We are heading toward what could be an insane SEC coaching carousel. We already have fired coaches at Auburn, Florida, LSU and Arkansas. Kentucky may have just saved Mark Stoops’ job, at least temporarily, but he could be on the way out, too.
If a coach like Eli Drinkwitz or Lane Kiffin moves to one of the other openings, more chaos would ensue. I wrote about the possibility of half of the SEC potentially having new coaches in 2026 last week. It’s still in play.
But for now, we need to dive into the post-Week 10 power rankings. The top half of the rankings mostly stayed the same, but there were some major changes in the bottom half.
Without further ado, here are our updated SEC football power rankings:
16. Arkansas (2-7 overall, 0-5 in SEC)
- Previous ranking: 15
- Last week: 38-35 L vs. Mississippi State
- This week: OFF
This Arkansas team simply cannot figure out how to hold onto a lead. Week after week, the Razorbacks watch as opponents come from behind to beat them. Spoiler alert, but Bobby Petrino isn’t going to land this full-time job. Whoever the new guy ends up being, he’ll have his hands full in 2026 and beyond to get this program back to where it was during the early years of Sam Pittman’s tenure.
15. Auburn (4-5, 1-5)
- Previous ranking: 12
- Last week: 10-3 L vs. Kentucky
- This week: at Vanderbilt
Losing to Kentucky at home is brutal, but in a way, it was a fitting end to the Hugh Freeze era at Auburn. Now the Tigers will hire their 4th head coach of the 2020s. They have to get this one right if they want to return to SEC relevance.
14. Kentucky (3-5, 1-5)
- Previous ranking:16
- Last week: 10-3 W at Auburn
- This week: vs. Florida
Did this win save Mark Stoops‘ job? Was he ever in any real danger of being fired with that hefty buyout? We won’t know the answers to those questions for at least another week, it seems, as Kentucky showed a lot of fight in a road win at Auburn. Tougher tests await, though, with Florida heading to Lexington for a rivalry game in Week 11.
13. South Carolina (3-6, 1-6)
- Previous ranking: 14
- Last week: 30-14 L at No. 7 Ole Miss
- This week: OFF
Keep an eye on South Carolina. The Gamecocks’ season has not gone according to plan at all. This was supposed to be a borderline Playoff contender. Now South Carolina might not make a bowl game. Could Shane Beamer have his eye on Virginia Tech if things get even worse in Columbia?
12. Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4)
- Previous ranking: 13
- Last week: 38-35 W at Arkansas
- This week: vs. Georgia
Mississippi State finally found a team even worse at protecting leads than it, going on the road and scoring Jeff Lebby‘s first SEC victory at Arkansas. The Bulldogs continue to play every single opponent on their schedule tough, and I expect that to continue this Saturday in Starkville in a Battle of the Bulldogs.
11. Florida (3-5, 2-3)
- Previous ranking: 11
- Last week: 24-20 L to No. 5 Georgia (in Jacksonville)
- This week: at Kentucky
The new-coach bump couldn’t quite get Florida over the hump against Georgia at the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville. Now a rivalry game looms against Kentucky this weekend. The Wildcats have momentum after beating Auburn. Can the Gators get an all-important win this weekend and keep their slim bowl hopes alive?
10. LSU (5-3, 2-3)
- Previous ranking: 10
- Last week: OFF
- This week: at Alabama
LSU has had a tumultuous couple of weeks after firing Brian Kelly. Governor Jeff Landry keeps making big statements about the job. AD Scott Woodward is out. Everything’s a mess. And now the Tigers have to return to the field this weekend against No. 4 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. This could get worse before it gets better for LSU.
9. Tennessee (6-3, 3-3)
- Previous ranking: 6
- Last week: 33-27 L vs. No. 18 Oklahoma
- This week: OFF
This defense is not good. After getting torched by Kentucky last week, the Vols gave up 33 points to John Mateer and the Sooners. If cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson still can’t come back after the bye, Tennessee is in a world of trouble. Win out and a Playoff spot is still a possibility, albeit an unlikely one. We’ll see what this Vol team is made of down the stretch.
