Due to the holidays, this was a fairly uneventful week. Most teams have huge games to close out the OOC schedule coming up this week, though.
1. Tennessee
The Vols were idle this week. They have a big test at Kansas on 1/3.
2. Florida
The Gators survived a scare against lowly Georgia Southern. This team has lots of talent and is capable of playing at a high level; however, they seem to lack the ability to consistently do well. NC State comes to Gainesville on 1/3.
3. Kentucky
The Cats had a scare of their own last night against Florida Atlantic. A matchup with Louisville looms.
4. South Carolina
The Gamecocks played well against Presbyterian and appear to be a solid team. Big games against ranked Clemson and Baylor will give this team a chance to improve the low RPI it's built by playing cupcakes. Splitting those games would be good.
5. Arkansas
The Hogs beat up on Northwestern State this past week. Can they hang with highly ranked Oklahoma when the Sooners come to Fayetteville?
6. LSU
The Tigers have talent and have built a nice record by beating cupcakes, but they've had a number of scares against lowly opponents. The latest came against McNeese State. This team is capable of taking the West, but I could also see them finishing with a losing record.
7. Vanderbilt
The Dores took down Furman as they prepare for a trip to Amherst to take on UMass. This team will improve throughout the year.
8. Alabama
The Tide looked good against a lowly Tennessee-Chattanooga team. They take on Clemson and Georgia Tech to wrap up the non-con. This is a shaky team, but in a wide open Western Division, they could win some games.
9. Mississippi
Despite being ravaged by injuries, the Rebels managed to beat their cupcake convincingly, earning them a spot atop the bottom quarter of the conference.
10. Auburn
After beating Virginia the week before last, the Tigers survived a scare from lowly Alabama State this past week. This is not a good team, but neither are any of the other teams in the bottom quarter of the conference.
11. Mississippi State
Like most other teams, the Bulldogs went down to the wire with a team they should have beaten convincingly, in this case Nicholls State.
12. UGA
After needing overtime to beat Wofford the week before last, this past week the Dawgs lost to Texas A & M. The problem here? They lost to the team from Corpus Christi, not from College Station. Yep; this is Dennis Felton's last year in Athens.