Will SEC Take Over of AP College Football Poll Last All Season?

The Southeastern Conference has taken over The Associated Press college football poll, grabbing six of the first seven spots.

The 16-team SEC set a new standard for hoarding high AP Top 25 rankings, with Georgia at No. 1, No. 2 Texas, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Mississippi, No. 6 Missouri and No. 7 Tennessee. Half of the top 16 comes from the SEC.

How long will this last? Could be a while.

This week, Alabama takes a road trip to Wisconsin. The Crimson Tide is an early 15 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM. In the only matchup of ranked teams next Saturday, No. 24 Boston College is at Missouri and the Tigers are favored by 16 1/2.

Those look like the toughest non-conference games left for any of those six teams.

SEC conference play doesn’t crank up for three weeks, though Week 4 does send Tennessee to new conference rival and No. 15 Oklahoma. The first matchup of those top six teams comes Week 5 and it’s a biggie: Georgia at Alabama.

Some head-to-heads could could whittle that dandy half-dozen down, but more likely it will be up to the second- and third-tier SEC teams to provide a couple of upsets. That means Oklahoma, No. 16 LSU and others will need to step it up. Texas A&M and Auburn have already lost nonconference games at home. Mississippi State and Arkansas lost on the road this past weekend.

South Carolina beat up Kentucky, but that might have said more about the Wildcats than the Gamecocks. Vanderbilt is off to a good start.

No. 1 Georgia (2-0)

Next: at Kentucky, Saturday.

Reality check: The Bulldogs dusted off RB Trevor Etienne against Tennessee Tech after he was benched in the opener for an offseason traffic violation. The Florida transfer averaged a cool 15.6 yards on five carries.

Ranking: Just right.

No. 2 Texas (2-0)

Next: vs. UTSA, Saturday.

Reality check: You can see the progress in QB Quinn Ewers, especially when he throws on the move. The lack of tailback depth might force the Longhorns to lean a little harder on their star quarterback. He seems up for it.

Ranking: Just right.

No. 3 Ohio State (2-0)

Next: vs. Marshall, Sept. 21.

Reality check: The Buckeyes were locked on against Western Michigan, which was almost not fair to the Broncos.

Ranking: This is fine.

No. 4 Alabama (2-0)

Next: at Wisconsin, Saturday.

Reality check: Injuries along the offensive line had the Crimson Tide out of sorts for much of the game against USF before Alabama just had too many dudes for the Bulls. We’ll see if that’s a problem or one that goes away with better health.

Ranking: Little high.

No. 5 Mississippi (2-0)

Next: at Wake Forest, Saturday.

Reality check: You can only play who’s on your schedule and so far the Rebels have done exactly what an elite team should do to that level of opponent.

Ranking: Little high.

No. 6 Missouri (2-0)

Next: vs. No. 24 Boston College, Saturday.

Reality check: Competition has been very light, but considering defense was the question mark coming into the season allowing a total of 254 yards in two games is an encouraging sign.

Ranking: Too high.

No. 7 Tennessee (2-0)

Next: vs. Kent State, Saturday.

Reality check: The Volunteers look like the undervalued stock among the SEC’s best-ranked teams. The offensive and defensive lines are good enough to allow QB Nico Iamaleava (two interceptions against NC State) some growing pains.

Ranking: Too low.

No. 8 Penn State (2-0)

Next: vs. Kent State, Sept. 21.

Reality check: That’s not a typo. Kent State, which opened the season at Pitt, plays Tennessee and Penn State back-to-back. This is the same team that just lost to FCS team St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday. Kent State is getting $4 million from the three power conference schools. If any college football players deserve to be paid, it’s the Golden Flashes.

Ranking: Touch low.

No. 9 Oregon (2-0)

Next: at Oregon State, Saturday.

Reality check: The interior of the Ducks’ offensive line has been a problem, contributing to seven sacks allowed. Oregon allowed only five sacks all of last season. They are hoping the return of Indiana transfer OG Matthew Bedford from injury — whenever that happens — settles things down.

No. 10 Miami (2-0)

Next: vs. Ball State, Saturday.

Reality check: USF looms in two weeks, a potential sneaky tricky nonconference game as Alabama has found out the past two years.

Ranking: Little low.