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. 12 - Kentucky

The Wildcats had their contest cut short, but they had a commanding lead over a very, very poor Southern Miss team midway through the third quarter when things went final. Again, that’s not really going to get you a lot of latitude as far as moving you up or down in the rankings here—blowing out bad teams doesn’t move me most of the time.

Deone Walker is a stud, as we all thought. He continues to impress up front for the Kentucky DL. The Wildcats are still staring down the barrel of a tough schedule, and they have an early conference test with the Gamecocks this week.

Of course, if USC plays the way they did this past week, this won’t exactly be a tough matchup for the Wildcats. They’re going to have to break a three-year streak of losing to the Gamecocks, though—but that might just juice the crowd up even more to be ready for this one.

Schedule

Schedule