College football winners and losers: How does SEC stack up after a chaotic first 8 weeks of season?

Who is the best team in the SEC?

That’s a question without a clear answer after Week 8. No. 1 Texas was easily beaten by No. 5 Georgia at home, while No. 11 Tennessee used a strong second half to take down No. 7 Alabama in Knoxville. It’s the Crimson Tide’s second loss of the season after they lost to Vanderbilt two weeks ago.

Alabama is not going to be anyone’s answer to that question. But the Tide beat the Bulldogs, who put on a defensive clinic in the first half of their win over the previously undefeated Longhorns.

Texas’ loss means every team in the SEC has at least one loss, though LSU and Texas A&M are still undefeated in the conference. Through the first eight weeks of the season, six teams have one loss and another three have two. All nine of those teams are still in the mix for spots in the expanded College Football Playoff and there are more than that who can still harbor hopes of playing for the SEC title and a top-four seed in the playoff.

Here’s a look at how the entire conference stacks up ahead of what’s going be a hectic final six weeks of the regular season.

Better luck next year

Mississippi State (1-6 overall, 0-4 in SEC)

Auburn (2-5, 0-4)

Kentucky (3-4, 1-4)

Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3)

South Carolina (4-3, 2-3)

The surprise team in this group are the Sooners, who were humiliated by the Gamecocks on Saturday. Oklahoma turned the ball over on each of its first three possessions and South Carolina scored defensive touchdowns on two of those on the way to a 21-0 lead. Oklahoma’s offense has been decimated by injuries and flat-out ineffective through the first half of the season. And a tough schedule means that simply going to a bowl game isn’t a foregone conclusion.

Needs a lot of help

Florida (4-3, 2-2)

Arkansas (4-3, 2-2)

We’re not officially ruling out either team, though it’s hard to envision a…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-20 04:18:18

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