SEC Power Rankings: Week 3

1) Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC, Last week: 1)- Rarely do such hyped games live up to expectations but the Alabama-Texas A&M game did. Again the Crimson Tide proved why they are the top team in the country. T. J. Yeldon was impressive; A.J. McCarron was even better. But you know it has to kill a little bit of Nick Saban to know that Johnny Manziel has him and his vaunted defense figured out.

2) LSU (3-0, LW: 2)- Another quiet yet dominant performance by the Bayou Bengals this week in Baton Rouge. Two tailbacks went for over 100 yards and Zach Mettenberger threw for 264 and three scores. Get ready for the Game of the Century III. At this rate, those poor media guys in the year 2097 will be up to the Game of Century XXXIV.

3) Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 LW: 3)- Keep on partying, Johnny. Whatever you are doing seems to be working. Manziel amassed over 550 yards against Alabama but it wasn't enough to avoid the ESPN curse. When College Gameday comes to College Station, the Aggies are 0-4, losing by a combined 15 points so say the guys from ESPN.com.

4) Georgia (1-1, 1-0 SEC, LW: 4)- The Bulldogs stay put after a much deserved off week before welcoming North Texas to Athens this weekend.

5) South Carolina (2-1, 1-1, LW: 5)- Beating a Vandy team at home by only 10 isn't all that impressive, but they survived and continue on towards trying to catch UGA for the SEC East title.

6) Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0, LW: 6)- Of course Mack Brown's work, or lack thereof, gets the headlines this week, but the Rebels offense continues to look good. Texas had the lead early in the second half before surrendering 27 consecutive points.

7) Florida (1-1, LW: 8)- It's hard to move up without playing in power rankings, but the Gators--although their offense is putrid--do so by default.

8) Vanderbilt (1-2, 0-2, LW: 7)- The Commodores have come close to winning both of their SEC matchups this season, but close isn't going to get it done. It's looking more and more like a Music City Bowl-esque season would be a good year.

9) Missouri (2-0, LW 11)- See Florida, but the Tigers offense hasn't been of too much concern so far this season. Of course, they also have yet to play an SEC game.

10) Tennessee (2-1, LW: 9)- When Oregon's Marcus Mariotta wins the Heisman Trophy this season, he will look back at this performance and have to give a "thank you" to the Volunteers for the gaudy numbers, much like Manziel could have done to Arkansas last year.

11) Arkansas (3-0, LW: 12)- The defense only surrendered three points, but the offense only scored 24 against a team that has not won a game in 633 days. Throw in a starting quarterback in a sling during the second half with a less than impressive day from his backup; it was a good, not great, day in Fayetteville.

12) Auburn (3-0, 1-0 LW: 10)- Their former safety-gone-starting quarterback led a last minute game-winning drive to win an SEC game, albeit a dreadful Mississippi State team. For that, I will not refer to Nick Marshall as a former safety anymore but rather a quarterback.

13) Kentucky (1-2, LW: 14)- Rarely is a loss a good week, but the Wildcats did come close and in the Bluegrass State these days, that's not too bad, especially when it comes against your archrival that is supposed to make a run at the national title.

14) Mississippi State (1-2, 0-1, LW: 13)- Mississippi State football is not in a good place. It reeks of a situation where the energy brought to a program by a new coach has gone stale. Think Mullen is looking at the job Bill O'Brien is doing at Penn State and thinking, "what could have been"? Yep. Me too.

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A native of Arkansas now calling the Hogs from yonder in Georgia, you can follow Graham on Twitter @grahamreaves or read his blog, On My Mind In Georgia.