HERE GOES WITH the 10th annual musical tribute to SEC football. We are going country again this year with songs from Tracy Lawrence.

Alabama: “Back to Back”

Four starters returned to a defense that anchored Alabama’s national championship run a season ago. The chances of a repeat appeared bleak in the preseason, based on that fact alone.

Nine weeks into this season and singing “Back to Back” is OK in Tuscaloosa.

Arkansas: “One Step Ahead of the Storm”

You can’t make this stuff up. Arkansas football was rolling right along with aspirations of a national championship. Then coach Bobby Petrino got on a motorcycle with a former Arkansas volleyball player, ran it into a ditch and eventually lost his job.

Then John L. Smith was hired and we learned he has $41 million in bankruptcy debt. Oh, and the football team? It started the season 1-4 with a loss to Louisiana-Monroe and now stands 3-5 and “One Step Ahead of the (next) Storm.”

Auburn: “Hard Times”

When your university president is compelled to write a letter to the student body urging support of the football team, you know the program has run into “Hard Times.” How hard? Two seasons removed from a national title, the Tigers are 1-7 overall and winless through six games in the conference.

Florida “Heaven for a While”

The Gators were rolling along with seven consecutive wins to open the season and a climb to No. 2 in the BCS rankings. They were in “Heaven for a While.” Then Florida turned the ball over six times, saw its offense go stagnant and lost to Georgia.

Now Florida is not likely to win the SEC East and can only hope for a BCS bowl bid.

Georgia: “Better Man, Better Off”

Three weeks ago, many Georgia fans were ready for Mark Richt to pack his bags and head for the hills. Luckily for Georgia, fans do not determine the fate of football coaches.

Now Georgia has the inside track to the SEC East title and shot at a league championship. Richt is a “Better Man” than any possible replacement and Georgia is “Better Off” keeping him around.

Kentucky: “Used to the Pain.”

A 1-8 record and winless start through six SEC games? Kentucky is “Used to the Pain” during football season. Hey, Kentucky basketball season tips off Nov. 9 against Maryland.

LSU: “Runnin’ Behind”

In any other conference, LSU would be king of the hill with a 7-1 record. In the SEC, the Tigers always seem to be “Runnin’ Behind” Alabama in a quest to win the SEC West, SEC and national titles.

That all changes if LSU beats Alabama on Saturday.

Mississippi: “Renegades, Rebels and Rogues”

In his first season as coach, Hugh Freeze has made his Mississippi football team into a band of “Renegades, Rebels and Rogues.” He also has Mississippi playing pretty solid football and pushed himself into conference coach of the year contention.

Mississippi State: “It’s All How You Look At It”

On the surface, it appeared that Mississippi State was one of the nation’s top teams with a 7-0 record and BCS ranking of No. 11. But “It’s All How You Look At It.”

Beneath the surface, Mississippi State does not have a quality win. Then it finally got spanked by Alabama and faces Texas A&M and LSU over the next two weekends.

Missouri: “Life Don’t Have To Be So Hard.”

No it don’t. “Life Don’t Have To be So Hard,” if you were smart enough not to jump from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC. Unfortunately for Missouri, there is no turning back. It is stuck in the nation’s toughest football conference.

USC: “Getting Back Up”

Consecutive losses to top-10 teams proved USC is not an elite football program. Then the crushing loss of running back Marcus Lattimore has the Gamecocks in need of “Getting Back Up” for the remainder of the season.

Tennessee: “The Holes That He Dug”

OK, so Derek Dooley has not exactly turned things around at Tennessee with season records of 6-7, 5-7 and 3-5. But he probably has done as well as anyone could following the one-season debacle of Lane Kiffin.

“The Holes That He (Kiffin) Dug,” made it difficult on Dooley to do any better.

Texas A&M: “Texas Tornado”

Freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel has taken charge of Texas A&M football like a “Texas Tornado,” leading the Aggies to a 6-2 record. He also leads the SEC in rushing, scoring and total offense and might be staring at league player of the year honors.

Vanderbilt: “Steps”

Vanderbilt and second-year coach James Franklin keep taking “Steps” to respectability. With a 4-4 record and remaining games against Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wake Forest, the Commodores likely will head to a second consecutive bowl game. An 8-4 record is not out of the question.

Friday: Tim McGraw sings about the ACC.