SEC Power Rankings: Week 5
Sep 6, 2014; Gainesville, FL, USA; A SEC marker on the field during the second half between the Florida Gators and the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 65-0. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
It was an interesting week in the SEC this past weekend. There were teams that needed to prove themselves that struggled, and teams that desperately needed a win and couldn’t get it. Here is how the SEC Power Rankings stack up after 4 weeks of SEC football.
- LSU (3-0, Previous Week: 2nd) Leonard Fournette is going to strap the LSU Tigers to his back and see how far he can carry them. He might carry them to the College Football Playoff.
- Ole Miss (4-0, Previous Week: 1st) Normally I wouldn’t knock a team down for sleep walking against an inferior team. But you shouldn’t struggle THIS much against Vandy at home. If they want the top spot back, they’ll eventually have their shot against LSU.
- Georgia (4-0, Previous Week: 3rd) I thought about moving Georgia to the top spot, but then I remembered they played Southern. I can’t in good conscience move a team up to the top when they play Southern.
- Alabama (3-1, Previous Week: 5th) Alabama had a pretty ho-hum win against ULM. But they won and it wasn’t even close
- Texas A&M (4-0, Previous Week: 4th) The Aggies have looked a lot like the Aggies of 2014. That could bode well for the Bulldogs. The Aggies should be 3-1, but they pulled a rabbit out of their hat for the 2nd straight year against Arkansas.
- Mississippi State (3-1, Precious Week: 6th) The Bulldogs won at Auburn, and because it was on the road, I considered moving them up a spot. Ultimately I decided to leave them where they are and let next week’s game determine who is better.
- Florida (4-0, Previous Week: 8th) Florida has some kind of magical hold over the Vols. For the second straight year, the Gators beat Tennessee in the most unfathomable way possible.
- Kentucky (3-1, Previous Week: 10th) Kentucky now has two wins they weren’t supposed to get when the season opened. Two road wins against South Carolina and Missouri could send the Wildcats bowling regardless of what they do for the rest of SEC play.
- Missouri (3-1, Previous Week: 7th) Missouri finally had their pathetic excuse for an offense catch up to them. Scoring will be difficult in Columbia, and if you can’t score, you can’t win.
- Tennessee (2-2, Previous Week: 8th) Tennessee was supposed to be the darlings of the SEC East. But they can’t seem to hold a lead against a good team. And at some point, Butch Jones is going to have to do more than Derek Dooley did if he wants to keep his job.
- South Carolina (2-2, Previous Week: 13th) It looked bad for the Gamecocks in the first half, but they righted the ship in the second half. I don’t know if this will get them on a more successful track, but it can’t hurt.
- Auburn (2-2, Previous Week: 11th) Different quarterback, same result. Sean White didn’t turn the ball over every other play, but the Tigers can’t score points. And Gus Malzahn is supposed to know how to score points.
- Arkansas (1-3, Previous Week: 13th) Arkansas may be better than what we think they are. They lost to a Toledo team that looks pretty good. Texas Tech almost beat TCU. And the Razorbacks should have beaten Texas A&M but made some really bad mistakes late in the game. But until we seem something a little more than potential, the Razorbacks will be toward the bottom
- Vanderbilt (1-3, Previous Week: 14th) Vandy might get some wins this year. They play a bad Auburn team at home, Kentucky is also in Nashville, and Missouri doesn’t look very good at all. The Commodores aren’t good, but the defense is solid, and they could still a game or two.
Another week in the books, and we should have some more movement in the SEC Power Rankings once week 5 is done.