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Kentucky football: Power Ranking the SEC after week one

By Mat Mlodzinski

Sep 2, 2023; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats offensive lineman Jager Burton (62) and offensive lineman Kenneth Horsey (68) celebrate a touchdown during the second quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 2, 2023; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats offensive lineman Jager Burton (62) and offensive lineman Kenneth Horsey (68) celebrate a touchdown during the second quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kentucky football put forth a very convincing win in week one, downing Ball State, 44-14. It’s very early, but the Wildcats are standing well in the SEC.

Of course, with many of the SEC teams facing inferior FBS and in some cases, FCS schools, it’s still challenging to decipher between the different tiers of the conference. In Kentucky’s case the win over Ball State does mean something – albeit a small amount – considering the Cardinals are a respectable MAC team.

Still, a few SEC teams did prove things in week one – some for good and some for bad. Taking everything into consideration, let’s dive into our SEC football power rankings after the first week of the season.

Bottom of the barrel:

  • No. 14 – Missouri Tigers (1-0)

Did the Tigers win their opening game by 25 points? Yes. But for a team picked to finish near the bottom of the SEC, a convincing win over an FCS team in South Dakota doesn’t move the needle too much for me. Mizzou ran for 211 yards as a team and shut down the Coyotes to 46 yards on 35 carries. With a game against Middle Tennessee State next week, we’re going to have to wait until week three against Kansas State to get an accurate picture of the Missouri Tigers.

  • No. 13 – Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-0)

Mississippi State played SE Louisiana, so like Missouri, it’s hard to grasp how good a 48-7 win really is. 298 rushing yards and a clean game from quarterback Will Rogers are definitely both pluses, in addition to only letting up 7 points. The Bulldogs have Arizona up next, before a gauntlet of an SEC schedule will really tell the tale.

  • No. 12 – Florida Gators (0-1)

Florida was picked to finish 5th in the SEC Eastern Division in the media poll and after a week 1 loss to Utah, we can see why. The Gators only scored 11 points, in a game totally controlled by the Utes. Cameron Rising didn’t even play at QB for Utah, and if he did, the 24-11 final score probably wouldn’t have even been that close. Florida has a lot of work to do, and it won’t get any easier against Tennessee in two weeks.

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