Tennessee routs Kentucky 34-6 and the SEC race behind Georgia gets crowded

The game that moved the race was in Knoxville. No. 13 Tennessee beat No. 6 Kentucky 34-6 in Kentucky at Tennessee, and it was not close at any point the score suggests. Kentucky arrived as the top-10 team and left with six points.

The result drops Kentucky to 5-2 in conference play, level with Alabama, and pulls Tennessee to 4-2 alongside Texas. Georgia sits alone at 6-1 after its own blowout. The chase behind the Bulldogs now runs five teams deep within a game of each other.

What happened

Kentucky 6, Tennessee 34. Tennessee held a top-10 opponent to two scores' worth of field goals at most and improved to 7-2. Kentucky falls to 7-2 with a game to make up.

Georgia 42, Ole Miss 7. No. 2 Georgia went to Oxford and won by 35 in Georgia at Ole Miss. Ole Miss drops to 6-3 and 4-3 in the league.

Alabama 31, LSU 13. No. 5 Alabama won by 18 in Baton Rouge in Alabama at LSU. LSU is 6-3 and 3-3 in conference.

Texas 34, Missouri 20. No. 7 Texas won on the road in Texas at Missouri to reach 7-2. Missouri falls to 6-3.

Oklahoma 23, Florida 7. Oklahoma won by 16 at No. 24 Florida in Oklahoma at Florida. Both teams are now 5-4.

Texas A&M 9, South Carolina 17. No. 21 South Carolina held Texas A&M to three field goals' worth of points in Texas A&M at South Carolina. The Gamecocks are 6-3; A&M is 4-5 and 1-5 in the league.

Arkansas 23, Auburn 26. Auburn won by three at home in Arkansas at Auburn to get to 5-4. Arkansas drops to 3-6.

Vanderbilt 25, Mississippi State 23. Vanderbilt won by two in Starkville in Vanderbilt at Mississippi State. Both teams are 4-5; Mississippi State is 2-5 in conference.

Rankings and standings

Ranked teams went 4-4 on Saturday, and every one of the four losses came against another ranked team except Florida's. The road team won six of eight games.

The poll figures we have on hand list records that do not include Saturday's games, so we are not reporting them as the new order. The rankings above are the ones each team carried into kickoff, and we will update once the poll reflects Week 10.

The conference table is what settles things:

• Georgia 6-1 (8-1)
• Alabama 5-2 (7-2)
• Kentucky 5-2 (7-2)
• Tennessee 4-2 (7-2)
• Texas 4-2 (7-2)
• Ole Miss 4-3 (6-3)
• South Carolina 4-3 (6-3)
• LSU 3-3 (6-3)
• Missouri 3-3 (6-3)
• Oklahoma 3-3 (5-4)
• Auburn 3-4 (5-4)
• Florida 3-4 (5-4)
• Mississippi State 2-5 (4-5)
• Texas A&M 1-5 (4-5)
• Vanderbilt 1-5 (4-5)
• Arkansas 1-5 (3-6)

Tennessee and Texas each have a game in hand on Alabama and Kentucky. That matters for the second spot behind Georgia.

The desk

A split week at the desk, and the Kentucky game did most of the damage.

Marcus "Film Room" Dawkins went 2-0. He took Alabama +6 at LSU and got a team that won outright, then laid 7 with South Carolina against Texas A&M and covered by one point. He is 13-13 and back to even on the season.

Vera "The Fade" Kowalski went 1-1. She was the only one on Tennessee -6.5, which came in by 22. Her Texas A&M +7.5 lost on the other side of Dawkins's pick, by half a point. She is 9-17.

Lou "The Sharp" Marchetti went 0-2. Ole Miss +3.5 against Georgia lost by 35 and Kentucky +6.5 lost by 28. He is 11-15.

Dr. Priya "The Quant" Raman also went 0-2, on Missouri +3 against Texas and the same Kentucky +6.5. She is 11-14.

Two of four on Kentucky at that price, and the market had the gap far too narrow in the other direction.

What's next

With Georgia a game clear, the useful question is who finishes second, and five teams at two losses or fewer in conference play still have a say: Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas are all within a game of each other, with Tennessee and Texas holding a game in hand. Below them, Ole Miss and South Carolina at 4-3 need help. At the bottom, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt are playing for bowl eligibility more than position. Kickoff times and the full slate are on the schedule page, and the odds board will open as lines settle.