ESPN College Football

There’s warm. There’s downright toasty, and there’s scalding.

We’ll keep it to Hot and Not, our weekly rewind in the SEC:

EN FUEGO

Balance in the SEC: Having five teams ranked in the top 12 nationally midway through the season speaks for itself. There’s no question that Alabama and Florida have dominated this league for the past two years, but it’s clear that Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and South Carolina are serious about having a say in who wins the SEC championship this season. The knock on this conference recently has been that it’s a two-team league with several other mediocre teams filling out the upper tier. Those critics might want to think again. South Carolina’s convincing win against Alabama last week reinforced just how strong this league really is.

HOT

South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia: He played nearly perfect football in the upset of Alabama, threw three touchdown passes, was extremely humble afterward and was praised profusely by his head coach. Yes, the same Head Ball Coach that was hammering away at him during the spring and summer.

NOT

Alabama running back Mark Ingram: Maybe he is human after all. Last season’s Heisman Trophy winner has been held to 88 rushing yards on 23 carries the past two games and was kept out of the end zone against the Gamecocks.

HOT

Arkansas’s defense: What’s wrong with this picture? The Hogs’ defense saved the day last week in the 24-17 win over Texas A&M with one critical stop after another. Willy Robinson’s unit has improved tremendously.

NOT

Florida running back Emmanuel Moody: The Gators keep waiting on him to break through and be that consistent threat in the running game, but it just hasn’t happened. He didn’t help matters by losing a costly fumble just before halftime in the 33-29 loss to LSU.

HOT

South Carolina in the red zone: Let’s refer to it as the “garnet zone.” The Gamecocks lead the SEC in red zone offense, scoring touchdowns in 17 of their 20 trips inside the 20. They also lead the league in red zone defense, allowing opponents just five touchdowns in 20 trips.

NOT

Kentucky’s run defense: The Wildcats are getting gashed on the ground. They’re last in the SEC in rushing defense, allowing 190.3 rushing yards per game, and have already given up 15 rushing touchdowns this season.

HOT

LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee: He’s a perfect example of why it pays to hang in there. Lee threw 16 interceptions two years ago as a redshirt freshman, and seven of those were returned for interceptions. But he’s come off the bench to pull the Tigers out of the fire each of the last two weeks with game-winning drives.

NOT

Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio: The boos were hard to miss last Saturday by the Florida fans as the Gators continued to limp along on offense. Nobody in Swamp Land is real thrilled with anything about this offense, including the play-calling.

FREEZER BURN

Tennessee’s pass protection: It will be a minor miracle at this rate if Tennessee quarterback Matt Simms finishes the season in one piece. He’s taking a wicked beating, as the Vols’ young offensive line continues to struggle when it comes to protecting the passer. They’ve now allowed 23 sacks, which is more than any other FBS team in the country. Simms has been sacked nine times in his past two games, and that’s not even counting the other times when he was knocked around after just getting rid of the ball. Hope he’s got a good whirlpool where he lives, because he’s going to need it.

Can't resist, so I'm going to say it: What was all that chatter about Florida not missing a beat with Tim Tebow gone?

The Gators have had two offensive possessions in the opener against Miami (Ohio) and turned the ball over both times.

The first one came on a bad snap, and Chris Rainey lost a fumble after catching a short pass on the Gators' second possession.

Even more telling, though, was that Florida was unable to convert on a fourth-and-short near midfield. Emmanuel Moody was stuffed in the backfield for a loss. It ended up working out for the Gators because Miami was offsides, but those were the types of short-yardage situations Tebow converted in his sleep the last three years.

That's where the Gators are really going to miss him, and they've got to find somebody they can lean on to get the tough yards.

To this point, Florida has gotten very little, period, out of its running game and is using the I-formation some.

Also, Deonte Thompson couldn't come up with a deep pass in the first quarter that would have been a touchdown. He was plagued by drops last season.

NEW ORLEANS -- That was a pretty impressive epilogue for the Florida football dynasty under Urban Meyer. Or was it just a middle chapter?

Hard to say, because no one knows exactly where we are in this story. We know that the Gators crushed Cincinnati 51-24 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl to bid a fond farewell to Tim Tebow, the most accomplished senior class in school history and defensive coordinator Charlie Strong.

But what happens to the narrator?

