Dominating 'D' makes Bama best in SEC

The 2009 Southeastern Conference football season has reached the midpoint, so let’s assess the first half and take a brief look ahead to the second half.

Best team: Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC). Is there any doubt after the Crimson Tide’s dominating defensive performance against Ole Miss? The Rebels had only 19 yards and one first down on 22 plays in the first half as Alabama posted a 22-3 win.

Runner-up: Florida (5-0, 3-0). The Gators’ 13-3 victory at LSU Saturday night was impressive, but that’s been their only real test so far.

Worst team: Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-3). Losing to Army in overtime shows how low the Commodores have sunk.

Runner-up: Mississippi State (2-4, 1-2). The Bulldogs have shown signs of life under new coach Dan Mullen and they did beat Vanderbilt.

Biggest surprise: Auburn (5-1, 2-1). The Tigers were thrashed 44-23 by Arkansas on Saturday, but no one could have imagined they would start the season 5-0.

Runner-up: South Carolina (5-1, 2-1). A narrow 41-37 loss at Georgia is the only thing keeping the Gamecocks from being undefeated.

Biggest disappointment: Ole Miss (3-2, 1-2). This was supposed to be the season Ole Miss returned to national glory, but the Rebels are nothing more than pretenders again.

Runner-up: Georgia (3-3, 2-2). Giving up 45 points in a loss at Tennessee shows just how far the Bulldogs have fallen this season.

Best coaching job: Gene Chizik, Auburn. He has proven he was the right man to replace Tommy Tuberville, the debacle at Arkansas notwithstanding.

Runner-up: Nick Saban, Alabama. Week in and week out nobody in the nation does a better job of getting his team ready to play than Saban.

Worst coaching job: Houston Nutt, Ole Miss. Blame Nutt for the struggles of junior quarterback Jevan Snead and the Rebels’ demise.

Runner-up: Mark Richt, Georgia. Sure Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are in the NFL, but he got blown out by Lane Kiffin and the Vols.

Best player: Tim Tebow, Florida quarterback. Just go ahead and give him his second Heisman Trophy.

Runner-up: Rolando McClain, Alabama linebacker (top photo). Since the loss of fellow linebacker Dont’a Hightower to a season-ending knee injury 2 ½ weeks ago, McClain has elevated his game even more and been the most dominant defensive player in the nation.

Best game: Georgia 52, Arkansas 41. The teams combined for more than 1,000 yards total offense in a classic shootout. Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett set school records for passing yards (408) and touchdowns (5), but Georgia prevailed behind quarterback Joe Cox’s 375-yard, five-touchdown passing performance.

Five games worth watching in the second half: South Carolina at Alabama, Saturday; Arkansas at Florida, Saturday; LSU at Alabama, Nov. 7; Florida at South Carolina, Nov. 14; Alabama at Auburn, Nov. 28.

Bold prediction: The SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Florida will decide the national championship because the winner will beat whoever it meets in the BCS title game.