How they stand; SEC Midseason Picks

ATHENS – Perception is one thing in the SEC, but reality is another as the league enters the second half of the conference schedule in earnest.

Georgia remained the No. 1 team in the AJC SEC Power Poll despite Texas A&M being the only undefeated team in the league at the time.

The No. 2 nationally ranked Bulldogs (6-1 overall, 4-1 SEC) can take another step toward their fourth straight SEC Championship Game appearance with a win over Florida on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Jacksonville.

The Aggies (7-1 overall, 5-0 SEC) are tied with Texas (7-1 overall, 3-1 SEC) for second place in the AJC SEC Power Poll, as determined by a nine-member panel of league experts during ranked No. 10 in the latest AP Top 25 poll.

SEC teams Tennessee and LSU with one loss each round out the top five in the AJC SEC Power Poll this week.

As much remains to be resolved in the race to the SEC Championship Game, the question of who the SEC MVP would be at this point in the season is also open.

AJC SEC Power Poll voters this week reflected on how they would rate the SEC MVP race:

Josh Ward, Knoxville's WNML

Typically, we look at the play of quarterbacks at the top of the SEC standings. But do any of the quarterbacks from the top teams to this point deserve MVP honors?

I still have a lot of faith in Georgia's Carson Beck, but I can't call him the league's MVP yet.

A few other candidates I would consider as we move on from quarterback play: linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. at Texas and defensive end Nic Scourton at Texas A&M. They are both elite players on two of the best defenses in the SEC.

Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson is another midseason MVP candidate. Sampson should be the favorite to win SEC Offensive Player of the Year; He leads the league with 17 touchdowns and has carried Tennessee's offense at times. Sampson scored eight straight touchdowns for the Vols from the Oklahoma game in September to the Alabama game on October 19.

Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel

The MVP race reflects parity across the league; The top players change from week to week. Standouts Jalen Milroe, Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers all stumbled in SEC play. Few players have been more valuable or more entertaining than Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, but he's not the best player in the league.

Alabama WR Ryan Williams could already be 17 years old, while Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson has the best numbers. Aggies DE Nic Scourton, Ole Miss LB Suntarine Perkins and Texas LB Anthony Hill Jr. are some defensive candidates. This race ends with a photo finish.

Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports

“There are many great players in the SEC, but no recruit was bigger than Texas A&M defensive end Nic Scourton, who came to the Aggies after leading the Big Ten in sacks.

Scourton likely won't reach his sack total from last season, but his consistent pressure and disruption helped pave the way for the Aggies to take over first place in the SEC. Scourton leads the Power Four with 12.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 in the win over LSU.

Aaron Torres Fox Sports Radio

Quick question: Is it strange to say that the SEC's “MVP” this year could be someone who didn't start as his team's starter this year and hasn't even played in a few of his team's games?

Because right now I think the answer might be Marcel Reed. First, it helps that Texas A&M, in its first trip to Atlanta for the SEC title game, sits alone at the top of the SEC standings and is in control of its own destiny.

At the same time, Texas A&M would be in this position without him. Basically, he single-handedly beat Florida in the swamp and then led A&M to a win over Arkansas in a game that wasn't pretty but still counts in the win column. Then, of course, Saturday came and we all watched the game with our own eyes: It's hard to imagine Texas A&M winning if Mike Elko hadn't made the bold decision to bring Reed off the bench.

Ultimately, there are others who are worth it (Dylan Sampson, maybe Quinn Ewers), and that could change in the coming weeks.

But right now the answer just seems to be Marcel Reed.”

Anwar Richardson, Texas OrangeBloods

Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris is one of the most dominant players in the country. He has posted 100 or more receiving yards five times this season. That includes 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Georgia Southern. He's a matchup nightmare and a big reason Ole Miss' passing offense ranks No. 1 in the SEC (354 yards per game). He’s a game changer.”

This week's big risers: Texas A&M moved from fourth place into a tie with Texas for second place after defeating LSU 38-23 last Saturday.

With a convincing 24-10 victory over Kentucky, Auburn took a step toward respectability, moving from 15th to 13th in the AJC SEC Power Poll.

Who fell: LSU fell from No. 3 to No. 5 in the AJC SEC Power Poll after blowing a 17-7 halftime lead and suffering a 38-23 loss at Texas A&M.

Missouri, whose starting quarterback Brady Cook was sidelined due to injury, was defeated 34-0 at Alabama and fell from 9th place to 11th place.

Here is this week's AJC SEC Power Poll

1. (1) Georgia 144 points, highest vote 1, lowest vote 1

T-2. (2) Texas 129 points, highest vote 2, lowest vote 4

T-2. (4) Texas A&M 129 points, highest rating 2, lowest rating 4

4. (5) Tennessee 107 points, highest vote 3, lowest vote 5

5. (3) LSU 106 points, highest vote 3, lowest vote 6

6. (6) Alabama 103 points, highest vote 3, lowest vote 7

7. (7) Ole Miss 84 points, highest vote 7, lowest vote 10

8. (8) Vanderbilt 76 points, highest vote 6, lowest vote 10

9. (10) South Carolina 66 points, highest vote 8, lowest vote 12

10. (11) Arkansas 64 points, highest vote 8, lowest vote 12

11. (9) Missouri 58 points, highest vote 8, lowest vote 12

12. (12) Florida 57 points, highest vote 7, lowest vote 12

13. (15) Auburn 31 points, highest vote 12, lowest vote 14

14. (14) Oklahoma 30 points, highest vote 13, lowest vote 14

15. (13) Kentucky 17 points, highest vote 15, lowest vote 16

16. (16) Mississippi State 10 points, highest vote 15, lowest vote 16

SEC Power Voting Panel

Chris Doering, SEC Network

Kaylee Mansell, DawgNation

Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports

Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel

Josh Ward, Knoxville WNML

Ryan Fowler, Tuscaloosa Tide-100.9

Anwar Richardson, Orange Bloods

Aaron Torres, Fox Sports Radio

Mike Griffith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

This week's SEC games

Ole Miss (-4) at Arkansas, Noon, ESPN

Vanderbilt at Auburn (-6), 12:45 p.m., SEC Network

Georgia vs. Florida (-16.5), 3:30 p.m. ABC

UMass at Mississippi State (-20), 4:15 p.m. SEC Network

Texas A&M (-4) at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m., ABC

Kentucky at Tennessee (-16), 7:45 p.m., SEC Network