The time has come for a mea culpa, something you have to be willing to do if you cover college football, the sport that is good at proving everyone wrong.
When the SEC expanded four years ago, this learned and wise college football writer wondered why the middle and lower-tier teams went along with it. Yes, yes, the answer to all your questions is money, to once again quote Tony Kornheiser, quoting Don Ohlmeyer. But competitively, even with the College Football Playoff also expanding, adding two more blue bloods in Oklahoma and Texas was going to make it so much harder — borderline impossible —for the non-blue bloods to make it.
Or, as it turns out, very possible, because unlimited transferring and paying players also happened.
The seven SEC teams that have won a national title this century — Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma and Texas — are 25-10 (.714). The other nine are 35-12 (.744). Take Tennessee, which won it all in 1998, and move it to the winners column, and it’s still the others with the better record (.738 to .725).
The SEC was wide open going into this weekend and is now even more so, with preseason favorite Texas taking another loss. No team is a sure thing to make the CFP, with Texas A&M and Ole Miss perhaps in best position. Maybe the blue bloods will eventually rise to the top this season. But enough season has gone by to say the middle and even lower-tier have a shot.
Thus, the feelings in many of those corners are hopeful, while many of the fan bases used to dominating are getting used to not dominating. Or outright losing. On to this week’s SEC vibes rankings, which, as a reminder, are not a simple ranking of how good each team is, but the overall feel around each team and program. Hope, momentum and performance relative to expectations.
1. Ole Miss (5-0, 3-0)
Bye
Last week: 1
This week: Washington State
In two weeks, Lane Kiffin takes his team to Georgia, immediately followed by a trip to Oklahoma. That’ll be tough, but even if the Rebels win neither game, the rest of the schedule is manageable — South Carolina, The Citadel, Florida, at Mississippi State — and in this year’s SEC, a 10-2 record may well be enough. Ole Miss is good enough to win at either Georgia or Oklahoma, or both. This looks like the SEC team best positioned to make the Playoff, and given this wasn’t supposed to be The Year, that’s tremendous.
2. Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0)
Beat Mississippi State, 31-9
Last week: 3
This week: Florida
The Aggies have done everything they’ve needed to, and are also getting a lot of CFP buzz. The vibes are great. But they’re going to have to earn it. Florida looks a bit tricky now, and there are four tough road games left: Arkansas, LSU, Missouri and Texas. Mike Elko’s team should feel great about where they’re at, but shouldn’t let their heads get too big.
3. Alabama (4-1, 2-0)
Beat Vanderbilt, 30-14
Last week: 2
This week: at Missouri
Two tremendous weeks for the vibes. Reinforce superiority over Georgia, then reassert superiority over Vanderbilt. And give Kadyn Proctor a key offensive touch in both games. While other SEC preseason favorites flail, Alabama has re-emerged as the one most likely to pull through.
Of course, the schedule has more potential potholes, which brings us to …
4. Missouri (5-0, 1-0)
Bye
Last week: 4
This week: Alabama
The win over Kansas keeps looking better. The South Carolina win may eventually, too. But the prove-it stretch is arriving for Eli Drinkwitz’s team, which finishes its six-game home-stand against Alabama, then has four road games in the second half of the regular season. Ahmad Hardy has been a revelation (730 rushing yards) and gets an Alabama rush defense ranked second-worst in the SEC. This can fairly be called an Opportunity Game for Mizzou.
5. Oklahoma (5-0, 1-0)
Beat Kent State, 44-0
Last week: 6
This week: Texas
The vibes inch up thanks to what the Sooners did, although Michael Hawkins Jr. throwing three touchdowns and rushing for another didn’t hurt. But mostly it’s Texas looking worse, and the Red River Rivalry looking that much more for the Sooners’ taking. Of course, that could put more pressure on Brent Venables’ team: You do not want to be the team that gives belief back to the Longhorns.
