With Florida’s big win over Kentucky and Alabama’s dismantling of Arkansas, the Gators and Crimson Tide remained at the top of this week’s 2009 SEC Football Power Poll.
Florida, the top-ranked team in the nation, had an easy time with Kentucky, manhandling the Wildcats 41-7. The only drawback to the Gators’ big win was the concussion quarterback Tim Tebow sustained late in the game. Coach Urban Meyer learned a valuable lesson on Saturday and no doubt will be more cautious the next time Florida has a big lead.
Alabama blew past the Razorbacks 35-7 in a game that highlighted the Crimson Tide’s young talent. Running back Trent Richardson scored on a 52-yard touchdown run to give the Tide a 7-0 lead. Later in the first quarter wide receiver Julio Jones scored on a 50-yard reception to put Alabama up 14-0. The win moved the Crimson Tide to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC.
LSU survived a huge scare from upset minded Mississippi State with a nail-biting 30-26 win over the Bulldogs. Tigers’ quarterback Chad Jones tossed two touchdown passes to wideout Brandon Lafell to lead LSU. LaFell had six catches for 101 yards against MSU and now has five touchdowns this season. The Tigers moved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play. LSU will visit No. 18 Georgia on Saturday in CBS’ SEC Game of the Week.
Georgia won another close game on Saturday with the Bulldogs coming away with a hard fought victory against Arizona State 20-17. Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green had eight receptions for 153 and one touchdown to lead the Bulldogs. Georgia moved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in SEC play.
Auburn improved to 4-0 with an easy win over Ball State 54-30. The Tigers offense has been explosive this season, scoring 181 points and is currently tied with Florida as the No. 1 offensive team in the nation averaging 526 yards per game. The Tigers defense is another matter though, ranked 41st in the nation giving up 328 yards per game. Auburn will be on the road for the first time this season when they face Tennessee.
South Carolina is one of the better 3-1 teams in the nation after knocking off Ole Miss 16-10 last Thursday. The Gamecocks have a strong defense and quarterback Stephen Garcia seems to have overcome his alcohol related off the field issues. Steve Spurrier’s offense has yet to hit on all cylinders with consistency but South Carolina has acquired enough talent to compete with any team in the SEC.
Ole Miss dropped the most this week in our poll after falling on the road to South Carolina. The Rebels are a good team, but not an elite SEC team. Ole Miss had a dismal offensive performance against the Gamecocks but their defense is solid, giving up only 290 yards per game. If the Rebels can get better production from quarterback Jevan Snead, Ole Miss can still be a factor in the SEC West.
Here is the rest of the 2009 SEC Football Power Poll. Take a look at last week’s poll here.
MoonDog Sports 2009 SEC Football Power Poll
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. LSU
4. Georgia
5. Auburn
6. South Carolina
7. Ole Miss
8. Tennessee
9. Mississippi State
10. Arkansas
11. Kentucky
12. Vanderbilt
