Around the SEC week 8: Overly bold East Division pronouncements edition

College football has passed its 2015 midpoint. Two months ago, Ole Miss sat as a middling No. 17 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. At the same time, no one knew who the Utah Utes were, let alone that they would command the No. 3 spot in the country, and if you so much as whispered "Pittsburgh" in polite company the police were called.

Now, though, the season is beginning to show some trends, and if you've all but given up on Ole Miss football at this point, it's time to start picking out which of the still-standings to hate the most. Like last year, Alabama wears an early loss to Ole Miss well, and at No. 8 they're within spitting distance of the bracket of four. LSU has climbed steadily from preseason No. 14 to No. 5, and if Leonard Fournette continues on the path he's taken so far, he might be looking at a 2016 White House run. Georgia done pulled a Georgia -- again -- and has kissed their preseason No. 9 goodbye.

Florida is going to win the SEC East

You heard it here first, folks (probably -- maybe). Without the talents of Nick Chubb, Georgia will die a slow death in Jacksonville. Yes, the Gators' Will Grier will see no more action this year, but Treon Harris ain't half bad and anyway Florida's defense is ridiculous and Jim McElwain's offense isn't quarterback-centric enough to experience a significant drop off.

The Gators have improved in every game this season, to the point that it took some Les Miles wizardry to squeak off a Tigers win in Death Valley. Georgia, meanwhile, scored nine points against Missouri, who is awful. In fact, 2015's installment of the Great Cocktail Party holds echoes of 2012's version, wherein an ascendant Gator squad fumbled away a last-minute 17-9 loss to the tripping Bulldogs and shredded their ticket to Atlanta. Whatever happens on Halloween this year, things will get violent and crazy in a helluva hurry.

Also, if you like, go ahead and fill out an application to be the Gators' placekicker. Jim McElwain would like to speak with you.

MSU's CB Will Redmond has a torn ACL

The Clarion-Ledger's Michael Bonner reports that CLANGA's Will Redmond tore his ACL and is likely done for the year. The standout corner was projecting into the first round of the NFL Draft, and he leads all MSU cornberbacks with 25 tackles and two interceptions. Redmond's injury seriously disrupts a Bulldog secondary that's giving up 207 yards per game through the air, so with the team's lockdown corner sitting out the rest of the year, those next men up, Tolando Cleveland and Cedric Jiles, have plenty of shoes to fill.

If Vanderbilt and Missouri play football, but no one's around to bet it ...

Mizzou and Vandy open with an over/under of 34 points, which is the lowest O/U for a college football game since 2004. Whether due to player ineptitude or outright refusal to score points in the endzone area, both of these teams' offenses are atrocious. They're averaging a little less than 14 points per game combined, and most books like Missouri by three. Screw it -- this is the funniest betting game of the year, so go have at it.

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