6. Vanderbilt (5-1, 1-1)
Lost at Alabama, 30-14
Last week: 5
This week: Bye
Yes, Diego Pavia’s play couldn’t live up to his mouth. Yes, the Commodores didn’t cover the spread. But the vibes have perspective: Vanderbilt lost by 16 at Alabama, of all teams, which needed a late touchdown to cover that spread, and it’s considered a mild disappointment. That serves as Example 937 of how things have changed for what is no longer the SEC’s doormat.
7. Tennessee (4-1, 1-1)
Bye
Last week: 7
This week: Arkansas
Maybe a decent amount of Vols fans spend their off week watching Nico Iamaleava beat Penn State, and maybe they thought: “Eh, we’re not mad anymore because Joey Aguilar won the trade for us, so good for Nico.” Or maybe not.
8. Mississippi State (4-2, 0-2)
Lost at Texas A&M, 31-9
Last week: 8
This week: Bye
Even after losing the last couple weeks, the Bulldogs are gaining more respect. Tennessee needed overtime to win; Texas A&M only led 7-3 at halftime. Future opponents Texas, Georgia and Ole Miss have to look at upcoming trips to Stark-Vegas with trepidation. The first SEC win since 2023 still eludes Jeff Lebby’s team, but respect does not.
9. LSU (4-1, 1-1)
Bye
Last week: 10
This week: South Carolina
Brian Kelly had the bye week to make tweaks to his offense, currently ranked 12th in the SEC in yards per play, 13th in scoring, 13th in passing yards per attempt and 15th in rushing. That evidently didn’t include changing play callers, and changing that mid-stream when you’re still in the CFP hunt is unusual. But something’s gotta happen, and it would be good to show it this week against …
10. South Carolina (3-2, 1-2)
Bye
Last week: 11
This week: at LSU
This is not only the first of five straight games against ranked teams, but they’re all ranked in the top 15, and four in the top 10. Any team with LaNorris Sellers is capable of winning a few of those, but … whew.
11. Georgia (4-1, 2-1)
Beat Kentucky, 35-14
Last week: 14
This week: at Auburn
Was this a get-right game, or merely a look-right game? When you’re playing the worst team in the SEC, whose offense and defense both rank near the bottom in the conference, it’s hard to take away that much. Still, consider this factoid: At no point last season did Georgia put away an SEC opponent such that the backup QB could get snaps. This time, Gunner Stockton was able to sit down before the third quarter was over. So at least that’s progress.
12. Auburn (3-2, 0-2)
Bye
Last week: 12
This week: Georgia
This feels like a big week for Hugh Freeze. The last Auburn coach to beat Georgia was Gus Malzahn in 2017 — then he lost to them a few weeks later in the SEC championship — but this may be as gettable as the Dawgs have been for the Tigers. They get them in Jordan-Hare, where two years ago it took an epic Brock Bowers performance down the stretch to beat Freeze in his first year. If he can’t do it this time, add it to the list of grievances.
13. Florida (2-3, 1-1)
Beat Texas, 29-21
Last week: 15
This week: at Texas A&M
I mean … who knows anymore.
14. Arkansas (2-3, 0-1)
Bye
Last week: 16
This week: at Tennessee
Normally, the vibes get a boost when a coach is fired because the search leads to some excitement. And there is still some of that. But the Bobby Petrino thing also gets in the way.
15. Texas (3-2, 0-1)
Lost at Florida, 29-21
Last week: 9
This week: Oklahoma
There’s “most disappointing team, and most disappointing player in the SEC.” And then there’s “what in the name of everything holy is going on here, and does the entire college football media complex need a mass flogging?”
16. Kentucky (2-3, 0-3)
Lost at Georgia, 35-14
Last week: 13
This week: Bye
Mark Stoops was defiant Saturday, saying he’s not quitting, not walking away, etc. And the vibe you get watching Stoops with athletic director Mitch Barnhart is that there won’t be a firing. But as good as Stoops has been for the program in the past, the present and future look bleak.
(Photo: Jack Gorman / Getty Images)