Around the SEC: A look at where Southeastern Conference teams stand at the halfway mark of league play
OXFORD, Miss. — Here we are halfway through the 2023 Southeastern Conference football season. A couple of league teams have popped up out of seemingly nowhere to put a wrinkle in the standings and some teams have been knocked down, but got themselves up off the mat.
(Click here for SEC Standings.)
After six weeks of league action, it looks as if we are back in preseason and the prognosticators are correct — at least at this point — that Georgia and Alabama are the front runners to make it to the title game in Atlanta. But, that being said, Bama and the Bulldogs still have work to do to make it to the championship game.
Here is a look at where the teams in the league stand heading into the second half of the year, followed by this weekend’s schedule with times, TV info, and a link to live stats.
GOOD TO GO FOR NOW
GEORGIA: The Bulldogs are 6-0, 3-0 in the SEC. The twice defending national champions have had a few scares, namely at Auburn, but looked like themselves in a 51-13 drubbing of Kentucky Saturday. UGA still must play Missouri, Ole Miss and a week after the Rebels go to Athens, the Dogs must travel to Tennessee.
ALABAMA: The Tide is 5-1, 3-0. Alabama lost to Texas in Tuscaloosa, but up until the Longhorns fell to Oklahoma Saturday, it appeared to be a good loss. Now, Bama must navigate tough games against Tennessee, LSU and at Kentucky.
A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE
OLE MISS: The Rebels are 5-1, 2-1 at the midway point. One bad half against Alabama earlier this year is the only thing keeping the Rebs from sitting atop the West. Instead, they’re 2-1 in league play, tied with LSU and A&M at one loss, apiece. After having beaten LSU already and a date still to play with the Aggies, Lane Kiffin’s crew is sitting pretty but must have someone beat Alabama. Apart from that, Ole Miss still must travel to Georgia.
KENTUCKY: The Wildcats are 5-1, 3-1. After getting crushed by Georgia, Kentucky needs someone to upset the Dogs just to crawl back into a tie in the division, even though UGA would own the tie breaker. The Cats host Mizzou this week, still play Alabama and Tennessee and have a rough out-of-conference finale against undefeated Louisville.
MISSOURI: The Tigers are 5-1, 1-1. Missouri was looking good until last week’s loss to a two-loss LSU, and that one hurt. But Mizzou still has a lot in front of them with games against Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee.
TENNESSEE: The Vols are 4-1, 1-1. A loss to Florida is a blemish, but even so, someone would have to beat Georgia to help UT. The Vols still play Texas A&M, at Alabama, at Missouri and host their game against the Georgia Bulldogs.
THEY STILL HAVE A SAY IN THIS
LSU: The Tigers are 4-2, 3-1. The loss in the season opener against Florida State is not bad, nor is the loss at Ole Miss. With games left with Alabama and Texas A&M, the Bayou Bengals will not make it to Atlanta, but they will certainly have a say in who does get there.
TEXAS A&M: The Aggies are 4-2, 2-1. They had their shot against Alabama at home, but some questionable play-calling held them back. A&M still has Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU on the schedule — and all three are road games in hostile environments. If Jimbo doesn’t win two out of three of those, a tall task, he could find himself on an even hotter seat.
FLORIDA: The Gators are 4-2, 2-1. Neither the Kentucky nor Utah loss looks as acceptable as they once did, but the Gators will be a team none of their opponents will want to overlook the rest of the season. UF still plays Georgia, LSU, Missouri and ends the season by hosting Florida State.
A STICK IN THE MUD
AUBURN: The Tigers are 3-2 overall but 0-2 in league play. Under first-year coach Hugh Freeze, Auburn has looked really good and really bad. Just ask Georgia, who had to ride the shoulders of Brock Bowers in the fourth quarter to beat Auburn a couple of weeks ago. The team that does not take the Tigers seriously, will be the one that loses to them.
TOAST THE REST OF THE WAY
ARKANSAS: The Hogs are 2-4 overall, 0-3 in SEC play. Arkansas has underachieved all season long, and the Razorbacks are still looking for their first conference win.
STATE: The Bulldogs are 3-3 overall and 0-3 in SEC play. State seem to be trying to find its identity under new head coach Zach Arnett, but the health of quarterback Will Rogers III is uncertain after being knocked out of the Western Michigan game last week.
BURNT TOAST
VANDERBILT: The Commodores are 2-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Once again, Vandy started promising, but once it got into SEC play, the team came back to earth.
SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks are 2-3 overall, 1-2 in SEC action. South Carolina is the most disappointing team in the league behind the erratic play of quarterback Spencer Rattler. Head coach Shane Beamer will need some of his magic to keep South Carolina out of the cellar.
A FINAL THOUGHT
With all the ups and downs of this SEC season, imagine how much fun it would have been to have Texas and Oklahoma playing in the conference now? Oh well, wait until next year!
Schedule of SEC games for October 14, Week 7
Arkansas (2-4, 0-3 SEC) at Alabama (5-1, 3-0SEC)
Time: 11:00 a.m. CT
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala., Bryant-Denny Stadium (100,077)
Series: ALA leads, 23-8 (Last game, Tide won 49-26 in 2022)
TV: ESPN
Sirius XM: 158/201, 109/190
Live Statistics: https://www.secsports.com/boxscore/football/401520316
Georgia (6-0, 3-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (2-5, 0-3 SEC)
Time: 11:00 a.m. CT
Location: Nashville, Tenn., FirstBank Stadium (28,500)
Series UGA leads, 60-20-2 (Last: UGA won 55-0 at Athens in 2022)
TV: CBS
Sirius XM 133/191 – 134/194
Live Statistics: https://www.secsports.com/boxscore/football/401520327
Florida (4-2, 2-1 SEC) at South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC)
Time: 3:30 p.m. CT
Location: Columbia, SC, Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559)
Series: UF leads, 30-10-3 (Last: UF won, 38-6 at Gainesville in 2022)
TV: SEC Network
SiriusXM: 134/192 – 109/190
Live Statistics: https://www.secsports.com/boxscore/football/401520325
Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1 SEC) at Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC)
Time: 2:30 PM CT
Location: Knoxville, Tenn., Neyland Stadium (101,915)
Series: Tied, 2-2 (Last: TAMU won 34-13 in 2020 at Knoxville)
TV: CBS
SiriusXM: 158/201 – 133/191
Live Statistics: https://www.secsports.com/boxscore/football/401520326
Auburn (3-2, 0-2 SEC) at LSU (4-2, 3-1 SEC)
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Baton Rouge, La., Tiger Stadium (102,321)
Series: LSU leads, 32-24-1(Last: LSU won 21-17 in 2022 at Auburn)
TV: ESPN
SiriusXM: 158/201 – 109/190
Live Statistics: https://www.secsports.com/boxscore/football/401520319
Missouri (5-1, 1-1 SEC) at Kentucky (5-1, 2-1 SEC)
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Lexington, Ky., Kroger Field (61,000)
Series: UK leads, 9-4 (Last: UK won 21-17 in 2022 at Columbia)
TV: SEC Network
SiriusXM: 133/191 – 134/192
Live Statistics: https://www.secsports.com/boxscore/football/401520318
Open Dates:
Ole Miss (5-1, 2-1 SEC)
Mississippi State (3-3, 0-3 SEC)
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
