To the surprise of quite a few observers, last week turned into a shuffle of the college football deck nationally, although the SEC came out better than some leagues with its two playoff contenders — Alabama and Georgia — still alive and in good shape. (Auburn found itself in the ‘discard’ pile, hoping to spoil the fun for the top two.)

The odds of two teams from one league making a playoff with an intrinsic based on preventing that very scenario remain longer than you might think, but the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs make it possible, especially if either TCU or USC fail to win out. (Washington seems to have too many devastating injuries to make it back.) In the meantime, Alabama can worry about its own fan base complaining that UA rivalry games aren’t “interesting” any more. To paraphrase the great Gene Stallings, try losing a few and see how interesting it gets.

Rank	Team	Last Week
1.		1.	I’m not making any predictions about the Alabama-Tennessee game here, but I do think the UAPD is going to have to arrest about 90,000 fans for lighting up on a smoke-free campus on Saturday night.
2.		2.	The “Alabama Lite” strategy is working perfectly for the Bulldogs although making UGa wear a trunk on his face is probably pushing things too far.
3.		5.	Having regained his status as King of Mardi Gras, Ed Orgeron moves on to try and inflict as much pain on Ole Miss as he did by coaching there.
4.		4.	Credit goes to the Aggies for hanging together and giving themselves a chance at a memorable season. Also for making sure we never, ever, have to see Florida wear those uniforms again.
5.		3.	The AU administration will gladly spend the gas money for the Gus Bus to take him home to Arkansas. But if the Tigers don’t win, will they pay for the round trip?
6.		7.	The sneakiest 5-1 (and should be 6-0) team in America may actually sneak up on State as well. Maybe someone will notice if they do — put probably not.
7.		8.	It remains amazing to me that the second-most secure coach in the SEC resides in Starkville.
8.		9.	Never bet against a Will Muschamp team in a 15-9 game. Never bet on a Will Muschamp team if winning involves 17 points or more.
9.		6.	Love the crowd at The Swamp singing Tom Petty every Saturday, but it’s time to switch to “Free Fallin’.”
10.		13.	I think the athlete gap will be too much for the Rebel Land Sharks to overcome against LSU but it will still be fun watching Shea Patterson sling it around all evening.
11.		10.	For one thing, it’s not really my job to say terrible things about Tenneseee. For another, I can’t think of any things worse than what Tennessee fans are already saying.
12.		11.	The Hogs dropped a notch but there is something I like about the Giant Quarterback Strategy. The more Jared Lorenzen clones in the SEC, the better.
13.		12.	The epitaph on the Vandy season will read “Done In By Early Conference Schedule.” They simply don’t seem to have recovered from that Alabama/Georgia stretch.
14.		14.	“We are still lost in the woods!” “I hate this conference! How are we supposed to survive?!?” “I know where we could find some potatoes.” “Good, we will eat them this weekend. Better than starving.” “We should join a conference FULL of potatoes.”