SEC Football 2023: Where does each team stand ahead of Week 6?
Seven SEC teams cozy up on the Pre-Week 6 AP Top 25 rankings. Would you be surprised that four of those seven are down at No. 20-23? Only the Georgia Bulldogs call the Top 10 home and let’s get real, no one envisioned the Dawgs “only” beating South Carolina and Auburn by a combined 17 points. Can Nick Saban’s No. 11 Alabama and Lane Kiffin’s No.. 16 Ole Miss claw into the Top 10? Can No. 20 Kentucky and No. 21 Mizzou ride this undefeated high any longer? Baffled in the Bayou? Let’s go team by team for all 14 SEC teams to see where each team stands.
No. 21 Missouri Tigers (5-0, 1-0 SEC)
The honors of going first go to Mizzou here. Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz has a 38-21 road conference win against Vanderbilt under his belt and a Top 15 upset against Kansas State on his resume to this point. Superstar Alert: Luther Burden will be a 1st Round pick at wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft.
At his current rate of production, Burden is on pace for 103 catches, 1546 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. The former five-star will need to keep the freak show alive against LSU’s aerial Jayden Daniels offense. Will Mizzou get a sad and defeated 3-2 LSU Tigers coming into town Saturday afternoon or will Brian Kelly’s Tigers come hungry?
No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 SEC)
Ray Davis is an absolute stud: 26 carries for 280 yards and three touchdowns to beat the Gators for the third year in a row last week, scratch that, to blow the Gators out last week will make one assess that. Head Coach Mark Stoops has taken a 5-0 Kentucky team to a 10-win season twice in his regime, so can he take the next step? Can he knock off the No. 1 Dawgs?
These teams, while built at schools with different football expectations, are built similarly in recruiting philosophy and coach-instilled culture. The ‘Cats have a busy schedule ahead that features an undefeated Missouri, Top 25 Tennessee and No. 11 Alabama. The next step starts on Saturday in Athens.
No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 SEC)
Yes, this Georgia team is starting games slowly. They got behind in both conference matchups against South Carolina and Auburn, having to sweat both of those games. Still, need we to remember this team is undefeated, not 9-3 headed for the Outback Bowl.
Carson Beck‘s breakout game is incoming this week against a very run-stout Kentucky run defense only allowing 75.8 yards per game against a beat-up Georgia running back room. Beck will have to have it Saturday for a Georgia W. I say that Beck isn’t quietly averaging 299.4 passing yards per game.
Brock Bowers is on a regular season pace of 72 catches, 991 yards and seven touchdowns. Can he be the first Dawgs receiver since 2002 to eclipse 1,000 yards (Terrence Edwards)? He can and he will. He’s the best college football tight end of all time we’re talking about here. This is going to be a brawl Saturday night in Athens that shapes the SEC East going forward.
No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide (4-1, 2-0 SEC)
Alabama is not dead and gone after that Texas loss and quarterback confusion early on this season. We know better than that. You should at least. Jalen Milroe is the guy at this point at quarterback and we know it is not changing. If Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner couldn’t take it by now it is not happening.
They know that. The Tide are going to beat Texas A&M and Arkansas in the next two weeks. Tennessee, LSU and Kentucky the next three weeks after that is where we find out what they are really made of at this point. Bama fans won’t be patient. Neither will Saban.
No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels (4-1, 1-1)
Here’s another reason that LSU shootout victory was so huge last week: Ole Miss set themselves up for a very reasonable schedule stretch now. There’s no world where Ole Miss was getting through Bama/LSU 2-0; its 1-1 is a goal accomplished.
Arkansas, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M await the next four weeks before the No. 1 Dawgs. Roll into Athens 8-1, Rebels. It’s right in front of you and there for the taking. Lane Kiffin and Jaxson Dart are going to be bringing lots of aerial coverage these next four weeks. The SEC West is for the taking.
No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers (4-1, 1-1)
Whooping South Carolina was needed after the tough Florida loss. A week off, before Texas A&M comes to town, is a distinct advantage Josh Heupel’s squad must take advantage of and no excuse to lose to the Aggies coming off an SEC matchup against Saban and the Tide.
