WBN SEC Football Power Rankings: 9/18 Edition
By Paul Jordan
1. (LW – 2) #2 LSU (3-0, defeated #25 Mississippi State 16-3) – Right now, I have the Tigers and Alabama as virtually tied as the best team in the SEC. SEC gets the top ranking due to strength of schedule so far, but this will be settled on the field when the two teams meet. LSU completely shut down what I thought was one of the better SEC offenses and Jarrett Lee is proving a more than adequate replacement for Jordan Whats-his-face. THIS WEEK: 9/24 @ #16 West Virginia
2. (LW -1) #3 Alabama (3-0, defeated North Texas 41-0) – Nothing to see here. Just Alabama rolling over another cupcake and showing what SEC teams should do against Sun Belt teams. Alabama had an extreme level of domination Saturday, averaging 10.5 yards a carry and racking up 345 yards on the ground and allowing just 169. Impressive, against any competition. THIS WEEK: 9/24 vs #14 Arkansas
3. (LW – 6) #15 Florida (3-0, defeated Tennessee 33-23) – Look who’s back …. back again. The Gators appears to have shed last year’s 8-5 season like old skin and appear to be a main contender for the SEC East. The game against Tennessee was not nearly as close as the 10 point margin indicated and Chris Rainey was a triple threat last night – rushing and receiving for 100 yards each and blocking a punt. The defense got singed a bit, but it is still very opportunistic. THIS WEEK: 9/24 @ Kentucky
4. (LW – 4) #14 Arkansas (3-0, defeated Troy 38-28) – What is it with the Sun Belt this year? I lost a bit of my mancrush on the Razorbacks this week but it should be noted they jumped on top of Troy 31-7 and that the game was never seriously in doubt. But this game raises questions about Arkansas’ defense since Troy was able to pass for 373 yards on 63 attempts (!). Ronnie Wingo appears to have a solid gasp on the HB job after three TD’s. I don’t doubt the Arkansas offense, but 28 points to a Sun Belt team will not cut it. THIS WEEK: @ #3 Alabama
5. (LW – 3) #12 South Carolina (3-0, defeated Navy 24-21) – Of all the SEC’s ranked teams, the Gamecocks have been the shakiest and last night, it took a 246 yard, 3 TD effort to get past Navy. Stephen Garcia has been horrible and the defense non existent thus far. I really don’t see where the #12 national ranking is coming from as the Gamecocks have looked dreadful in parts of all three games this far. It may not be this week, but this team is headed for a rude awakening. THIS WEEK: 9/24 vs Vanderbilt
6. (LW – 5) Auburn (2-1, lost to Clemson 38-24) – Does the SEC really only have five good teams this year? Sure seems this way as Auburn comes in at the upper half by default. Auburn’s defence is dreadful, allowing 36.7 points a game. You can say they have a good offense and that is true, but they are at a points deficit after three games, scoring 35.7. Michael Dyer is a beast, but the second half of the Clemson game brought up serious questions on how good Barrett Trotter actually is. THIS WEEK: 9/24 vs Florida Atlantic
7. (LW – 7) Mississippi State (1-2, lost to #2 LSU 16-3) – I know the Bulldogs are 1-2, but they did at least make the LSU game kind of interesting. I still think this is a solid offense and the defense played pretty well against the Tigers. LSU is going to make a lot of teams look anemic on offense, so I won’t hold it against MSU too much. But 193 yards total offense is not going to cut it in the SEC. Let’s make MSU’s 7th place ranking more a indication of the teams below them, shall we? THIS WEEK: 9/24 vs Louisiana Tech
8. (LW – 10) Vanderbilt (3-0, defeated Mississippi 30-7) Got to hand it to the Commodores. They blasted the Rebels to go to 3-0 and it appears the Commodores have a solid running game as Zac Stacy ran for 169 yards. I still don’t like Larry Smith at QB, but hey, 3-0 is 3-0. If Steve Spurrier is not ready next week, this can get all kinds of interesting. THIS WEEK: 9/24 @ #12 South Carolina
9. (LW – 8) Tennessee (2-1, lost to #16 Florida 33-23) We know this. Tyler Bray is pretty good. passing for 288 and 3 TD’s against a tough Florida defense. Tennessee’s running game sucked. going for a negative 9 yards. And the Vols have a very pedestrian defense allowing 24 points a game. The Vols can score, but Florida was the first tough defense they faced this year. THIS WEEK: OFF
10. (LW – 9) Kentucky (2-1, lost to Louisville 24-17) – I don’t think Kentucky has a talent problem, I think they have a coaching problem. There is no other way to describe the loss to the Cardinals. When Kentucky opened up the playbook, they drove to two impressive TD drives and came 14 yards from a third. Other than those drives the offense was as bland and predictable as a peewee league playbook. I don’t know if Kentucky can get it back on track, but the next three weeks can be ugly. THIS WEEK: 9/24 vs #15 Florida
11. (LW – 12) Georgia (1-2, defeated Coastal Carolina 59-0) – Sorry Bulldogs. Beating up on Coastal Carolina does not get you many credibility points in the WBN Rankings. Try again.
12. (LW – 11) Mississippi (1-2, lost to Vanderbilt 30-7) – Do I really need to expound on a 30-7 loss to Vandy? Didn’t think so. THIS WEEK: 9/24 vs Georgia
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