Meyer himself offered only vague hints yet again about his future. The coach -- who resigned last Saturday before reinstating himself and taking an indefinite leave of absence the next morning -- didn't want to talk too much about his health or immediate plans, lest he overshadow his team's win.

When asked what the next few days would hold, Meyer said he didn't know.

"I know I'm anxious to get home," he said. "We'll address the future when it's the appropriate time."

Meyer said that his gut tells him he'll be back, but that he had to "make sure my family and health are number one." Tebow joked that Meyer had better be ready to lose to him in golf. And maybe some relaxing days would be the best possible thing, though the ever-looming signing day makes that unlikely.

"He definitely needs a break," linebacker Ryan Stamper said.

The question is, of course, whether that break lasts a month, a season or longer. How long will Steve Addazio have the interim coach title? That's what everyone will be dying to know from now until Meyer makes a decision. I asked running back Emmanuel Moody if there was anxiety on the team about the coach's choice.

"Oh yeah," he said, laughing. "From the fans, the players and the parents. But I have confidence in our athletic director if things shake out the way we don't want them to shake out. And I can speak for all the players by saying we would love to play for coach Addazio."

Florida has more to worry about than just losing Meyer. Tebow, the greatest Gator ever, leaves a huge void that sophomore John Brantley will somehow have to fill. Strong, the longtime defensive playcaller, is going to Louisville and is taking cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford with him. As many as eight juniors could jump to the NFL, including stalwarts like cornerback Joe Haden and defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

So there is uncertainty awaiting the Gators back in Gainesville.

"It's going to be tough," said Stamper, a senior. "Next year might be a little shaky. But we're going to get the program back going.

"We'll never have a team like this again, with coach Strong gone and a lot of the top seniors gone. A lot of guys who pretty much made the program what it's been the last couple years are leaving. We're not starting from scratch really, but a lot of young guys have got to step in. It's similar to [after the] 2006 [BCS title]. We came back in '07 and lost a few games but then got it going again."

Questions about the future will be apparently be answered on Meyer's own personal timetable. We're all anxious to see what's on the next page.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Week 6 in the SEC awaits, and everybody figured at this point that Kentucky and Vanderbilt would be two of the four unbeatens in the league, right? For that matter, did anyone outside the state of Alabama have the Crimson Tide 5-0 five games into the season? The unpredictability in this league never gets old. Let's take a look inside in our weekly "Internal Affairs" feature:

Old-school Tebow: With Emmanuel Moody not expected to play with a high ankle sprain, it could be the old-school Tim Tebow that you see this Saturday against Arkansas. The Gators simply don't have any true running backs to hand the ball off to now, which means Tebow may have to rev up the jets in the running game. Through four games, he's rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 49 carries. That's an average of 2.6 yards per carry. Look for the Gators to turn him loose a little more the rest of the way.

Who's the quarterback?: You don't have to listen real hard to tell that Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin isn't about to give up on Chris Todd as the Tigers' starting quarterback. Franklin was also quick to divulge that the reason they started Kodi Burns in the second half against Tennessee was because Tommy Tuberville wanted to. The reality is that Auburn doesn't have a quarterback right now, at least one the entire team can look to with confidence and know he's the leader. Todd will start against Vanderbilt. The better question: Who will be at the helm if the game's on the line in the fourth quarter?

Stephens ready for duty: As the Vols try to figure out who to start at quarterback this weekend against Northern Illinois, backup Nick Stephens made it clear that he's ready. Stephens wasn't allowed to compete for the starting job in the preseason, and that didn't sit well with him. It's been such a struggle for Jonathan Crompton that the Tennessee coaches would have been in danger of losing the team had they not tried something new. If Stephens plays well, then look for more and more of him once the Vols jump back into SEC play.

Vanderbilt's coming: That's "coming" as in coming after the Auburn quarterbacks. The Commodores are tied for second in the SEC with 11 sacks. They also are tied for the lead nationally with 10 interceptions. They've made it a point to be aggressive all season, and with the way the Vanderbilt secondary is playing, why not? Bobby Johnson and his staff have enough faith in D.J. Moore, Reshard Langford, Ryan Hamilton and crew to take some chances up front.

