I’ll get this out of the way now – there’s a new No. 1 this week!

What a thrilling Week 7. Even with Mizzou, Texas A&M and South Carolina taking the weekend off, there were incredible games and unexpected results galore across the SEC this week.

Tennessee finally took down Alabama for the first time in the Nick Saban era. Georgia scored a massive shutout of Vanderbilt for the second year in a row. Arkansas went to BYU (for some reason) and beat the tough Cougars. Kentucky stymied Mississippi State. LSU outlasted Florida thanks to 6 TDs from Jayden Daniels.

There are some major changes in this week’s power rankings. So, without further ado, let’s see how all 14 teams stack up after Week 7:

14. Vanderbilt (3-4 overall, 0-3 in SEC play)

Previous ranking: 14
This week: 55-0 L to No. 1 Georgia

Look, I get it. Vanderbilt has played 3 SEC teams so far this season and they’ve been Alabama, Ole Miss and Georgia. That’s a brutal first 3 games. But, Mizzou nearly pulled off an upset of Georgia. Vanderbilt might as well have not shown up for Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs. Until the Commodores show at least a little fight in an SEC contest, they’ll hold on to the No. 14 spot in these rankings. However, if they want to wait until after next week’s game at my alma mater, Mizzou, to start playing well, that’d be just fine with me. Speaking of Mizzou…

13. Mizzou (2-4, 0-3)

Previous ranking: 13
This week: OFF

Mizzou needed this off week in the worst way to get QB Brady Cook and some other key players healthy. The Tigers now face a make-or-break 3-game stretch coming off the bye week. They host Vanderbilt on Homecoming in Week 8. Then, they travel to South Carolina before returning home for a showdown against Kentucky. Go 3-0 in that stretch and a bowl berth is likely. Go 2-1 or worse and the road to the postseason gets much, much tougher.

12. Auburn (3-4, 1-3)

Previous ranking: 12
This week: 48-34 L to No. 9 Ole Miss

Credit to Auburn. This team continues to fight hard for its embattled coach. The coaching just isn’t there to lead this team to a victory. Will the Bryan Harsin era end soon? If a move isn’t made before Monday, it likely means Harsin will at least finish out the regular season as Auburn’s head coach. There are plenty of tough games left on Auburn’s schedule, though. We’ll see if the Tigers can carry the offensive momentum from Saturday’s game through the off week.

11. Texas A&M (3-3, 1-2)

Previous ranking: 11
This week: OFF

The Aggies desperately needed an off week, so it came at a great time. But, if they didn’t use this time to figure out their offensive woes, it won’t matter much moving forward. Texas A&M heads to South Carolina this coming week, then returns home to host a currently undefeated Ole Miss squad. If the Aggies don’t go 2-0 in that stretch, fans will be quite upset.

10. Florida (4-3, 1-3)

Previous ranking: 6
This week: 45-35 L to LSU

Outside of an 81-yard run, which was all sorts of impressive, Anthony Richardson only threw for 185 yards and 1 touchdown and only ran for 28 yards. He needs to be a lot better and the offense, in general, needs to be a lot better. The defense also struggled, especially early, against the Tigers. The Gators show a lot of fight every week, but there’s still a long way to go to turn this program around.

9. Mississippi State (5-2, 2-2)

Previous ranking: 5
This week: 27-17 L to No. 22 Kentucky

These are the sorts of games Mississippi State just hasn’t shown it can win under Mike Leach. Just when you think things are trending in the right direction, the offense completely falls apart and Will Rogers, who entered the week as a legitimate Heisman contender, gets out-dueled by a bruised and banged up Will Levis. Credit to Kentucky for fighting its way to a home win, but Mississippi State has disappointed yet again.

