Damn, I feel like putting together this first power poll is a form of punishment. It comes after the most brutal opening week the conference has suffered through in a while. It’s tempting to call the SEC ‘Alabama and the 13 Dwarfs’, but let’s not go there just yet.
- Alabama. I know it’s early, small sample size and all that, but, honestly, is there another team you can see winning the SEC West right now? Or the SEC, for that matter?
- Texas A&M. Give John Chavis a nasty defensive line and he can do plenty of damage. The Aggies could have blown the game against a Top 20 opponent, but give them credit for resiliency.
- Georgia. A 2B to TAMU’s 2A, the Dawgs deserve some props for holding things together, too. Nick Chubb answered all the questions about his health; now the team gets a couple of weeks to find more answers before hitting the meat of the schedule.
- Tennessee. Taking a decent Appy State team for granted is fixable. I’m not so sure the same can be said for the Vols’ offensive line or Josh Dobbs’ passing.
- Florida. The Gators have a defense, so that’s something.
- Arkansas. I don’t think Bert wants to win games with his quarterback throwing 29 times, but maybe he’s changed.
- Ole Miss. When you have one of those tale of two halves games, a lot of times it’s an indication that your team depth is questionable. We’ll see if the Rebels are built for the long haul.
- LSU. An inconsistent Brandon Harris doesn’t surprise me. An inconsistent offensive line, though, is a different story. Welcome back to the hot seat, Les.
- Auburn. So, we’re really supposed to think Kevin Steele’s fashioned a great defense now?
- South Carolina. “Kids, pull up a chair and I’ll tell you about the time Coach Muschamp’s team led the SEC East.”
- Mississippi State. That was a different kind of clanga we heard this week.
- Missouri. The Tigers scored a touchdown! Baby steps, right?
- Vanderbilt. That offense is bad, and Derek Mason didn’t help things by changing quarterbacks after Vandy’s only touchdown drive of the game.
- Kentucky. Generally speaking, when the head coach has to apologize to the fan base for laying an egg in the opener, that’s not a good sign.
Get The Picture 
I think your instincts are right, just clear the whole Top 5 for Alabama and then go: 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, and 6E and then resume normal ordering.
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Seems like Les Miles has always had quarterback issues. Jamarcus Russell and Matt Flynn did well in spite of rather than because of his coaching.
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Russell and Flynn were both recruited during Saban’s tenure.
I can’t figure out how Les has not fired Cam Cameron. Not only has he brought the NFL AIDS to their offense, he must be one turd of a recruiter. I have no idea how they can’t find some quality 4-star guy in high school that would want to start in the SEC. As of now, they have one qb that was a 3-star pro-style recruit, and some “dual-threat” guys. They recruited 2 4-star pro-style guys back in 2013 (assuming you even count Anthony Jennings as a pro-style guy, I didn’t) but both transferred.
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I thought Brandon Harris was a 5-star dual threat QB?
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Agree with Cameron. He’s incapable of developing a QB and is very predicable in his play calling. Don’t know why Les keeps him around.
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I can’t help but think back to the UGA and LSU coaching situations at the end of last season. Both programs were at a crossroads, coaching wise, with longterm coaches that had peaked a few years ago. We pulled the trigger and they didn’t. And I know it’s very early this season, but it doesn’t look good for Les at this point. Wouldn’t be a big move, geographically speaking, for Tom Herman, but did they wait too long?
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That Kelly kid is going to really hurt some people in Oxford.
An the FSu QB is going to murder people in the ACC.
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The first half, I couldn’t understand Jimbo sticking with him…the second half I was thinking, “This kid could win the Heisman”…His release and accuracy and mobility are scary. He look looks like Cam running around out there and making plays.
As for Old Miss…Third and Grantham Syndrome has spread.
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Even though they lost to SC…I’d put Vandy ahead of them.
You alluded to the difficulty of the task of putting this ratings together after the first week..it is a crapshoot.
