ESPN College Football

Chris Low's Four Downs look at Florida’s road to the SEC championship game, the loss of Mississippi State’s Nick Bell, the Cam Newton story and Alabama-LSU.

Chris Low looks at the SEC’s top storylines in Friday Four Downs.

Who's the best quarterback in the SEC?

At the midway point, that's a tough one. My pick would be Auburn's Cameron Newton, even though Arkansas' Ryan Mallett has great numbers.

Here's your chance to rank the quarterbacks in this league from the best to the worst thanks to a SportsNation poll. I'll let you have at it for a day or two, and then I'll come back and give you my midseason ranking of the SEC starting quarterbacks. We'll see how that compares to what you guys come up with and how it compares to the one I did in the preseason.

We’re at the midway point of the SEC football season, and all of a sudden, the mighty in this league don’t look quite as mighty as they once did.

Maybe it’s not a two-team league after all.

During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Alabama and Florida were a combined 33-3 in all SEC games, and two of those losses were to each other.

Through six games this season, the Crimson Tide and Gators have already combined to lose three SEC games, paving the way for somebody else to break the Alabama/Florida stranglehold in this league.

Who’s it going to be?

For starters, don’t count out Alabama or Florida.

The Crimson Tide had their 19-game winning streak stopped last Saturday by South Carolina, illustrating once and for all that this isn’t the same defense that spearheaded the national championship run a year ago. Still, Alabama remains the most talented team in the league and isn’t going anywhere.

The Gators, despite losing consecutive games for the first time since the 2007 season, still technically control their own fate in the Eastern Division race. But they’ll have to do it with the weakest offense Urban Meyer has had since taking the job in 2005.

And the new guys on the block?

Auburn is unbeaten with a favorable schedule. The Tigers get Arkansas and LSU at home each of the next two weeks. Like all of Alabama’s SEC opponents the rest of the way, the Tigers get a bye the week before they face the Crimson Tide. That rivalry game is the regular-season finale.

That Nov. 26 game in Tuscaloosa could easily decide the West champ.

That is, if LSU doesn’t have something to say about it. The bounces have gone Les Miles’ way. The penalties have gone his way, and he has one gem of a defense.

So don’t count out the Tigers, who should go to 7-0 this week with McNeese State coming to town.

And in the East, Steve Spurrier has his Gamecocks positioned to do something everybody said they couldn’t do -- get to Atlanta and play for the SEC championship.

Fresh off taking down then No. 1-ranked Alabama, the Gamecocks won’t be sneaking up on anybody the rest of the way. We’ll see how they handle prosperity, something that hasn’t been that program’s strong suit historically.

Strap it on tight, because with five teams ranked in the top 12 nationally, the finish this season in the SEC ought to be one for the ages.

Offensive MVP: Auburn QB Cameron Newton

With everything he’s meant to Auburn to this point, Newton would factor into the national conversation when you start talking about college football’s most valuable player. He’s also a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Simply, he’s one of those players you just don’t see come along very often. He’s 250 pounds, runs with the expertise, power and confidence of a tailback and has a cannon for an arm. He’s already accounted for 21 touchdowns. Honorable mention goes to South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery, who’s been an absolute force for the Gamecocks.

Defensive MVP: LSU DT Drake Nevis

This was a two-man race the whole way. Nevis just barely nudged past Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley because LSU’s defense is better overall. The Tigers are ranked fifth nationally and first in the SEC in total defense, and the havoc that Nevis has wreaked up front is a big reason why. He leads all SEC interior defensive linemen with 33 total tackles and he was unblockable last week with 4.5 tackles for loss against a veteran Florida offensive line. He and Fairley are tied for second in the league with five sacks apiece, and Nevis is tied for second with 10.5 tackles for loss. Fairley’s 12.5 tackles for loss leads the SEC.

Biggest surprise: South Carolina

The talk before the season was that this might be the Gamecocks’ best chance yet under Steve Spurrier to make a run at the Eastern Division championship. But the Head Ball Coach was down on quarterback Stephen Garcia and not sure his offensive line was made of the right stuff. Well, here the Gamecocks are, ranked in the Top 10 nationally and leading the East at the midway point. They have some of the best young talent in the league and are playing with a ton of confidence right now.

