Welcome to Uncle Mo’s Power Index, a power rankings based solely on each team’s momentum heading into a new weekend of action.

Most power rankings are concerned with how teams stack up at a given point in time. But Uncle Mo’s Power Index is more concerned with where teams are trending and where they might end up down the line.

Uncle Mo thought long and hard about this week’s Power Index, and here’s what he came up with:

  1. Texas A&M Aggies: Texas A&M made a statement with its 24-point week 1 victory over then-No. 9 South Carolina in Columbia on opening night, and built on that statement win with a 73-3 rout of Lamar last week. Kenny Hill has been a revelation at quarterback for Kevin Sumlin’s bunch, and the offense has scored points at will through two weeks (125 points to be exact). The Aggies face-off with Rice Saturday night in College Station, and it should be another big night for A&M and its explosive offense. The Aggies do not play a team from this week’s Associated Press rankings until an October 11 showdown with Ole Miss, leaving them plenty of time to continue building on their early-season success.
  2. LSU Tigers: The Tigers trailed Wisconsin 24-7 in the second half of their week 1 showdown, but rallied to score 21 unanswered points to steal a victory on opening night. LSU maintained its momentum last week in a 56-0 rout of Sam Houston State to improve to 2-0, and now prepares for a week 3 contest against UL Monroe in Baton Rouge. The Tigers’ confidence has been high since their week 1 comeback, and another game against a team from outside the power conferences should keep them clicking this weekend.
  3. Ole Miss Rebels: Ole Miss led Boise State just 7-6 through three quarters on opening night, but scored four fourth quarter touchdowns to pull away from the Broncos and win that game by 22 points. The Rebels trounced conference rival Vanderbilt by 38 points last week, and now prepare for back-to-back games against mid-major opponents in UL Lafayette and Memphis. Ole Miss is building momentum fast, and it was reported earlier this week the Rebels may get to host College Gameday for the first time ever if they remain unbeaten when Alabama comes to town on October 4. Ole Miss has cracked the top-15 in the AP poll for the first time in five years, and appears to be a major factor in the loaded SEC West.
  4. Georgia Bulldogs: The Bulldogs enjoyed an early-season bye last week, which killed some of the momentum they gained from an opening night win over the ranked Clemson Tigers. Georgia now prepares for perhaps the game of the year in the SEC East against South Carolina, and having two weeks to rest and prepare should benefit Georgia in this game. Todd Gurley asserted himself as a true Heisman candidate in the win over Clemson, and Hutson Mason appeared poised in his first game as the full-time starting quarterback. The Bulldogs have certainly built up some momentum heading into Saturday’s contest, but they’ll benefit just as much from a lack of momentum on the South Carolina sideline.
  5. Florida Gators: Florida finally opened its season last week against Eastern Michigan, throttling the Eagles 65-0 in the Swamp. The Gators have put their disastrous 2013 campaign behind them, and Kurt Roper’s new-look offense has Florida feeling good about its prospects on that side of the ball. The losses of tackle D.J. Humphries and tight end Jake McGee may set Florida back, but the Gators should benefit from opening their SEC schedule this weekend with Kentucky, a team they’ve beaten 27 years in a row. Florida is confident and building momentum in 2014, something it was unable to do at any time last season.
  6. Auburn Tigers: Auburn has been somewhat of a forgotten team despite entering the season as the defending conference champions. The Tigers blanked Arkansas 24-0 in the second half of their week 1 win over the Razorbacks, then returned to the field last week for a 59-13 whipping of San Jose State. Auburn has maintained its streak of consecutive games with a 100-yard rusher as well as its streak of consecutive games with 200 yards rushing as a team, and now must prepare for a daunting non-conference matchup against No. 19 Kansas State next Thursday night. Auburn has quietly built up a good deal of momentum heading into this one, and Gus Malzahn’s team could record a statement win with a strong showing against the Wildcats.
  7. Alabama Crimson Tide: Alabama is always among the most polarizing programs in college football, and the current season is no exception. The Crimson Tide looked less than spectacular in a 10-point win over West Virginia in week 1, but redeemed themselves in a 41-0 lightning-shortened win over Florida Atlantic. The recognizable narrative of Alabama’s dominance has been replaced by storylines concerning the Nick Saban-Lane Kiffin relationship, the Blake Sims-Jacob Coker quarterback battle and the lack of targets for O.J. Howard through two weeks. The Tide are still among the most talented teams in the nation, and this weekend’s game against Southern Miss should build more confidence within the program, but Alabama has far less momentum heading into the weekend than many of its SEC rivals.
