As fall colors arrive in the South, some things remain the same. Week nine of the SEC slate brought us a lot of intriguing storylines and questions that deserve answering. Georgia and Tennessee remain unbeaten; Ole Miss earned a hard-fought win in College Station, Kentucky and Auburn continue to struggle, and Missouri and Arkansas earn much-needed wins.

-Tennessee Football

Coming into week nine, many folks thought that Tennessee and Georgia were the top dogs in the conference, and those folks are accurate in doing so. With their wins over Florida and Kentucky, the Volunteers and Bulldogs have primed the SEC East race with a matchup of the century next Saturday in Athens. There’s no hiding from the facts that Tennessee and Georgia are on playing fields that aren’t fair to the far less superior programs in the SEC. Game planning for these two are downright nearly impossible, and the talent they have to offer is unmatched. Saturday’s matchup between the two will likely provide Southeastern Conference fans with an instant classic that will go down in the books as one of the greatest regular season games since the birth of the SEC. In all likelihood, the Volunteers and Bulldogs will have two opportunities to face each other, with the second coming in the College Football Playoffs.

The second takeaway from week nine comes from within the program that hails from Lexington, Kentucky. After an embarrassing loss to Tennessee on Saturday, some have started to question if Mark Stoops has peaked at Kentucky. There’s no secret that Coach Stoops has taken Kentucky Football to places that were unimaginable to the everyday Kentucky fan. Yet, Coach Stoops and his staff have failed to deliver on the hype. Kentucky has gone from a top-ten program at the start of the season to hopelessly wandering in the college football wilderness of despair. Coming into the season, we heard the chatter from Kentucky Football that the 2022 season would be a season that Kentucky fans could prepare to make a trip to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. However, that is far from the truth. As it stands right now, Kentucky Football should make a bowl game, but it will be far from the glory of a Citrus Bowl bid. There’s no question that Kentucky Football has taken a massive step back from the grounds that Stoops and company worked so hard to build.

Third, why is Auburn still hanging on to Bryan Harsin? Why are the Tigers going through the motions and toying with a man that deserves better? Since hiring at Auburn, Coach Harsin has been the target of hellacious rumors and unfair treatment. At this point, why hasn’t Auburn fired the man? Soon, Coach Harsin and the Auburn Tigers will be divorced, and all be well again on the plains.

Lastly, let’s briefly talk about the Ole Miss Rebels. Ole Miss might not be at the same level as Tennessee and Georgia on the talent on the field, but Ole Miss has eight wins and an opportunity in front of them to earn another New Year Six Bowl. Last year was the Sugar Bowl, this year? Who knows. Lane Kiffin is building his Rebels into an elite program. Ole Miss has a bye week before returning to Vaught Hemingway Stadium on November 12th; to face Nick Saban and his Alabama Crimson Tide.