Advanced metrics certainly aren't everything, but if your division is referenced as the worst among Power 5 college football conferences, that probably is not a good thing. With that in mind, this week's update of S&P+ rankings was rounded up by the good folks at SB Nation, and the results were very, very ugly for the SEC East.
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In a down year for programs like Georgia, South Carolina and, to a certain extent, Tennessee, the division stacks up as the worst among its chief competitors, with an average team ranking of 58.7. The Florida Gators are carrying the water for this side of the league, coming in at No. 9 overall but, after that, the bottom falls out considerably.
Tennessee (No. 32) is the only other SEC East team that lands within the top 60 (!) and they are followed by Kentucky (No. 62), Georgia (No. 70), South Carolina (No. 85) and Vanderbilt (No, 98). On one hand, some of these rankings feel at least slightly low, but in the same breath, it is very tough to argue for the quality of play in the SEC East this season, even if it means trailing the Big Ten West and the Big 12 in overall performance.
In the near future, the SEC East will probably bounce back, but 2016 hasn't been the least bit kind to the division.
