SEC power ranking shakeup after week 8: Contenders emerging and pretenders exposed

Texas A&M football's prospects at claiming the SEC crown continue to rise, but Georgia is top dog in this week's SEC power rankings.

Georgia celebrate a touchdown in the first quarter of the Longhorns' game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Oct. 19, 2024.
Georgia celebrate a touchdown in the first quarter of the Longhorns' game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Oct. 19, 2024. | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Power ranking the SEC after week 8: #15 - Kentucky

The dropoff from this Wildcats squad since defeating Ole Miss has been precipitous and shocking. UK played the perfect game to beat what was then a top-5 squad on the road, and have looked like they don’t know how to play football since that point.

Perhaps their nadir was this past weekend—giving up a whopping 48 points to Florida, of all teams. We know that DJ Lagway has a strong arm, but the passing explosiveness allowed by the Wildcats was still astounding to see—they surrendered eighteen point six yards per attempt, a stat so shocking I had to write it all the way out in italics.

The Wildcats will have to regroup this weekend with a home game against Auburn. UK still has yet to score more than 20 points against a power team, but against the Tigers, that could be more than enough to win the game.

Schedule

Schedule