[Cactus Jack]

If tomorrow's games are chalk (the team who is favored, as indicated above, is victorious) then the standings would go as follows:
1. Tennessee (15-3)
2. Alabama (13-5)
3. Auburn (13-5)
4. Kentucky/South Carolina/Florida (12-6)... tiebreaker to South Carolina for wins against Kentucky and Florida
5. Kentucky/South Carolina/Florida (12-6)... tiebreaker to Kentucky for win % against Alabama being > Florida's win %
6. Kentucky/South Carolina/Florida (12-6)... tiebreaker leaves Florida
7. Mississippi State/LSU (9-9)... tiebreaker to Mississippi State for win against LSU
8. Mississippi State/LSU (9-9)... tiebreaker leaves LSU
9. Ole Miss/Texas A&M (8-10)... tiebreaker to Ole Miss for wins against A&M
10. Ole Miss/Texas A&M (8-10)... tiebreaker leaves Texas A&M
11. Arkansas/Georgia (6-12)... tiebreaker to Georgia for their win % against South Carolina being > Arkansas' win %
12. Arkansas/Georgia (6-12)... tiebreaker leaves Arkansas
13. Vanderbilt (3-15)
14. Missouri (0-18)


***I think that this is the most likely scenario, but did find it interesting that none of the fan sites (including KSR, Alabama, or Auburn blogs) mentioned what would happen in the event that Kentucky and South Carolina both lose while Alabama and Auburn both win. I'm guessing that this is because they were just doing scenarios for their own teams (as opposed to the league as a whole). **KSR has a separate article where they talk about Kentucky getting the #4 if the Cats and South Carolina lose while Alabama and Auburn win, but I don't see how this is possible and think that they've wrote this in error (or just used very poor syntax in saying "if Alabama OR Auburn win")... If Kentucky, South Carolina, and Florida each win, South Carolina wins the tie-breaker because they are undefeated against the Cats and Gators; that'd leave the latter two to go through a separate tie-breaker, which would go to the Cats.

If the favorites win out tomorrow, then this is our bracket:
Round 1:
Georgia vs. Missouri
Arkansas vs. Vanderbilt

Round 2:
LSU vs. Ole Miss
Kentucky vs. Arkansas/Vanderbilt winner
Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M
Florida vs. Georgia/Missouri winner

Round 3:
Tennessee vs. LSU/Ole Miss winner
South Carolina vs. Kentucky/Arkansas/Vanderbilt winner
Auburn vs. Florida/Georgia/Missouri winner
Alabama vs. Mississippi State/Texas A&M winner

Round 4:
Tennessee/LSU/Ole Miss winner vs. South Carolina/Kentucky/Arkansas/Vanderbilt winner
Alabama/Mississippi State/Texas A&M winner vs. Auburn/Florida/Georgia/Missouri winner


If this comes to pass for the Cats, it'd mean needing to beat Arkansas or Vanderbilt (most likely Arkansas) for a third time in the first round. They'd need to beat South Carolina (who I don't worry about like the rest of you do) in round two. Then it's most likely on to Tennessee in round three. Fourth round is whoever comes out of the Alabama/Auburn/Florida/Mississippi State side; at that point, you'd have to think that Kentucky would have earned the SEC title. I have confidence in this team and think that it could be done, but getting the #5 and needing to rattle off four straight against Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Auburn/Alabama would be a big ask. It may also be a bit draining to go through all of that (including the Sunday final) then have to jump right into the NCAA Tournament.

Lets hope that the Cats can take care of Tennessee tomorrow and Mississippi State beats South Carolina. If that happens, Kentucky is the #2 and avoids a potential rubber-match with Tennessee until the final. At the #2, they'd probably open up with the winner of Mississippi State and Ole Miss, then likely see Alabama in the semi. From there, it'd be whoever came out of the top (Tennessee, Auburn, and South Carolina). Not an easy road, but one that I like much more than the alternative.