SEC football never disappoints.
Brian Kelly is in Year 4 at LSU, and… OK, well, correction… Brian Kelly was in Year 4 at LSU, but a third loss in a year with Playoff and national title expectations was too much for the administration to stomach.
LSU, as you might expect, dropped in our power rankings after a blowout loss at home against Texas A&M. The Aggies, understandably, moved up.
Who took the No. 1 spot this week? Let’s dive into our SEC power rankings, shall we?
16. Kentucky (2-5 overall, 0-5 in SEC)
- Previous ranking: 16
- Last week: 56-34 L vs. No. 17 Tennessee
- This week: at Auburn
Things are dire at Kentucky. The offense had some positives against a struggling Tennessee defense, but it didn’t matter, as the Kentucky defense fell apart. This could be the end of the line for Mark Stoops in Lexington.
15. Arkansas (2-6, 0-4)
- Previous ranking: 15
- Last week: 33-25 L vs. Auburn
- This week: vs. Mississippi State
In a battle of teams that find creative ways to lose games, Arkansas proved it is in a class of its own, falling to Auburn thanks to 4 turnovers in the fourth quarter. Ouch. It doesn’t look like Bobby Petrino will be getting the full-time coaching gig in Fayetteville again.
14. South Carolina (3-5, 1-5)
- Previous ranking: 14
- Last week: 29-22 L vs. No. 4 Alabama
- This week: at Ole Miss
This game represented both teams’ 2025 seasons perfectly. Alabama narrowly avoided disaster, while South Carolina couldn’t get out of its own way. I’ve said it before in this space and I’ll say it again — Shane Beamer not moving on from Mike Shula ASAP is killing all the goodwill he has in Columbia.
13. Mississippi State (4-4, 0-4)
- Previous ranking: 13
- Last week: 45-38 L (OT) vs. No. 22 Texas
- This week: at Arkansas
Let’s call it what it is — that was an unacceptable loss for Jeff Lebby and the Bulldogs. Mississippi State has been a feel-good story this year, being much more competitive in Year 2 under Lebby. But now’s the time to start converting these strong efforts and close games into actual conference wins. Losing to Texas in that fashion should be embarrassing. No more moral victories in Starkville.
12. Auburn (4-4, 1-4)
- Previous ranking: 12
- Last week: 33-25 W at Arkansas
- This week: vs. Kentucky
The stoppable force met the movable object on Saturday in Fayetteville. Auburn ultimately came away victorious and since the Tigers host Kentucky this week, Hugh Freeze might get a temporary reprieve from being fired. With Arkansas, Florida and LSU now having vacancies across the SEC, though, if Auburn is going to move on before 2026, it’ll likely have to do so quickly. We’ll see what happens on the Plains in the coming weeks.
11. Florida (3-4, 2-2)
- Previous ranking: 11
- Last week: OFF
- This week: vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville)
Florida had the week off to prepare for the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville. Who will replace Billy Napier? Check out what our Neil Blackmon wrote about the latest chatter surrounding the Florida coaching search.
10. LSU (5-3, 2-3)
- Previous ranking: 9
- Last week: 49-25 L vs. No. 3 Texas A&M
- This week: OFF
LSU reportedly made the decision to fire Brian Kelly. His tenure ends with good, but not elite, results. It’s tough for an athletic director to see a stadium emptying out and opposing fans taking over the way Texas A&M fans did at LSU on Saturday night. Who will the Tigers hire next? We’ll see, but the Brian Kelly era was an expensive swing and a miss.
9. Oklahoma (6-2, 2-2)
- Previous ranking: 9
- Last week: 34-26 L vs. No. 8 Ole Miss
- This week: at Tennessee
If John Mateer isn’t 100% healthy, this is going to be what Oklahoma is… a team that can compete with, but can’t beat, elite teams. Oklahoma’s defense will keep it in every game. But against a high-powered offense like Ole Miss (or at Tennessee in Week 10), it’ll be tough for the offense to keep pace.
