Down at your opponent’s 14-yard-line on 4th down, down by 3. The most common play to follow is sure to be a field goal. Well, to Georgia, this wasn’t the play to be called. This “fake field goal” was an absolute disaster of a play call from Kirby Smart. And it most likely was the starting point to Georgia’s demise to LSU and the front runner of the SEC East.
Now we have it down to three front runners to take the SEC East gold: Kentucky, Florida, and Georgia. Georgia had been looking to run away with this title; it sure looked like they had it in the bag, too. However, now we look at a mess of a division with no clear leader. Each team holds a single conference loss and cannot afford to lose anymore if they wish to win the East.
Kentucky is coming off of a BYE week after suffering a wrenching loss to the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. The Wildcats had seemed to pull off the games they needed to win without trouble. They slowly earned their stripes by ending their 31-game losing streak to rival Florida. Then, they took on Mississippi State at home and showed them how they ball in Kentucky holding the Bulldogs to 7 points. Kentucky has been a surprise to many analysts and fans in the nation, still looking to surprise more with a push for the SEC East Division Title. The Wildcats will host Georgia on November 3rd to take hold of the SEC East. If the ‘Cats can get this win and hold out for the rest of the season, we can see a new face in SEC race for contention.
Florida took a rough start to the season with a loss to rival Kentucky. This served as a huge blow to the Gators and all hope seemed loss for a turn-around season to take the SEC East back. Fortunately, for the Gators and their fans, head coach Dan Mullen took this as a learning opportunity for his unit and led them to keep on pressing. This would soon pay off for Mullen and the Gators. The Gators would soon go on a 5-game winning stretch, while also knocking down two ranked teams in LSU and Mississippi State. The SEC East is in for a show for the rest of the season with this hungry Gator team who are eager to reclaim the SEC East, after losing it to Georgia last year. Florida goes into a BYE week before they go head-to-head with other division front runner, Georgia.
Georgia seemed unstoppable for the first half of the season by winning all 6 of their first 6 each by 14 or more. No one really saw anything that could push the Bulldogs off their path to yet another potential CFP appearance. Then, tragedy struck in Baton Rouge when the LSU Tigers unleashed a pent-up rage after dropping to Florida the previous week. Georgia went from a CFP Contender to a NY6 Bowl Contender. This was a devastating loss for Georgia and I’m sure they will give it all they have to keep fighting back to their convent spot. Georgia will now face a 2-game battle between the other two division front runners in Florida then Kentucky.
This small 3-week window for the 3 of these teams will most likely decide who will be taking the SEC East. No one team looks like they are way out of contention with the others. Florida, Georgia, and Kentucky all look to be NY6 Bowl teams, and can all easily reach this mark if they continue their success. But, if college football has taught us anything, it is that we should be ready for some outstanding SEC football.
Photo Credits: https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/kentucky-football/florida-georgia-or-kentucky-whos-going-to-win-the-sec-east-sec-network-analyst-peter-burns-makes-surprising-pick/
