Ranking the SEC (11/29/09) 1) Florida (12-0): We're here again. Undefeated Alabama and undefeated Florida. Will it be a repeat? Will Florida, yet again, go to the National Championship game? How will Florida do against a very strong Alabama defense? All questions will be answered on Saturday. 2) Alabama (12-0): Alabama has to be encouraged by the performance of Greg McElroy. He led the team down the field on a comeback drive against their hated rival. All eyes now turn to Atlanta. 3) LSU (9-3): Les Miles, so criticized last week for his bad clock management in the loss at Ole Miss, managed the clock a lot better in a last second come-from-behind overtime victory. 4) Ole Miss (8-4): Normally, the Rebels would take quite a tumble in the rankings after losing to Mississippi State, but you can't argue with an 8-4 record. Especially win it seems every other team in the conference is 7-5. 5) Tennessee (7-5): The Vols finished 7-5. That's big for Lane Kiffin. They defeated all of their East rivals except for Florida. They won by double digits over South Carolina, Georgia, and Vanderbilt. They held on in Lexington for a win this weekend. Tennessee has earned themselves a nice bowl game. 6) Arkansas (7-5): The Razorbacks played well, but defense lost them the game. Petrino's team had the lead with under a minute remaining and let LSU mount a game-tying drive. The big question around Razorback country: 'will Mallet stay?' 7) Auburn (7-5): The Tigers played the Tide tough but came up just short. The Tigers through everything at Bama (especially in the first quarter), but they couldn't sustain it. 8) Georgia (7-5): That was a big win for Mark Richt in Atlanta this weekend. He needed that. It should end, temporarily at least, the criticsm of Richt and the clamoring for his firing. A bowl win could also improve the outlook heading into the offseason, but Richt will have to prove something to the fanbase next year. The Dawg fans won't take two consecutive five-loss seasons. 9) South Carolina (7-5): The Ball Coach got a huge win over the weekend. A victory over the Tigers ends the talk about a late season slide. It also gets the fanbase excited. Heading into Saturday there were questions about Spurrier's job security. Now, Gamecock fans want an extension on his contract. With a lot of young talent returning, this team could be dangerous next year. 10) Kentucky (7-5): What could've been for Kentucky? It could've been huge. Now they'll most likely end up in a lower-tier bowl. They also had a very good chance to end the streak. However, it's still a season to build on for the Wildcats. They have a lot of young talent. South Carolina and Kentucky may have a chance to make some significant noise in the East race for the first time next year. 11) Mississippi State (5-7): Dan Mullen got a signature win on Saturday. This will be a good season to build on for the Bulldogs. It should also have a good impact on in-state recruiting. 12) Vanderbilt (2-10): The bowl selections will be announced next Saturday. Unlike last year, Vanderbilt won't be among the teams mentioned. |