Joe Milton is making some great plays and keeping a reasonable 3:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The Vols are boasting six yards per carry heading into a must-win next week against A&M. Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia among others still lay ahead beyond that.
Texas A&M Aggies (4-1, 2-0)
Back-to-back opening conference wins against Arkansas and Auburn have quietly hushed some haters after that ugly Miami game to start the year. A&M is fortunate to have a backup quarterback the caliber of Max Johnson, carrying over a season’s worth of SEC starting experience from his LSU days, to keep the Aggies rolling after Conner Weigman’s injury.
Head Coach Jimbo Fisher had his team beat Alabama in 2021. Can he do it again? The Aggies have a rough schedule ahead with Tennessee, South Carolina, Ole Miss, LSU, etc. They’ve got to steal one somewhere.
LSU Tigers (3-2, 1-1)
LSU’s defense is last in the Southeastern Conference in yards allowed per play. That is inexcusable from the LSU Tigers, any year. What’s the plan, Brian Kelly?
Missouri, Auburn, Alabama, Florida, and Texas A&M remain and are all capable at this point of beating this LSU team; its 429.4 yards per game allowed mark is not going to cut it from a coaching standpoint with athletes like Harold Perkins Jr. and Maason Smith flying around. You needed one stop against Ole Miss and could not buy it with cash.
Auburn Tigers (3-2, 0-2)
Auburn seriously had Georgia sweating. Tiger fans need to be patient with Hugh Freeze and let him get his players, particularly at quarterback. In the end, the Dawgs just had a noticeable talent gap. LSU having to play Missouri in a Top 25 SEC matchup this week on the road is a nice advantage for Auburn, who will be taking the week off for a bye week. Ole Miss and Alabama also remain on the docket.
Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1)
That was brutal. I picked the Gators in Lexington, Ky. I took the blunt side of an axe to the mouth early on in that one. This SEC matchup coming up against Vandy is well-timed for the Gators to tune up.
Every aspect of this team has to improve, primarily offense and coaching. 13 men couldn’t even stop Ray Davis last week. That was embarrassing. On top of the SEC schedule that remains, the fifth-ranked Noles lurk at the end of the schedule as well. The margin for error is closing in Gainesville.
South Carolina Gamecocks (2-3, 1-2)
Future 1st Round quarterback Drake Maye and North Carolina was a real test to open the year. Follow that with SEC contests on the road at Georgia and Tennessee, and the Gamecocks have had a big boy schedule.
A week off to regroup for Shane Beamer and staff might be very well-timed here after a demoralizing 41-20 Tennessee game last week. Spencer Rattler has to have it as he did against Carolina and Mississippi State against the Gators in two weeks at home for a team thirsting for a home game and a “right the ship” conference win.
Arkansas Razorbacks (2-3, 0-2)
Sam Pittman is possibly the most likable coach in the conference, and even then his seat could use a coolant after three straight losses to BYU, LSU and Texas A&M.
It is worth noting the BYU and LSU losses were by a combined 10 points. There’s still opportunity, particularly with a signal caller caliber of K.J. Jefferson. With Ole Miss, Alabama, Mississippi State, Florida, Auburn and Missouri left on the docket leaves a long road ahead for a team that needs to start winning now.
Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-3, 0-3)
Will Rogers‘ usage has cranked up. He’s been the offensive identity for some time and needs to take another step in the right direction in reestablishing that against Western Michigan. That’s where Head Coach Zach Arnett has to start. Arkansas on the road in two weeks is going to be critical for both teams. You don’t want to be Sam Pittman or Zach Arnett with an SEC loss after that one.
Vanderbilt Commodores (2-4, 0-2)
Vanderbilt will lose a fourth consecutive game this week against the Gators. I struggle to find another win on the Commodores’ schedule for the remainder of the year. Really pulling for Clark Lea’s squad to catch a spark. Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn, South Carolina and Tennessee are a violent, brutal, gory SEC stretch ahead. Start drinking heavily.
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