  8. Missouri Tigers: Maty Mauk has looked tremendous at quarterback for the Tigers as they seek to defend their SEC East crown. Missouri has gotten off to slow starts in its first two games of the season against South Dakota State and Toledo, but it has also finished both games with a bang. Mizzou has 87 points through two weeks, and Mauk’s eight touchdown passes are tied for best in the SEC. Missouri welcomes UCF this weekend two weeks after the Knights opened their season with a heartbreaking loss to Penn State in Ireland. The Tigers certainly have more momentum heading into this one than UCF, and another resounding win could keep that momentum alive heading toward SEC play.
  9. Kentucky Wildcats: Kentucky had won just two games in each of the last two seasons, so a 2-0 start in 2014 is a major step in the right direction for the Wildcats. The offense has yet to turn the ball over a single time, and the defense has allowed only 17 points through two weeks. Kentucky won its first two games by an average of 31 points per contest, albeit against UT Martin and Ohio, and quarterback Patrick Towles has looked tremendous in throwing for 547 yards and a pair of touchdowns so far this season. Unfortunately for the Cats, they must travel to Gainesville to face their arch-nemeses, the Florida Gators. Kentucky will be in jeopardy of losing its first game of the year, but it may have just enough momentum to pull a major upset Saturday night in the Swamp.
  10. Tennessee Volunteers: Perhaps no team has put more young talent on display this season than the Tennessee Volunteers, who haven’t hesitated in giving a number of true freshmen their first taste of SEC football this season. The Vols looked sharp in their 38-7 dismantling of Utah State on opening weekend, and followed that win with a 34-19 victory over Arkansas State last week. Tennessee’s young, dynamic playmakers will face their greatest challenge to date in Saturday’s showdown with No. 4 Oklahoma in the heart of Sooner Country, and the game might not bode well for the Vols. The future appears bright for the Tennessee program, but Saturday’s contest may be a detour from the path back to the top of the SEC East.
  11. Arkansas Razorbacks: The Razorbacks hung tough for a half with the defending conference champion Auburn Tigers in week 1, and earned their first win of 2014 in convincing fashion with a 73-7 rout of Nicholls State last week. Arkansas has plenty of momentum following its tremendous offensive output last week, but it is also one of just two SEC teams with a loss so far this season. Nicholls State is far from a quality opponent, but the Razorbacks are feeling pretty good about their chances this weekend on the road against Texas Tech, another team with an electrifying offense. Arkansas could either build on the momentum it gained last week or regress back to square one with a loss. We’ll know much more about this Arkansas team by this time next week.
  12. Mississippi State Bulldogs: The Bulldogs looked as stout as any team in the SEC West following a 49-0 rout of Southern Miss in week 1, but a lackluster performance last week against UAB cooled off some of the hype surrounding the team. Mississippi State allowed UAB to score 34 points, including three touchdowns of 75 yards or longer, and does not appear quite as terrifying in the eyes of the five ranked SEC West teams. Mississippi State has plenty of talent, and returned more experienced starters than any other team in the conference, but following up a shutout by allowing 34 points to UAB was a big step in the wrong direction.
  13. South Carolina Gamecocks: The Gamecocks’ are too talented a team to be 1-1 through two weeks with a 24-point home loss on opening night and a narrow 10-point win over East Carolina last week. South Carolina is clinging to a spot in the Associated Press Top 25, and has a huge game this weekend against Georgia with plenty on the line atop the SEC East. If anything, the Gamecocks have lost momentum since the start of the season, allowing opposing quarterbacks to throw for more than 800 yards in their two games in 2014. If South Carolina cannot win on Saturday, or at least keep the game close, the bottom could fall out on their season.
  14. Vanderbilt Commodores: A quick rundown of why Vandy comes in at the very bottom of this week’s Uncle Mo Power Index: the Commodores are 0-2 in 2014; one of those losses was to lowly Temple; they lost their two games by a combined score of 78-10; they completed just 24 percent of their passes last week and they’ve still yet to score a touchdown on offense. Vanderbilt is free-falling out of relevancy in the wake of James Franklin’s departure to Penn State, and the gap between the ‘Dores and the rest of the SEC grows wider by the day. Vanderbilt could begin to build a little momentum in the Derek Mason era with a win Saturday against UMass, but as it stands today, the Commodores would have been better off sitting out the first two weeks of the year.