No football season ever goes the way we think it will.

Some teams come out of the woodwork to contend for titles. Others expected to contend for titles tank. Coaches go from the hot seat to a hot commodity. Players go from part-time starter to Heisman Trophy candidate, and entire states are transformed into the epicenter of football.

Welcome to the first half of the SEC season.

Here’s my list of some of the things we thought we knew about the league back in August, but as it turns out, really didn’t:

Jake Coker will be the answer at quarterback for Alabama

Not only was Coker not the answer, he’s yet to even start a game and has attempted just 33 passes, most of those coming in a blowout 41-0 win over Florida Atlantic. Fifth-year senior Blake Sims, who played running back as a redshirt freshman, has been the Tide’s starting quarterback the whole way. Sims got off to a hot start, but the entire Alabama offense has bogged down the last two weeks with just three offensive touchdowns in a 14-13 win over Arkansas and 23-17 loss to Ole Miss.

The Iron Bowl will determine the West champion

Hey, it still might with the way the West is beating up on each other. But it’s another bowl on Nov. 29 everybody can’t wait for -- the Egg Bowl. Mississippi State and Ole Miss are the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the SEC. Not only that, but the Bulldogs are No. 1 in the polls and the Rebels No. 3. Just the way we all figured it, huh? Seriously, it probably shouldn’t be a huge surprise when you consider they both have experienced difference-makers at quarterback in Dak Prescott and Bo Wallace and deep, talented front sevens on defense.

Kentucky won’t make a bowl in Mark Stoops’ second year

The Wildcats still aren’t there. They need one more win, but how many people had them at 5-1 at the midway point? It could easily be 6-0, too, if not for a triple-overtime loss at Florida and a controversial no-call when the play clock hit zero on the Gators’ fourth-down touchdown pass to force the second overtime. Stoops and his staff have done an exceptional job with this team, which is infinitely more explosive on offense than it was a year ago. Coming back from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to beat South Carolina was the kind of win that should pay dividends all season. Two of the Wildcats’ next three games are on the road, starting with LSU on Saturday, but this is a team that believes right now.

Texas A&M will have a big drop-off offensively

On further review, the Aggies really haven’t missed a beat offensively, even though they head to Alabama this weekend trying to snap a two-game losing streak. They lead the SEC in scoring offense (43.9 points per game) and total offense (564.9 yards per game). Kenny Hill, who torched South Carolina in his debut as the Aggies’ starter in the opener, is fifth nationally with an average of 358.7 passing yards per game and second nationally with 23 touchdown passes. Hill has had five interceptions in his last two games, both losses, but he’s filled in better than anybody could have imagined for Johnny Manziel. In fact, Hill’s numbers through seven games (2,511 passing yards and 23 touchdown passes) are better than Manziel’s were through seven games a year ago (2,289 yards and 18 touchdown passes).

South Carolina is the East's team to beat

The Gamecocks have already lost three games. Granted, the way the East is looking, three losses might very well win it the way it did in 2010 when South Carolina went to Atlanta with a 5-3 record. It’s difficult, though, to see the Gamecocks rebounding in the second half. They still have to play at Auburn and at Florida. Moreover, they haven’t done the things it takes to win a divisional crown, like holding fourth-quarter leads and winning the turnover battle. In their two losses to Kentucky and Missouri, they were outscored 35-14 in the fourth quarter and are minus-3 for the season in turnover margin.

LSU RB Leonard Fournette will be the biggest-impact freshman

Fournette has gobs of ability and has thrown it into overdrive of late with 100-yard rushing performances in two of his last three games, but he hasn’t been the league’s top true freshman. That distinction belongs to Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, who’s been a big-time finisher off the edge for the Aggies. He’s second in the SEC with 7.5 sacks and leads Texas A&M with nine tackles for loss and seven quarterback hurries. The scary part is he’s only going to get bigger, stronger and more in tune with how opposing offensive linemen are trying to block him.

Georgia’s Todd Gurley is the league's most dynamic player

And he was … until an investigation into whether he was paid for autographing memorabilia took him off the field. Tackling Gurley was like tackling a runaway freight train. And when somebody went low on him, he simply used his hurdling skills. He was perhaps on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. Now, he and the Bulldog Nation wait impatiently to see how many more games he’ll have to sit.