2009 SEC Power Poll Ballot, Week 2

Week 2 in the SEC helped shed a little more accurate light on the pecking order of the conference this year, but not as much as Week 3 will. There was no change among my top 6, but Auburn jumped up a couple of spots as it continued to roll and the Vols dropped 3 spots after the egg they laid in Neyland Saturday afternoon.

Here's how my ballot looks for Week 2:

1. Florida
Final tuneup before the thrashing of the Vols on Saturday was a success. Now the fun begins.

2. Alabama
Like the Gators, the Tide shook off a sluggish start to roll to a convincing victory.

3. Ole Miss
Spent most of last weekend battling chills, fever, and the flu. Will coast to a win over SELA before heading to Columbia for a Thursday night showdown with the Gamecocks.

4. LSU
Jumped out to an early lead in the SEC West with a pedestrian 2 TD win over Vanderbilt. Will they have enough of a vertical passing attack to maintain it?

5. Georgia
Like most, I'm confused about the Dawgs. Was last week the real UGA team? Or was Week 1? Chances are the answer lies somewhere in between, which will land them in the middle of the pack in the SEC.

6. Arkansas
Saturday's game against Georgia is easily the most important in Petrino's tenure with the Hogs. A win announces that Arkansas is for real, a loss brings up more questions about the defense's ability to stop a team.

7. Auburn
Through 2 games, the Tigers' offensive numbers are unmatched in school history. Saturday's game against West Virginia will be the first real test of the season.

8. South Carolina
5 FGs? That's no way to win in the SEC. Some of those red zones have to produce touchdowns. Moving the ball between the 20s means little if you can't punch it in for 6. Still no running game. At all.

9. Kentucky
I honestly have no idea what to think of or say about the Wildcats.

10. Vanderbilt
A valiant effort in Tiger Stadium, though it came up short. The injuries are starting to pile up.

11. Tennessee
1... 2... Urban's coming for you. 3... 4... you're not gonna score. 5... 6... Crompton throws too many picks. 7... 8... you're Gator Bait.

12. Mississippi State
Bad. Just bad. The Bulldog "defense" was slashed for 390 rushing yards and 6.6 ypc. Still on a beeline for Jackson-State-and-11.

SEC Power Poll, Week 1: Rebels at #3

No big surprises this week in the rankings, but there was strikingly little information to go on. With three conference games this weekend - and the Vols taking on a D1A opponent - there's a chance for some shifting outside the Top3.

Here's what the voters are saying about the Rebels:

Still impressed even though it took Snead late into the fourth quarter to get going.--Track Em Tigers

If Snead gets off to a start like that against a decent SEC opponent, things won't turn out so well.--Get the Picture

Didn't look like a top 5 team in the country when they played Memphis... Look for Ole Miss to lose at least 2 in SEC Play.--Hog Database

To read all the witty snark, check out Team Speed Kills.

2009 SEC Power Poll Ballot, Week 1

Here's a look at my week 1 SEC Power Poll ballot. The results will be unveiled on Team Speed Kills Now which starts a 7:00pm CT tonight at Team Speed Kills. As always, my ballot was filled out by me and only me. My interns are busy with other menial tasks.

With only South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia taking on real competition, it’s hard to say we know a significant amount more about the SEC than we did last Thursday morning. All we can say for certain is that Florida and Alabama are for real. Ole Miss looked pedestrian for 3 quarters, LSU still can’t stop anybody, and Georgia looked inept while battling the flu and the Cowboys. With 3 conference games and a showdown with the PAC10 looming this weekend, teams will start to gravitate toward their rightful places.

1) Florida
We learned nothing from their romp over Charleston Southern, but there aren’t many questions that the Gators have to answer

2) Alabama
While I'm not convinced they're as good as last season - yet - Saturday's win was definitely a statement game

3) Ole Miss
Struggled for three quarters against a bad Memphis team, but the 4th quarter showed what this team is capable of with big plays from the defense and a quick strike offense

4) LSU
The Tigers had major defensive questions to answer coming in to the season and giving up 478 yards to a team that went winless last season is not the start that new DC John Chavis hoped for

5) Georgia
Sure the Dawgs were the only SEC team to lose over the weekend, but they were on the road against a top10 team and not at 100% due to the flu. Sturdivant’s injury was just the injury to insult

6) Arkansas
Ryan Mallett lived up to his billing in his Razorback debut. He’s got about a week and a half to drop another tenth of a second or two off his 40 time before he starts running from SEC defenders

7) South Carolina
A big Dead Guy congratulations to the Gamecocks and Wolfpack for their almost perfect reenactment of last year’s Auburn/Mississippi State game. A win is a win is a win, but that was ugly

8) Tennessee
After two turnovers and a scoreless first quarter, the Vols routed WKU. Gotta wonder if Orgeron is rubbing off on Kiffin the way the he went for it on 4th down inside Vol territory in the 2nd quarter

9) Auburn
The Tigers struggled with LTU early on, but romped late. I really have no idea where to rank the Tigers, but on the strength of their defense seem to be better than Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and MSU

10) Kentucky
While there are still plenty of reasons to doubt this Wildcat team, there’s no doubting CB Trevard Lindley. He’s a stud

11) Vanderbilt
The ‘Dores looked good in rolling WCU, but a night game in Tiger Stadium this weekend should shed some light on their resiliency

12) Mississippi State
The Bulldogs took that all important first step towards their Jackson-State-and-11 season

SEC Power Poll, 2009 Edition

Just a heads up to everyone that the 2009 SEC Power Poll will make its debut next Tuesday night on Team Speed Kills Now. The next day, Wednesday for those of you playing along at home, the full rankings and snarky wittiness will be available here and a litany of other SEC blogs across the internets.

While there's no official preseason Power Poll, mine would look like this:
1) Florida
2) Ole Miss
3) Alabama
4) Georgia
5) LSU
6) Arkansas
7) Tennessee
8) South Carolina
9) Auburn
10) Vanderbilt
11) Kentucky
12) Mississippi State