Biggest disappointment: Georgia

Even though the Bulldogs wrestled out from under their four-game losing streak last week with a 41-14 win against Tennessee, they’ve still woefully underachieved this season. Redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray has been one of the bright spots. He sure isn’t the reason Georgia’s 2-4 heading into the second half of the season. It’s more an offensive line that hasn’t lived up to its billing, critical fumbles by the running backs and a defense that has given up way too many big plays.

Best game: LSU at Florida, Oct. 2

This one had it all -- a game-winning touchdown pass on the final offensive play of the game, a fake field goal to keep that game-winning drive alive, a little controversy and a divine bounce. LSU rallied to beat Florida 33-29 in the Swamp last weekend. Les Miles called for a fake field goal in the final minutes, and the Tigers got a great bounce on the over-the-head-flip to kicker Josh Jasper, who picked up the first down. The flip was close to being a forward lateral, but was too close to overturn by the replay official. Jarrett Lee then capped what was a wild game by lofting a strike to Terrence Toliver, who was able to get one foot down in the end zone to keep the Tigers unbeaten.

Best coach: Auburn’s Gene Chizik

Two years on the job, Chizik has this Auburn program rolling. He was able to keep his entire staff intact during the offseason, the only one in the SEC that didn’t have any turnover, and the Tigers have been a resilient, tough football team in the second half. They rallied in the second half to beat both Clemson and South Carolina, and showed enough poise on the road last week to come up with a pressure drive at the end and hold off Kentucky. The defense still isn’t great, but it’s gotten better and has produced big plays when Auburn has needed them. Of course, the best move Chizik’s made was getting Newton to sign with the Tigers last December.

Without a doubt, it was the best weekend yet in the SEC.

You name it, and we had it -- major upsets, game-winning touchdown passes, game-winning field goals and some tremendous individual performances.
Too bad we only have five helmet stickers, because we could hand out twice that many.

Here are this week’s winners:

Arkansas safety Tramain Thomas: The Hogs held Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson to 15-of-40 passing for only 215 yards, and Thomas was a big part of that defensive effort. He finished with seven tackles, two fumble recoveries and intercepted Johnson’s last-ditch heave into the end zone to seal Arkansas' 24-17 win.

Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton: Everybody other than Auburn fans might be tired of seeing Newton’s name show up here every weekend, but how do you ignore what he’s doing? He ground out 198 rushing yards and four touchdowns and passed for 210 more yards in the 37-34 win over Kentucky. He’s become the ultimate playmaker at quarterback and has now accounted for 21 touchdowns in his first six games.

South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery: The one-handed catch alone with Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick hanging onto his jersey was enough to land Jeffery on this list of honorees. But he was unstoppable in South Carolina’s 35-21 upset of No. 1-ranked Alabama with seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. The Tide couldn’t match up with him, and they’re not alone. Nobody really has, which is why Jeffery leads the SEC with 625 receiving yards through six games.

Kentucky receiver Randall Cobb: The unwritten rule is that players on losing teams aren’t eligible for helmet stickers. But then you watch Cobb play, and was there a better player anywhere in college football Saturday? He rushed for two touchdowns, passed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass -- the second time this season that he’s had the trifecta. Cobb has accounted for a touchdown in 20 of the past 22 games in which he’s played for the Wildcats.

LSU coach Les Miles: Forget about all the weird things he says or the way he wears his hat or some of the end-of-game blunders. The guy just keeps winning. The Tigers were the luckiest 5-0 team in the country last week. Well, now they’re 6-0, and their resiliency reflects their head coach. Nothing seems to affect them or distract them or keep them from getting it done when the game’s on the line. Miles had his team ready to play Saturday at the Swamp, and LSU outplayed and outcoached Florida in a 33-29 win, making the Tigers one of only two unbeaten teams in the SEC at the midway point.

Auburn may well end up looking back on its final drive against Kentucky on Saturday night as the defining moment of this season.

It’s the kind of drive championship teams come up with when they've got to have them.

Remember Alabama’s drive in the final minutes to beat Auburn last season?

Well, Auburn’s 19-play drive to set up Wes Byrum’s 24-yard field goal as time expired allowed the Tigers to escape 37-34 against Kentucky and remain unbeaten.

It was one of those games where Auburn might have lost some focus in the second half after jumping out to a big lead. But the Tigers didn’t lose their poise.

And the rest of the league might want to get used to hearing these two words -- Cameron Newton.

