Over The Pylon

We here at OverThePylon were asked to be a voting member in the SEC Power Poll this season hosted by Team Speed Kills. It’s a collection of the best and brightest SEC blogs throughout the college football landscape and we are fortunate to be a part of it with our loose affiliation to the Kentucky Wildcats. Each week we’ll be posting our ballot, and an expansion of the little blurbs we have to put forward with our votes.

General Power Poll Philosophy
In general, it wouldn’t really make sense for us not to start off with the teams already ranked on our SBNation Blogpoll. So that’s the starting point. From there it’s an exercise in resume evaluation, accomplishments, and expectation. Some use their Power Poll as an evaluation of who would win on a neutral field given the teams’ recent performances while their poll ballots are a combination of where the teams started, how they’ve done, all balanced with preseason expectations. Our Power Poll ballot is a nice hybrid of the two, as is our Blogpoll Ballot. Off we go with this week’s ballot…

To be truthful, this week’s ballot is basically Alabama-Florida-Auburn, and all the rest. To me, there is a very clear difference between those three and the rest of the league, and each of that trifecta has certainly looked fallible at some given point or another throughout this young year. The bottom half of the conference, where Mississippi State, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Vandy, Tennessee and Georgia find themselves is a population of programs that are just as likely to drop a game in stunning fashion as spring a major upset. It makes poll dancing quite the chore, but we do what we can. As for the remainder of Arkansas, LSU and South Carolina… the jury is still out.

1. Alabama: The Crimson Tide are clearly the class of the SEC at the moment, but Saturday proved that this team is not the invincible machine they were last season. Ironically, it was the “questionable” defense which won this game and kept title hopes alive for Bama.
2. Florida: Another Florida-Kentucky game and another Wildcat loss. Maybe I’ll see a Big Blue win before I’m pissing my pants and looking for the Metamucil. Florida finally looked like Florida, which should be ominous for the rest of the SEC.
3. Auburn: Exciting game, exciting win for the Tigers against a quality South Carolina team. The Tigers are quietly plodding toward a defacto SEC West Championship game in the Iron Bowl.
4. Arkansas: Oh Ryan Mallett, how you always get our hopes up and then never deliver. Back to middle of the pack status for you, Razorbacks.
5. LSU: Probably one of the most confusing teams in college football. Beat a moderately decent WVU team but don’t look impressive. Beat a depleted UNC team but don’t look impressive. Beat Mississippi State and Vanderbilt and have no one care.
6. South Carolina: As Georgia plummets, that victory loses steam. The best thing SC fans can say is they played Auburn close, but at least the OBC is back to throwing headsets. And that warms the cockles of my heart.
7. Mississippi State: Only two losses for the Bulldogs are in conference, against higher ranked teams. They’ll be an enigma until 10/30 when they play Kentucky.
8. Kentucky: Statistically, the Florida game was fairly even. Scoreboard? Not so much. I like to think the Cats simply had an off day and all the haters will be proven wrong come Saturday against the Rebels. I have a bad feeling, though.
9. Ole Miss: Rebs get to show they are either for real or a conference bottom dweller this week against Kentucky. It’s put up or shut up time for both teams.
10. Vandy: Maybe no tougher schedule in the SEC so far, but 1-2 is 1-2, especially when your 1 is against Ole Miss.
11. Tennessee: Overtime for UAB? My God how the Vols have fallen.
12. Georgia: 3 straight losses to open SEC play is simply unforgivable. And the coaching search in the offseason for UGA is going to be a sideshow unto itself. Remember, Georgia, Steve Kragthorpe is indeed available.

Filed under: SEC Power Poll |