This is a very hard SEC to rank right now. Teams are flaming out all over the place. The SEC feels just weak right now. Only Georgia and Bama have a case for being good teams and while a few teams like Kentucky and Vanderbilt are on the rise (what?) it feels like most of the teams are on the precipice of mediocrity.
14. Missouri (Last Week: 14)
Mizzou continues to be a flaming pile of football badness. Two weeks removed from scoring 72, they scored 3... against Purdue.
13. Ole Miss (Last Week: 10)
Ole Miss had the lead in this game, but lost 113 yards in penalties and was unable to dictate the tempo against Cal in the 2nd half. The Rebels will get a week to regroup before going to Alabama. I’m not feeling the upset magic this year.
12. Texas A&M (Last Week: 12)
Texas A&M turned the tables on their opening week blown lead against UCLA by scoring 31 unanswered points to down the ULL Ragin’ Cajuns. I might be impressed that they did all of this in one half, but the Aggies were down 21-14 at halftime. Tulsa scored 66 on ULL.
11. South Carolina (Last Week: 6)
Ouch. This isn’t the worst Kentucky team to lose to, but it has to hurt when you’re knocking on the door of the top 25 and you feel like Florida and Tennessee are both vulnerable in the East. The usual pecking order is getting all pecked up.
10. Vanderbilt (Last Week: 11)
Vanderbilt stepped up and beat a top 25 team while hosting the Kansas State Wildcats at home. The Commodore defense continues to look legit. Will it be enough to slow down the Tide?
9. Kentucky (Last Week: 13)
Kentucky might be legitimate, but they have to play Florida this week. They have lost to Florida 30 times in a row, it’s the longest such streak in FBS. This one could drop Stoops and company back down to earth or it could be a defining moment for that basketball school.
8. Arkansas (Last Week: 9)
Arkansas only moves up because South Carolina lost to Kentucky. This week is a big game for the Cowpigs.
7. Tennessee (Last Week: 5)
Butch Jones did himself a lot of good by breaking an 11 year streak beating Florida last year, and they almost made it two in a row. Tennessee games are just going to be a wild ride with Jones as the head coach, I think Tennessee fans have already accepted it.
6. LSU (Last Week: 2)
LSU got blown out in Starkville and looked bad doing it. They will get some games against easier competition in the next couple of weeks, but a trip to the Swamp in Gainesville is on the horizon. If they play as badly as they did in Starkville, they might tumble further.
5. Florida (Last Week: 7)
Feleipe Franks box score says 212 yards on 18/28 passing with 2 TDs and 1 Int. All of that looks much worse if you subtract his 63 yard hail mary to win the game against Tennessee. It’s not how you win, it’s THAT you win.
4. Mississippi State (Last Week: 8)
I don’t care what numbskull is holding the clipboard on the other sideline, thumping LSU by 30 and being undefeated is going to move you up. I heard someone say something to the effect that Mississippi State is 10 times better at home than on the road. That will be put to the test when Nick Fitzgerald and company go on the road to Georgia.
3. Auburn (Last Week: 4)
Teams that turn the ball over lose games, unless you’re playing Mercer. Over 500 yards of offense is something to crow about, but rarely do you see a team get that many yards and only put up 24 points. Auburn has to play more disciplined and avoid turnovers if they want to stay this high in the rankings.
2. Georgia (Last Week: 3)
Georgia looked sharp in their win over Samford. Nick Chubb only had 16 carries but still had 131 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia is rolling.
1. Alabama (Last Week: 1)
Alabama’s offense led the way this week, but the Tide defense gave up 23 points to the Rams. Colorado State was 10-18 on 3rd down conversions. Bama won’t be able to sleep walk in Nashville this weekend.