Well, that was quite a week in the SEC, wasn’t it?
It wasn’t as tumultuous as it was in the Big Ten, where Penn State lost in embarrassing fashion yet again, this time against Northwestern. That cost coach James Franklin his job. Indiana also went on the road and scored a big win at Oregon.
In the SEC, though, we saw Alabama hold off a feisty Mizzou team. We saw Georgia get some help to beat Auburn in a rivalry game. And we saw Texas perhaps save its season with a Red River Rivalry win over Oklahoma. Oh, and Texas A&M quietly continues to chug along under the radar.
So how did Week 7 upset the balance of power in the SEC? Here’s a look at our updated power rankings following Saturday’s action:
16. Kentucky (2-3 overall, 0-3 in SEC)
- Previous ranking: 16
- Last week: OFF
- This week: vs. Texas
Kentucky mercifully had the week off. The Wildcats’ reward? Getting to host a Texas squad that suddenly figured out some things offensively during the Red River Rivalry in Dallas. This isn’t when you want to catch the Longhorns. We’ll see if Mark Stoops and company can keep this one competitive.
15. Arkansas (2-4, 0-2)
- Previous ranking: 15
- Last week: 34-31 L at No. 12 Tennessee
- This week: vs. Texas A&M
Credit to the Hogs — they were competitive against Tennessee on Rocky Top. That was a way more competitive game than I ever imagined Arkansas was capable of. But as my colleague Connor O’Gara pointed out on Sunday, Bobby Petrino isn’t going to earn the full-time job with competitive losses. We’ll see if the Hogs can stun Texas A&M in Fayetteville in Week 8.
14. Mississippi State (4-2, 0-2)
- Previous ranking: 14
- Last week: OFF
- This week: at Florida
The Bulldogs got to sit at home during Week 7 and watch Florida get beaten up in College Station. Yes, this upcoming game is in The Swamp, but Mississippi State will be a live upset pick in this one. This is no longer a pushover squad under Jeff Lebby. Expect some fireworks on Saturday in Gainesville.
13. South Carolina (3-3, 1-3)
- Previous ranking: 13
- Last week: 20-10 L at No. 11 LSU
- This week: vs. Oklahoma
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — whatever the question was that faced the South Carolina offense this offseason, Mike Shula wasn’t the answer. South Carolina making a bowl game this year depends on switching play callers sooner rather than later. I have nothing against Shula; it’s just darn-near impossible to be an effective college coordinator when you haven’t done it since 2019 (and that came in the NFL).
12. Florida (2-4, 1-2)
- Previous ranking: 10
- Last week: 34-17 L at No. 5 Texas A&M
- This week: vs. Mississippi State
Billy Napier simply doesn’t win against ranked teams on the road. That’s fine when you’re the head coach at Louisiana. It’s not fine when you’re an SEC head coach. Florida played hard in the first half, but ultimately got steamrolled by Texas A&M in College Station. Saturday is a must-win game against Mississippi State if the Gators want to have any hope of making a bowl game.
11. Auburn (3-3, 0-3)
- Previous ranking: 12
- Last week: 20-10 L to No. 10 Georgia
- This week: vs. Mizzou
Auburn got screwed this week. There’s no doubt about that. The Tigers should’ve had a 17-0 lead late in the first half after Jackson Arnold broke the plane of the end zone on a sneak. That was an unacceptable lapse by SEC officials, and it was the second brutal one for Hugh Freeze and company this year (following the Oklahoma game). But this offense needs to find ways to put more than 10 (or 17) points on the board in SEC games if it wants to win. There’s too much talent on that side of the ball not to be scoring 20+ points per game.
10. Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1)
- Previous ranking: 8
- Last week: 23-6 L to Texas
- This week: at South Carolina
John Mateer was probably a better option for Oklahoma than the backups, but the Sooners need their QB1 back at full health sooner (sorry) rather than later if they’re going to salvage their Playoff hopes. The defense also showed a few concerning signs in allowing 23 points (17 if you don’t include a punt return) to a Texas offense that has looked awful all year.