8. Texas (6-2, 3-1)
- Previous ranking: 10
- Last week: 45-38 W (OT) at Mississippi State
- This week: vs. Vanderbilt
It’s tough to know what to do with the Texas Longhorns. On the one hand, they’re 6-2 overall and have a 3-1 mark in SEC play. On the other hand, I know what my eyes are seeing, and that’s not a good football team. Texas continues to find ways to win, though, most recently in come-from-behind fashion at Mississippi State. Vanderbilt has a chance to come into Austin this weekend and end the Longhorns’ slim Playoff hopes.
7. Mizzou (6-2, 2-2)
- Previous ranking: 5
- Last week: 17-10 L at No. 10 Vanderbilt
- This week: OFF
The Tigers get a much-needed bye week after losing Beau Pribula to what appears to be a significant injury. The early diagnosis on the Mizzou QB from coach Eli Drinkwitz was as positive as it could be after Pribula was taken off the field with an air cast on his leg. Freshman QB Matt Zollers will run the show moving forward, and he looked decent after being thrust into action against a tough Vanderbilt squad. Not all hope is lost for the Tigers.
RELATED: We’re less than 2 months away from the launch of online sports betting in the Show-Me State. Keep up-to-date on all the upcoming betting promos in Missouri, including the Caesars Missouri promo.
6. Tennessee (6-2, 3-2)
- Previous ranking: 7
- Last week: 56-34 W at Kentucky
- This week: vs. Oklahoma
Offense good. Defense bad. It really is that simple for Tennessee this year. Will the defense come around when Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson are back in the secondary? Possibly. But until then, giving up 34 points to Kentucky has to be considered a worrying sign, right?
5. Vanderbilt (7-1, 3-1)
- Previous ranking: 6
- Last week: 17-10 W vs. No. 15 Mizzou
- This week: at Texas
Vanderbilt is going to the Playoff. Are we all ready for that? I am. I’m slowly growing weary of the jokes about how weird it is to think about Vanderbilt being a top 25, a top 15, a top 10 team (and I’m guilty of thinking that way, too). No longer. I’m all-in. Diego Pavia might not have the numbers to be a legitimate Heisman contender at this point, but Heismans are won in November, not September or October. Finish strong and he’ll get his invite to New York.
4. Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1)
- Previous ranking: 4
- Last week: 34-26 W at No. 13 Oklahoma
- This week: vs. South Carolina
Lane Kiffin is going to continue to be mentioned in coaching carousel rumors… Florida, LSU, potentially Auburn… maybe Florida State. It’s not unreasonable to say Kiffin’s name being mentioned in rumors has derailed past Ole Miss squads. Can he handle the talk this time around and guide his team to the Playoff? We’ll find out over the next 5 weeks.
3. Georgia (6-1, 4-1)
- Previous ranking: 2
- Last week: OFF
- This week: vs. Florida (in Jacksonville)
I have nothing against Georgia. I just have to move the Bulldogs down a spot when they were idle and the team in the No. 2 spot just picked up a massive road win. Georgia can likely bounce back to the No. 2 spot by taking care of Florida in Jacksonville this coming weekend. Can the Dawgs avoid falling behind by multiple scores? We’ll see!
2. Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0)
- Previous ranking: 3
- Last week: 49-25 W at No. 20 LSU
- This week: OFF
Texas A&M continues to roll along. One more win and y’all (and, if I’m being honest, myself included) will have to retire your “Texas 8&4” jokes. The Aggies won’t have a chance to pick up win No. 9 this weekend, though, as they’re off. They’ve earned it. Mike Elko can use this week to tell Penn State he’s not interested and then we can move on to a Playoff berth in College Station.
1. Alabama (7-1, 5-0)
- Previous ranking: 1
- Last week: 29-22 W at South Carolina
- This week: OFF
Alabama would have lost this game last year. This is exactly the game the Tide would have lost last year — on the road against an unranked foe. Coming off a 4-game stretch where the Tide took down 4-straight ranked opponents, it was almost letdown city for Kalen DeBoer and company. But credit to Alabama for fighting its way to a comeback win. They aren’t always pretty in SEC play, folks.
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.
