re: Will Mizzou help send a 3rd straight traditional East power out of the Top 25

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Ok, super serious, is the East up or down based on what you know about the SEC East's history for the past 30-40 years or so?

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Based on what I know, as a whole, no not really. Because I don't think you can say a group of teams is "down" based on a few weeks of play. And you're asking a Missouri fan this question, our expectations are probably not the same as yours.

Everything is a cycle, right? And every team has good and not-so-good years. In the east, Tennessee is down. But Georgia? A not-so-good season brought on by numerous injuries. They'll still make a decent bowl game, most likely. Florida? Recovering from Meyer still, with a defense-minded coach; they may not be having the season they wanted, but they're still widely regarded as having a great defense, and they're also riddled with injuries. It can be argued that over the past few years, Vanderbilt has been up, and so has South Carolina. Kentucky has never been a football powerhouse. Then you add us to the mix.

Last year was the worst season for us in 10 years, brought on by numerous key injuries and some off-field distractions, combined with playing a bunch of teams we'd never seen before. Did that mean we were "down"? I don't think so, it was circumstance. We are a better program than we showed last year. Now you're seeing a more accurate representation of our team.

So based on what I see, I don't think you can say the division is down based on 7 weeks of play this year. It would have to be that way for 3+ years before I could say the East was down. And by that time, it's likely the West could see a year with some teams having issues like the East has seen this year.

I know, tl;dr. So, no, not down.

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Ok, super serious, is the East up or down based on what you know about the SEC East's history for the past 30-40 years or so?

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Road, you should know the answer to this already. You've spent enough time on phag.net that I'm sure they educated you that Mizzou isn't good and we only beat Vandy, UGA and UF because they all suck. So yes, since apparently those 3 east teams that we play suck, the east must be down.

The reality is that due to injuries, it may be down for a couple/few weeks here in the middle of the season but SC, UGA and UF (and I'll include MU) can play with or beat nearly anyone when healthy.