For the most part, the best players are on the offensive side of the ball. Florida's Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin, Arkansas's Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, Vandy's Earl Bennett, LSU's Early Doucet, Kentucky's Andre Woodson, Tennesee's Erik Ainge, Alabama's D.J. Hall, South Carolina's Kenny McKinley, Georgia's freshman phenom Knowshon Moreno and Ole Miss' Benjarvus Green-Ellis are some of the most recognizable names. In fact, seven of 12 offenses are averaging 30 points or more per game and only two defenses allow opponents less than a 50 percent pass completion rate. Only two defenses allow fewer than 20 points against per contest, and both have allowed more than 40 points in one game this season. Only one defense allows less than 100 yards rushing against them per game, while 10 of 12 teams allow more than 120 yards rushing per game.

Welcome to the offensive-minded SEC, which seems to have surpassed the wide open pitch-and-catch attacks so prevalent in the Pacific 10 and WAC in recent years. From 1988 to 2006, there were just five occurrences of an SEC team scoring 40 points or more in three consecutive games. This year, it has already happened five times.

The Georgia Bulldogs enter Saturday’s tilt against Kentucky having scored 45, 44 and 42 points against their last three opponents. It’s the first time the ‘Dawgs have done that since the 1942 season. Earlier this season, the Kentucky Wildcats opened the 2007 campaign with five straight 40-plus point efforts — all wins. Florida is the only other SEC team besides UK to post five straight games with 40 or more points since 1988. The Gators did it once in 2001 and once in 1996.

Florida entered the Sept. 22 game at Ole Miss this season after bludgeoning their first three opponents for 167 points (49, 59 and 59), an average of 55.6 points per game. A similar scenario greeted LSU that same weekend after posting 45, 48 and 44 points in its first three games. The Tigers beat South Carolina that week.

Last weekend, the Arkansas Razorbacks visited Knoxville after three games in which they put up 44, 58 and 48 points in consecutive games. In that instance, the Hogs mustered a measly 13 points against a Tennessee defense that had been extremely generous, losing the contest by 21 points. In fact, the Hogs’ loss was the only time I could find since 1988 in SEC play that a team failed to win the fourth game after scoring 40 or more points in three prior contests.

The other instances prior to this season in which an SEC team scored 40 points or more in three consecutive weeks was in 1995, when Florida did it twice and Tennessee did it once.

In 1942, Georgia won the fourth game 35-13 at the University of Cincinnati.

The following are the results of the fourth game for the team that scored 40 points or more in three consecutive games.

09/22/07    Florida at Ole Miss W 30-24
09/22/07    Kentucky at Arkansas    W 42-29
09/22/07    LSU vs. South Carolina  W 28-16
11/10/07    Arkansas at Tennessee   L 13-34
11/17/07    Georgia vs. Kentucky    ???

09/29/01    Florida at Mississippi State    W 52-0
10/19/96    Florida at Auburn   W 51-10
11/18/95    Tennessee at Kentucky   W 34-31 
11/18/95    Florida vs. Vanderbilt  W 38-7
09/30/95    Florida vs. Mississippi W 28-10