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SEC Football Power Rankings, Week 9: Georgia not quite back on track

By Dante Pryor

ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 19: Jake Fromm #11 of the Georgia Bulldogs gestures during the first half of a game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Sanford Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 19: Jake Fromm #11 of the Georgia Bulldogs gestures during the first half of a game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Sanford Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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FAYETTEVILLE, AR – AUGUST 31: Head Coach Chad Morris of the Arkansas Razorbacks argues a call during a game against the Portland State Vikings at Razorback Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Vikings 20-13. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR – AUGUST 31: Head Coach Chad Morris of the Arkansas Razorbacks argues a call during a game against the Portland State Vikings at Razorback Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Vikings 20-13. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Chad Morris has a lot of work to do in Fayetteville. There was the loss to San Jose State at home which started a streak of three consecutive one-possession losses which were excusable. They showed progress, right? San Jose State was a bad loss, but they played both Texas A&M and Kentucky tough.

Then there was Saturday. Arkansas was at home, and got its doors blown off by Auburn.

Let’s back-track for a bit. Not only did they lose to a three-win Spartan squad, they lost to a Texas A&M team that isn’t very good offensively and a Kentucky squad that can’t throw the ball. Then there was Saturday, and everything fell apart for the Razorbacks. In conclusion, Arkansas isn’t very good at football.

The Kentucky Wildcats threw for 17 yards against Georgia in Week 8. I could leave it here, but my editor might get upset if I don’t say more about Kentucky. Seriously, Mike Stoops has done a fantastic job making Kentucky football a thing. Watching basketball schools trying to be good at football is an interesting endeavor. The Wildcats had a banner year last season.

This year is the result of a program not ready to recover from losing leadership and NFL-caliber talent. Benny Snell brought so many intangibles along with being 75 percent of their offense last season. Losing starting quarterback Terry Wilson early in the season didn’t help matters either.

What might give the Wildcats a puncher’s chance at a bowl this season is their schedule — Tennessee, Tennessee-Martin and Vanderbilt are winnable — and their defense. Defensively, they don’t have the dominant defender like Josh Allen was last season, but they’re still pretty good. Now if they could borrow some Knute Rockne tape and learn the intricacies of the forward pass.

While we’re around the Mason-Dixon line talking about teams that can’t score, Rocky Top, you’re up. The Vols have scored 50 points in SEC play so far this season — that’s not a typo folks. For you not doing the math at home that’s 12.5 points per game. Suffice it to say, the Vols are struggling on offense. You aren’t going to win very often if you are outscored by 72 points on the season.

They have some good pieces at the skill position, but this is a quarterback driven game, and they don’t have one. There is hope, however. The back-end of their schedule isn’t exactly a murderer’s row, but they have to figure out how to score some points in they want a shot to win six games.

Well, if you were looking for two teams in the same boat, it’s the Volunteers and the Bulldogs. Mississippi State, like Tennessee, cannot score and have huge issues at the quarterback position. The Bulldogs, like Kentucky, is also reeling from losing so much NFL talent. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, and with the exception of the Tennessee game — yes those Vols who don’t have a quarterback — the defense is looking woeful.

If there’s anything you could usually hang your hat on in Starkville, it’s the defense. Their defense is looking anything but good recently, though. In their four losses the Bulldogs are giving up 35.8 points per game, and have given up at least 30 in three of their four losses. So, no quarterback and a defense as porous as a sponge — you won’t win many games like that.

Anchor down. Here’s the truth about the Commodores: they aren’t a good football team. They will more than likely be No. 14 in the power rankings again. There was nothing about the win against Missouri that signaled a long winning streak for Vandy. That’s no shade on the Commodores and head coach Derek Mason. So, one of the common themes in all three of my power rankings (I write SEC, ACC, and Big 12) is that certain teams struggle when they lose a lot of senior talent.Vanderbilt is no different.

During the SEC media days, Mason boasted about quarterback Riley Neal, running back Keshawn Vaughn and tight end Jared Pinkney. It takes more than three guys to win games in the SEC, and Mason is finding that out. But hey, coach, enjoy this win since you might not get another one for a while. You do get East Tennessee State, but you did lose to UNLV.

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