The race for the SEC crown is heating up as the final month of the college football regular season arrives.
Georgia is about to hit the most difficult portion of their schedule with Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee on the docket. Their quest for a third-straight SEC East title hinges on those games.
But Georgia is also the subject of scrutiny with a relatively easy run of things so far. Does their strength of record hold up to the rest of the contenders and hopefuls in the SEC?
First, let's look at the standings as they currently sit...
SEC standings after Week 9
SEC East
- Georgia: 8-0 (5-0)
- Missouri: 7-1 (3-1)
- Florida: 5-3 (3-2)
- Tennessee: 5-3 (3-2)
- Kentucky: 5-3 (2-3)
- South Carolina: 2-6 (1-5)
- Vanderbilt: 2-7 (0-5)
SEC West
- Alabama: 7-1 (5-0)
- Ole Miss: 7-1 (4-1)
- LSU: 6-2 (4-1)
- Texas A&M: 5-3 (3-2)
- Auburn: 4-4 (1-4)
- Mississippi State: 4-4 (1-4)
- Arkansas: 2-6 (0-5)
Now what about the standings by strength of record, which reflects the chance an average Top 25 team would have the same record or better given the schedule.
SEC standings ordered by strength of record after Week 9
SEC East
- Georgia: 7th nationally
- Missouri: 11th
- Tennessee: 21st
- Florida: 33rd
- Kentucky: 50th
- South Carolina: 75th
- Vanderbilt: 111th
SEC West
- Alabama: 4th nationally
- Ole Miss: 5th
- LSU: 14th
- Texas A&M: 29th
- Auburn: 39th
- Mississippi State: 51st
- Arkansas: 101st
Even though Georgia hasn't faced a currently-ranked team, their résumé is still strong relative to the rest of the SEC, certainly the SEC East. The only team in the division with a better SOR than their current standing is Tennessee with a boost over Florida.
However, Alabama and Ole Miss both have better SOR than the Bulldogs, ranking in the Top 5 after facing the No. 8 and No. 10 strength of schedule thus far. Georgia's strength of schedule to this point ranks 100th. Their remaining strength of schedule is sixth.