8. Mizzou (6-2, 2-2)
- Previous ranking: 7
- Last week: OFF
- This week: vs. Texas A&M
Matt Zollers is the QB1 now that Beau Pribula is injured, and the bye week came at a good time to get him plenty of reps. However, facing Texas A&M in your first game as a starter is a tough task. The Mizzou freshman will be thrown into the fire this weekend in front of the Faurot Field faithful. We’ll see if the defense can make some big plays to keep this game competitive.
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7. Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2)
- Previous ranking: 9
- Last week: 33-27 W at No. 14 Tennessee
- This week: OFF
The most impressive win of the week came from the Oklahoma Sooners, who went to Rocky Top and avoided a devastating third loss by giving loss No. 3 to the Vols, instead. John Mateer did enough to lead the Sooners’ offense to a win and he continues to look better with each passing week following hand surgery. Oklahoma’s Playoff hopes are still alive heading into the second bye of the year, which is a good spot for Brent Venables and his team to be.
6. Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2)
- Previous ranking: 5
- Last week: 34-31 L at No. 20 Texas
- This week: vs. Auburn
Two things are true at the same time with Vanderbilt’s loss at Texas. First, the game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. Second, Vanderbilt deserves all the credit in the world for not giving up on this game and making it close at the end. In fact, if the Commodores had managed to pounce on an onside kick late, they could have potentially pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in recent college football history. This team still has a Playoff path.
5. Texas (7-2, 4-1)
- Previous ranking: 8
- Last week: 34-31 W vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt
- This week: OFF
For 50 minutes on Saturday afternoon in Austin, the Texas Longhorns looked like the preseason No. 1 team we were promised. Of course, Vanderbilt nearly managed to come all the way back to pull off an insane victory, but it wasn’t meant to be. There are plenty of things for Steve Sarkisian and his squad to clean up during the bye week, but things are trending up in Austin.
4. Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1)
- Previous ranking: 4
- Last week: 30-14 W vs. South Carolina
- This week: vs. The Citadel
Ole Miss finally managed not to play with its food. Although South Carolina took an early lead, the Rebels controlled the game from then on out. A comfortable 2-score victory is exactly what this team needed amid all the speculation about its head coach. Now the Rebels get a cupcake game against The Citadel before a manageable end to the SEC season against Florida and Mississippi State.
3. Georgia (7-1, 5-1)
- Previous ranking: 3
- Last week: 24-20 W vs. Florida (in Jacksonville)
- This week: at Mississippi State
It’s not pretty, and it’s already hurt Georgia once (against Alabama), but you have to admire the resiliency and the ability to continue finding ways to win tight games. A team with the national title-level ambitions that Georgia has should not be playing this many close games against lesser SEC foes, but Kirby Smart and company keep winning. Expect another tight battle this weekend in Starkville.
2. Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0)
- Previous ranking: 2
- Last week: OFF
- This week: at Mizzou
Texas A&M has to hit the road coming out of its second bye week, heading to Columbia to take on a former Big 12 foe in Mizzou. The Tigers limp into this game without their top 2 QBs, as Sam Horn was injured in Week 1 and Beau Pribula went down against Vanderbilt. This should be a good spot for the Aggies to pick up win No. 9 and continue their march to Atlanta.
1. Alabama (7-1, 5-0)
- Previous ranking: 1
- Last week: OFF
- This week: vs. LSU
Alabama holds down the top spot during its second open date of the season. Now the Crimson Tide host an LSU squad that’s in turmoil after firing head coach Brian Kelly. This shouldn’t be too difficult of a game for Kalen DeBoer and company, but then again, these are exactly the kinds of games his Alabama teams have struggled with. We’ll see if the Tide can make a statement in front of their home crowd.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