Lee the man: LSU has found its quarterback. Redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee has taken the job and run with it the last couple of weeks. Andrew Hatch, who opened the season as the starter, was injured last week. Hatch may still play some, but Lee is the guy the LSU coaches see as their No. 1 trigger man heading into the teeth of the schedule. The Tigers are off this week, but then play Florida and South Carolina on the road in back-to-back weeks before coming back home to face Georgia.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Let's go inside as we do every week at this time for our "Internal affairs" look at the SEC. The toughest job this week belongs to Texas coachMack Brown , who has to find a way to motivate his club against an Arkansas team that looked wretched last Saturday in a 49-14 home loss to Alabama. You've got to hand it to Brown, though. The more he talks, the more it sounds like Arkansas actually has a chance. If I'm hearing him correctly, that Alabama-Arkansas game came down to a handful of big plays that the Crimson Tide made to turn the game around. Hey Mack, Lou would be proud:

1. Alabama picking its spots: To be specific, that's picking its spots with the blitz. Nick Saban is one of the best in the business when it comes to mixing up coverages and bringing pressure at just the right time. The Crimson Tide didn't blitz as much against Clemson in the opener. For one, they didn't need to and got pressure with their front four, but they were also protecting themselves against the Tigers' screen package. Saban will go after Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford more. You know he's watched the tape from that South Carolina game where the Bulldogs had to scale back on some of the stuff they wanted to do in the passing game in the second half because they couldn't protect Stafford.

2. More of Moody: Emmanuel Moody got his most work of the season last week against Tennessee and led Florida in rushing with 55 yards on nine carries. The main thing is that he held onto the ball, a must if you're going to play running back for Urban Meyer. Look for Moody to be even more involved in the running game this week against Ole Miss as Florida returns home. He has the makeup to be the Gators' featured back, but it's obvious that Meyer is bringing him along slowly. The transfer from Southern California insists that he will remain patient and take the carries as they come.

3. Making it simple: In three games against FBS teams this season, Mississippi State has scored three touchdowns and turned the ball over 10 times. The Bulldogs will continue to try to get some of their younger playmakers like running back Robert Elliott more involved and simplify things as much as possible. Changes you won't see are to the Bulldogs' offensive staff. Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom was adamant on his weekly call-in show this week that he wasn't going down that road. "I'm the offensive coordinator. I'm the bus driver. I'm the equipment man, the lawn guy. I'm the secretary. I'm everything. Because whatever's not going right, it's me," Croom said Monday night.

4. Turning Todd loose: It's pretty clear by now that Chris Todd is Auburn's quarterback. Kodi Burns hasn't played a snap in the last two games. And if anything, the Tigers are going to give Todd more of a license to throw the ball this week against Tennessee. Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin wants to throw the ball more to set up the run. He said the Tigers should have thrown it at least 10 more times against LSU. Todd finished 17-of-32 for 250 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He looked much more comfortable throwing the ball in the second half and gave the Tigers the lead with 6:40 to play on a 15-yard scoring strike to Robert Dunn.

5. Crompton taking coaching: It's been tough sledding so far for Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who's turned the ball over and struggled to finish drives. The Vols' coaches haven't lost faith in him, but they would like to see him respond better to what they're preaching every day on the practice field. There's a sense among some on the Tennessee staff that Crompton needs to be more realistic about the way he's playing right now. He has the talent and the tools. He just has to go do it. If there's not some improvement against Auburn, the Vols will then look seriously at trying to get Nick Stephens some time in the Northern Illinois game.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

We take a stroll around the SEC to see what's going on:

* Columnist Terence Moore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Knowshon Moreno is already a legend at Georgia.

* He's known simply as Mount Cody around the Alabama campus and Mr. Cody any time he steps onto the field.

* Alabama has already played 12 true freshmen, and Nick Saban says that number could still increase.

* Tennessee may look to spread the wealth at running back this week against UAB. Phillip Fulmer wants to get more players involved in the running game.

* Mississippi State's plan against Auburn punt returner Robert Dunn is simple: The Bulldogs don't plan to kick it to him.

* Florida coach Urban Meyer hasn't forgotten about running back Emmanuel Moody and says he'll be a factor as the Gators go forward this season.

* Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick is blossoming in Bobby Petrino's offense.

* Kentucky has more than a few options at running back. The tricky part is splitting the carries among four different backs.

* Joseph Barksdale's switch from defensive line to offensive line is paying dividends for him and LSU.