The Southern Line
Georgia slides, Ole Miss holds on as Week 7 chaos reshapes the SEC's Playoff picture
Georgia lost its top spot to Auburn and Texas and Alabama took second losses, leaving Ole Miss and Kentucky with the most at stake in Week 8.
Georgia is no longer No. 1 in anyone's Playoff projection. A wild Saturday rearranged the College Football Playoff race, and ESPN's latest round of expert predictions now has the SEC fighting for position. Miami sits on top. Andrea Adelson's projected field puts Georgia sixth and Ole Miss 10th. No other SEC team made her 12.
The Bulldogs fell 27-24 to Auburn at home on Saturday. According to the Associated Press account carried by ESPN, Alex McPherson made a 34-yard field goal as time expired, and quarterback Byrum Brown ran for 115 yards and a score. Georgia trailed 24-14 in the third quarter and tied the game when Gunner Stockton found London Humphreys with 2:58 left, but Auburn answered. Stockton threw for 272 yards, along with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Georgia loss was part of a historic day. ESPN's midseason top-12 projection noted that teams in the AP's top seven lost more games on Saturday than on any other day in the poll's history, which dates to 1936. Texas and Alabama were among them, and both now have two losses. Texas lost 27-24 at home to Florida. A week after falling 20-17 to Georgia, Alabama lost 26-10 at Tennessee.
At 6-1, Georgia still has a road win at Alabama and blowouts of Oklahoma and Arkansas, so one late field goal doesn't knock it out of the field. It does take away the Bulldogs' margin for error, and their open date means the rest of the league gets a week to make up ground. Kentucky has the same 6-1 record without the same buzz. The Wildcats have won at Texas A&M and Oklahoma and beat LSU, yet Adelson's field leaves them out.
What it means for Week 8
The game that matters most to the SEC's Playoff count is Ole Miss at Texas on Saturday on ABC. Ole Miss is 5-1 and coming off a 31-3 win over Missouri. Its only loss was a 52-28 defeat at Florida. Texas has lost two straight by three points each and is running out of room. On this site's board, Texas is favored at -150 on Novig. The best Texas price at any of the six venues is FanDuel's -146. Ole Miss is +127 on Novig and +130 at DraftKings, its best price. The venues are only a few cents apart. The spread runs from Texas -3 to Ole Miss +3.5, and totals range from 53.5 to 55.5. A Rebels win would just about rule out Texas, while a loss would send Ole Miss into November with two defeats.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama hosts Texas A&M on ABC trying to stop a two-game slide. The Tide are heavily favored at -567 on Novig, and Kalshi's -564 is the best Alabama price available. Texas A&M is +506 on Novig and +520 at FanDuel. The spread is 15.5 across the board. Even with a win, a two-loss Alabama team needs help to get back into the projections.
Kentucky hosts Vanderbilt on SEC Network. The Wildcats have won four straight, including three games decided by eight points or fewer, so another win would make them harder to leave out of the field. Georgia comes back Oct. 31 against Florida, the team that beat both Ole Miss and Texas.
