SEC Power Rankings: After Georgia’s failure at Alabama, is No. 2 up for debate?
Each week we’ll take a look at every Southeastern Conference football team’s performance and rank them, in ascending order.
Click here for week four’s scores.
Click here for week three’s rankings.
14. Vanderbilt (0-3)
The Commodores couldn’t go to Missouri because they had so few players available because of COVID-19 quarantine procedures. That game was rescheduled for Dec. 12.
Derek Mason says: “For college football, it’s a red flag, something we really have to be aware of.”
13. Mississippi State (1-3)
Starting quarterback K.J. Costello has thrown 10 interceptions through four games, and freshman reserve Will Rogers was more efficient and threw the Bulldogs’ only touchdown pass in a loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. Might Mike Leach look to prepare Rogers as his starter during the forthcoming bye week?
Mike Leach says: “That drive that Will had, when you consider the quality of team A&M has, that drive Will had was maybe as good as I’ve had a freshman, especially a true freshman at his age, have before.”
12. Mississippi (1-3)
A rare defensive display from Lane Kiffin’s squad was for naught since his firework offense was “held” to a season-low 442 total yards but, more importantly, gave away the ball seven times, including six interceptions from the hand of Matt Corral. The Rebels had an opportunity to win at the end — trailing by five with three timeouts with about four minutes to play — but a pick-six, fittingly, ended their rally.
Lane Kiffin says: “You’ve got to be careful reading all your stuff during the week about how great you are and all this because this game will bring you right back down. Once you start playing really well, people study you.”
11. LSU (1-2)
The Tigers were unable to make their trip to Florida because of a COVID-19 outbreak among the Gators. That game will now be played on Dec. 12.
Ed Orgeron says (on the possibility of the New Orleans Saints playing at LSU’s stadium this season): “I like the Saints. Sean Payton has been good to me, Mickey Loomis, Drew Brees … I’m a Who Dat fan. So bring ‘em on to Baton Rouge, (We’d) love to see ‘em.”
10. Auburn (2-2)
Last week’s officiating debacle resulted in the crew from last week’s Arkansas-Auburn game getting sidelined a week and new guidance on how “clear and immediate” recoveries should be reviewed going forward. It’s a small consolation for Razorbacks fans, but karma came for the Tigers, who lost to South Carolina for the first time since it joined the SEC in 1992.
Gus Malzahn says: ”We’ve got six games left. We will be a team that improves. I’ll promise you that. You’ll see this team improve. That’s what we’ll be doing.”
9. Tennessee (2-2)
After faltering against Georgia in the second half, the Volunteers laid an even bigger egg. Losing to Kentucky at home for the first time since the mid-1980s was always going to be shocking when it happened, but the fashion in which it did Saturday had to be concerning for UT fans.
Jeremy Pruitt says (on possibly making a quarterback change): “Right now, when you lose, what was the score, 34-7? I think that everybody within our organization has got to look and see what went wrong. We could make changes at any level.”
8. Missouri (1-2)
The Tigers couldn’t host Vanderbilt because the Commodores had so few players available because of COVID-19 quarantine procedures. That game was rescheduled for Dec. 12.
Eli Drinkwitz says (on having an unexpected free Saturday): “Maybe I’ll go to a pumpkin patch. I’ll see what the wife has planned.”
7. South Carolina (2-2)
Its third win over a ranked team under Will Muschamp was delivered in large part by the defense, which intercepted Auburn star Bo Nix three times and helped the Gamecocks recover from a deficit that extended into the middle of the third quarter. South Carolina’s only other win against the Tigers happened in 1933.
Will Muschamp says: “That was a hell of a win. Auburn’s got a good team, and our guys fought their ass off.”
6. Kentucky (2-2)
Over the last two weeks, UK’s defense has looked like the force that had lofty preseason expectations heaped upon it. After forcing zero turnovers at Auburn and against Ole Miss, the Wildcats now are among the nation’s leaders in interceptions with nine. COVID-19 situations everywhere prompted a flipping of their schedule, putting Missouri on deck instead of Georgia.
Mark Stoops says (on this possibly being his best defense at UK): “Easy, easy. We can’t let ‘em read these things. We gotta get hungry, stay hungry.”
5. Arkansas (2-2)
The Razorbacks, a doormat over the last several seasons, right now are the darlings of the conference, and should be 3-1. Theirs was the first defense to really make life difficult for Ole Miss, and the Hogs come away from the matchup with two weeks to prepare for what should be a revelatory trip to Texas A&M.
Sam Pittman says: “I was hoping to get seven picks when the game started, but I’ll take six.”
4. Florida (2-1)
The Gators were unable to host LSU because of a COVID-19 outbreak within their ranks. That game will now be played on Dec. 12.
Dan Mullen says (doubling down on wanting to allow a 100-percent capacity crowd at home prior to postponement): “I think if you look at what we’ve been able to do, the safety precautions we have that our players have followed, our coaches follow, our staff follows, you know, I think we’re a model of safety of what we’ve been doing during this time period.”
3. Georgia (3-1)
It’s tough to punish Georgia too harshly, but it became clear in the second half of Saturday’s marquee game that the league still absolutely runs through Tuscaloosa. Stetson Bennett’s shortcomings were on display against the Crimson Tide, which picked him off three times and held him to 18-of-40 passing. The Bulldogs get a week to heal before traveling to Kentucky.
Kirby Smart says: “Give them credit and we have to go back to the drawing board. We still control our own destiny.”
2. Texas A&M (3-1)
Isaiah Spiller topped 100 rushing yards for the third time in four games, and for the second straight game found paydirt twice. He’s second only to Alabama standout Najee Harris in league rushing. A&M at this point needs a lot of luck (two Alabama losses) while remaining unbeaten the rest of the way to reach the SEC title game, but it to this point stands out as one of the league’s best.
Jimbo Fisher says: “What I expect is perfection. We’re not close, we got a lot of room to work, we got holes in all three phases but we got some really good players that can do some really good things in all three phases.”
1. Alabama (4-0)
And then there was one. Mac Jones was able to deliver on the biggest stage he’s met so far, leading the Crimson Tide as they hung 567 yards on Georgia, which hadn’t even given up 300 in a game up until Saturday. ‘Bama’s defense came to play in a second-half shutout, too. It’s Alabama’s league to lose.
Nick Saban says: ”Spend 24 hours enjoying this, but when that’s over, we have to go back and work and we have to get better.”
