Six weeks of SEC Football are behind us and only two undefeated teams remain. With two Top 25 conference match-ups looming in week seven, let’s take a look at where each team stands in this week’s SEC Power Rankings…..
No. 14: Vanderbilt Commodores (2-4, 0-3)
Vanderbilt has already lost two of the games on their schedule that could have made it a good season for them. The losses to South Carolina and Kentucky sting, because those are the teams that Vandy has to show they can beat. Instead, they lost by one score to both of them. Three of Vanderbilt’s losses have come by a total of 17 points. Vandy isn’t that far away from being decent, they just can’t seem to learn how to win.
No. 13: Missouri Tigers (2-3, 0-2)
The only thing keeping the Missouri Tigers above Vandy is the three losses on their resume all come against teams that are bowl bound. They’ve lost to an undefeated West Virginia. They lost a heartbreaker to Georgia and they got rolled by LSU. The problem for Missouri is that its wins have come against Eastern Michigan and Delaware State. Missouri has to show it can beat somebody noteworthy and it needs to do it quickly.
No. 12: South Carolina Gamecocks (2-4, 1-4)
South Carolina isn’t as bad as its record. It has hung around in its four losses. The problem is that the Gamecocks’ offense can’t score. The defense is playing well enough to go to a bowl (a low-tier bowl game). The offense needs to be flushed.
No. 11: Kentucky Wildcats (3-3, 2-2)
The Kentucky Wildcats have had the benefit of a good schedule early in the SEC season. They have wins over two teams that are ranked below them on this list (South Carolina and Vandy). The reason they sit at number eleven and not higher is that when they’ve moved up in competition they’ve been thrashed and they also have a bad loss on their record to Southern Miss.
No. 10: Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-3, 1-2)
Speaking of bad losses, the Bulldogs of Mississippi State come in at number ten. The Bulldogs opened the season with a loss to South Alabama. They’ve followed that up by losing to Auburn and LSU and beating South Carolina and UMass. The next three games will go a long way to whether or not the Bulldogs make a bowl this season.
No. 9: LSU Tigers (3-2, 2-1)
The biggest reason for LSU being this low is that its biggest wins are against the Missouri Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs which are below them on this list. When the Tigers have stepped up in competition this season (Wisconsin, Auburn), they’ve lost. The Tigers looked a lot better two weeks ago, but were not able to follow that up when their game against Florida was postponed.
No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs (4-2, 2-2)
Georgia is one play from being a lot higher on this list. It is also one play from being lower on this list. The saving grace for Georgia so far this season has been the opening game win over North Carolina. Vanderbilt is on the horizon, and then the Dawgs have a bye week before Florida, so they have a chance to put things together as they head down the stretch.
No. 7: Florida Gators (4-1, 2-1)
Florida hasn’t beaten anybody yet this season. The Gators are probably better than the seventh best team in the SEC, but they haven’t proved it with wins over Kentucky, UMass, North Texas, and Vanderbilt. Florida’s one game where it stepped up in competition resulted in a big comeback win for Tennessee. Florida needs a signature win, but it won’t be able to even attempt to get one for three weeks when it faces Georgia.
No. 6: Auburn Tigers (4-2, 2-1)
Is Auburn the sixth best team in the conference? Probably not, but its losses are to two teams that are currently in the Top 10 and they’ve beaten everybody else in front of them including LSU. We will find a lot more out about Auburn over the next three weeks when it faces Arkansas and Ole Miss.
No. 5: Arkansas Razorbacks (4-2, 0-2)
Like Auburn, Arkansas has the benefit of two losses to Top 10 teams. It also has a big out of conference win against TCU on the road. Let’s be honest though, there isn’t very much separating the number five Arkansas Razorbacks from the number nine LSU Tigers.
No. 4: Tennessee Volunteers (5-1, 2-1)
Tennessee has been quite lucky this year. It fumbled its way to victory against Appalachian State, made a huge comeback against Florida, beat a good opponent that couldn’t hold onto the football, and won a game on a Hail Mary after the other team scored with ten seconds left. That’s not the resume of a team that should be 5-1, but it is. The Vols have played very poorly at times and they’ve played very, very well at other times. Their only loss was in OT against Texas A&M. After they play Alabama this week, the Vols have what could be the easiest schedule in all of college football. The Vols could easily finish 10-2.
No. 3: Ole Miss Rebels (3-2, 1-1)
Ole Miss could be 5-0, but college football games have four quarters. At times, the Rebels have played like the best team in the SEC. They absolutely drubbed Georgia and they are coming off of a win against a good Memphis team. The Rebels have Arkansas, LSU, and Auburn coming up, and all three of those are very winnable for the Rebels as they try to get back into the hunt for the SEC Championship (yes, they will need a lot of help for that to happen).
No. 2: Texas A&M Aggies (6-0, 4-0)
How many of you had the Aggies at 6-0 at this point in the season? If you are raising your hand, you are probably a liar. Trevor Knight has led the Aggies to wins over Arkansas, Tennessee, UCLA and Auburn. That’s a hell of a resume. A&M has a week off to prepare for their showdown with the Crimson Tide.
No. 1: Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0)
To be the man, you have to beat the man. That’s what Kevin Sumlin and Texas A&M are tasked with in two weeks. But, before that, the Tide has to face a good Tennessee team. Alabama has been a bit uneven this year, but all they’ve done is win, and you can’t take that away from them. With victories over Ole Miss, Arkansas and USC, the Tide will keep their number one ranking as the reigning and defending SEC champs.
