Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

The mighty Southeastern Conference has six schools in the Top 25, with Alabama and LSU atop the rankings and the toast of college football once again.

An impressive eight SEC teams have managed to break into the Top 25.

But while it seems everyone in the SEC is enjoying success, that's not the case. The bottom half of the league has had some downright embarrassing moments.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said even the SEC can't win every game.

"I know as a league, we have a lot of pride. We expect to win every game no matter what," Mullen said. "That's a good thing. But in today's college football, that's not always possible."

Not even when teams are playing at home.

Louisiana-Monroe went on the road and shocked Arkansas and had Auburn on the ropes while Western Kentucky stunned Kentucky in overtime in Lexington. Mississippi was crushed 66-31 by No. 14 Texas at home; the Rebels haven't given up that many points since 1917.

Vanderbilt's loss to Northwestern on the road was certainly disappointing for a program trying to build a better reputation under second-year coach James Franklin. Mississippi State barely escaped an upset at Troy.

But the surprising losses and close calls haven't done much damage to the SEC's reputation as it goes for a sixth straight BCS championship.

The six SEC teams in the Top 25 are more than any other conference. It seems when one SEC team drops out of the rankings, another pops in.

After Arkansas was knocked out, Tennessee moved up. Once the Vols fell out of the rankings, Mississippi State was there to take their place.

LSU center P.J. Lonergan said he's been surprised by some of the early season scores, but points out that underestimating any SEC opponent is a bad idea. The No. 2 Tigers travel to face Auburn on Saturday.