He rushed for a career-high 198 yards and four touchdowns and is that offensive weapon that nobody else in the league can duplicate.

And to this point, nobody’s been able to tackle him, either.

It's the Friday version of SEC lunch links:

• Auburn's Onterio McCalebb is displaying more durability in Year 2.
• Former Tennessee running back Bryce Brown cites depression as one of the reasons he wanted a release and says that he didn't fit in with the other players.
• Florida coach Urban Meyer says quarterback John Brantley is good to go for Saturday's game against LSU. Running back Jeff Demps will also play, but won't be 100 percent with a sprained foot.
• Alabama's defense inside the red zone is a dead zone for opposing teams.
• Alabama's all-time leading receiver, DJ Hall, was one of two former Crimson Tide players arrested Wednesday in Tuscaloosa on drug charges.
• Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a glass-half-full stance and examines how Georgia might still win the SEC East.
• Kentucky's goal is to bring down the big guy -- Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton.
• LSU fans recall their wide gamut of emotions at the end of last week's 16-14 win over Tennessee.
• Mississippi State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz knows better than to misjudge Houston's short-handed offense.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that as we point toward Week 6 in the SEC:

• After five weeks of the 2010 season, SEC teams are favoring the run over the pass. In 57 games, SEC teams are averaging 37.4 rushes per game and only 26.3 passes per game. The 26.3 pass plays per game is the lowest of any FBS conference. The national averages are 37.4 run plays per game and 30.3 pass plays per game.
• The SEC leads the nation in total touchdowns scored (221), but is tied for fourth in scoring average (30.4 points per game) with the ACC. The national average is 28.5 points per game.
• Alabama owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 19 games and also the longest regular-season winning streak at 29 games. The Crimson Tide’s 18-game winning streak in SEC regular-season games is nine away from the record. Alabama won 27 in a row from 1976-80.
• Alabama has now been the No. 1-ranked team for eight straight Associated Press polls (all six this season and the final two of last season). That’s longer than any streak they’ve ever had, including their dominant late 1970s stretch.
• Steve Spurrier’s passing offense at South Carolina has certainly not lived up to expectations. The four lowest single-season passing touchdown totals of his college coaching career have occurred in his first five seasons at South Carolina.
• The highest-ranked opponent South Carolina has ever beaten was No. 3-ranked North Carolina in 1981. The Gamecocks are 2-34 all-time against top 5 opponents and were on a 22-game losing streak in those games prior to upsetting No. 4-ranked Ole Miss last season.
• Although LSU (four appearances) and Florida (10 appearances) have a combined 14 appearances in the SEC championship game, they have never met there. However, they have met every year in the regular season since 1971, with Florida leading the series 23-14-2 during that time.
• Florida, coming off a loss to No.1-ranked Alabama, has lost consecutive games only once in the Urban Meyer era. The Gators lost to Auburn and LSU in back-to-back weeks in 2007.
• A year ago, Florida averaged 6.4 yards on first-down running plays. This season, the Gators are averaging just 3.5 yards when they run the ball on first down.
• Dating back the last 13 regular-season games, LSU has allowed a total of 22 points in the first quarter. A Tennessee touchdown with 24 seconds left in the first quarter last week ended a streak of 12 consecutive regular-season games in which LSU had not allowed a touchdown in the opening quarter.
• Under Les Miles, LSU is 21-2 when having a 100-yard rusher, and the Tigers are 34-0 when reaching the 100-yard rush mark as a team and holding the opponent to less than 100 rushing yards.
• Auburn’s defense has allowed just 10 points in the fourth quarter this season and has shut out both of its SEC opponents in the final period. A Clemson touchdown and an Arkansas State field goal are the only points allowed by Auburn in the fourth quarter this season. The Tigers have outscored their opponents 38-10 in the fourth quarter this season.
• Auburn has three of the SEC’s top 10 rushers in yards per game -- Cameron Newton (4^th, 94.8 yards), Onterio McCalebb (9^th, 67.2 yards) and Mike Dyer (10^th, 66.8 yards).
• After rushing for 192 yards in its opener against Tennessee Tech, Arkansas has fallen to 102^nd nationally in rushing offense (103 yards per game). The Hogs have managed a total of 117 rushing yards in their last two games against Alabama and Georgia. Arkansas running backs had just five rushing attempts in the second half of the 24-20 loss to Alabama two weeks ago.
• Arkansas faces a Texas A&M team on Saturday that has committed 14 turnovers this season. Only Buffalo (16) and New Mexico, Bowling Green and Louisiana Tech (15 each) have committed more.
• Vanderbilt has scored six of its nine offensive touchdowns this season on plays of 33 yards or longer. A year ago, the Commodores’ offense produced only four touchdown plays of 33 yards or longer all season.
• Kentucky’s Randall Cobb has accounted for a touchdown in 19 of the last 21 games that he’s played in for the Wildcats. He’s accounted for seven this season -- three receiving, two passing, one rushing and one on a punt return. One of his touchdown passes came on a fake field goal, and he’s also caught a two-point conversion pass.
• Kentucky’s last win against an Associated Press top 10 team came in 2007, a three-overtime victory against No. 1 LSU. Since then, the Wildcats are 0-6 against top 10 teams, including a loss to Florida earlier this season.
• Mississippi State is looking for its first four-game nonconference winning streak since winning eight regular-season non-SEC games from 1998-2001. The Bulldogs are on a three-game non-SEC winning streak, their first since 2007.
• The Georgia-Tennessee meeting on Saturday will mark the first when both teams enter the game with a losing record since 1906. It's also the second time in the series history when neither team has been nationally ranked since rankings became a part of college football in the mid-1930s. The first time came last season.

If Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton keeps up his current pace this season, he will join an exclusive club.

Only seven quarterbacks in FBS history have passed for 2,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 yards in the same season. Newton is on track to become the eighth with 928 passing yards and 474 rushing yards through his first five games this season.

He would be the first SEC quarterback in history to do it. Florida’s Tim Tebow was close, but he never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season.

The only SEC quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season was Auburn’s Jimmy Sidle in 1963 when he ran for 1,006 yards. But Sidle only threw for 706 yards that season.

The 6-6, 250-pound Newton hasn’t been hesitant about taking off and running this season, although his only rushing attempt last week against Louisiana-Monroe was an 11-yard sack.

The Tigers didn’t need him to run the ball in that game, a 52-3 rout, and were wise to keep him from taking any unnecessary hits.

Even for a guy as big as Newton, there are only so many hits a quarterback can take.

The Auburn coaches will absolutely monitor the pounding Newton is taking, especially with the second half of the season approaching. The Tigers play 11 straight weeks without a bye.

But they’re also not going to hold him back.

“We’re going to do what we have to do to win,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “Sometimes, that could require that he runs the ball more than not. Sometimes, he doesn’t. A lot of that is predicated on what the defense is doing and if we can we outnumber guys. What is their idea as the game goes on about putting enough guys up in the box to stop our potential quarterback run game?

“There are a lot of variables that go into how much we would run a quarterback. I think there is a fine line in there because you want to keep your quarterback for all 12 games. So, we definitely do that and are very prudent about how we proceed. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to do whatever it takes to win.”

Here’s a rundown of the FBS quarterbacks in the 2,000/1,000 club. Notice that a couple of the guys have done it twice and that three different players did it a year ago:

• 2009: Dwight Dasher, Middle Tennessee (2,789 passing, 1,154 rushing)
• 2009: Colin Kaepernick, Nevada (2,052 passing, 1,183 rushing)
• 2009: Joe Webb, UAB (2,299 passing, 1,427 rushing)
• 2008: Colin Kaepernick, Nevada (2,849 passing, 1,130 rushing)
• 2008: Joe Webb, UAB (2,367 passing, 1,021 rushing)
• 2007: Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan (3,652 passing, 1,122 rushing)
• 2005: Brad Smith, Missouri (2,304 passing, 1,301 rushing)
• 2005: Vince Young, Texas (3,036 passing, 1,050 rushing)
• 2002: Brad Smith, Missouri (2,333 passing, 1,029 rushing)
• 2001: Woodrow Dantzler, Clemson (2,360 passing, 1,004 rushing)

The bell is ringing, which means it’s stock report time in the SEC:

Stock up

1. LSU’s defense: Yes, the Tigers are hard to watch on offense. But they’re hard to play against on defense. John Chavis’ unit is ranked sixth nationally in total defense and leads the SEC in that category.

