2018 SEC Power Rankings: Week 1

Each week of the 2018 football season, you can check back here for your weekly update to the SEC Power Rankings.

We made it! Game Week is finally here! And with game week beginning, that means the first edition of the SEC Power Rankings need to be published.

I’m basing my SEC Power Rankings mostly off the SEC Media Days’ Media predictions. I obviously have to make some judgment calls on a few teams when comparing teams in different divisions. I also make a few changes from the way the media sees things, but I tried to stray away from their predictions as little as possible.

So without further adieu, here are the SEC Power Rankings for Week 1.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama continues to be the cream of the crop. For the second time in the Nick Saban era, Alabama did not win the SEC West but still managed to play for and win a National Championship. They’re the favorites to repeat. Will they do it?

2. Georgia Bulldogs

I was tempted to put a team from the West here at 2 and Georgia 3, but they are the returning SEC Champs and as a result, they deserve the number 2 spot. They will have a lot to replace though, and seeing if they’ll be able to play up to last year’s level without some of those stars remains a question as the season opens.

3. Auburn Tigers

Auburn will be deep and talented on the defensive side of the ball. While they should have plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball, they have a lot to replace on that side of the line. They have to insert an entire brand new starting offensive line, and a new running back. That won’t be easy.

4. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Making their debut in our 2018 SEC Power Rankings is our very own Mississippi State Bulldogs. It’s rare to see a brand new head coach have expectations as high as the Bulldogs have this season, some people think they could win 10 to 11 games in 2018, but with a wealth of returning talent and nasty defense that is deep as any team in the country along the defensive line, expectations should be high.

5. South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks get the nod at number 5 for the SEC Power Rankings. I’m not sure how good this team will be in 2018, but their record should look good simply because of the schedule they play. They have tough games against Georgia and Clemson, but all of their other games are very winnable. And if they can pull an early upset in week 2 against Georgia, they could jump out as the front runner for the SEC East.

6. Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M is very much the wild card in my book for 2018. I think they will be better with Jimbo Fisher as opposed to Kevin Sumlin, but how much better remains to be seen. And also don’t know how long it will take. Expect them to be much better than the 6th best team in the SEC seems to be asking too much.

7. Florida Gators

Much like Texas A&M, I expect Florida to be better with Dan Mullen coaching the team than they were under Jim McElwain. And with a relatively favorable schedule, improvements should be immediate. The Gators appear to be a 7-9 win team if Mullen can motivate the team the way he should.

8. LSU Tigers

I’ve had LSU around this spot on many times before, but it usually isn’t this early in the season. The Tigers are going to have tough sledding with a insanely difficult schedule and a coach I simply don’t trust that much. I don’t see the Tigers winning more than 5-7 games in 2018.

9. Missouri Tigers

Missouri gets to be the number 9 pick because of Drew Lock. He will single handedly win the Tigers some games this season.

10. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss will score points, there is no question about that. There also isn’t any question about the fact they will also give up a bunch of points. Can the Rebels consistently put up enough points to cover the weaknesses in their defense? That’s the question we are waiting to find the answer to.

11. Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky has made a bowl game two years in a row. Can they make it three? It won’t be easy, but they might be able to squeak into a bowl game with 6 or 7 wins.

12. Vanderbilt Commodores

I put Vanderbilt above the other two teams simply because they have the same head coach and shouldn’t have the transition adjustments the other two do.

13. Arkansas Razorbacks

The Razorbacks will get better under Chad Morris, but it won’t be this year.

14. Tennessee Volunteers.

Same as the Razorbacks, the Vols will be better under Pruitt, but it won’t be this year.

That wraps up the first edition of the SEC Power Rankings. Check back next week to see how change there is after the first set if games.

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