WBN SEC Football Power Rankings: Week 9 Edition
By Paul Jordan
SEC East
South Carolina 4-2 (6-2)
Florida 3-3 (5-3)
Georgia 3-4 (4-5)
Vanderbilt 1-4 (2-6)
Kentucky 1-5 (4-5)
Tennessee 0-5 (2-6)
SEC West
Auburn 6-0 (9-0)
Alabama 4-1 (7-1)
LSU 4-1 (7-1)
Mississippi State 3-2 (7-2)
Arkansas 3-2 (6-2)
Mississippi 1-4 (3-5)
BOWL WATCH:
BOWL ELIGIBLE (6): Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Arkansas
BOWL LIKELY (1) : Florida
STILL HAS A SHOT (3): Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi
BARELY HAS A PULSE (2): Tennessee, Vanderbilt
WBN SEC POWER RANKINGS
1. (1) Auburn (9-0) – Yes, they have a lousy defense, but they have the best offense in college football and Cameron Newton has wrapped up the Heisman … by Halloween. Auburn is averaging an astonishing 40 points a game and averaging 307 yards a game on the ground. Even Nick Saban would be impressed. UP NEXT: vs (yikes) Chattanooga
2. (2) Alabama (7-1) – Make no mistake, Alabama is the only team in the SEC that can slow Auburn down, but I still don’t know if they can outscore them if their game is a shootout. it will be the true unstoppable force/immovable object matchup when Auburn’s offense meets Alabama’s D. The Tide had a bye week this week, resting for the stretch run. UP NEXT: @ LSU
3. (3) South Carolina (6-2) – The Gamecocks have the trip to Atlanta in their own hands. They had some shaky moments versus Tennessee, but still won by two TD’s. The Gamecocks have a couple of great offensive weapons in Lattimore and Jeffery and a tenacious defense and that is good enough to win the East. UP NEXT: vs Arkansas
4. (4) LSU (7-1) – Shaky QB play and coaching aside, the Tigers boast a nasty defense and effective running game. Despite all the knocks this team has taken, they have Alabama coming into Death Valley this weekend and still have a very real shot at winning the SEC West. If their QB’s could ever be consistent, watch out. UP NEXT: Alabama
5. (5) Arkansas (6-2) – The NCAA’s number 2 passing attack was in form this week as the Hawgs crushed Vandy 49-14. Unfortunately Arkansas seems to be out of the race to make it to Atlanta. they certainly will decide who gets to go on each side. UP NEXT: @ South Carolina
6. (6) Mississippi State (7-2) – Dan Mullen has done an amazing job turning the Bulldogs from perennials bottom dwellers to top 25 team and MSU now holds a 6 game winning streak. Like so many teams this year, MSU has a stingy defense and a tenacious running game to wear down their opponents. UP NEXT: bye week
7. (8) Florida (5-3) – The Gators ended their three game losing streak with an overtime win over Georgia. And despite their struggles, the Gators have their fate in their own hands in regards to a return trip to Atlanta. But this is not the old Gators. They are very young and just learning how to win. Every game has been an adventure, except for Kentucky, of course. UP NEXT: @ Vanderbilt
8. (7) Georgia (4-5) – What comes up must go down and the Bulldogs found their improbable SEC hopes dashed in overtime versus Florida. Aaron Murray as been a huge surprise for the Bulldogs and AJ Green is always dangerous. Despite one of the top offenses, the defense can be pourous. UP NEXT: vs Idaho State
9. (10) Kentucky (4-5) – Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. UK just finished up a brutal six week stretch in which they faced four ranked teams. Against the ranked teams, they were 1-3, but lost to #1 Aub
urn by just 3 and Mississippis State by a TD. The headscratching losses were the Mississippi and Georgia losses. But this is a team that never gives up. UP NEXT: vs Charleston Southern
10. (9) Mississippi (3-5) – After supposedly righting their season with the win over Kentucky, the Rebels have been blown out by three straight ranked teams. Houston Nutt’s team has a lot of holes and it will take a lot for this team to get bowl eligible. UP NEXT: vs Louisiana Lafayette
11. (11) Tennessee (2-6) – It has now been four losses in a row for the Vols and while this team has played well in spurts, like Kentucky, they can not put together a 60 minute game. As a result, this has been a nightmare season, especially when you consider that the Vols wins were a 50 point rout of Tennessee martin and a 3 point OT win over UAB. UP NEXT: @ Memphis
12. (12) Vanderbilt (2-6) – Another week, another blowout loss. Vandy found themselves on the short end of a 49-14 score against Arkansas. And blow losses have been the norm for the Dores this year. It used to be that Vandy had the defense to keep games interesting but not this season. UP NEXT: @ Florida
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