ESPN released its SEC power rankings following Week 4 of the 2016 college football season.
To no surprise, Alabama remains the top team in the conference. Texas A&M remained No. 2 overall after a convincing win against Arkansas, who dropped two spots to No. 5.
Tennessee jumped two spots to No. 3 after defeating Florida, 38-28, for the first time since 2004. Here’s a look at the full power rankings including a brief portion of the summary for each team.
1. Alabama: “Alabama should be in good shape when it faces Kentucky in conference play next weekend.”
2. Texas A&M: “We already had the Aggies at No. 2 in our SEC power rankings before this week, but now they have a firmer grip on that spot after besting previously unbeaten Arkansas 45-24.”
3. Tennessee: “Tennessee is firmly in the SEC East driver’s seat.”
4. Ole Miss: “Hugh Freeze’s club took control early against Georgia and kept the throttle down, handing Kirby Smart his first loss as the Bulldogs’ head coach. ”
5. Arkansas: “The Razorbacks’ first loss revealed a flawed run defense — they gave up 11 plays of 10 or more rushing yards and 366 rushing yards total to Texas A&M — but there are still some elements of a good team here.”
6. Florida: “Jim McElwain outcoached Butch Jones in the first half, but the tables were turned in the second as Florida looked very much like last season’s lackluster offense in its 38-28 loss to the Vols.”
7. Georgia: “Let’s be honest: The Bulldogs simply don’t look very good thus far.”
8. Auburn: “Let’s not count out Gus Malzahn just yet.”
9. LSU: “LSU struggled again Saturday, and the heartbreaking loss to Auburn might be the final nail in the coffin for the ‘Mad Hatter.'”
10. Missouri: “Mizzou is scoring at an impressive clip thus far.”
11. Mississippi State: “The Bulldogs needed a second-half rally to beat UMass — a 1-3 Group of 5 team that also hung tough with Florida a couple of weeks ago.”
12. Kentucky: “We won’t rule [bowl eligibility] out, but that seems unlikely.”
13. South Carolina: “They’ll be better eventually, but it won’t be this year.”
14. Vanderbilt: “Vandy still needs to pull several upsets if it is to even threaten to become bowl eligible.”
You can read the full power rankings at ESPN here.
Jason covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
