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The first College Football Playoff Top 25 has set the college football world abuzz with discussion. Does it look right? Do you agree? Disagree?
One thing that most SEC fans can agree on is how good it looks to have two teams from the conference in the top four. There is also little doubt that those two, No. 2 LSU and No. 4 Alabama, are indeed the best teams in the SEC right now. Luckily for the nation, they get to compete in primetime this Saturday to see who’s better.
Beyond the Tide and the Tigers, we are left to ponder an intriguing question. Who’s the third best team in the SEC?
Well, depending on your criteria, the answer may vary.
By overall record, Florida is the natural choice. At 7-1, the Gators’ record is exactly the same as Alabama’s. Their lone loss could be considered the most quality of “quality losses,” as they fell to then-No. 6 LSU and only by a touchdown. They also are the owners of a quality victory that came Week 5 when the Gators felled the then-No. 3 Rebels to the tune of 38-10.
However, the strength of their schedule detracts weight from that 7-1 record. While the SEC West boasts five teams ranked in the first CFP Top 25, it’s just Florida representing the SEC East. Before the season is over, Alabama will most likely have played six ranked teams. Florida will have played three.
The miraculous turnaround that has occurred in Gainesville cannot be denied, though. The Gators have defied expectations, and it’s even caught their own fans off guard. Florida has earned the right to go to the SEC Championship game this year.
But when we’re talking about No. 3 in the SEC, Ole Miss also comes to mind. Of course, it’s not the Rebels’ two-loss record that puts them in the running. The basis of their argument is more qualitative. Simply put, Ole Miss may have the stronger team.
First off, the talent from every position just explodes off the roster. The likes of Chad Kelly, Laquon Treadwell, Laremy Tunsil, and Quincy Adeboyejo populate the offense, while Robert Nkemdiche, Denzel Nkemdiche, Trae Elston, and Mike Hilton are part of the defense, just to name a few. The Rebels offense is sensational, even able to score 43 points against the mighty Alabama defense. Florida’s offense is just not that consistent, nor are its players as developed.
We can’t forget, however, how terribly Ole Miss lost to Florida, how Florida’s defense completely contained the highest scoring team in the conference at that time. We also can’t forget Week 7, when the conference had to watch Ole Miss lose to Memphis from the American Athletic Conference.
Despite all this, Ole Miss does still have a chance to beat the SEC’s current top two (Alabama and LSU) to Atlanta as long as they don’t lose any more games.
Other two-loss teams in the SEC include Texas A&M and Mississippi State. The CFP committee clearly has respect for both these teams, ranking them No. 19 and 20 respectively, whereas the Associated Press has them barely making the rankings at No. 24 (Bulldogs) and 25 (Aggies).
Texas A&M has lost to both Alabama and Ole Miss already. And the Rebels didn’t just squeak by either. They won by 20. Texas A&M is just not quite good enough to be named third-best in the conference yet. If the Aggies somehow pull of the upset of the year over LSU, that may change.
And while we’re on the topic of upset potential, Mississippi State is right there as well. While quarterback Dak Prescott is undeniably a tremendous athlete, the Bulldogs’ losses to both LSU and Texas A&M also slide them just out of reach of No. 3. The Bulldogs still have plenty of chances to prove us wrong, with Alabama and Ole Miss still on the schedule.
So who is No. 3 in the SEC? Because Florida did beat Ole Miss head-to-head, right now it looks like the Gators have the right to claim it. Various college football polls say so as well. But there are still five weeks to the finish line, and teams like Texas A&M and Mississippi State will be gunning hard for good finishes and upset alerts.
We’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.
Christine Wang is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. She covers Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss.
