SEC Power Rankings after Week 6: Chaos unfolds in the SEC and where does that leave Kentucky?
By Mark Knight
This weekend may be considered one of the most chaotic weekends in college football history. There were massive upsets all around the FBS world and five upsets in the top 11 of the AP poll. Three of those happened in the SEC, with #1 Alabama losing to Vanderbilt, #4 Tennessee losing to Arkansas, and #9 Missouri losing to #25 Texas A&M. This week will be the hardest SEC power rankings of the season. How do you sort through the rubble and find the teams that should be at the top? The SEC feels wide open.
Texas Longhorns. . 1. 5-0 (1-0 SEC). 467. . Week 6 Result: BYE. . .
Last week rank: 1
Texas and Kentucky sat back on their bye weeks and watched the conference go up in smoke with upsets and pandemonium. After Alabama's big win over Georgia two weeks ago, everyone wanted to put the Crimson Tide on top. I wasn't ready yet; I still felt like Texas was the top team, and it looks like I was right on that point (wrong on plenty of others).
. 5-1 (3-0 SEC). . Texas A&M Aggies. Week 6 Result: 41-10 Win over Missouri. 535. 2. . .
Last week rank: 8
The Aggies did what a lot of the top teams could not do and win. They were the only top SEC team in the power rankings to win a big matchup. They took down a top-10 team in Missouri and got rewarded by rising up this ranking.
. . 527. Georgia Bulldogs. . 3. . 4-1 (2-1 SEC). . Week 6 Result: 31-13 Win over Auburn
Last week rank: 4
Georgia handled its business this week and was one of the few top-of-the-rankings teams to do so. They moved up mainly because everyone else moved down. It was a good win against Auburn, considering everyone else was getting upset.
4. . . LSU Tigers. . 529. 4-1 (1-0 SEC). Week 6 Result: BYE. .
Last week rank: 5
LSU also moved up even though it was sitting on its bye. Next week, LSU takes on another top SEC team, Ole Miss. That game will matter greatly in the SEC conference standings and, eventually, the championship.
5. Kentucky Wildcats. . . . 528. 3-2 (1-2 SEC). . Week 6 Result: BYE.
Last week rank: 10
Ole Miss needs to be up in these rankings, but I can't put them ahead of Kentucky. While Kentucky has a 1-2 SEC record, they had a big win against Ole Miss on the road and took Georgia to the wire. Those games matter, and it looks like the South Carolina loss was a fluke. This week, they will take on Vanderbilt in "The King of the Upsets."
Ole Miss Rebels. 5-1 (1-1 SEC). . . . . . 6. Week 6 Result: 27-3 Win over South Carolina. 532
Last week rank: 11
Ole Miss looked fantastic against South Carolina. It was the Rebels team that we thought they would be against Kentucky. However, Kentucky was ready, and Ole Miss was not. They dismantled South Carolina, and because of that, they rose up these rankings.
. . . Week 6 Result: BYE. . 464. Oklahoma Sooners. 7. . 4-1 (1-1 SEC)
Last week rank: 7
The Sooners were on a bye like Texas as they both got ready to play each other this week. I left them at seven mainly because everything shifted around them, and they remained.
. 3-2 (1-1 SEC). Week 6 Result: 40-35 Win over Alabama. . . Vanderbilt Commodores. . 537. 8.
Last week rank: 14
Vanderbilt had the biggest win of the week, season, and in its history over the top-ranked AP team in Alabama. It was historic and amazing, but they will need to continue to prove that they are for real and that it wasn't a fluke.
. . 4-1 (1-1 SEC). Alabama Crimson Tide. . . Week 6 Result: 40-35 Loss to Vanderbilt. . 9. 523
Last week rank: 2
Alabama beat Georgia a couple of weeks ago and had a letdown last week against Vanderbilt. Ultimately, they will be one of the top teams in the SEC, but it wasn't pretty in Nashville for them last week. They had to drop, and they had to drop past Vanderbilt.
Arkansas Razorbacks . 4-2 (2-1 SEC). 10. . . . Week 6 Result: 19-14 Win over Tennessee. . . 524
Last week rank: 12
The Razorbacks are a bit of a conundrum. They've lost to Texas A&M and Oklahoma State but now have a huge win over Tennessee. I'm not quite sure where to put them in these rankings. They definitely deserve to move up, but I didn't send them way up.
. Week 6 Result: 19-14 Loss to Arkansas. . Tennessee Volunteers. 11. . . 4-1 (1-1 SEC). . 534
Last week rank: 3
Arkansas figured out Tennessee and exposed them this week. The high-flying Volunteers were brought down to earth. They didn't look anything like the team they have been this season.
. . . Week 6 Result: 31-13 Loss to Texas A&M. . 531. Missouri Tigers. 4-1 (1-1 SEC). . 12
Last week rank: 6
I honestly want to say that we need to put Missouri on fraud alert. Not to say that Texas A&M isn't good—they are number two on this list—but Missouri seems to dupe us all into thinking they are good every year, and then they play like a middle-of-the-pack team. It wasn't a great look for them on Saturday. They get a little bit of a breather this week when they take on UMASS.
. . 3-2 (1-1 SEC). . 526. . Week 6 Result: 24-13 Win over UCF. 13. Florida Gators.
Last week rank: 13
The Gators were able to set things back on course against UCF, but now they have to take on the battered Tennessee team, which will be looking for a team to bully. The Gators will need to study the Arkansas tape and be ready to execute a similar game plan.
. . . South Carolina Gamecocks. . 3-2 (1-2 SEC). Week 6 Result: 27-3 Loss to Ole Miss. 14. 533.
Last week rank: 9
The Gamecocks have only one win that is good, and it's against Kentucky. Otherwise, they have looked like a pretty big dud of a football team. It's a stain on the Wildcats, for sure, but as Kentucky rises, it does help South Carolina.
. Week 6 Result: 31-13 Loss to Georgia. Auburn Tigers. 2-4 (0-3 SEC). . . . . 15. 525
Last week rank: 15
The Auburn Tigers are simply not a good football team this year. They don't really have anything going for them, and they haven't even been all that competitive in SEC play. They were able to battle against Oklahoma, but if you look at the tape, it felt more like the Sooners were just not taking care of their own business than the other way around. Auburn hits its bye this week and will need it to figure out how to turn things around.
16. . Week 6 Result: BYE. . . 530. . Mississippi Bulldogs. 1-4 (0-2 SEC).
Last week rank: 16
There's not much to say here. They've been at 16 since we started these rankings, and they remain at the bottom of the SEC.
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