SEC POWER POLL, WEEK 12
1. Mississippi St. Bulldogs, 126 points (9 first-place votes)
2. Alabama Crimson Tide, 117
3. Auburn Tigers, 103
4. Ole Miss Rebels, 95
5. LSU Tigers, 91
6. Georgia Bulldogs, 89
7. Texas A&M Aggies, 70
8. Missouri Tigers, 57
9. Arkansas Razorbacks, 51
10. Florida Gators, 48
11. Tennessee Volunteers, 36
12. Kentucky Wildcats, 31
13. South Carolina Gamecocks, 22
14. Vanderbilt Commodores, 9
First of all, apologies for missing last week. My day job as a reporter required me to travel extensively ahead of Election Day, and while I intended to get this done last week, it ended up being impossible.
We're seeing a little more unanimity start to emerge in the poll; Mississippi State and Vanderbilt still hold their respective places on each voter's ballot, and Alabama joins them this week at No. 2. Texas A&M, ranked seventh on all but two ballots this week, is moving in that direction.
Other teams are still proving a bit more confounding to our voters. Florida got votes at No. 7 and No. 13, though every other voter except those two put the Gators at ninth or tenth. Missouri got votes at every place from seventh to tenth. Not everything has become perfectly clear as the season progresses.
That said, there are some signs of what we like to call tiering in this poll: Mississippi State and Alabama have put some distance between themselves and Auburn; but the same 14 points that separate the Tide and the Tigers is the space between No. 3 Auburn and No. 6 Georgia. The Aggies sort of float on their own, followed by a clump of teams that includes Missouri, Arkansas and Florida. Then it's a group that includes Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina. Vanderbilt remains far behind everyone else.
Voters?
ALABAMA
I don't think 20 points and 359 yards of offense will get it done this week.--Get the Picture
The Tide now holds the title of best win of the season, after going down early in Death Valley and rallying back to earn and overtime win (and screw many "LSU +6 bettors" out of a win). It was the SEC football of old and a d--- fine game to watch.--Arkansas Fight
ARKANSAS
The Hogs finish out with LSU, Ole Miss and Missouri. To reach a bowl game, they have to win two of those three. Hard to see where that comes from.--Get the Picture
Bert just lounging around all day, snacking on bags upon bags of chips, and softly sobbing as he experiences flashbacks to his team's game against Bama while watching LSU lose in similar fashion.--Rock M Nation
AUBURN
The small, rural state of Lee County was handed a large dose of #karma, as the Tigers out-classed the Aggies overall, but eventually succumbed to horrible bounce-of-the-ball luck. It will be tough for Auburn to find many sympathizers, however. Malzahn's team is still easily one of the best teams in the SEC, but the defense looked pretty miserable for the entirety of the first half against A&M.--Roll Bama Roll
As my old man told me on our weekly SEC Sunday chat, "Gus went to pour his box of Lucky Charms and realized they were all gone." Losing by way of a butt fumble is Mark Sanchez-type stuff, but NOBODY feels bad for the Tigers.--Arkansas Fight
FLORIDA
WINNING STREAK [vomits]--Rock M Nation
Beat a terrible Vanderbilt team the way a decent team is supposed to. Two consecutive weeks of solid offensive output against SEC opponents is a huge step forward for this team.--Roll Bama Roll
GEORGIA
This Bulldog team is peak SEC East. Stunning loss to zombie Muschamp followed up by an offensive performance that would make Baylor blush against a team that nearly beat the Gators in Gainesville. If this team is on, look out. Anti-SEC people will have a good chaos-causing option to root for if the Dawgs make it to Atlanta.--Roll Bama Roll
In a season of contradictions, UGA had both a great game and terrible game handling kickoffs. Maybe this week, they'll shockingly win on a FG that ricochets off a random Eagle flying through Sanford Stadium.--Georgia Sports Blog
KENTUCKY
Mark Stoops, with his last raise, now makes more than Mark Richt. Quite the bang for the buck there on Saturday.--Get the Picture
People are really starting to jump off the Wildcat bandwagon, but honestly, they are who we thought they were. A young, but pretty talented team that can't yet match-up to most SEC opponents. If they can grab a win against either Tennessee or Louisville, these guys are headed to a bowl game. That would be a big step forward for this program.--Roll Bama Roll
LSU
Tough loss but this team has come a long way since beginning of the season. The quarterback position is the gaping hole holding the Tigers back. Anthony Jennings went 8-of-26 for 78 yards. He had a throw to win the game, but whether or not he should have simply run for the first down will be debated for the next few days in Baton Rouge.--Arkansas Fight
I don't know what's crazier; Les Miles throwing the ball four times in a row or that it was straight out of the Paul Johnson 'How to lose a game in four easy downs' guide.--Georgia Sports Blog
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Dak has been waiting. Biding his time. Getting stronger. Now it's time for him to reemerge from his training and face off against the Red Menace.--Rock M Nation
Homecoming went as planned as the Bulldogs handled UT-Martin with ease. This Saturday, State can win the SEC West with a win over Alabama. Their last SEC West title came in 1998, the first year of the BCS.--Arkansas Fight
MISSOURI
You wanna prove you belong in the SEC East's driver's seat? Go show out this weekend. Or just like, chill and let everyone else prove it for you by losing. Either is good, really.--Rock M Nation
Winning out with games at a rejuvenated Texas A&M and a bowl-hungry Tennessee precede hosting the Hogs. If the Tigers win out they'll secure a bid to their second SEC Championship Game in as many years, which is something no one ever thought we'd say.--Arkansas Fight
OLE MISS
Similar to their in-state rivals, the Rebels had a nice scrimmage with some hapless team that took that big Ole Miss check with a large grin on their faces. After two heartbreaking losses, the Rebels needed a nice victory though.--Roll Bama Roll
This is not the Ole Miss that started the season; this is an off-brand knockoff bought out of the Sky-Mall catalog and delivered conveniently to Oxford by the Postal Service. Like most inferior goods, this one is likely to fail at the most inopportune time, like the third quarter of the Egg Bowl, or while you're watching them in a bowl game against a B1G school with your terrible aunt from Ohio.--Rocky Top Talk
SOUTH CAROLINA
If Spurrier doesn't steal a win at Florida or at Clemson, the 'Cocks will be home for the holidays.--Get the Picture
Grumpy Spurrier is my favorite Spurrier.--Georgia Sports Blog
TENNESSEE
Games against a reeling Kentucky and bottom feeder Vanderbilt have the Vols looking like they have a legit shot at bowl eligibility.--Get the Picture
For the sixth year in a row, Phil Fulmer ruins a season by letting his starting QB get hurt. Oh, wait. That was the Vol's terrible offensive line.--Georgia Sports Blog
TEXAS A&M
The Aggies finally found their Mojo again in Jordan-Hare, as the Tigers gave A&M life by spotting them 14 points to start the game. The defense is still bad and should feel bad, but the offense at least looks like a Kevin Sumlin-led A&M offense again, which makes this a dangerous team to play.--Roll Bama Roll
Kyle Allen Field has a nice ring to it.--Georgia Sports Blog
VANDERBILT
It's a season that can't be over soon enough. Unfortunately, the SEC is going to make the 'Dores play twice more.--Get the Picture
It would be the most SEC East thing ever for Vandy to win out, keeping Tennessee out of a bowl game and Mississippi State out of the playoffs.--Georgia Sports Blog