8. South Carolina (4-2, 1-2)

Previous ranking: 10
This week: OFF

I was a little lower on the Gamecocks than I probably should have been last week. This is a well-coached team that is elite on special teams and makes big plays when needed. Winning at Kentucky, even though the Wildcats were without Will Levis, was a big one for this program. We’ll see if they can continue the positive momentum moving forward, but this feels like the right spot for the Gamecocks at the moment. The Gamecocks host Texas A&M on Saturday in what feels like a season-defining game for both squads.

7. Arkansas (4-3, 1-3)

Previous ranking: 8
This week: 52-35 W over BYU

This was a really tough mid-year road trip for the Hogs, and they handled it well. KJ Jefferson was absolutely magnificent, throwing for 367 yards and 5 touchdowns. Maybe this will help the Razorbacks turn things around moving forward. But, things don’t get easier on the schedule. Sam Pittman’s crew goes to Auburn in 2 weeks after an open date on Oct. 22.

6. Kentucky (5-2, 2-2)

Previous ranking: 7
This week: 27-17 W over No. 16 Mississippi State

This is a completely different team with Will Levis at quarterback. I’m choosing to basically throw out the South Carolina loss last week, as I don’t believe that shows what Kentucky is capable of when it has its best player. Chris Rodriguez Jr. was also electric on Saturday, gashing the Mississippi State defense for 196 yards and 2 scores. He’s been great since returning from a suspension. This is a tough Kentucky team when it is at full strength.

5. LSU (5-2, 3-1)

Previous ranking: 9
This week: 45-35 W over Florida

This was a big win, but the biggest win Brian Kelly has gotten this year was pulling Jayden Daniels out of the transfer portal. It hasn’t always been pretty, but the former Arizona State QB can be a star sometimes, as he was Saturday night in The Swamp. LSU scored 6 touchdowns in its 10-point win, and Daniels had a hand in all of them, throwing for 349 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and adding 44 yards and 3 scores as a runner. As Daniels goes, the Tigers go. We’ll see what he can do against undefeated Ole Miss next Saturday afternoon.

4. Alabama (6-1, 3-1)

Previous ranking: 3
This week: 52-49 L to No. 6 Tennessee

Alabama has way too many first-round picks on defense to play this poorly. Even Nick Saban seemed to call out DC Pete Golding and his defenders in his postgame press conference. When you have that much talent, including perhaps the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft in Will Anderson Jr., giving up 52 points is unacceptable. This team has some serious flaws and now has some work to do if it wants to make the Playoff.

3. Ole Miss (7-0, 3-0)

Previous ranking: 4
This week: 48-34 W over Auburn

No, the Ole Miss defense wasn’t as good as it has been so far this year. But, the offense showed up in a huge way. The Rebels continue to be unstoppable on the ground. In fact, the thing that seems to stop them most is failing on aggressive fourth-down attempts. There’s no rest for this undefeated squad just yet, though, as they head to LSU for a tough road game next Saturday.

2. Georgia (7-0, 4-0)

Previous ranking: 1
This week: 55-0 W over Vanderbilt

The Bulldogs dropping to No. 2 in these rankings has nothing to do with the way they played on Saturday and everything to do with Tennessee taking down Alabama (more on that in a second). Also, Vanderbilt didn’t provide any resistance to Georgia, so fans can blame the Commodores for falling to No. 2. This is still a team that looks like a Playoff contender, though, so I’m not worried about Georgia moving forward. Now, all sights are set on Nov. 5 when the Vols head to Athens.

1. Tennessee (6-0, 3-0)

Previous ranking: 2
This week: 52-49 W over No. 3 Alabama

The Vols have finally done it! I’m officially moving them into the No. 1 spot in the power rankings after their thrilling win over Alabama on Saturday. Hendon Hooker should be No. 1 on everyone’s Heisman Trophy ballots. I’ll settle for nothing less than the Vols being ranked No. 3 in Sunday’s AP and Coaches Polls. This team is absolutely for real. The offense can score on anyone, and now I cannot wait to see the Vols take on Georgia in a few weeks.