I get sick of reading that the the SEC East is just 'down'. Maybe they've just been in a perpetual state of 'down' now for a few seasons. But, has it occurred to anyone that maybe we're just in a perpetual state of UP! If you compare the records of the East vs the West, they are almost identical. Us and Bama are at the top..behind us, LSU and UK are both 7-2, behind them, SC and Auburn are 6-3. So, to say the East is THAT much worse than the West isn't accurate, at least not this year.
I think the perception is, of course, that once proud programs like UT and the Gators are struggling, so everyone assumes that the East is not what it used to be. But maybe the balance of power in the East has just shifted. Afterall, the Gamecocks finished last season with 9 wins and a solid bowl win over Michigan. UK looks strong this season. If Mizzou can get it together, they'll be in a bowl game after plastering the Gators.
So, maybe the East isn't just a 'shell of it's former self' that some have said. Maybe it's just the new East, and it's currently owned by the Dawgs. Maybe SC and UK are the new UT and UF of the East and UT and UF are just digressing into doormats. Actually, I think ol Mullens will eventually get it together and get the Gators on track, so I really don't see them down for long. So, anyway, maybe the nation needs to stop with all of the stuff about the reason UGA has dominated is because the East is down...I think we've just become a dominant football program, whether our haters want to admit that or not.
Just a thought...what do yall think?

Note: updated after games on 23 November 2018

- SEC East teams are 9-5 vs. SEC West teams this season.

- SEC East teams are 213-269-3 (44.2%) vs. SEC West teams since the divisions were created in 1992.

- UGA is 50-29-1 (63.1%) vs. SEC West teams since 1992.

- Vandy is 15-59 (20.3%) vs. SEC West teams since 1992.

I think you looked it up for me once AFD, long ago, I was just curious as to what the records of the two divisions would be if you took out Bama (the best team in the SEC) and Vandy (the worst team in the SEC) and compared the two conferences without their numbers and they were almost identical. Which confirms what I believed that the West's numbers are skewed by having the winningest team in it and we are saddled with Vandy (the losingest team in the conference) which brings our stats down. So maybe the two divisions are not, and have not, been that much different all along.

Perceptions over 2-3 years tend to linger into later years even when they may no longer be the case.

I have always found it interesting that we are at the top on the heap in the SEC East, most of the national media paints the picture as the SEC East is down this year. However, if the gayturds or Vollies win it, it was because they were dominant and clearly the best team in the East. More fake news.

The East is the better division this year if you ask me and several have posted the 7-5 record of the E against the W this year, and I feel like the east COULD end up 9-5 or at worst case 8-6 after the last two games are played. When you look at the fact UF beat LSU, and UT beat Auburn, two teams with brand new coaches playing against coaches that had been at those schools previously, that says a lot. Course LSU has the big win against us but otherwise, the biggest win for W over the E might be A&M beating SCarolina or Kentucky?? UK beat Miss State who beat A&M, and also gave Bama their closest game of the season. Bottom line, you have Bama and UGA who have proven to be head and shoulders the best two in the league, after that, you can go team by team and it comes out pretty even.

Bottom-Vandy/Arkansas-Vandy to me is better, they have a conference win and better overall record
Next Tenn/Ole Miss-to me Tenn is better, based on conference wins they are
Next Miss State/Missouri-even, same overall and conference record
Next South Carolina/Auburn-basically even, although AU looking to be 3-5 in conference and SC is 4-4.
Next Kentucky/A&M-Kentucky with edge record wise, A&M won head to head.
Next Fla/LSU-LSU with a better overall record but UF beat them head to head.

You would have to say Bama is better than us too, but bottom line, the divisions are pretty EVEN this year for sure.

Haney, I agree with your analysis. With only 2-crossover games per team, it's always going to be a small sample size, but as you demonstrated, the matchups seem to be about as definitive as you can get with those 2 games.

I think the bottom of each division tilts pretty heavily to the East, the middle slightly to the East, while Bama remains the 800 lb gorilla.