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It started out like so many recent seasons across the SEC. Eight teams were ranked in the preseason Associated Press college football poll.
But gradually, through a rough September for Auburn and a disastrous October for Georgia, just to name a couple teams, the SEC’s stranglehold on the national playoff picture has slipped.
In the latest poll, only four teams — Alabama, Florida, LSU and Ole Miss — are ranked, and one of them, Florida, wasn’t in those preseason rankings. It’s a steep dropoff from the 10 teams it had in the AP poll early in the season.
Given that perspective, the Gators are reasonably viewed as the only SEC team that has exceeded expectations as more teams are headed in the opposite direction than not.
For many teams, from a former top four team like LSU, back-to-back losses or extended losing streaks have let the air out of the season.
Auburn lost two straight twice. Texas A&M lost three of four over one stretch, while Kentucky is on a five-game skid. Georgia went 0-for-October. While Tennessee has won four of its last five recently, the Volunteers suffered back-to-back losses — and three of four games — erasing the Vols from the big picture.
The lack of a zero sum nature of the league threatens its overall strength because many of these teams have been damaged goods from a national, or College Football Playoff, perspective for going on a month.
The reasons could start with quarterback play that’s left a lot to be desired. Only Chad Kelly at Ole Miss and Brandon Allen at Arkansas are in the top 28 nationally in passing.
Scheduling is another factor, except for those at the top like Alabama, which is undefeated on the road, or Arkansas, which has already won in Oxford and Baton Rouge.
In non-conference play, Alabama’s win over Wisconsin is among the best of the bunch, while Texas A&M’s win over Arizona State has lost value, and LSU’s win at Syracuse didn’t receive a lot of national credibility.
In fact, it might have helped a narrative that the SEC doesn’t travel far before conference play. The SEC is last among the Power Five conferences for scheduling games against other major conferences.
South Carolina was the only team to schedule two games (North Carolina and Clemson) against Power Five opponents.
“Our schedule is plenty tough enough,” former South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said before the Georgia game. “But the other schools? Yeah, I think the other schools need to toughen up their schedules a bit.”
Recently fired Louisiana-Monroe coach Todd Berry joked in July that he should attend the annual gathering in Hoover, Alabama, because his team played Alabama and Georgia.
“I think I should at least get to go to SEC Media Day ever year. We know those guys as well as our own league,” Berry said.
This #LSU trip to Syracuse is the only game an #SEC team will play outside of the SEC footprint this year, Big 12 (7) Pac 12 (11) B1G (10)
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) September 26, 2015
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
