This week in the SEC power poll there is no real change happening at the top, but some movement in the middle. The bottom is still pretty much the way it was. You can find the results over at Team Speed Kills, as always.
When I looked at Week 7 in preparation for submitting my ballot, two things really stuck out to me: The top two teams in the SEC have been virtually unchallenged in their dominance, and the middle of the ballot is as mushy as at any time I can recall. Witness the Mississippi St. Bulldogs giving the South Carolina Gamecocks a real scare in Columbia, or the Georgia Bulldogs only managing a 5-point margin against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Florida Gators, despite a hot start, have run on hard times due to injuries and a schedule tougher than even they could contend with, and now it has blown up into three straight losses with a fourth possible in the Cocktail Party in two weeks.
So, for the record, here is my ballot slate and remarks:
| Rank | Team | cWL | W-L | SoS | PF-PA | MoV | Polls | Comments |
| 1 | LSU | 4-0 | 7-0 | 10.11 | 269-82 | 26.7 | 1,2,[1!] | LSU is a smash-mouth team, and Tennessee's Chiclets are strewn all over Neyland Stadium. |
| 2 | Alabama | 4-0 | 7-0 | 8.98 | 278-49 | 32.7 | 2,3,[2!] | Trent Richardson's ankle-snapping juke was just the beginning. Alabama has given up 100 yards rushing only once this season. If you're not afraid of the Tide defense, you haven't been paying attention. |
| 3 | Arkansas | 1-1 | 5-1 | 8.20 | 235-128 | 17.8 | 10,11,9 | Bye week. |
| 4 | South Carolina | 4-1 | 6-1 | 8.09 | 227-134 | 13.3 | 14,12,15,14 | The wily Ol' Ball Coach carefully preserved the win after getting the lead by taking a safety. Is there any better play caller in college football? |
| 5 | Georgia | 4-1 | 5-2 | 9.15 | 226-143 | 11.9 | 24,26,33 | Don't sweat the margin, the Mayor says. A road win for this team, even versus improved Vandy, is naught but a good thing. |
| 6 | Auburn | 3-1 | 5-2 | 11.36 | 184-181 | 0.4 | 19,23,26,20 | Auburn just keeps finding ways to win close games, but got help from the injury bug in this one. |
| 7 | Florida | 2-3 | 4-3 | 7.83 | 188-132 | 8.0 | 25 | Sans an experienced QB and down one Jeff Demps, the Gators are mostly toothless. |
| 8 | Vanderbilt | 1-3 | 3-3 | 8.30 | 130-130 | 0.0 | This team is giving everyone a game. Not a doormat this year. | |
| 9 | Tennessee | 0-3 | 3-3 | 10.50 | 170-140 | 5.0 | Matt Simms is no Tyler Bray, but to be fair, Bray wouldn't have made much difference. | |
| 10 | Mississippi State | 0-4 | 3-4 | 7.46 | 168-135 | 4.7 | Surprisingly strong effort on the road against the Fighting Visors. We'll have to wait two weeks to find out if this is genuine improvement or fools gold. | |
| 11 | Mississippi | 0-3 | 2-4 | 9.00 | 120-175 | -9.2 | This team has only scored 7 more points in conference than Kentucky. | |
| 12 | Kentucky | 0-3 | 2-4 | 6.37 | 78-177 | -16.5 | Bye week, much needed. |
So what do you think? Was I on, was I off, does any of this make sense?