SEC Power rankings after week 4: Aggies and Longhorns slide ahead of road showdowns
16. Arkansas
The Arkansas fanbase is somehow already in a complete revolt after only three games of the Ryan Silverfield regime. They got shellacked by Georgia this past week in a game where the Bulldogs’ defensive linemen started doing drills with their own team during fourth-quarter timeouts— that’s insult to injury.
15. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt had maybe the most fortunate win you will ever see this past week when they somehow beat NC State. Jared Curtis looks like he’s the real deal, but there’s just not the team around him right now for Vandy to get back to where they were.
14. South Carolina
The Gamecocks were gifted a two-touchdown lead over Mississippi State and they still ended up losing. LaNorris Sellers’ issues are better-masked by Kendal Briles’ offense at times, but there’s not been a heck of a lot of improvement in the areas where he needs it most. This is a dangerous team due to their top-level talent, but there’s a reason Carolina fans are calling for Beamer to be fired right now.
13. Auburn
The Tigers put up a heck of a fight against the Gators this week— honestly, they played above their own heads a little bit— but this still feels like it’s the USF roster in Auburn’s jerseys (which it kind of is!). If Golesh can get the top-level talent into this system, then he can have some success— but this team isn’t ready for the SEC.
12. Missouri
The Tigers had quite a bit of trouble with Troy this week— maybe it was a look-ahead for the upcoming game against Mississippi State, but getting in a dogfight with the Trojans wasn’t a great look. The Tigers’ fall here has more to do with other teams rising, but they have a chance to make a big move with a win next week.
11. Kentucky
The Wildcats took a big leap with their surprising win over the Aggies this week, but before they move too much, there needs to be a bit more of a proof of concept for them. That’s not to say it was a fluky win— things went almost exactly as Stein would have wanted, if I had to guess— but the coming weeks will show if this was more about them or more about the Aggies.
10. Oklahoma
All is not well in Norman. Fans are really turning on John Mateer and this offense now after a very poor offensive showing against New Mexico, winning 14-6 over the Lobos at home. The lackluster performance was enough to drop them out of the AP top 25 this week ahead of a difficult stretch of games.
9. Florida
The Gators just keep looking better and better on offense, but their defense has some questions after giving up nearly 40 to Auburn. They have a huge chance this weekend at home against Ole Miss— can Jon Sumrall pull off the massive upset?
8. Tennessee
The Vols took care of business against Kennesaw State ahead of a showdown with Texas this weekend— a game where they’ll host College Gameday in an attempt to knock of the top team in the AP rankings. Heupel has the schematic advantage over Muschamp, but the question is whether QB Faizon Brandon can execute that game plan.
7. Alabama
The Tide looked like they were going to fall to Florida State again (somehow) in the early going, but after a couple of rain delays, DeBoer got his crew in shape. The Tide put up a 50-piece on the Noles, but surrendered 36 to an FSU offense that has looked all but anemic at times.
6. Texas
The same concerns continue to abound about this Texas team after a lackluster win over UTSA where Arch Manning looked awful. Getting handed a game by Ohio State will buoy them for a while, but this game was a data point in favor of the idea that their true identity is the team from the first three quarters of that game rather than the last one.
5. Mississippi State
Kamario Taylor outdueled LaNorris Sellers in Columbia this past week in an exciting if undersold game, and the top offense in the conference is about to get their first ranked-on-ranked matchup of the Jeff Lebby era. If the Bulldogs beat Missouri, a lot of people are going to need to reevaluate their ceiling.
4. Texas A&M
The Aggies lost to Kentucky in an extremely uncharacteristic fashion— while concerns about Marcel Reed continue, it was the performance of the defense that was a head-scratcher. The LSU game this weekend can help illustrate if the Aggie team we saw in the third quarter of this one is who they really are, or if something else was going on.
3. LSU
The Tigers walked into a buzz saw against the Ole Miss Rebels this past weekend, but still almost pulled off a comeback. The worry for them is that they were patently unable to take advantage of a secondary that was victimized repeatedly by the likes of Louisville— and they just lost three contributors for at least the foreseeable future.
2. Ole Miss
The Rebels proved they still have the best quarterback in the conference— and maybe in college football. Pete Golding just keeps racking up skins on the wall— now, though, he’ll have to show he can manage a team that is coming off a hugely emotional game and heading to an intimidating road environment in Gainesville.
1. Georgia
It’s been a quiet start for the Bulldogs, but they’ve been as dominant as any team in the country— more so, actually. They’ll get more attention this week with their game against OU, but not enough people right now are talking about UGA as a true contender for the national title.
Add us as a preferred source on Google