Could Missouri Really Win the SEC East Again?

With four teams in the top six of the initial College Football Playoff rankings, the SEC West is the toughest, most competitive division in college football.

Across the league, the SEC East hasn’t gained much respect. But it might be college football’s craziest division.

Following Florida’s stunning 38-20 upset of No. 11 Georgia in Jacksonville, the SEC East is officially jumbled, with a team that lost to Big Ten cellar-dweller Indiana officially sitting atop the division.

That’s right. Missouri is in the driver’s seat for a second consecutive SEC East title, following its 20-10 win over Kentucky.

At 7-2, 4-1 in SEC play, the Tigers are the favorites to win the SEC East with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

This is true despite the fact that Georgia owns a 34-0 shutout of the Tigers in Columbia, and despite the fact that Indiana also took a 31-27 win at Faurot Field earlier this season.

They’re in perfect position to represent the East in Atlanta, given their remaining schedule.

Following a bye week, Mizzou must travel to Texas A&M. The Aggies fell out of the Top 25 following three consecutive defeats and struggled to a 21-16 home victory over Louisiana-Monroe Saturday afternoon.

That’s followed by a trip to Knoxville to face a middling Tennessee team that entered Saturday winless in SEC play. And the Tigers close the regular season on Black Friday by hosting an Arkansas team that has yet to win an SEC game under coach Bret Bielema.

In other words, Missouri controls its own destiny, and there’s not a whole lot that Georgia or Florida can do about it. Georgia still must face off with Auburn in two weeks, and it needs Missouri to lose at least one game to have any shot at the division title.

Florida found its way back into the division picture Saturday, but at 4-3, 3-3 in league play, the Gators would need to beat South Carolina and Vanderbilt and have Missouri lose its final three games, since the Tigers own the tiebreaker following their 42-13 defense- and special teams-fueled demolition of Florida in Gainesville. Kentucky would also need Missouri to lose out to have any shot at the division crown.

Florida and embattled coach Will Muschamp are likely just happy to beat Georgia for the first time since 2010. This week, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said he would evaluate Muschamp’s job status and “evaluate the season as it plays out.”

When CBS’ Allie LaForce asked Muschamp about his job status afterward, he said, “I ain’t worried about that. This is Florida-Georgia. It’s a big win for the program.”

The impact was felt all the way in Columbia, Missouri, where Gary Pinkel and Co. took a huge step toward representing the division in the SEC Championship in Atlanta. It’s hard to believe, but it's true. That pretty much sums up the SEC East this fall.