ATHENS — Perception and reality are two different things as the SEC heads into the second half of conference play.
Georgia remained the top team in the AJC SEC Power Poll despite Texas A&M being the only undefeated team in the league at this juncture.
The Bulldogs (6-1 overall, 4-1 SEC) currently sit at No. 2 in the AP Top 25 rankings and can take another step toward making a fourth-consecutive SEC Championship Game appearance with a win over Florida at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Jacksonville.
The Aggies (7-1 overall, 5-0 SEC) — ranked No. 10 in the most recent AP Top 25 poll — are tied with Texas (7-1 overall, 3-1 SEC) for the No. 2 spot in the AJC SEC Power Poll, as determined by a panel of nine experts from around the league.
Big Risers: Texas A&M moved from fourth into a tie with Texas for second on the heels of beating LSU last Saturday 38-23.
Auburn took a step toward respectability with a convincing 24-10 win over Kentucky, moving up from 15th to 13th in the AJC SEC Power Poll.
Who Fell Down: LSU dropped from No. 3 to No. 5 after blowing a 17-7 halftime lead en route to a 38-23 loss at Texas A&M.
Missouri, with starting quarterback Brady Cook sidelined by injury, was trounced at Alabama by a 34-0 count and fell from No. 9 to No. 11.
Mid-season SEC MVP?
As much as there remains to be determined in the race for the SEC Championship game, consideration for who the SEC MVP would be at this juncture of the season is also wide open.
AJC SEC Power Poll voters weighed in this week on how they would evaluate the SEC MVP race:
Josh Ward, Knoxville’s WNML
Typically, we look at quarterback play near the top of the SEC standings. But do any of the top teams’ quarterbacks deserve the MVP nod to this point?
I still have a lot of confidence in Georgia’s Carson Beck, but I can’t call him the league’s MVP to this point.
A few other candidates I’d consider if we get away from quarterback play: linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. at Texas and defensive end Nic Scourton at Texas A&M. They’re both elite players on two of the top defenses in the SEC.
Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson is another midseason MVP candidate. Sampson should be the favorite to win SEC Offensive Player of the Year; he leads the league with 17 touchdowns and has carried Tennessee’s offense at times. Sampson scored eight straight touchdowns for the Vols from the Oklahoma game in September to the Alabama game on Oct. 19.
Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel
The MVP race mirrors the parity throughout the league; the top players change week to week. Frontrunners Jalen Milroe, Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers have all stumbled in SEC play. Few players have been more valuable or entertaining than Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, but he isn’t the league’s best player.
Alabama WR Ryan Williams already might be at age 17, while Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson is putting up the best numbers. Aggies DE Nic Scourton, Ole Miss LB Suntarine Perkins and Texas LB Anthony Hill Jr. are some defensive candidates. This race will end in a photo finish.
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
There are many great players in the SEC, but no addition has been bigger than Texas A&M defensive end Nic Scourton, who came to the Aggies after leading the Big Ten in sacks.
Scourton probably won’t match his sack total from last season, but his consistent pressure and disruption has helped pave the way for the Aggies to take over in first place in the SEC. Scourton leads the Power Four with 12.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 in the win over LSU.
Aaron Torres, Fox Sports Radio
Quick question: Is it weird to say that the “MVP” of the SEC this year might be a guy who didn’t begin as his team’s starter this year, and hasn’t even played in a handful of his team’s games?
Because right now, I think the answer might be Marcel Reed. One, the fact that Texas A&M is alone atop the SEC standings and controls its own destiny for its first trip to Atlanta for the SEC title game helps.
At the same time, would Texas A&M be in this position without him. He basically single handedly beat Florida in the Swamp, and then led A&M to a victory over Arkansas in a game that wasn’t pretty but counts in the win column just the same. Then obviously there was Saturday, and we all watched that game with our own two eyes: It’s hard to imagine Texas A&M winning if Mike Elko didn’t make the gutsy call to bring in Reed off the bench.
Ultimately there are others that are worthy (Dylan Sampson, maybe Quinn Ewers) and this might change in the coming weeks.
But right now the answer feels like it might just be Marcel Reed.
Anwar Richardson, Texas OrangeBloods
Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris is one of the most dominant players in the country. He has recorded 100-or-more receiving yards five times this season. That includes 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Georgia Southern. He is a matchup nightmare and a huge reason why Ole Miss’ passing offense is ranked No.1 in the SEC (354 yards per game). He is a game-changer.
AJC SEC Power Poll
Note: The parenthetical after the current ranking denotes last week’s ranking.
1. (1) Georgia — 144 points — Highest vote 1, Lowest vote 1
T-2. (2) Texas — 129 points — Highest vote 2, Lowest vote 4
T-2. (4) Texas A&M — 129 points — Highest vote 2, Lowest vote 4
4. (5) Tennessee — 107 points — Highest vote 3, Lowest vote 5
5. (3) LSU — 106 points —Highest vote 3, Lowest vote 6
6. (6) Alabama — 103 points — Highest vote 3, Lowest vote 7
7. (7) Ole Miss — 84 points — Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 10
8. (8) Vanderbilt — 76 points — Highest vote 6, Lowest vote 10
9. (10) South Carolina — 66 points — Highest vote 8, Lowest vote 12
10. (11) Arkansas — 64 points — Highest vote 8, Lowest vote 12
11. (9) Missouri — 58 points — Highest vote 8, Lowest vote 12
12. (12) Florida — 57 points — Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 12
13. (15) Auburn — 31 points — Highest vote 12, Lowest vote 14
14. (14) Oklahoma — 30 points — Highest vote 13, Lowest vote 14
15. (13) Kentucky — 17 points — Highest vote 15, Lowest vote 16
16. (16) Mississippi State — 10 points — Highest vote 15, Lowest vote 16
SEC Power poll voting panel
This week’s SEC games
Ole Miss (-4) at Arkansas, noon, ESPN
Vanderbilt at Auburn (-6), 12:45 p.m., SEC Network
Georgia vs. Florida (-16.5), 3:30 p.m. ABC
UMass at Mississippi State (-20), 4:15 p.m. SEC Network
Texas A&M (-4) at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Kentucky at Tennessee (-16), 7:45 p.m., SEC Network
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