2. Steve Spurrier’s wit: The Head Ball Coach isn’t winning as many championships as he once did, but he hasn’t lost that sharp wit. His “sometimes you can win and still be a dummy” comment Tuesday rates up there with “you can’t spell Citrus without a ‘U’ and a ‘T.’ ”

3. A.J. Green: We’ve only seen him for one game this season, but one game was enough to re-establish the Georgia junior as the best receiver in the SEC. He made his one-handed touchdown catch last week against Colorado look easy.

4. Vick Ballard: Don’t look now, but Ballard has an SEC-leading nine touchdowns and has been Mississippi State’s go-to guy around the goal line. He’s also averaging 6.5 yards per rush.

Stock down

1. Les Miles: For a guy whose team has yet to lose a football game this season, Miles is catching more heat than any coach in recent SEC history. Of course, there is that little clock thing he might want to wrap his hands around.

2. Gary Crowton: He’s LSU’s offensive coordinator and certainly doesn’t get a free pass in the Tigers’ continued mismanagement of end-of-game situations.

3. Mark Richt: He’s the dean of SEC coaches, and right now, his seat has never been hotter. Georgia has lost four straight games, and even a coach as successful as Richt may not be able to survive a losing season.

4. Tennessee’s unlucky 13: Amid all LSU’s confusion last week, Tennessee got caught up in the act and had 13 men on the field there at the end, wiping out what would have been a huge win for the Vols.

Player of the Year race: Offense

1. Cameron Newton, QB, Auburn: Catching Newton won’t be easy. He’s accounted for 17 touchdowns (12 passing and five running) and just keeps making big plays.

2. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama: He didn’t put up big rushing numbers against Florida, but still leads the SEC with 118.3 rushing yards per game and has also scored six touchdowns in three games.

3. Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas: After a week off, Mallett gets a chance against Texas A&M to make amends for his three interceptions against Alabama. He’s still on track for another huge season.

4. Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina: He’s averaging 124.5 receiving yards per game, which leads the SEC, and is terrific after the catch.

5. Derrick Locke, RB, Kentucky: Randall Cobb gets a lot of the pub at Kentucky and deservedly so. But Locke leads the SEC in all-purpose yardage, is second in rushing and has also scored seven touchdowns.

Player of the Year race: Defense

1. Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn: The Tigers’ enforcer inside remains the SEC leader in sacks (5) and tackles for loss (11.5).

2. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU: Not many teams throw his way, which underscores his value. He typically takes away one whole side of the field.

3. Janoris Jenkins, CB, Florida: The Gators have one of the best defensive backfields in the country, and Jenkins’ ability to cover and tackle is a big reason why.

4. Mark Barron, S, Alabama: He’s the veteran back there for the Crimson Tide in the secondary and is playing like one. He had 11 tackles last week against the Gators.

5. Drake Nevis, DT, LSU: He’s been a disrupter up front all season for the Tigers and leads all SEC interior defensive linemen with 26 total tackles.

As we approach the midway point of the season, the two most realistic Heisman Trophy candidates in this conference just happen to play their football in the state of Alabama.

If this keeps up, the Iron Bowl on Nov. 26 could really have some serious stakes.

Here’s the way I would rank the SEC’s Heisman candidates heading into Week 6:

1. Alabama running back Mark Ingram: He didn’t have a big game numbers-wise, but was still instrumental in Alabama taking control in the first half and thumping Florida 31-6. Ingram scored two more touchdowns and has six in three games and is still leading the SEC in rushing at 118.3 yards per game. The Crimson Tide take on South Carolina this weekend, and it was the Gamecocks Ingram lit up for a Bryant-Denny Stadium-record 246 yards last season to really set his Heisman campaign into motion.

2. Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton: He took it easy on the running last week against Louisiana-Monroe, but threw three touchdown passes in the Tigers’ 52-3 rout to raise his SEC-leading total to 12. Counting his five rushing touchdowns, Newton has accounted for 17 in five games. He’s on track to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards this season. Not even Tim Tebow did that at Florida.

3. LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson: It was a pretty quiet game for Peterson against Tennessee. He did return a punt 26 yards, and there remains talk about him playing some on offense. The Tigers could sure use the help. Big games are upcoming against Florida and Auburn. If Peterson finds the end zone in those games either by returning a kick or interception or doing it on offense, then he’s right back in the race. He’s too explosive of an athlete to count out and the best cornerback in the country.

4. Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett: The three interceptions against Alabama two weeks ago will linger in the voters’ minds, but not nearly as much if Mallett comes back strong and leads the Hogs to a 10-win season or better. He’ll get some good national exposure this week against Texas A&M and still has outstanding overall numbers with 1,438 passing yards and 10 touchdowns in four games. He probably needs a signature win (maybe against Auburn) where he lights it up and the Hogs win if he’s going to climb back into the top tier of candidates.

Talk about spicing up a rivalry.

In the latest Heisman Predictor standings, Alabama's Mark Ingram is No. 1 and Auburn's Cameron Newton No. 2.

That game on Nov. 26 is already shaping up to be a blockbuster matchup in terms of the Western Division race. But can you imagine if both Ingram and Newton are also going head-to-head in the Heisman race?

Newton has come out of nowhere like Ingram did a year ago. But as long as Newton keeps putting up the kind of numbers he has and Auburn keeps winning, he's going to be a major player in the Heisman race ... and should be.

Even at 5-0 last season, I wasn’t completely sold on Auburn.

I knew how precariously thin the Tigers were. I knew how dependent they were on Ben Tate, and I knew how drained they would be on defense the second half of the season.

I also knew it was Gene Chizik’s first tour through the SEC as a head coach.

Well, here we are again, and this time, I’m sold on the Tigers.

So much so that I can very clearly see a scenario where that Alabama-Auburn game on Nov. 26 is for the Western Division championship.

Even if Auburn loses a game between now and then, winning against Alabama would give the Tigers the head-to-head tiebreaker and send them to Atlanta as the West representative.

What makes me think they can get to that point?

For one, Cameron Newton.

He gives the Tigers a dimension they didn’t have last season. For that matter, he gives them a dimension nobody else in the SEC has. With his ability to run and his big throwing arm, Newton makes Gus Malzahn’s offense much more difficult to defend than it was a year ago.

Having a 6-6, 250-pound quarterback who’s that hard to tackle is the great equalizer in college football, especially when he has marquee talent around him at all the skill positions.

It also doesn’t hurt that Auburn has a veteran offensive line. The Tigers lead the SEC in rushing and have only given up seven sacks in the first five games.

Defensively, junior tackle Nick Fairley has emerged as a difference-maker in the middle, and the Tigers didn’t have that last season.

Auburn has still allowed more plays in the passing game than defensive coordinator Ted Roof would like, but his main concern coming into this season was being better against the run.

Heading into the Kentucky game this Saturday, Auburn is second in the SEC in rushing defense, allowing just 92.8 yards per game.

The Tigers are also playing more guys on defense.

They felt like several of the players they signed in this class would help fill in the holes defensively, and that’s what has happened to this point.

Several times this season, Chizik has referenced the way his team keeps fighting no matter what.

You saw that in the second half of the Clemson game. You saw that in the second half of the South Carolina game.

That’s an intangible that will come in handy down the road, because the Tigers will almost certainly be in several more knock-down, drag-out battles in the second half.

Counting the overtime period against Clemson, Auburn has outscored its opponents 38-10 in the fourth quarter this season.

That’s what separates the championship teams from the good teams in this league – being able to get it done in the fourth quarter.

Auburn’s schedule should also work in its favor.

Following the trip to Kentucky, the Tigers (5-0, 2-0) get four of their next five games at home. Included are SEC games against Arkansas, LSU and Georgia.

And as has been the case the past three years, they get a bye the week before facing Alabama.

It’s always nice to get a bye before such a big rivalry, but the trade-off is having to play 11 straight weeks without a break.

The Tigers couldn’t cut it a year ago.

They’re more equipped to do so this time around.

» Power Rankings: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-10 | SEC | Non-AQ

Picking the best team in this conference isn’t the hard part.

It’s all those spots in the middle, and how do you slot the teams No. 8 through No. 12? That’s one jumbled mess.

We’ll give it the old college try with this week’s SEC power rankings:

1. Alabama: The scary part isn’t that Alabama defeated Florida 31-6. The scary part is that the Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0) made it look so easy. When the game was 31-3, Alabama shut it down to run some clock, or the Crimson Tide could have easily scored in the 40s. This is a physical team, a team that can beat you a number of different ways offensively and a team that’s only going to get better on defense.

