Week 5 SEC Power Rankings: Texas A&M sees growth potential, massive no. 1 vs. no. 2 matchup set up
16. Arkansas
Arkansas looked like they may have had something cooking against Tulsa— who did, after all, beat Oklahoma State— but they got put back in their place after a visit to College Station. This was the Hogs' worst offensive performance yet, and the dissatisfaction with Ryan Silverfield is only growing louder.
15. Vanderbilt
The Commodores got smacked by Georgia after keeping things close for a bit. No Jared Curtis meant they never had much of a chance— well, being Vanderbilt against Kirby Smart's Georgia is really what meant they never had much of a chance— but they'll try to bounce back against Ole Miss this weekend.
14. South Carolina
The Gamecocks blew another big lead this week and lost to Kentucky in overtime. The conversation around this program at this point is now mostly how they are going to pay Shane Beamer's buyout, so unless they somehow rattle off a bunch of wins in a row, things are pretty much over for SC in 2026.
13. Oklahoma
The Sooners were off this week ahead of Red River, with Brent Venables hoping to finally get a win over Texas. This is probably as good of a chance as he will have, given where the Longhorns are, but it still is not very likely.
12. Auburn
The Tigers were more competitive against Tennessee in Neyland than many had anticipated, but that was largely due to the fact that the Volunteers were going through their own immense struggles on offense. Auburn will have an off week before facing three straight top-10 teams in Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss.
11. Tennessee
The Vols are in crisis mode right now at the quarterback position, but they are being bolstered by an extremely strong run game and a stout defense. They will get a layup with a trip to Arkansas this next week before hosting Alabama off of their contest with Georgia.
10. Kentucky
Kentucky just keeps climbing in these rankings. Will Stein is doing something big up in Lexington, and he'll have another chance for a big home win this weekend when they host LSU— Big Blue Nation is certainly hoping it turns out better than their game against the Tide.
9. Texas
The Longhorns were off this week, just like the Sooners, with Red River this upcoming Saturday. With how bad OU is playing on offense, Texas just has to not beat themselves in this one— which, with Arch behind center, is not a guarantee.
8. Mississippi State
The Bulldogs took a huge tumble this week after getting demolished by the Crimson Tide at home. Kamario Taylor looked like he regressed quite a bit back to the quarterback that got limited snaps last season— or maybe it's just playing a talented defense that had him frazzled.
7. Texas A&M
A&M looked like a team that has begun to figure out what they're good at and stick to it. The defense played pretty well for the most part against Arkansas, and the offense stuck to a stout ground game to lift them to their first conference win— but they'll have to have a few tricks up their sleeve to take down a red-hot Missouri team.
6. Ole Miss
The Rebs were off this week after getting destroyed by Florida in week four. They'll have a quick trip up to Nashville this weekend, which they should win pretty easily— but then they play currently-ranked teams in three out of their next four contests. The proving ground is coming for the Rebels.
5. Florida
Jon Sumrall's squad got a bit of a humbling up in CoMo this past weekend— one that changes the outlook a little bit for this team. The Gators can bounce back this weekend against South Carolina and only have to get through Texas after that before the bye— if they enter with only one loss, they will be prime CFP candidates.
4. Missouri
Austin Simmons, Cayden Lee, and company looked stellar against a suspect Florida pass defense, and they'll look to do so again this weekend against a Texas A&M team that has given up way too many big plays through the air. This is a key game for their College Football Playoff hopes, without a doubt.
3. LSU
Lane Kiffin and company have finally finished their non-conference schedule with a destruction of McNeese, but now have to navigate a road trip against a highly confident Kentucky team. LSU has yet to notch a road win this season— in fairness, they've only had one chance, but it's still a barrier they have to get over, and we've seen Kiffin drop these kinds of games before.
2. Georgia
The Bulldogs took a little bit to pull away from Vanderbilt this weekend, but they left no question in the end. Their trip to Tuscaloosa has been circled as one of the season's biggest games for quite some time, and it looks like it's living up to the hype heading into it.
1. Alabama
I'll own up to it: I was way too low on Keelon Russell after game one, but he's grown leaps and bounds since then. The Tide are firing on all cylinders right now, but we'll see if DeBoer and company can get revenge on Georgia for last year's SEC Championship.
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