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PollGaze Week 2: And Then There Were Six (or Seven)

After putting a remarkable (and absurd, really) eight teams in the preseason polls, the SEC's crop has been pared down to six in the AP Poll and seven in the Coaches Poll here in the Week 2. Georgia fell out of both after losing handily to Boise State, and Auburn fell out of the AP rankings after needing a semi-miraculous comeback to beat Utah State.

At the top of the AP Poll, Oklahoma still owns the No. 1 spot. Alabama dropped back to third behind surging LSU, who is reaping the rewards from its high profile Week 1 win. South Carolina stayed even at 12, passing up Oregon while getting leapfrogged by Virginia Tech. Arkansas moved up one slot to 14 after the previous No. 14 TCU fell down to 25. New No. 16 Mississippi State hopped ahead of loss-weidling TCU, Georgia, and Notre Dame, but it also passed Michigan State after the Spartans didn't impress against Youngstown State. Florida likewise gained four spots up to 18, passing the same three teams that lost in addition to underwhelming Missouri. 

Oklahoma still rules the Coaches' Poll, and Alabama remained second. LSU moved up a spot to third, having defeated the previous No. 3 in Arlington. South Carolina remained steady at 12 for the same reasons as with the AP Poll. Arkansas moved up one slot to 13, going ahead of plunging Oregon. Mississippi State gained three spots to 17, passing Notre Dame, TCU, and Auburn. Florida was the biggest gainer of any SEC team in either poll, surging five spots to 18. The Gators moved ahead of the same three that MSU passed, plus Michigan State and Missouri. The coaches were kind to Auburn, dropping the Tigers three spots to No. 22 but leaving them in the poll.

It's quite possible that the SEC could be back up to eight in both polls this time next week. Georgia still got a fair number of votes in both polls, so it would likely re-enter each with a win this weekend over South Carolina. Auburn was second-highest among the others receiving votes, so a win over ranked Mississippi State would get them in both as well.