COLLEGE STATION, Texas — It’s a funny thing, this game.

One moment you’re rock bottom; the butt of the national joke.

Then, Vanderbilt beats Alabama and the ‘Dores’ goalposts end up at the bottom of the Cumberland River.

Oh, and Arkansas rocks Tennessee and the Hogs’ fans storm the field at Razorback Stadium.

And suddenly, out of the depths of despair, Missouri football’s season doesn’t seem so doomed, after all.

A wacky and wild day in the conference — and nationwide, for that matter — has kept the league wide open, and thus the spots to the College Football Playoff the SEC will likely be afforded are still there for the taking. There is now just one undefeated team left in the SEC: newcomer, Texas. There are just three teams who have not lost a conference game: The Longhorns, LSU and Texas A&M.

The Tigers, after a 41-10 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday that was every inch as awful as the scoreline suggests, certainly have plenty of mistakes to clean up.

Take the porous offensive line, the unimpactful defensive front or the missing-in-Aggieland secondary, as a few examples.

But, if they can clean up after getting, “slapped in the face,” as Theo Wease Jr. put it …

Well, take a look at the current conference standings (excluding teams with more than one SEC loss):

• Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0 SEC)

• Texas (5-0, 1-0)

• LSU (4-1, 1-0)

• Georgia (4-1, 2-1)

• Arkansas (4-2, 2-1)

• Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1)

• Tennessee (4-1, 1-1)

• Alabama (4-1, 1-1)

• Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1)

• Missouri (4-1, 1-1)

• Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-1)

• Florida (3-2, 1-1)

That is one wide-open league.

“The season really starts today, and how we respond will determine what kind of football season we're going to have,” Eli Drinkwitz said Saturday. “So, I mean, at the end of the day, this is one loss, and it's a tough loss, because you're embarrassed by the performance. I'm embarrassed by the performance. But it's just that: it's one game.

“And there's really a whole heck of a lot of football left, and it's going to be up to us to either seek comfort by placing blame or have resolve to get it fixed.”

Those turned out to be rather prescient words from the head coach.

More: Here's how we graded Missouri football in blowout loss at Texas A&M

Everything that was true before Saturday’s slaughter on Kyle Field remains true: Missouri has among the better-looking schedules in the league.

Everything that the eye test suggested immediately after the Texas A&M trouncing also remains true: The Tigers might not be ready to compete with the upper echelons of the league. Time will tell on that front.

But the time for doom and gloom hasn’t quite landed in Columbia, Missouri, just yet.

Of the teams listed above that are favored to emerge as CFP contenders from the conference, here are some select games left on their schedules: Texas A&M still must play LSU and Texas; the Longhorns have A&M, Georgia, Arkansas and Oklahoma; Tennessee has Georgia and Alabama; Alabama has the Vols, OU and LSU; Georgia has Tennessee, Texas and Ole Miss; Ole Miss has LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma and Arkansas …

From the list, Missouri has Alabama on the road and Arkansas and Oklahoma at home.

That’s a lot of words and names for a very simple point — there’s a lot of overlap left in the league, and that means a lot of losses are coming for contenders.

The intent here isn’t to make you dream again. Fool you once, et cetera. The Tigers’ situation has not changed. To make the College Football Playoff field, they must finish 10-2 with some convincing wins and a competitive loss, or they must win out and finish the year 11-1. Almost nothing from Saturday indicated that is possible.

Whether Mizzou can salvage its season will be settled and certain by the time we turn the calendar to November.

And the remainder of Saturday’s play has opened the door more than the slither that existed when triple-zeros hit on Kyle Field.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: After Texas A&M beatdown, wild Saturday slate helps Missouri football