ATLANTA — The race for the SEC Championship Game is taking front and center, 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.
And yet, 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 Game 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, 5-2 overall
It’s an incredible race for the SEC Championship Game, which will be played at 4 p.m. on Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Indeed, when Texas plays at Vanderbilt this Saturday 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: “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: “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 a slew of tough games, from this weekend’s showdown at Texas A&M, to a trip to an all-of-a-sudden vibrant Florida Gators Squad … and could some overlooked little upstart named Alabama play the surprise spoiler in Baton Rouge, as well?
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
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
Chris Doering, SEC Network
Kaylee Mansell, DawgNation
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel
Josh Ward, Knoxville WNML
Ryan Fowler, Tuscaloosa Tide-100.9
Anwar Richardson, Orange Bloods
Aaron Torres, Fox Sports Radio
Mike Griffith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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
