From an A+ to four Fs, how I grade each SEC football team's 2023 season | Toppmeyer

The often-unnoticed kid sitting in the back of the classroom aced the test this SEC football season. As I bust out my grading pen, I’m awarding Missouri top marks. The Tigers use disrespect and oversight as fuel, but after an 11-win season, they’ve earned my nod of report card recognition.

Last year’s curve-setter, Georgia, must settle for lower marks, while a few SEC programs flunked the test.

Here’s how I grade each SEC team’s season.

Alabama (12-2): B+

I thought Alabama’s preseason No. 4 AP ranking to be a bit lofty considering its quarterback uncertainty, paired with a shortage of its usual skill-position firepower. But Alabama played up to that ranking by upsetting Georgia to reclaim the SEC Championship. Alabama was a fourth-quarter defensive stop away from reaching the national championship. This won’t be remembered as one of Nick Saban’s most talented teams. Offensive line woes persistently limited Alabama. The Tide proved resilient, though, and Jalen Milroe’s improvement and a mostly reliable defense allowed Alabama to halt Georgia’s three-peat quest.

Arkansas (4-8): F

The Razorbacks lost a series of close games throughout September and October before getting pulverized in November by Auburn and Missouri. They struggled on each side of the ball. Their offensive line woes were appalling for a coach, Sam Pittman, who made his living coaching dependable offensive lines. Accomplished quarterback KJ Jefferson underwhelmed in his fifth season. Pittman’s buyout structure helped protect his job, but he’ll enter next season on the hot seat.

Auburn (6-7): D-

I expected Hugh Freeze’s first season would be a struggle. What I didn’t expect: Auburn’s offense performed worse than it did during the Bryan Harsin era. Freeze’s efforts to land a marquee transfer quarterback last offseason failed. It showed. Auburn’s offensive production ranked as its worst since 2012. The Tigers’ passing game needs a total overhaul. A veteran defense and an accommodating schedule allowed Auburn to qualify for a bowl, but Freeze’s debut was nonetheless a dud.

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LSU (10-3): C+

The rosy assessment: Jayden Daniels, whom Brian Kelly brought in two years ago, developed into a Heisman Trophy winner. Daniels’ special season paired with elite wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., allowing for LSU’s second straight 10-win season. The critical assessment: LSU didn’t sniff the CFP despite a Heisman quarterback. Its defense performed terribly, and it lost to three of the four ranked opponents it faced. Kelly’s encore didn’t match his debut, when he beat Alabama, but it wasn’t a total flop, either.

Ole Miss (11-2): A

The less said the better about the Rebels’ performance in road losses to Alabama and Georgia. Otherwise, Ole Miss sizzled while breaking the program record for single-season victories. Lane Kiffin’s hire of defensive coordinator Pete Golding paid off, and Jaxson Dart notably improved in his second season as the Rebels’ starter. By beating LSU and avoiding losses to middling opponents, Ole Miss proved it can build the type of résumé that will be needed to qualify for a 12-team playoff.

Mississippi State (5-7): F

First-year coach Zach Arnett’s decision to pivot from the Air Raid backfired. Quarterback Will Rogers regressed in the new offense, and MSU’s veteran defense wasn’t up to par throughout the first half of the season. Arnett, once a successful coordinator, proved out of his depth as a coach. State fired him in November. The first season after Mike Leach’s death achieved little other than reaffirming the good job Leach did in Starkville.

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Texas A&M (7-6): D-

Jimbo Fisher perfected how to squander talent throughout six seasons at Texas A&M, and he did it once more amid this curtain call. Fisher consistently bamboozled the Aggies into thinking he should be paid like an elite coach. Texas A&M’s repeated missteps cost it a $77 million buyout to fire Fisher in November, ending a tenure that will be remembered for the Aggies’ contract lunacy and Fisher’s inability to advance the Aggies beyond mediocrity.

Florida (5-7): F

The Billy Napier era trends in the wrong direction, while the Gators closed Napier’s second season with five consecutive losses. Special teams were a persistent wart. So was Florida’s offensive line. The Gators’ pass rush? Non-existent. Transfer quarterback Graham Mertz outperformed expectations, but Florida’s roster looked deficient of the caliber of athletes to which the Gators became accustomed. Beating Tennessee offered hope. It became fool’s gold.

Georgia (13-1): B

Georgia raised the bar so high the past two seasons that anything short of a playoff bid cannot earn my top marks. The Bulldogs navigated their soft schedule with relative ease before picking the worst moment to have their worst moment. Georgia’s sloppy play contributed to their SEC Championship loss to Alabama. Georgia wasn’t as physically imposing as past seasons. That showed on defense, especially.

Kentucky (7-6): C

Wins against rivals Florida and Louisville kept this season from trending into the disaster zone. Kentucky still can’t get it right at quarterback, but a sturdier offensive line allowed for some modest improvement on offense. However, the defense did not play to the level that’s expected from Mark Stoops’ teams. Mostly, though, this was a typical Stoops season: Kentucky started hot against a soft schedule before wilting after the opponents stiffened.

Missouri (11-2): A+

What a story Missouri became. Its former Division II running back, Cody Schrader, earned All-America selection. Its previously maligned quarterback, Brady Cook, became a star. The offensive line wreaked havoc. The defense, led by a disruptive front, proved stingy. This was Missouri’s best team since its 2013 squad won the SEC East. Missouri’s coordinators worked wonders. Taking their lead from coach Eliah Drinkwitz, the Tigers were determined to prove doubters wrong. They did, from start to finish.

South Carolina (5-7): D-

Injuries and a tough schedule took a toll on the Gamecocks. So did South Carolina’s yearslong inability to field a competent offensive line. Spencer Rattler’s performance was among the few bright spots. With Rattler departing, it raises questions about the future of Shane Beamer's tenure. Beamer fielded his worst team in his third season. Unless he can rectify the offensive line, the tailspin will continue.

Tennessee (9-4): C

The Vols went 0-3 against the rivalry trio of Alabama, Georgia and Florida and was routed by Missouri. Losing to Florida especially burned. Rarely are the Gators more beatable in The Swamp than they were this season. Tennessee’s steady ground game and persistent pass rush kept the record respectable. Nine wins would have been the high mark for any coach who came between Phillip Fulmer and Josh Heupel, so the season wasn’t a complete bust. Call it a transition year between Hendon Hooker and Nico Iamaleava.

Vanderbilt (2-10): F

Vanderbilt would have been better off treating this fall as a construction year and shuttering its program while cranes and workers in hard hats offer FirstBank Stadium a makeover. By stepping on the field, the Commodores showed coach Clark Lea is as lost as ever, while displaying wholesale regression. A mass exodus after the season suggested Vanderbilt hasn’t found its rock bottom.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 2023 SEC football report card: Missouri (A+) to Florida, Arkansas (Fs)