SEC Football: What we learned from Week 6

Another week of the SEC football is in the books, and here’s another edition of what we learned.

It seems like every week teaches something about the SEC football season that we didn’t know the previous week. LSU bounced back from their loss to Troy with a huge win over Florida. Georgia, Auburn, and South Carolina all won in blowout fashion. Meanwhile, Texas A&M gave Alabama everything they wanted.

Here’s what we learned in Week 6 of the SEC football season.

South Carolina is Georgia’s biggest threat in the SEC East

The Gamecocks exploded for 48 points in their win over Arkansas on Saturday, the most points scored since Will Muschamp became the head coach. While Jake Bentley threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns, the real reason for the “offensive explosion” was the defense. They forced four Razorback turnovers and returned three of them for touchdowns. 21 of the Gamecocks’ 31 second half points came from the defense.

Bret Bielema is now 10-24 in conference play since he arrived at Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Georgia has been dismantling SEC competition, outscoring their first three SEC opponents 117-17. Their home date with South Carolina falls on Nov. 4, sandwiched right in between the Bulldogs’ two biggest rivals, Florida and Auburn.

Florida appeared to be Georgia’s biggest competition, but after losing at home to an LSU team that lost to Troy, I’m not sure what to make of the Gators.

Bret Bielema will be the first SEC coach fired

Before this weekend, Butch Jones had the hottest seat in the SEC, but not anymore. That seat is now reserved for Bret Bielema, who is now 10-24 in conference play as Arkansas head coach.

I was one of the few that still hadn’t given up on the Razorbacks, but I am officially off the bandwagon. Before the weekend, their only losses were to a TCU team that is now in the top 10 and a thrilling contest to Texas A&M, so the jury was still out on Arkansas. After getting blown out by South Carolina, a team that was probably the fourth or fifth toughest game remaining on their schedule, things are not looking good in Fayetteville. Best-case scenario sees the Razorbacks go 7-5, but it’s starting to look more like a 5-7 season.

Florida’s season is at a crossroads

The Gators are currently 3-2, and their season could go two ways. They could potentially run the table from here, finish 9-2, and get to Atlanta for a third straight season, or they could fall apart and lose multiple games down the stretch. I’m starting to lean towards the latter. They just suffered their first conference loss of the season against an LSU team that lost to Troy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Florida lose to Texas A&M, Georgia, and Florida State. And their road games to South Carolina and Missouri aren’t going to be cakewalks either with the way this team is playing. I predicted Florida to go 8-4 before the season, now I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go 6-5 or 5-6.

Texas A&M is not dead yet

The SEC is not a conference of moral victories, and Kevin Sumlin will tell you that, but most college football fans were impressed with what Texas A&M did on Saturday. The Aggies gave Alabama their toughest test of the season in a 27-19 loss, thanks in large part to Kellen Mond channeling his inner Johnny Football.

After the meltdown at UCLA, many people gave up on the Aggies and more specifically Sumlin. But sitting at 4-2, they might not be in contention to win the SEC West, but they could easily finish the season 10-3 or 9-4, and that should be enough for Sumlin to keep his job?

Alabama might not be invincible

Alabama has won three straight SEC titles, and is currently riding a 20-game winning streak against SEC competition. In their first two SEC games this season, they outscored their opponents 125-3, however, on Saturday Texas A&M made Alabama look like mere mortals. The Crimson Tide’s 8-point win over the Aggies was their first one-possession win since their 48-43 win over Ole Miss in September of 2016.

Georgia and Auburn have separated themselves as the top two contenders to dethrone the Tide, and Texas A&M may have just given them the blueprint for how it can be done.