WBN SEC Football Power Rankings: Season Finale Edition
By Paul Jordan
SEC EAST
South Carolina 5-3 (9-3)
Florida 4-4 (7-5)
Georgia 3-5 (6-6)
Tennessee 3-5 (6-6)
Kentucky 2-6 (6-6)
Vanderbilt 1-7 (2-10)
SEC WEST
Auburn 8-0 (12-0)
Arkansas 6-2 (10-2)
LSU 6-2 (10-2)
Alabama 5-3 (9-3)
Mississippi State 4-4 (8-4)
Mississippi 1-7 (4-8)
BOWL WATCH
BOWL ELIGIBLE (10): Auburn, LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (2): Mississippi, Vanderbilt
WBN SEC POWER RANKINGS
1. (1) Auburn (12-0 – defeated Alabama 28-27) – After Friday’s game, consider me a very big believer in the Tigers. I honestly thought that Bama would beat the Tigers, but the will of this Auburn team is incredible. I have to admit, It is really weird to consider Gene Chizik a NCAA Champion coach, but he is just two games away now. (UP NEXT: South Carolina and bowl game)
2. (3) South Carolina (9-3 – defeated Clemson 29-7) – After their loss to Arkansas, this Gamecock team has really turned it up a notch and you can argue they are playing the best football of anyone sans Auburn. True freshman Marcus Lattimore is a legitimate Heisman candidate and if there was a MVP award, would be a candidate for that as well. You have to love the Visor back in the big game. (UP NEXT – Auburn and bowl game)
3. (5) Arkansas (10-2 – defeated LSU 31-23) – I have to admit I am thrilled to move the Razorbacks up to top three status. They really have not gotten the publicity they deserve and this is a team that in my opinion, should be 12-0. Mallett had a late interception in the Alabama game where he was trying to throw the ball out of bounds and that cost them. And Mallet got hurt against Auburn and it was a very competitive game when he went out. I don’t know if they can sneak into a BCS Bowl, but they definitely deserve it. UP NEXT: Bowl game
4. (2) LSU (10-2 – lost to Arkansas 31-23) – To be honest, the Tigers should be a four loss team but for whatever reason Lady Luck was on their side this season. In a way, you have to root for LSU jut because you want to see what that Mad Hatter is going to do next. Sometimes it’s like a trainwreck that you keep staring at, but a 10-2 season is pretty good for living on the edge. UP NEXT: Bowl Game
5. (4) Alabama (9-3 – lost to Auburn 28-27) – I know that you can’t expect back to back titles, but the Crimson Tide was truly one of the big disappointments of the league, I expected pure domination from this team, but a 9-3 record is pretty impressive for a down year. UP NEXT: Bowl game
6. (8) Mississippi State (8-4 – beat Mississippi 31-23) – You have to love the progress that Dan Mullen has made in just two years at Starkville and the Bulldogs have gone from easy win to a tough out. The Bulldogs were just 1-4 against ranked teams this year and one of those ranked teams was Florida. Mullen still has some work to do in the tough West, but they have made progress. UP NEXT: Bowl game
7. (10) Tennessee (6-6 – beat Kentucky 24-10) – How about a little controversy? At this point, we have three very average teams and to be honest, Tennessee is playing the best of the three and have a four game winning streak. Aside from Auburn, the Vols have longest current winning streak in the SEC. UP NEXT: Bowl game
8. (9) Georgia (6-6 – beat Georgia Tech 42-34) – The Bulldogs had a nightmare start to their season but finished 5-2 down the stretch to get a bowl bid. I know the pressure must be on Mark Richt, but they have a very bright spot returning in QB Aaron Murray. UP NEXT: Bowl game
9. (6) Florida (7-5 – lost to FSU 31-7) – Sorry Gators, I know you beat both Georgia and Tennessee, but simply put, your team is a mess right now with an ugly QB controversy and a 2-5 record agains the last FBS teams on their schedule. Plus the Gators have been blown out in two of the last three games. Now we know why Urbs wanted to retire. UP NEXT: Bowl game
10. (8) Kentucky (6-6 – lost to Tennessee 24-14) – Another season full of promise and potential ends with a 3-6 finish and a 26th straight loss to Tennessee. Lots of grumbling in Lexington. UP NEXT: Bowl game
11. (11) Mississippi (4-8 – lost to Mississippi State 31-23) – The season was pretty much a disaster for the Rebels and is culminated to losing to bitter rival MSU in Oxford for the first time in 12 seasons. Remember when this team was a top 25 team? It was just the beginning of last season when Ole Miss was touted as a top 10 team. Things have gone wrong in a hurry. UP NEXT: thinking about what went wrong
12 (12) Vanderbilt (2-10 – lost to Wake Forest 34-13) – The Commodores got plastered by 2-9 Wake Forest and their head coach decided enough was enough. UP NEXT: looking for a new coach
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