But I hope we say the real Tennessee, but doubt that we did. The fact that they were so unprepared (overconfident?) against A St. tells us something about Bootch..if it’s true that a team’s attitude is reflective of it’s coach’s.
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I think Ole Miss is rated a bit low here. They lost to a really good FSU team. Watching the way that Ole Miss flies around the football was terrifying to me last night. Take away the lull where Chad Kelly was doing everything in his power to turn the ball over and the Rebs probably hang on to that win last night. I think Mississippi is still a Top-3 team in our league.
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We’ll see. I do wonder how they’ll hold up over the long haul.
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I’ve definitely got some real question marks still about what kind of leader Chad Kelly is and what kind of attitude he really has. When I hear anecdotes about how he declared himself the best quarterback in the country at SEC Media Days and then I see his body language after he became a turnover machine, I wonder just how well he can lead a team when things aren’t going his way. He still seems to have some of the punk in him that would slug a coach on the sidelines.
I don’t know, though, I think they’re filthy talented. We’ll see.
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It was a 39-6 total team meltdown from late in the 2nd quarter through the end of the game. The true leadership quality of making those around you better, especially in adversity, applies here.
However, the ability of Mississippi’s staff to make in-game adjustments pales in comparison to Florida State’s staff. FSU realized Ole Miss could not and would not run the ball and loaded up on pressuring the QB, especially with #44.
From that point, it was pretty much game-over for Ole Miss.
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Yeah, I’d put Ole Miss much higher. Not sure A&M is that high. We looked like the best in the East. Florida and Tennessee are a toss up.
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Ole Miss continues to be the most schizophrenic team in college football.
Tons of (expensive) talent, but lacking in on-field leadership.
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Here’s my take: 1) Bama, 2) Ole Miss, 3) UGA, 4) TAMU, 5) UF; 6) UT.
I’m now officially picking UF to beat UT in the annual meteor game, not because I’m high on the Gators, but because I’m low on Tennessee. I’m sure they overlooked App St, to an extent, but there were also times in that game that they were trying their hardest and just couldn’t do any better. If VaTech were any better, I’d say UT would lose this weekend. If we can continue to progress, the East is there to be won.
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“Mississippi State. That was a different kind of clanga we heard this week.”
That was rough, Senator. Hilarious, but rough.
Also, Josh Dobbs is still Josh Dobbs.
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1) Bama,
Insert Grand Canyon here
2) TAMU
3) Ole Miss
4a) UGA
4b) UT
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AU played Clempson better than Ole Miss played Free Shoes.
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I think the Gus bus will be derailed by the time we play them, but you’re right, they probably deserve to be in the 3-6 range. Time will tell.
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Yeah, but they had a lot of help from really dumb Dabo decisions to keep things closer.
My gut feeling is Watson and co. had some rust to work out more than Kevin Steele suddenly coaching one of the 2-3 best defenses in the SEC.
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Well, if you follow the national press, the rankings are:
1) Bama
2) Big 1G
3) Pac 12
4) Big 12
5) ACC
6) Houston
7) rest of the SEC
So hey! We’re top 10!
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3 SecE in the top 7…-are times changing?
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It won’t last.
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Maybe not, I have serious doubts about UF myself.
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Bama appears to be scary good. Their lines of scrimmage are pretty unbelievable.
The Vowels got the win, but I really thought App outplayed them and were pound-for-pound the better team.
Jort Nation may have to win ugly to have a chance for Atlanta. Past Gator teams would have been ahead 24-7 with time remaining in the 1st quarter.
The problem for Ole Mi$$ is that F$U isn’t the best team on their schedule.
LSU is in disarray. A Tiger alum at my place of work today thinks the LSU fan base won’t give the Mad Hatter the benefit of the doubt now.
The Gus Bus gets the moral victory in the Bagman Bowl with Clemson. Can the defensive line hold up over a 12-game season with a very limited offense?
USCe is going to have to beat a couple of teams they shouldn’t just to have a chance at bowl eligibility. Yes, we’re going to get their best shot.
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