SEC Round-Up: SEC's spotty QB-play puts league's strength in question

The Southeastern Conference is not the most powerful league in college football.

Alabama is probably the best team, but the conference is not superior. That cannot be denied.

Sure, the SEC is better than the Big 12 and Pac-12. That seems obvious. But equally obvious is that the SEC is not better than the Big Ten or ACC.

The SEC has five teams that are currently ranked, including No. 24 LSU and No. 25 Arkansas, who will play each other this weekend.

One team is going to fall out of the rankings. Another probably will with a later loss.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten and ACC have just as many ranked teams as the SEC, and those teams are ranked higher.

Further, the SEC is 0-1 vs. the Big Ten (Wisconsin over LSU) and 3-2 vs. the ACC. The schedule also includes upcoming games matching Florida against Florida State, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, South Carolina vs. Clemson and Kentucky vs. Louisville in the final week.

The SEC will be lucky to go 3-1 in those games.

The decline in the SEC can be easily traced to quarterback play. Since 2013, when SEC quarterbacks included Johnny Manziel, A.J. McCarron, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger, the league has been rather mediocre at the position.

This year has been no different. Only four SEC teams are ranked among the nation’s top 50 in passing. Two of those – Ole Miss (15th) and A&M (45th) – have lost their starting quarterbacks.

Unless quarterback play vastly improves, the SEC may have to relinquish the title as the nation’s most powerful football conference.

Until then, the conference can always boast about Alabama.

Around the SEC...

Who’s hot: Alabama’s defense is always hot, but coming off a 10-0 whitewashing of LSU, the Tide is absolutely torrid. Alabama has allowed a total of 24 points in its last three games. As usual, running against Alabama is particularly futile. Five of the last six opponents managed fewer than 100 rushing yards against Alabama (Texas A&M posted a season-high 114 rushing yards against the Tide).

Bama is coming off its best effort of the season in limiting LSU to just 125 yards of total offense. Running back extraordinaire Leonard Fournette managed just 35 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Who’s not: Texas A&M’s defense has struggled against the run in conference play. The Aggies have allowed an average of 311.3 rushing yards in their last three conference games. Tennessee rolled up 282. Alabama had 287. Mississippi State exploded for 365.

Keep an eye on: The SEC East Division race could get even crazier. Florida leads with a 4-2 division record. Kentucky is 4-3, Georgia and South Carolina are 3-4 and Tennessee is 2-3. If all the results fall just right this week, the SEC East could eventually end in a five-way tie.

Florida, which is without starting quarterback Luke Del Rio, could lose to improving South Carolina. Georgia would have to lose to Auburn. Kentucky would have to lose at Tennessee. All those results are very possible – if not probable.

If all that happens then for a five-way tie to occur, Florida would have to lose to LSU next week and Tennessee would have to close with wins over Missouri and Vanderbilt. Again, those results are possible – if not probable.

Best matchup: Georgia’s defense has been pretty good against the run. In fact, the Bulldogs are ranked 20th in the nation in run defense. They allow an average of just 112.2 rushing yards per game. However, they face their greatest challenge against Auburn, which averages 299.7 rushing yards per game to rank third in the nation in rushing offense.

Auburn has rushed for at least 228 yards in five consecutive games. However, the Tigers could be without star running back Kamryn Pettway, who’s status is questionable because of a leg injury.

Biggest mismatch: Each of Alabama’s last four opponents were ranked when they played. Three – Texas A&M, LSU and Arkansas – still are. In fact, seven of Alabama’s opponents have a winning record. Now comes Mississippi State, which is 4-5 even after upsetting Texas A&M a week ago. The momentum won’t last. Anticipate another Alabama victory by a significant margin.

This week’s games: Ole Miss at Texas A&M, Mississippi State at Alabama; LSU at Arkansas; Auburn at Georgia; South Carolina at Florida; Kentucky at Tennessee; Vanderbilt at Missouri