2. Auburn: Well, here the Tigers (5-0, 2-0) are again. They also started the season 5-0 a year ago, but lost five of their last six SEC games. This team has more firepower, though, and it also has Cameron Newton at quarterback. The defense has improved. There’s more depth across the board, and the schedule is about as favorable as it gets. Until proven otherwise, Auburn is the biggest threat to Alabama in the Western Division race.

3. Arkansas: Don’t forget about the Hogs, who’ve played Alabama better than anybody to this point. They had a chance to regroup last week with the bye and take on Texas A&M this Saturday at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, Texas. Arkansas (3-1, 1-1) still needs to find a more consistent running game to help protect leads, but this is a team that has everything it takes to make a run and have a 10-win season. The Hogs are going to light up a few more scoreboards along the way. Their passing attack is that good.

4. Florida: On the surface, it’s just one loss. But the 31-6 beatdown by Alabama reinforced what we saw in the first three weeks from the Gators (4-1, 2-1). This offense has serious limitations, and junior quarterback John Brantley isn’t quite ready for All-SEC status like some in and around Gainesville pumped him up to be in the preseason. That’s not to say he won’t be a good quarterback, because you can see he has the skills. He’s just not there yet, and just as important, the guys around him have to play better and make more explosive plays down the field.

5. South Carolina: Following a bye week, the Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1) get their chance to do what nobody in this league has done since the end of the 2007 season -- and that’s beat Alabama in an SEC regular-season game. Not only would it be the biggest win in the Steve Spurrier era, but it would put be the Gamecocks back in great shape in the Eastern Division race. Steve Spurrier is going with Stephen Garcia as his quarterback. But if Garcia turns it over, the Head Ball Coach will have a quick hook.

6. LSU: This may be the first time in the history of the SEC power rankings that an unbeaten team has been ranked this far down five weeks into the season. No disrespect to the Tigers’ defense or their special teams, but there’s lucky and then there’s what happened Saturday in the 16-14 win over Tennessee. Maybe Les Miles just likes living on the edge. How else do you explain being so chaotic in late-game clock management situations? And, yet, the Tigers (5-0, 3-0) keep surviving. Reality, though, may be lurking around the corner.

7. Mississippi State: It’s dangerous to count your wins before they hatch, but the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-2) can see 4-2 from here. They travel to Houston Saturday after routing Alcorn State 49-16. One of the best things about this last game is that the Bulldogs got Chad Bumphis going on offense. He’s that dynamic playmaker they need to emerge in the passing game. The defense has given up more than 17 points only once in the first five games. A win over Houston would give Mississippi State a ton of momentum heading to Florida on Oct. 16.

8. Kentucky: Yes, I realize Kentucky just lost to Ole Miss and has given up 90 points in its last two games. Maybe we should just vacate all the spots after No. 7. However, the Wildcats (3-2, 0-2) get the slight nod here over some of the other teams because they have a winning record, but it’s the slimmest of edges. They get Auburn at home this weekend, a chance to prove they deserve this ranking. The defense has to get a lot better. They’ve been exposed on that side of the ball each of the past two weeks. The good news is that Auburn’s visit marks the first of three straight home games.

9. Tennessee: The Vols (2-3, 0-2) move up for two reasons. They’ve played tough for two straight weeks against top-10 foes, and they came up with a new, radical defensive concept -- the 7-3-3 defense. If not for having 13 men on the field at the end of the game at LSU, Tennessee would be celebrating a huge win right now. The Vols outplayed the Tigers for just about the entire game and probably deserved to win. But there’s no excuse for that kind of critical error on the sideline, especially when LSU was in total chaos and was already trying to give you the game.

10. Georgia: It’s as nasty right now in Athens as it’s ever been since the arrival of Mark Richt in 2001. The Bulldogs (1-4, 0-3) have now lost four in a row, including a 29-27 setback to Colorado on Saturday. They’re not getting blown out. Rather, they just haven’t been able to make the plays in the fourth quarter to win, and costly fumbles have killed them. At this point, it’s difficult to imagine the Bulldogs salvaging this season. Really, just scratching out a winning season might be a long shot.

