SEC Power Rankings Week 4: How high will Kentucky rise?
By Mark Knight
When the SEC conference play fully begins, you can always expect there to be chaos and excitement, and this week did not disappoint. We had some movers and shakers in the SEC Power Rankings. For us, the biggest question is - how far up should we move Kentucky after their stunning upset of Ole Miss? There's a lot of debate to be had on this subject but let's dive in.
Week 5 Result: 35-13 Win over Mississippi State. 1. . 5-0 (1-0 SEC). . Texas Longhorns. . . . 467
Last Week Rank: 1
The AP poll moved Texas to number two in the nation behind Alabama, but I can't do it yet. Texas has handled their business and while I can understand the move to put the Crimson Tide at the top, I don't think it's warranted yet. Texas still looks like the best team in the SEC and in the nation. They may have had a shaky start against Mississippi State in their week 5 game, but that may have truly been due to looking past them. After half-time, it quickly got away from the Bulldogs.
. Week 5 Result: 41-34 Win over Georgia. 2. . Alabama Crimson Tide. . 4-0 (1-0 SEC). . 523.
Last Week Rank: 5
Alabama had the biggest win in the SEC this week, and it looks like Tide Head Coach Kalen DeBoer has not missed a step from Nick Saban. The game against Georgia was an undressing to start, and after half-time, when the Bulldogs were able to adjust to some of what the Tide was doing, things got a lot more interesting. In the end, though, Alabama proved the victor with a wild touchdown to seal it.
Week 5 Result: BYE. . . . Tennessee Volunteers. 4-0 (1-0 SEC). 534. . . 3
Last Week Rank: 3
They didn't play last week, so there's no movement in their SEC Power Rankings. They remain in the third spot, and we will see how rested and ready they are after their bye when they take on Arkansas.
3-1 (1-1 SEC). Week 5 Result: 41-34 Loss to Alabama. 527. . . Georgia Bulldogs. . . . 4
Last Week Rank: 2
Georgia is a good team, there's no doubt about it, but they were not ready for Alabama and did not have a plan to win for the entire first half. They were able to claw back into the game in the second, but the mountain was too big to climb, and Alabama had far too many weapons for a complete silencing of their offense. Georgia falls two spots this week with their loss.
. . . . Week 5 Result: 42-10 Win over South Alabama. LSU Tigers. 4-1 (1-0 SEC). . 5. 529
Last Week Rank: 6
LSU played the weakest opponent in the SEC this week and only moved up because of the Ole Miss loss. I am still not sure what to believe about this team, I can't tell if they are exceptionally good or overperforming. They head into their bye at an opportune time.
Week 5 Result: BYE. 6. . 531. . . 4-0 (1-0 SEC). Missouri Tigers. .
Last Week Rank: 7
The Tigers were on a bye this week like Tennessee, and so I left them where they were, they only moved up as a result of Ole Miss dropping down the rankings.
. 4-1 (1-1 SEC). Week 5 Result: 27-21 Win over Auburn. . Oklahoma Sooners. . . . 7. 464
Last Week Rank: 8
The Sooners gutted out a win against a flawing Auburn team. They are somehow 4-1, even though it seems as if they are barely getting the job done. However, the job is getting done. They will also be heading into their bye week and will need to work tirelessly to get ready to take on Texas in Week 7.
Texas A&M Aggies. . 873. 4-1 (2-0 SEC). Week 5 Result: 21-17 Win over Arkansas. . . . . 8
Last Week Rank: 11
The Aggies are a baffling team in the rankings. They barely beat a Bowling Green team but then turned around and put together a pretty good game against Arkansas. I think they are ultimately a middle-of-the-road SEC team, but it's hard to tell as they keep winning. Their only loss came at the hands of Notre Dame. They moved up a few spots with a nice SEC victory.
. 533. . . South Carolina Gamecocks. . . 3-1 (1-1 SEC). Week 5 Result: BYE. 9
Last Week Rank: 9
The Gamecocks were on a bye last week, and I never like moving teams up or down on a bye unless it's necessary (other teams are rising so fast or falling so hard). They remain at number nine and are ahead of Kentucky, considering they whooped the Wildcats.
Week 5 Result: 20-17 Win over Ole Miss. . 3-2 (1-2 SEC). . 10. Kentucky Wildcats. . 528. .
Last Week Rank: 12
I promise I want to rank them higher and if they keep playing like they did against Ole Miss, they will be ranked much higher in the weeks to come. It's hard to make them rise too high up the rankings when they sit at 1-2 in the SEC standings. It is cool that they received 6 AP votes this week.
. 4-1 (0-1 SEC). . 532. . . . Ole Miss Rebels. Week 5 Result: 20-17 Loss to Kentucky. 11
Last Week Rank: 4
The biggest fall for an SEC team in these power rankings. The Rebels looked like they spent four weeks playing poor competition and were unready for SEC play. Which, matter of fact, is exactly what they did. I do think they end up being one of the better teams in the SEC and good for Kentucky if so, but they need to slide behind Kentucky in these rankings since they lost at home to the Wildcats.
. . . . 524. . 3-2 (1-1 SEC). Week 5 Result: 21-17 Loss to Texas A&M. 12. Arkansas Razorbacks
Last Week Rank: 10
Not a good game for the Razorbacks, with a relatively flat loss to Texas A&M, a team I thought they had a chance to beat. They need to regroup and quickly as they have to take on the Volunteers next week.
Florida Gators. . 2-2 (1-1 SEC). Week 5 Result: BYE. . 526. . . . 13
Last Week Rank: 13
The Gators were on a bye this last week and remain at spot 13. We will see how they can respond after their off week against UCF in week 6.
. . Vanderbilt Commodores. 2-2 (0-1 SEC). . 14. Week 5 Result: BYE. 537. .
Last Week Rank: 14
Similar to the Gators, they were on their bye this week and remain at the same spot. They lost two games going into their bye week, and it doesn't get easier coming out of the bye as they now have to take on the number one team in the nation, the Crimson Tide.
Auburn Tigers. . Week 5 Result: 27-21 Loss to Oklahoma. . . . 2-3 (0-2 SEC). . 15. 525
Last Week Rank: 15
The Tigers look bad. There's no other way to say it. They just do not look like a good team this year, and they are starting the SEC season at 0-2 in conference play.
Week 5 Result: 35-13 Loss to Texas. . 16. . 530. Mississippi State. . . . 1-4 (0-2 SEC)
Last Week Rank: 16
The Bulldog fans were appreciative of Ole Miss's loss, but they continued to watch their own losing product on the field week in and week out. They head into their bye week to lick their wounds and somehow prepare to take on Georgia on the other side of it.
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