Saturday SEC Impressions + New Rankings

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn moves back into the rankings!

Do you know what the biggest win in the Auburn-LSU rivalry by either side gets you? A spot back in the Top 25.

Clemson remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll, but not by much. The Tigers received 33 first-place votes — 19 fewer than last week — and have only a two-point lead over No. 2 Alabama.

Full poll >> https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j

More coverage >> https://t.co/2qlqr09CPm pic.twitter.com/vFevROpMlj

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 1, 2020

Here’s the top 10 as it currently stands:

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Cincinnati
7. Texas A&M
8. Florida
9. BYU
10. Wisconsin

And other SEC teams in the AP Poll are?

Just us, Auburn, at #24.

We pretty much killed any chance of LSU getting back in the rankings unless they win out, a feat that would include three top ten wins. Let’s see how the rest of the conference did yesterday.

ALABAMA: I’m sure no actual Alabama fans would say that what they’re doing this year is fun. How can it be? Emotionless, murderous, snuff films. It’s murder porn. Only the most sadistic among us could possibly be entertained or satisfied. Seriously, it’s got to be people whose deviant desires have gone so far as to have skewed off the map. They have support groups for people like this. Last night’s 41-0 win over Mississippi State showed more about how bad the Bulldogs are than how good Alabama is, which is still very good.

ARKANSAS: It’s probably good that Auburn caught Arkansas earlier, before they were finding their groove. Despite losing 42-31 to A&M yesterday, they outgained the Aggies and put up more than 460 total yards of offense. It was a close contest until A&M put some distance between the two right before halftime, but the Razorbacks are coming along, and based on what I’ve seen, are definitely not the worst team in the SEC West like they’ve been for the past several years.

AUBURN: Speaks for itself, hahahahahaha.

FLORIDA: Speaks for itself, hahahahaha.

Dan Mullen is here. I'm serious pic.twitter.com/KRtBRRjiW8

— Nick de la Torre (@NickdelaTorreGC) November 1, 2020

Dan Mullen started a fight with a referee that caused both Florida and Missouri players to devolve into an all-out brawl, with multiple players on each side getting tossed. Then he pumped up the crowd on his way toward the locker room at halftime, and showed up like this in the postgame presser. Florida looked okay on the field, beating Missouri 41-17, but these antics took center stage. Who do the Gators get next?

Oh yeah.

GEORGIA: Why couldn’t we get that Georgia team earlier in the year? They beat Kentucky 14-3. That’s it. That’s the tweet. Stetson Bennett was 9-13 for 131 yards with 2 interceptions, and now they get to go face a team that’s got some real fire power. I don’t know how in the world they’re still ranked where they are, but they’re going to get behind Florida this weekend and have no idea how to claw back. What happens to Kirby if he loses the East? Just continuing down the Mark Richt trajectory.

KENTUCKY: If this team could find any sort of reliable offense, they’d be pretty good. Limiting Georgia to 14 points when you can’t move the ball at all is a solid feat for a defense, but Joey Gatewood’s clearly not the answer. We’re all pleased that he didn’t turn out to be a world beater after transferring away, but 15-25 for 91 yards is indicative of a coaching staff with little confidence in your ability.

LSU: I read all 99 pages of the TigerDroppings game thread on this one, and it was glorious. Just pure acceptance of their place in the world on this particular Saturday. In all seriousness, the defense is a complete and utter mess under Bo Pelini, who needed to be fired weeks ago, and the offense has nothing to counter a team that can actually score. There’s talent, but it’s all young. Look for LSU to be good again in 2022.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: In an even quicker fall from grace, Mike Leach’s coaching career may not last all that long in Starkville. After beating LSU in the opener, they’ve lost each of the ensuing games in worse fashion. Getting shut out by Alabama and posting only 200 total yards is frighteningly bad. I’m curious to see how much worse it can get, since they’re our next opponent.

MISSOURI: I’ve been impressed by this team all year under Drinkwitz. They’re not great, but they’re going to fight and they have enough talent to bite you if you try to sleepwalk through them. Florida just had too much at home last night, and the brawl is an ugly stain, but this team will still play hard.

OLE MISS: Talk about taking your anger out on Birmingham. Poor Vandy doesn’t have anything to do with that city except relatively close regional proximity. The Rebels’ Matt Corral had 19 straight completions and tied a holy Eli Manning record with 6 passing touchdowns. Not bad, even if Vandy was the victim.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Did not play, still licking wounds from TJ Finley.

TENNESSEE: Did not play, still awaiting Nick Saban’s true wrath after breaking Jaylen Waddle’s ankle.

TEXAS A&M: Did I miss when Kellen Mond became an actual SEC quarterback? 21-26 for 260 yards and a pair of touchdowns yesterday against a tough Arkansas defense. A&M has bounced back from that loss to Alabama, and has that victory over Florida. The rest of their schedule is fairly light, playing only one more currently ranked team (us). If they’re somehow 8-1 before they come to the Plains, it’ll be a wild weekend.

VANDERBILT: Did not play, apparently, even though they were technically physically on the field against Ole Miss.

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