Five of the top nine teams in the nation reside in SEC Country, all of which have unblemished records and hopes of postseason glory. No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 LSU, No. 7 Auburn and No. 9 Florida all have at least one signature win and enough buzz to warrant national hype.

But in the words of Jimmy Buffett, if you take one look behind the shine, it doesn't always gleam.

September is coming to a close and all five of the SEC's true contenders have holes that need to be filled. What are they? Let's break them down one by one.

Alabama

Unproven rushing attack: For the first time in a long time, the running game was a concern heading into the season. Former five-star prospect Najee Harris entered the season as the top back on the depth chart, but had never been more than a third option during his first two seasons. The Crimson Tide are razor thin behind him, especially after freshman Trey Sanders suffered a foot injury that knocked him out "indefinitely."

That lack of depth and experience has been a big problem. In two games vs. Power Five opponents (Duke and South Carolina), the Crimson Tide have averaged just 3.3 yards per carry -- which is 11th in the SEC. Harris has rushed for 88 yards in those two games and hasn't reached the end zone on the ground.

Georgia

Where's the dynamic offense? If there's a criticism that came out of the Bulldogs' big win over No. 10 Notre Dame last weekend, it's that the play-calling was ultra-conservative. That was the right call considering the Bulldogs played stellar defense and ultimately wore the Fighting Irish down in the second half, but they haven't proven that they can go point-for-point with an explosive offense yet.

It's great that they haven't had to. It's great to win games the way you want to play. But every team has to win outside of its comfort zone in order to win a championship, and Jake Fromm and Co. haven't proven that they can do that yet. What they did show on Saturday is that Fromm is capable of making elite level throws, including the 15-yard touchdown to Lawrence Cager on a back shoulder fade early in the fourth quarter to put the Bulldogs up 10.

Inconsistent defense: Raise your hand if you thought LSU's defense would be the liability after one month of the season (put your hand down ... no you didn't). The Tigers' offensive renaissance led by star quarterback Joe Burrow is one of the most important stories of the first month of the season. But the other side of the ball has been nothing short of a disappointment.

The Tigers have given up 26.3 points per game against FBS opponents (Georgia Southern, Texas and Vanderbilt), which ranks 10th in the SEC. It's one thing to give up 38 points to the explosive Longhorns, but it's an entirely different thing to give up 38 to Vanderbilt. They've given up seven plays of 30 or more yards (ninth in the conference) and rank eighth in the conference in opponent red zone touchdown percentage (54.5%).

When a team runs an up-tempo offense, the defense is out on the field more and teams are going to give up more yards as a result. But is this defense enough to complement the new-look offense? The Tigers will find out as they get deeper into SEC play.

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix is still learning the Tigers' offense. USATSI

Auburn

Where's the passing game? The Tigers have two of the best wins of the season (Oregon and Texas A&M), but have yet to find a passing game. They're dead last in passing in the conference (164 yards per game), and have shown a remarkable aversion to short and intermediate passes over the middle -- something that's normally a staple of an RPO offense.

Could that be by design? Sure. True freshman Bo Nix has just four games under his belt, and easing him into the role is perfectly fine as long as it doesn't result in losses. Only once this season -- the game-winning drive vs. Oregon -- has Nix had to win a game with has arm. What about a half? How about a full game? That's going to happen at some point. When it does, Nix and coach Gus Malzahn better be ready.

Florida

Quarterback Kyle Trask: The redshirt junior stepped in for an injured Feleipe Franks and led a fourth-quarter comeback at Kentucky two weeks ago, and followed it up with a 293-yard performance in a blowout win over Tennessee last weekend. He has proven that he's a much more stable option under center than the erratic Franks. But does Trask have the upside? Can he repeat the performance he had against the Vols against teams that are actually willing to play defense now that there's tape on him for defensive coordinators to scheme against?

Trask is going to get help from his own stellar defense most of the time. But the Gators are a 180-degree turn from what LSU is this year. The Gators defense will let coach Dan Mullen down at some point this year. When that happens, Trask will have to show the upside that Franks showed down the stretch last season.