Predicting every SEC team’s final regular-season record after Week 8

Don’t hit on 18, don’t eat raw oysters in a month without an “r,” don’t tug on Superman’s cape, and don’t pick against Kirby Smart given a chance to play an underdog card. Yes, that warning is for yours truly as much as the reader, but Georgia amped up and took care of business Saturday night in Austin.

Does it impact the rest of the SEC? Let’s run down our updated predictions of every SEC team’s final regular-season record after a wildly entertaining Week 8.

Texas (11-1, 6-1 after 30-15 loss to Georgia)

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. The Longhorns did indeed look like the best team in the SEC, but that high-flying offense suddenly was marked down to size by an angry Georgia team. That said, the Quinn/Arch schism is probably the most serious issue facing Texas the rest of the way. Road games at Arkansas and Texas A&M probably won’t present too much of a challenge.

Georgia (11-1, 6-1 after 30-15 win over Texas)

There are still enough issues on offense that it’s not impossible that Ole Miss or Tennessee could knock the Bulldogs off this spot. At the same time, if the defense was good enough to knock Texas for a loop, who else is going to be able to challenge the Dawgs?

LSU (11-1, 6-1 after 34-10 win over Arkansas)

Another week, another impressive victory. We’ll mark in the Tigers as the most likely 3rd squad to earn an SEC CFP berth. Tennessee won’t like that, but the remaining LSU schedule is pretty advantageous. Survive at A&M next week then beat Alabama off a mutual bye week and the Tigers can all but write their Playoff tickets.

Tennessee (10-2, 6-1 after 24-17 win over Alabama)

The Vols rode a tough ground game and a tenacious defense to a second straight home win over Alabama. That might be the definitive proof that Alabama isn’t the same … or that Tennessee is moving up. The Vols have to travel to Georgia, but otherwise, they’re coasting to an easy 10 wins. The Vols have a pretty solid shot at the 4th SEC squad into the CFP.

Ole Miss (9-3, 5-2 and off this week)

The Rebels are probably good with the exception of Georgia, although at Arkansas will be a battle. As noted last week, in retrospect, it’ll be the loss to Kentucky that keeps Ole Miss out of the Playoff in 2024. But beat Georgia and the Rebels can create some legitimate SEC turmoil.

Alabama (9-3, 5-2 after 24-17 loss to Tennessee)

Last week, we questioned whether dropping the Tide to 9-3 was an overreaction. It pretty clearly wasn’t. A likely loss at LSU is ahead, but while the remaining games probably include some close ones, we’ll take Alabama to otherwise win out and end up a game shy of the CFP.

Missouri (9-3, 6-1 after 21-17 win over Auburn)

It’s still a fairly soft schedule, but it’s hard to take a team seriously for the Playoff after they nearly lost to Auburn and Vanderbilt. Missouri could easily go 10-2, but from here, it looks like Alabama is a loss and another one will pop-up — maybe at South Carolina or at home against Arkansas.

Texas A&M (9-3, 6-1 coming off 34-24 win over Mississippi State)

A&M is still perfect in league play, but with LSU and Texas still left to play, that can’t last long. Their Nov. 2 date at South Carolina could actually be a massive battle and a loss would knock A&M out of the CFP discussion altogether.

Vanderbilt (7-5, 5-2 after 24-14 win over Ball State)

It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but Vandy is 1 win from a bowl. That game at Auburn is critical. Win that and we’ll stick with another win (maybe South Carolina). Lose it and 5-7 comes back into the picture in a hurry.

Arkansas (6-6, 4-3 coming off 34-10 loss to LSU)

We have the Razorbacks winning at Mississippi State and at home to La. Tech to reach bowl eligibility. A 7th win? Good luck in a home game with Ole Miss or at Missouri in the season’s last week.

South Carolina (6-6, 4-3 after 35-9 win over Oklahoma)

FCS Wofford is sitting out there and at Vanderbilt could be a massive game. Home games with Mizzou and A&M are plausible, too. For the moment, we’ll give USC a 6th victory, probably over Vandy, but if not, 1 of those other 2 teams is a solid possibility.

Oklahoma (5-7, 4-3 after 35-9 loss to South Carolina)

That offense is just not fixable right now. They have a brutal schedule run coming up, with road games at Ole Miss, Mizzou and LSU and a home game against Alabama. At the moment, this looks like a 5-7 team, and it’ll take an impressive upset to get to 6 wins.

Kentucky (5-7, 3-4 after 48-20 loss to Florida)

The Auburn game is at home and FCS Murray State shouldn’t be a challenge. But that’s all that looks good for the Wildcats, who probably end up playing Louisville with a bowl spot on the line, a situation that hasn’t gone well for them in the past.

Florida (5-7, 4-3 after 48-20 win over Kentucky)

Welcome to Murderer’s Row, Gators. It’s Georgia, at Texas, LSU and Ole Miss off the bye week. DJ Lagway makes an upset possible, but it’s hard to pick it. Florida State at least leaves the chance to finish on a high note.

Auburn (4-8, 2-5 coming off 21-17 loss to Missouri)

Kentucky, Vandy and ULM offer a shot at 5 wins, but there’s not a 6th one to be had. In fact, we’ll say the Tigers only get 2 of those 3 above to hang at 4-8.

Mississippi State (2-10, 1-6 after 34-24 loss to Texas A&M)

Michael Van Buren is a very solid QB. Another win (home games with Arkansas and Missouri) aside from the UMass game is reasonable, but it’s hard to pick the Bulldogs to pick up another victory at the moment.

Joe Cox

Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.