I openly admit that I struggled to write this, simply because it means we are truly moving on. Basketball season is here, and most other years I'm happy on this day because the stakes seem to get raised a little bit. But not right now, and not this year.
1. Kentucky- No movement here, and I wouldn't expect them to fall even with a loss. And I don't even see a loss coming for a while, even with some road games in January.
2. Alabama- God, I really had to put them here? I don't really see any other team that deserves it with Florida and Mississippi State losing.
3. LSU- This is probably a lot higher than they should be, but the win over Mississippi was dominant. Justin Hamilton is playing at a 1st team All SEC level right now. LSU will look for a small measure of revenge tomorrow against Alabama.
4. Mississippi State- It's a slight fall for the Bulldogs, but they have a good chance of moving back up to second if they beat Tennessee and Alabama at home.
5. Vanderbilt- I moved them down a spot, but not because of what they did. It's just that I don't see that win over Auburn as a reason to move them up. Other teams just did a little bit more to move ahead.
6. Arkansas- A big win for the Razorbacks over Mississippi State gets them into the top half of the poll. They will be a tough out all season, but might drop some games they shouldn't.
7. Tennessee- I'm not putting Florida ahead of them. It was a big win for a young team.
8. Florida- They are in trouble right now if they can't find a way to win road games. The Tennessee loss could cost them seeds in March.
9. South Carolina- Simply because they had the best loss, I move them up. I would expect to see them fall back over the course of the season.
10. Georgia- For the same reason, they had the next "best loss".
11. Mississippi- They looked inept for much of the game against LSU, and without their leading scorer Nelson, someone will need to step up.
12. Auburn- Totally overmatched by Vanderbilt. I think they will win a couple of games they shouldn't, but for now they don't really have much of a case for being anywhere other than a bottom spot or close to it.