Week 12 in the SEC was full of surprises. Most notably, Tennessee fell by nearly 30 points to South Carolina, which surely ends the Vols hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time. It was arguably the most shocking result of the College Football season to date, revealing what’s become evident over the course of this season.
As flashy as Tennessee was for most of this season, they ultimately were exposed for not being a playoff-caliber team. There’s no way any top-five team in the country should ever get boat-raced like that by an average South Carolina squad. I don’t care where or when the game is being played. So why did Tennessee look so fantastic for most of the season? Because this is the worst we’ve seen the SEC from top to bottom in quite some time.
Alabama has long been the king of the conference, with Georgia right in their rearview. This year’s version of the Crimson Tide, however, is not up to the standard. With only two losses on their resumé, it doesn’t look like too much of a down year for the program, but the eye test would suggest differently. Nick Saban’s team could have easily lost four or even five games this season, barely avoiding an upset against average teams like Ole Miss, Texas, and Texas A&M.
Alabama, and really the rest of the typically strong SEC West’s incompetence this season, has allowed for a rag-tag bunch from LSU to run away with the division. This is an LSU team that lost to Florida State in Week 1. Now, the Seminoles aren’t a bad team, but they shouldn’t be beating the champions of the SEC West. I don’t care what week the game took place. LSU also lost by four touchdowns to the same Tennessee team that lost by four touchdowns to South Carolina. The Tigers are a good team that is overachieving, but this isn’t Joe Burrow’s LSU.
The rest of the SEC is an utter mess. The Rebels looked decent until they were dismantled on the road by a .500 Arkansas team. The Aggies are a laughing stock. Auburn isn’t far behind, and Mississippi State… Well, they are just Mississippi State.
On the other side, Georgia and Tennessee looked to be holding the conference up until Tennessee was embarrassed on Saturday. Now, it’s just Georgia, who is really the only team that’s proven they belong in the entire Southeastern Conference. The Volts were exposed. Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina are nothing better than average. Hell, Vanderbilt might be the third-best team in the SEC East.
This is the worst the Southeastern Conference has been in football in over two decades. There’s one great team, a few good ones, and a bunch of average to below-average teams, which makes what I’m going to say next even crazier.
The SEC is still the best conference in football this year. College Football, as a whole, is down across the board. The ACC is atrocious. The Big 10 has a few good teams and a bunch of trash, a lot like the SEC. The Pac-12 is full of frauds, and so is the Big 12. It’s why we are talking about USC, TCU, and LSU as potential playoff teams. Most years, none of them would even be in the Top 10. It’s not a good or a bad thing; it actually makes for a very entertaining end to the season, but it’s become very evident that this is the worst we’ve seen the SEC and College Football in quite some time.
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