The SEC's status as college football's dominant conference has been under a challenge since Coach Nick Saban wrapped his hands around the national championship trophy in 2013, following Alabama's second consecutive title.
A run of seven consecutive national championships ended when Florida State beat Auburn in January, and some have been arguing that the Pac-12 had become the better top-to-bottom league.
Well, look at those good ol' boys now.
The SEC again appears to be the class of college football and the Pac-12, outside of No. 2 Oregon, is a little bit of a jumbled mess.
South Carolina's back-on-the-map 38-35 victory over Georgia vaulted the Gameocks 10 spots in The Associated Press college football poll to No. 14, one spot behind Georgia, the team it defeated, which dropped from No. 6 to No. 13.
That gives the SEC seven teams in the top 14 the first time that's happened since the AP poll started in 1936.
All told, there are eight SEC teams in the top 18, if you count Missouri (3-0).
The Gamecocks showed again how dangerous they can be with their season on the line, avoiding an 0-2 SEC start and regaining their footing in the Eastern Division after their victory over Georgia.
Such victories aren't unique to Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks in recent seasons. When rumblings began in 2010 that Spurrier, now 69, had lost his edge, his players responded with a victory over then-No. 1 Alabama that jumpstarted a run to the SEC Eastern Division.
In 2012, when consecutive midseason road defeats to LSU and Florida derailed a 6-0 start, the Gamecocks won their final five games for a second consecutive 11-victory season.
And last year when South Carolina was reeling after a stunning loss to Tennessee, Spurrier's team pulled off a just-as-surprising double overtime victory at Missouri when quarterback Connor Shaw rallied the Gamecocks from 17-0 down in the fourth quarter, it started a six-game streak to finish 11-2.
The ability to rebound is rooted in Spurrier's belief in the players he recruits and in the way he looks at a season.
"Our teams try and improve as the season goes along," Spurrier said Sunday. "I think we have done that."
This season has been a prime example.
The Gamecocks were routed at home 52-28 by No. 6 Texas A&M in the debut game on the SEC Network two games ago. Their defense allowed a program-worst 680 yards to the Aggies as their rebuilt defensive line looked feeble and overmatched.
Georgia figured to present just as big a test, led by Heisman Trophy favorite Todd Gurley in the backfield. Gurley got his yards, but South Carolina's defense made the stops when it counted most. The Gamecocks forced the Bulldogs to field goal tries on three first-half series after Georgia drove inside South Carolina's 30.
The biggest stop came with under six minutes left after Damian Swann's interception set the Bulldogs up with a first-and-goal on the Gamecocks' 4.
Georgia ended up with no points after Marshall Morgan missed what would've been a tying 28-yard field goal.
The head-scratching moment came on first down when, instead of handing the ball to Gurley, Georgia tried to pass and Hutson Mason was hit with intentional grounding trying to avoid a sack.
"I think we all were surprised" when Gurley's number wasn't called, Spurrier said.
Gurley was stopped for a 3-yard gain on second and goal from the 14 and defensive tackle J.T. Surratt tipped Mason's incomplete pass before Morgan's miss.
"We proved a point tonight," South Carolina linebacker Skai Moore said.
He was talking about the Gamecocks, but he could have been talking about the SEC, too.
Alabama, which crushed Southern Miss, remained at No. 3 in the poll behind top-ranked Florida State and Oregon. Auburn stayed at No. 5 behind Oklahoma after a bye and Texas A&M slid up to No. 6 with a rollover of Rice and Georgia's loss.
LSU moved up two spots to No. 8 after cruising over Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi climbed four spots to No. 10 after routing Louisiana-Lafayette, the first trip to the top-10 for the Rebels since being ranked fourth on Sept. 20, 2009.
Mississippi's move gave the SEC five top-10 teams for the second consecutive week despite Georgia dropping seven spots to No. 13. Counting Missouri at No. 18, the SEC has eight teams ranked for the third consecutive week.
Yes, it's only three weeks into the season.
"Oh, it's still early, it's still early," Georgia linebacker Ramik Wilson said. "We'll keep trucking. This is in the past now, and we are not thinking about this from here forward. Our dreams and goals are still open for us."
Sports on 09/15/2014