Is Georgia for real, or just a product of weak SEC?

	Thomas Flowers (29) and the Dawgs have control of the SEC East, but are they a truly elite team? Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
	More from Stewart Mandel Any lingering skeptics waiting for the bomb to drop on PSU's meteoric rise from the ashes will have to wait at least another week, if not longer. When Nittany Lions defensive end Tamba Hali came crashing down on Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith in the waning moments Saturday night, forcing a game-clinching fumble that Scott Paxson recovered, he put the final exclamation point on a succinct but powerful statement: Penn State is back. • FULL STORY

This is the week when I'm supposed to jump on the Georgia bandwagon, right? That's what you're supposed to do whenever a highly ranked SEC team goes on the road and beats an equally heralded conference foe, because, as you know, the SEC is the toughest conference in the land, no questions asked.

But has anyone stopped to consider that maybe, just maybe, the league that merited four preseason top-10 teams isn't what it was cracked up to be this year?

Nothing against the Dawgs, whose "no-name" defense (ranked No. 7 nationally in points allowed) has been the driving force behind their 5-0 start and top-five national ranking, but let's be honest, this season's SEC offenses leave a lot to be desired. With the exception of one glorious quarter and overtime in Baton Rouge, Tennessee has been a mess. The Urban Meyer experiment at Florida is off to an overly rocky start. LSU is wildly inconsistent (the Tigers led Vanderbilt 12-6 after three quarters Saturday before pulling away). Auburn is a work in progress. South Carolina and Mississippi State, the two other conference teams Georgia has beaten, are well below that.

The D.J. Shockley-led Dawgs are a mix of good and bad, hence my hesitation to embrace this team. Anyone who watched their 27-14 win over the Vols on Saturday saw what amounted to a battle of turnovers. Georgia jumped to a 13-0 lead thanks in large part to Tennessee QB Rick Clausen's first-half interception at the goal line and subsequent fumble. Shockley then let the Vols back in the game in the second half with his own pick (which was returned 41 yards by Jonathan Wade) and fumble, before Tennessee doomed itself for good by turning the ball back over three plays later.

As a result, Georgia is sitting pretty in the SEC East, with the Oct. 29 Cocktail Party against Florida likely the lone obstacle in the way of a third trip in four years to the Georgia Dome. If the Gators fall to LSU next week, the Dawgs might not even have to win that one.

Georgia's defense is playing at the same dominant level as it has the past three seasons, despite losing renowned coordinator Brian VanGorder and first-day NFL Draft picks David Pollack, Thomas Davis and Odell Thurman. That's a credit not only to VanGorder's understudy, Willie Martinez, but also to a core of previously unheralded veterans (defensive end Quentin Moses, safeties Greg Blue and Tra Battle, cornerback DeMario Minter) who have taken their games to another level. The Dawgs' offense, however, much like the rest of the conference, is good but not great. Shockley is up and down. The running backs, Thomas Brown and Danny Ware, get the job done but they don't exactly wow you. The receivers are almost non-existent.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still take a flawed SEC over most of the nation's other major conferences right now. Let's face it, the Big Ten has been an embarrassment. Can you even name the second-best team in the Big 12? But when push comes to shove, there's only one SEC team, Alabama, who I'd give a fighting chance against a USC, Texas or Virginia Tech -- because the Tide are explosive both offensively and defensively. And even they have a serious question mark following Tyrone Prothro's season-ending injury.

So congratulations to Georgia on an admirable victory over Tennessee, and best of luck to the Dawgs in their quest for Atlanta. As for any national title talk, however, I'm not yet buying it.

Player of the Week

Maurice Drew, UCLA

The reason that UCLA is still undefeated after Saturday -- and not a loser to Cal by some lopsided margin -- is Drew. Period. When the Bruins fell behind the Bears 14-0, Drew returned a punt 69 yards to the Cal 4 to set up a UCLA touchdown. He then ran for a 12-yard score to tie it up. After the Bears went back up 27-14, Drew punched in another rushing touchdown, then returned a punt 81 yards to put the Bruins up 28-27. Finally, after Cal went up by double digits again (40-28) early in the fourth quarter, he caught a 29-yard touchdown pass to put UCLA back up for good, 41-40, and added another 2-yard touchdown run for good measure. On the night, the junior speedster produced 299 yards (162 on punt returns, 65 rushing, 52, receiving, 20 on a kick return) and five TDs. Doesn't it seem like he does this at least once a year?