The back half of the SEC schedule is really rolling, although Week 8 didn’t offer up many surprises. Still, another round of games means another round of power rankings. As ever, we’re ranking based on what we’ve seen, not what we necessarily think we will see moving ahead.

After eight weeks of SEC football, here’s where they stand:

14. Arkansas (2-6, beat Tulsa 23-0)

On the one hand, this was a win, and a solid margin of victory for the Razorbacks. On the other hand, they played a 1-5 team from the AAC and outgained them just 327-260. We considered moving the Razorbacks out of the cellar, but it’ll take more than this to convince us.

13. Tennessee (3-4, lost to Alabama 58-21)

Once again, this game serves only to demonstrate how wide the talent gap is between these one-time rivals. It was almost unfair to Tennessee to expect them to make this game competitive, but they couldn’t even hold it together for half a quarter against mighty Alabama.

12. Mississippi (5-3, lost to Auburn 31-16)

Ole Miss gained 447 yards and did not turn the ball over, but still somehow managed to score only 16 points in the loss to Auburn. The Tigers weren’t exceptional at all offensively, but there was no chance the Rebel defense would hold the Tigers under 16 points.

11. Vanderbilt (3-4, lost to Kentucky 14-7)

The Commodores brought a tough defensive game plan and plenty of grit to Lexington, but they just couldn’t produce enough offense to knock off Kentucky. Far from embarrassing, but the defense played like a group that didn’t come to Lexington to lose.

10. Auburn (5-3, beat Mississippi 31-16)

Like every good thing that’s happened to Auburn this year (with the exception of their season-opening win over Washington), this was just kind of underwhelming. The defense bent but didn’t break, the offense took what the Rebels gave. Even the good moments are disappointing this year for Auburn.

9. South Carolina (3-3, off this week)

Carolina needs a quality win to jump up the board.

8. Mississippi State (4-3, lost to LSU 19-3)

This Mississippi State defense could sue the offense for non-support. It is a definite testimony to how good of a coach that Dan Mullen was that the Bulldogs brought in an offensive guru in Joe Moorhead and have regressed horribly on offense.

7. Missouri (4-3, beat Memphis 65-33)

Missouri turned in an impressive performance Saturday, putting up scores early and often against a Memphis team that is better than this score would indicate. Coming off an 0-3 start in the SEC, this was just what the doctor ordered heading into Mizzou’s game against Kentucky next week.

6. Kentucky (6-1, beat Vanderbilt 14-7)

Yes, Kentucky, you have arrived when an ugly SEC win knocks you back. Just a tip: You might want to figure out a way to gain more than 18 passing yards if you want to continue beating teams that don’t have multiple directions in their name.

5. Texas A&M (5-2, off this week)

The Aggies have a big week coming up as they head to Starkville with bowl pecking order on the line.

4. Georgia (6-1, off this week)

The Bulldogs have had a week to heal and regroup before the annual matchup with Florida in Jacksonville

3. Florida (6-1, off this week)

The Gators likewise have had an extra week to prepare.

2. LSU (7-1, beat Mississippi State 19-3)

That thrashing of Mississippi State was another impressive performance by the LSU defense. The offense will have to do a bit more to have a shot at Alabama in two weeks, but unlike Ricky Bobby, we see nothing wrong with second.

1. Alabama (8-0, beat Tennessee 58-21)

Alabama would feel a little better if they could quit getting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa dinged up, but that’s about the only bad news for the Crimson Tide. It’s two weeks until they visit LSU, which certainly seems like the game of the year in the SEC this season.