Power ranking the SEC after week 1: Texas A&M football falls, UF plummets, UT rises

Even though many teams played cupcake opponents, there was plenty of movement in this week's edition of the SEC power rankings.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) during Tennessee's game against Chattanooga in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) during Tennessee's game against Chattanooga in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Power ranking the SEC after week 1: No. 13 - Arkansas

Hog fans are falling all over themselves about the return of Bobby Petrino, and I have to say: I get where the excitement is coming from. The Hogs looked like a whole new team in their opening game, and even though this was a bad opponent, they put up some impressive numbers.

And I mean impressive. The Hogs scored a touchdown on every single drive, ending with 70 points on 70 plays. They had a success rate up in the 70s, which is really rare. They allowed 0 points, notched 10 TFLs, and allowed a 26% success rate.

Now, let’s be clear: this is not just a normal bad team that the Hogs played. This is a supremely awful team. Think of it this way: Temple, per SP+, is the 132nd-ranked out of 134 FBS teams. UAPB, who Arkansas played, is about that bad relative to their lower division.

So they played the Temple of the FCS and smacked them, as they should have. Does it tell us anything about this team going forward? Not at all. Excited to see how they do in Stillwater!

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