The race for the SEC Championship game is on and, for the moment, superseding the urgency of 12-team College Football Playoff projections.
LSU plays at Texas A&M in what amounts to a playoff game of its own, as the Bayou Bengals and Aggies are in complete control of their SEC Championship Game paths as the only remaining unbeaten teams in the league.
A look at the AJC’s SEC Power Poll reveals that Georgia and Texas, fresh off the Bulldogs’ 30-15 win over the previously nationally No. 1-ranked Longhorns, remain the top two teams in the league according to the pollsters.
Projections for the SEC Championship are indeed aplenty, but first, a look at the unbeaten and one-loss teams remaining in the league standings:
- Texas A&M 4-0 SEC, 6-1 overall
- LSU 3-0 SEC, 6-1 overall
- Georgia 4-1 SEC, 6-1 overall
- Tennessee 3-1 SEC, 6-1 overall
- Missouri 2-1 SEC, 6-1 overall
- Texas 2-1 SEC, 6-1 overall
- Vanderbilt 2-1 SEC, 6-1 overall
When Texas plays at Vanderbilt, it will represent what could serve as another elimination game as far as the SEC title matchup is concerned.
A sampling of AJC SEC Power Poll voters indicates they are as intrigued as anyone at this juncture of the season.
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports said: “No one in the SEC should feel confident that their slot in Atlanta is safe. Georgia still has losable games against Ole Miss and Tennessee. LSU plays Texas A&M and Alabama in successive weeks.
“My long standing belief has been that Georgia and Texas are on a collision course in the SEC Championship Game and I’ll stick with that for now. More specifically, though, the winner of Texas-Texas A&M and winner of Georgia-Tennessee are heading to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.”
Anwar Richardson, Texas OrangeBloods adds: “LSU has the clearest path to the SEC Championship game, especially if it defeats Texas A&M this weekend. After Texas A&M, LSU will play against Alabama, which is destined to lose at least two more games this season, Florida, Vanderbilt, and Oklahoma, a team that is currently in disarray. Even if LSU loses to Texas A&M, the Tigers can still make the title game with one conference loss.
“Georgia still has Ole Miss and Tennessee in back-to-back weeks, but I believe the Bulldogs are good enough to beat both of them.”
Aaron Torres, FoxSports: “It might not seem probable, but I still like a rematch of Texas and Georgia in the 2024 SEC title game.”
While LSU is sitting 6-1 and undefeated in league play, they have tough games ahead, including this weekend’s showdown at Texas A&M.
Josh Ward, Knoxville WNML-Radio: “Updated SEC title game prediction: Georgia-Texas rematch …. If you gave me a cop-out option, I might say Georgia will play the winner of the Texas-Texas A&M game on Nov. 30. Anything could happen in that game at Kyle Field — the first game between the Aggies and Longhorns in 13 years.
“LSU has a great shot, especially if the Tigers can win at Texas A&M this weekend. LSU will still be in a good position if it can split the next two games against Texas A&M and Alabama. The first half of the season tells us the final six weeks will feature a wild race to Atlanta.”
Significant risers: Mobility is harder to come by as the week’s play out, but Georgia’s 30-15 win at Texas to move up one and reclaim the top spot was a biggie. LSU jumped up two spots by winning 34-10 at Arkansas, and Florida moved up two and is rising after handling Kentucky 48-20.
Big falls: Down goes Alabama, dropping three spots to No. 6 after a 24-17 loss at Tennessee. Oklahoma fell two spots after a decidedly disappointing 35-9 home loss to South Carolina.
AJC SEC Power Poll
Note: The parenthetical after the current ranking denotes last week’s ranking.
1. (2) Georgia — 144 points — Highest vote 1, Lowest vote 1
2. (1) Texas —133 points — Highest vote 2, Lowest vote 3
3. (5) LSU — 120 points — Highest vote 3, Lowest vote 5
4. (4) Texas A&M — 118 points — Highest vote 2, Lowest vote 5
5. (6) Tennessee — 114 points — Highest vote 3, Lowest vote 6
6. (3) Alabama — 92 points — Highest vote 6, Lowest vote 9
7. (7) Ole Miss — 89 points — Highest vote 6, Lowest vote 9
8. (8) Vanderbilt — 77 points — Highest vote 5, Lowest vote 11
9. (10) Missouri — 73 points — Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 12
10. (11) South Carolina — 63 points — Highest vote 8, Lowest vote 12
11. (9) Arkansas — 58 points — Highest vote 8, Lowest vote 12
12. (14) Florida — 51 points — Highest vote 9, Lowest vote 13
13. (13) Kentucky — 31 points — Highest vote 13, Lowest vote 15
14. (12) Oklahoma — 28 points — Highest vote 12, Lowest vote 15
15. (15) Auburn — 23 points — Highest vote 12, Lowest vote 16
16. (16) Mississippi State — 10 points — Highest vote 15, Lowest vote 16
SEC Power poll voting panel
This week’s SEC games
Oklahoma at Ole Miss (-20), noon, ESPN
Arkansas (-8) at Mississippi State, 12:45 p.m. SEC Network
Missouri at Alabama (-13), 3:30 p.m. ABC
Texas (-17) at Vanderbilt, 4:15 p.m., SEC Network
LSU at Texas A&M (-3), 7:30 p.m., ABC
Auburn at Kentucky (-3), 7:45 p.m. SEC Network
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