The SEC continues to be a strange league. Some of it is difficult to explain. Raise your hand if you thought Brandon Cox would be benched by the second game. Or that Auburn and Tennessee would be a combined 2-4.
Weird. We won’t talk about the wins the SEC had over cupcakes like Western Carolina or South Carolina State (although Georgia found a way to look bad in an easy win).
This week Inside the SEC looks at the three best performances and the three worst.
The best
1. Florida ” You put 59 on an Eastern Division contender, you deserve the praise. It was deja blue on Saturday with Urban Meyer looking like Steve Spurrier. Going for it on fourth down from his own 35. Going for the jugular late. The Dog must have liked what he saw.
2. Kentucky ” Big win for Kentucky for a lot of reasons. OK, so Louisville’s defense is as weak as Lindsay Lohan’s but that was the kind of game Kentucky always loses. Maybe Rich Brooks has changed the culture. Maybe Andre Woodson is just that good. “The right team finally won,” Brooks said.
3. Alabama ” I’m not a Nick Saban guy and I think the Tide got some breaks from the officials late, but this was the kind of game Alabama fans were sure Saban would win. Beating Arkansas on a last-second drive won’t win the West but it shows he knows what he’s doing.
The worst
1. Auburn ” Hey, two of the four coaches who lost to Sly Croom were canned. Should Tommy Tuberville be worried? Cox threw picks on his first two passes. Kodi Burns rallied the Tigers but by the second half, the MSU defense figured out he only had a few plays in his book. My, they’re grumbling on the plains.
2. Tennessee ” At the very least, Phillip Fulmer has to be thinking about shaking up his defensive staff after that debacle. The Vols are 15-12 in their last 27 games. I don’t care who you are, that’s not good.
3. Ole Miss ” The Rebels’ defense gave up 383 yards to Vanderbilt. “It’s all about the truth,” said Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron. “It’s all about telling the guys the truth.” You can’t handle the truth.