11. Vanderbilt: The Commodores (1-3, 0-2) are showing signs of life offensively and led Connecticut 21-14 in the second quarter. But from there, the bottom fell out. The Huskies scored the last 26 points of the game and rode Jordan Todman’s 190 rushing yards to a 40-21 win. Tackling Todman was a problem for Vanderbilt, but an even bigger problem was three turnovers and a stream of costly penalties. This is a team that already doesn’t have a whole lot of room for error. But when it starts beating itself with turnovers and penalties, the result is going to be the same as last Saturday just about every time.

12. Ole Miss: The Rebels (3-2, 1-1) probably deserve to move out of the cellar after winning two straight, including beating Kentucky last week. But they have one more week to serve their automatic banishment to the cellar for losing to an FCS team and Vanderbilt in the same season at home. Give the offense credit, though. Jeremiah Masoli and crew have it rolling right now, but it’s still hard to figure out what’s happened to that defense. Ole Miss gets a week off before traveling to No. 1-ranked Alabama on Oct. 16.

What all did we learn in Week 5 in the SEC?

Sit back, relax and find out:

1. Alabama’s lead widens: We were pretty sure that Alabama was the class of the SEC going into Saturday night’s contest with Florida. Now, there’s no doubt after seeing the Crimson Tide manhandle the Gators 31-6 in a game that was never really close. After going up 24-0, Alabama toyed with Florida the rest of the way. The Crimson Tide were a more physical team, a more mentally prepared team, a more disciplined team and just a better team all the way around. These two teams had separated themselves from the rest of the SEC the past two years. On Saturday, it was Alabama doing the separating. The Crimson Tide have now won 19 straight games overall, including 18 in a row in SEC regular-season play. They haven’t given up a second-half touchdown all season and are only going to get better defensively once they have a chance to mature on that side of the ball.

2. Gators beaten up front: If Florida is going to navigate its way back to the SEC championship game and have it go differently against Alabama in a potential rematch, the Gators have to play better on both lines of scrimmage. In particular, the offensive line needs to play like a veteran unit and a unit that was supposed to be the backbone of this offense. Getting the tough yards remains a problem for the Gators, who’re hopeful the Trey Burton package can continue to grow down around the goal line. They sure need it to given their limitations in the running game. But with junior quarterback John Brantley still trying to find his way, it’s the Florida offensive line that needs to put it on its shoulders the rest of the way and man up.

3. Fear the Eagle: Granted, it was just Louisiana-Monroe, and Auburn is right where it was a year ago record-wise. The Tigers are 5-0 after rolling 52-3 Saturday at home. Still, you get a different feel about this club than the one a year ago that ended up losing five of its last six SEC games. That different feel starts with quarterback Cameron Newton, who continues to improve and is emerging as the most dynamic playmaker in the SEC. He threw three more touchdown passes Saturday and now has a league-leading 12 on the season. He didn’t have to run the ball this past weekend, but tackling him has been a problem for everybody. Newton gives the Tigers a dimension they simply didn’t have last season, and they look like they’re in it for the long haul this time around in a Western Division race that could easily come down to that showdown on Nov. 26 with Alabama.

4. LSU an unbeaten enigma: There’s little debate that the reason LSU is unbeaten is because of a rock-solid defense and superior play on special teams, and that’s OK. It's not the first team to win thanks to those two phases of the game and won’t be the last. But this offense is a train wreck right now, in particular the whole quarterback situation, and how many more of these late-game meltdowns with regard to clock management can the Tigers survive? Had Tennessee not been caught with 13 men on the field on that final play, they would be roasting Les Miles on the Bayou right now -- and many still are. There’s no excuse for having those kind of lapses on the sideline and in the booth over and over again. This is a talented team that has found ways to win. Resiliency is a big part of football, but how dysfunctional can you be on the offensive side of the ball and continue to win games?

5. Georgia is in the tank: It’s official now. Georgia’s season is over. All that remains is to see how bad and how far-reaching the fallout will be when the games are complete. The Bulldogs (1-4) lost 29-27 to a Colorado team on Saturday night that was trashed 52-7 by California earlier this season. It was the fourth straight loss by Georgia, which again managed to fumble the ball away at the worst possible time. This latest blunder was Caleb King coughing it up in the final two minutes with Georgia at the Colorado 27 and driving for the game-winning touchdown or field goal. The good teams find ways to win. This team is finding ways to lose right now, and not even A.J. Green’s return could save the Bulldogs. They’re staring down the barrel of their first non-winning season or even their first losing season in the Mark Richt era, and if that happens, Richt will have a hard time surviving.