Power ranking the SEC after week 7: New top team as UT, UGA, Bama falter

After a week filled with near misses and exciting finishes, here's how the SEC looks to shake out following week seven.

Oct 12, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks wide receiver Nyck Harbor (8) catches a pass for a touchdown as Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Domani Jackson (1) defends during the second half at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-Imagn Images / Butch Dill-Imagn Images

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Power ranking the SEC after week 7: #11 - South Carolina

The Gamecocks were this close to taking down the Crimson Tide in what would have been a transformative win for Shane Beamer and his staff. Instead, they wilted in the final moments with some questionable clock management on the part of LaNorris Sellers.

You can do a lot of “coulda, woulda, shoulda” with that loss, which will sting for Gamecock fans for quite some time. But it really was an encouraging result in several respects; the Carolina defense keeps looking better and better with each passing week, even as the offense continues to struggle.

The biggest question I still have about SC, though, is whether the offense can operate when the run game isn’t going. In the second half against LSU, when the Tigers didn’t respect the arm of Robby Ashford and crawled down against the run game, and the whole game against Ole Miss, things looked pretty bad.

SC has a big chance against OU this weekend. An early kick on the road against a flagging team that is coming off a disappointing loss could be a great recipe for the Gamecocks to make some hay here with a win headed into the bye.

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