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LEAD STORY: Tennessee Back in the Top 15 as Week 5 Reshuffles the SEC Polls
Tennessee is back in the top 15 of the national polls after Saturday's 24-14 win over Auburn at Neyland Stadium, a game the Volunteers won by rallying in the second half. Saturday's result lifted Tennessee back into the national top 15 after the first month of the season, and the comeback showed the Volunteers can respond after a slow first half.
Tennessee was not the only SEC team moving in the polls. LSU moved up one spot to No. 10 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll after beating McNeese 63-14 at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers had dropped to No. 11 in the AP Poll a week earlier despite beating Texas A&M handily. This week they got help from Florida, which had passed LSU in both polls after a dominant win over Ole Miss. The Gators then lost 45-17 at Missouri and fell well down both polls, which opened a top-10 spot for LSU.
ESPN's Bill Connelly wrote that Week 5 brought both clarity and confusion to the conference races, noting that Alabama "muddied the SEC waters." With Florida losing badly, Missouri winning big and Kentucky winning on the road, the SEC race is far from settled heading into October.
QUICK HITS
Kentucky completes historic comeback, enters Coaches Poll: Kentucky trailed South Carolina 17-0, then won 35-34 in overtime by going for a 2-point conversion after scoring second in the first overtime. It was the biggest road comeback in Kentucky history. The Wildcats are No. 25 in the Coaches Poll and finished No. 26 in the AP Poll, two votes short of being ranked.
LSU volleyball outlasts Missouri in five: LSU beat Missouri 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 15-12) on Sunday. Jurnee Robinson led LSU with 23 kills, her sixth 20-kill double-double of the season and the 26th of her career, and LSU improved to 5-2 in five-set matches this season. Camryn Jeffery had the kill that ended the fifth set. Missouri won the first set behind a 6-0 run and forced a fifth set with a 25-20 fourth-set win. Kimani Johnson led Missouri with 15 kills, Grace O'Reilly added 13 and Lydia Stahley had 10. Missouri had nine service errors and LSU had 10.
Georgia volleyball wins eighth straight: Georgia lost the first set to Oklahoma and then won the next three to take the match 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-23). The Bulldogs have now won eight matches in a row.
No. 8 Texas stays unbeaten at home: Texas volleyball beat Alabama in four sets. The Longhorns came back from early deficits and held off a late Alabama push in the fourth set.
Georgia's Paukstyte sweeps Battle in the Bay: Patricija Paukstyte won the singles title at the Battle in the Bay Classic in San Francisco without dropping a set. She then won the doubles title with Nadia Lagaev at the California Tennis Club.
PORTAL WATCH
There was no transfer portal activity involving SEC programs in the last 12 hours.
RECRUITING BUZZ
No SEC programs announced new commitments today. The biggest recruiting news nationally came outside the conference: five-star wing Jordan Page committed to UConn men's basketball. According to ESPN, he joins Bowman to give the Huskies their first recruiting class with two ESPN five-star prospects in at least 20 years.
GAMES TO WATCH
No SEC games are scheduled today. Coming up this week:
Monday — Mississippi State Women's Golf, The Ally: Mississippi State hosts its annual home tournament at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point. The event is named for former Mississippi State golfer Ally Ewing.
Friday, Oct. 9 — Florida at Missouri (Volleyball), 7 p.m.: Missouri returns to the Hearnes Center looking for its second conference win of the season.
Saturday, Oct. 10 — No. 10 LSU at Kentucky (Football), 6 p.m. CT, ESPN: LSU plays at Kroger Field against a Kentucky team coming off its record comeback. Because Kentucky is No. 25 in the Coaches Poll, it is a top-25 matchup in that poll. LSU will try to hold its top-10 spot, and Kentucky will try to get into the AP Top 25 after falling two votes short this week.
