard to rest of the way, so if they beat Alabama, they should challenge for a spot in the SEC title game.
7. Vanderbilt: 4-2 (2-1)
Never in my life did I expect to see Vanderbilt sitting at seventh in the SEC standings after playing three conference games, but here we are. They've won back-to-back conference games against Alabama and Kentucky, but have to host Texas & Tennessee and travel to LSU later this year. It's been fun, but I don't expect them to sustain this type of success for much longer.
8. Arkansas: 4-2 (2-1)
Arkansas were projected to be one of the worst teams in the SEC this year, but they've surprisingly been very competitive, beating Tennessee and Auburn this year and taking A&M down to the wire. They host LSU this week in a game that will likely be very close, so we'll see if they can give the Tigers some trouble.
9. Missouri: 5-1 (1-1)
After 2023, a lot of people thought Missouri were a team to be reckoned with, but that hasn't really been the case. They're 5-1 on the year, but their only real challenge has been a road game against A&M where they lost 41-10. They have a very easy schedule the rest of the way, playing only one team who's currently ranked (Alabama), so they could still challenge for a spot in the SEC title game, but I don't think they're that great of a team overall.
10. Ole Miss: 5-2 (1-2)
This was supposed to be Lane Kiffin's year. He brought in a super talented transfer class and had a ton of returning players, but just seven weeks into the season it feels like it's already over. The Rebels suffered a bad loss to Kentucky a couple weeks before traveling to Baton Rouge and losing a game to LSU in which they didn't trail for a single second. With two losses, it's going to take a lot for them to get to Atlanta in 2024.
The rest of the SEC have already suffered two losses, meaning their chances of reaching the SEC title game are slim to none. Here are the remaining six teams:
11. Oklahoma: 4-2 (1-2)
12. Florida: 3-3 (1-2)
13. South Carolina: 3-3 (1-2)
14. Kentucky: 3-3 (1-3)
15. Auburn: 2-4 (0-3)
16. Mississippi State: 1-5 (0-3)