9. Texas (4-2, 1-1)
- Previous ranking: 11
- Last week: 23-6 W over No. 6 Oklahoma
- This week: at Kentucky
Steve Sarkisian is right — the Texas Longhorns only have 1 loss in SEC play and still have all of their goals in front of them. We’ll see if the Red River Rivalry win over Oklahoma was a turning point in the season or not, but after a loss at Florida in Week 6, this is exactly what the doctor ordered for Arch Manning and company.
8. Vanderbilt (5-1, 1-1)
- Previous ranking: 9
- Last week: OFF
- This week: vs. LSU
Vanderbilt had the week off after a loss to Alabama. Now we’ll see if the Commodores can get back on track this weekend at home against an LSU squad that has an offense that is in turmoil, to put it lightly. If Diego Pavia and company can score 30 points on LSU, there’s a real possibility of an upset in Nashville on Saturday.
7. LSU (5-1, 2-1)
- Previous ranking: 7
- Last week: 20-10 W over South Carolina
- This week: at Vanderbilt
Brian Kelly didn’t look very happy with QB Garrett Nussmeier on multiple occasions during Saturday’s win over South Carolina. The Tigers are lucky they figured out their defensive woes this year, because the offense is horrible. We’ll see if LSU can gain some confidence on that side of the ball in Nashville this weekend against a Vanderbilt defense that has shown troubling signs in recent weeks.
6. Mizzou (5-1, 1-1)
- Previous ranking: 4
- Last week: 27-24 L to No. 8 Alabama
- This week: at Auburn
The Tigers hung tough with Alabama, but Mizzou has done that with the SEC elites before. (Think Georgia in its title-winning season in 2022.) But Eli Drinkwitz and company don’t get any credit for moral victories anymore. This team needs to prove it can win big games. More opportunities will come this year, but first, Mizzou needs to make sure 1 loss doesn’t turn into 2 when it makes a difficult road trip to Auburn this weekend.
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5. Tennessee (5-1, 2-1)
- Previous ranking: 6
- Last week: 34-31 W over Arkansas
- This week: at Alabama
The Vols struggled a bit on both sides of the ball against Arkansas. Yes, Tennessee won, but this defense desperately needs Rickey Gibson and Jermod McCoy back. The Vols are still on track for a Playoff berth as things stand now, though, so it’s tough to be too down on Josh Heupel and company. A really difficult road trip to Tuscaloosa awaits this weekend, however.
4. Georgia (5-1, 3-1)
- Previous ranking: 3
- Last week: 20-10 W at Auburn
- This week: vs. Ole Miss
Georgia needs to get going sooner in some of these games. The Bulldogs were absolutely dominated in the first half by Auburn. The Tigers should’ve had a 17-0 lead before Georgia’s field goal right before halftime. Now, Kirby Smart and company absolutely deserve credit for being able to come back from these double-digit deficits. But elite teams don’t fall behind by multiple scores this often.
3. Texas A&M (6-0, 3-0)
- Previous ranking: 5
- Last week: 34-17 W over Florida
- This week: at Arkansas
You’re going to hear Mike Elko‘s name mentioned in Penn State rumors over the coming months after the Nittany Lions fired James Franklin. What you’re not going to hear is a plausible reason why Elko would leave what he’s building at Texas A&M to jump into a mess at Penn State. Elko has the Aggies absolutely rolling right now. This team is a legitimate Playoff contender.
2. Ole Miss (6-0, 3-0)
- Previous ranking: 1
- Last week: 24-21 W over Washington State
- This week: at Georgia
Obviously, it’s always better to win an ugly game than it is to lose an ugly game. This would have been an even worse loss for Ole Miss and coach Lane Kiffin than last year’s Kentucky debacle. At the very least, the Rebels avoided a terrible loss and kept their wiggle room when it comes to making the Playoff. That’s no small matter as Ole Miss heads to Sanford Stadium to face Georgia in this weekend’s marquee game.
1. Alabama (5-1, 3-0)
- Previous ranking: 2
- Last week: 27-24 W at No. 14 Mizzou
- This week: vs. Tennessee
I’m moving Alabama back to the No. 1 spot. Winning on the road at Mizzou and at Georgia in recent weeks is an incredible feat. Kalen DeBoer‘s 3-straight wins over ranked teams is something Nick Saban only accomplished once in his legendary career. That’s impressive. I think it’s safe to say Ty Simpson and company have put the Week 1 loss at Florida State behind them.
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.
