Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky were all off in Week 8. That made for a paltry slate of SEC games on Saturday, but it wasn’t without drama.
Yes, Tennessee blew out UT Martin in the early game, but Ole Miss and LSU battled in the first half before the Tigers pulled off a win. Another group of Tigers, Mizzou, barely held off Vanderbilt. Alabama bounced back against Mississippi State and South Carolina started strong and then held on against Texas A&M.
So, as we prepare for Week 9, where do things stand in the SEC?
Here are our post-Week 8 power rankings of all 14 SEC teams:
14. Vanderbilt (3-5 overall, 0-4 in SEC play)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: 17-14 L at Mizzou
The Vanderbilt defense scored 7 of those points, so there are still major problems offensively. Mike Wright led the Commodores’ only scoring drive, coming after he replaced AJ Swann for the second half. The defense fought hard. The offense had myriad issues at Faurot Field. This was perhaps the Commodores’ best chance to snap a long SEC losing streak. Another 0-8 conference record could be in the works now.
13. Mizzou (3-4, 1-3)
Previous ranking: 13
This week: 17-14 W over Vanderbilt
I wish I could move the Tigers lower but, well, they did just beat Vanderbilt, after all. What a horrendous second half for the Tigers’ offense. Eli Drinkwitz really needs to consider giving up play-calling duties. When Mizzou went into clock-killing mode up only 10 with 13 minutes left in the game, I knew the Tigers were in trouble. A fumble, a missed field goal and a punt later, Vanderbilt had a chance to win the game before being doomed by a turnover on downs. Ugly, ugly football. What worked in the first half was getting the ball to Luther Burden. Yes, Vanderbilt did a good job of limiting him in the second half, but that’s where Drinkwitz has to find a way to get him the ball. If he can’t, the Tigers need to find someone who can.
12. Auburn (3-4, 1-3)
Previous ranking: 12
This week: OFF
Bryan Harsin’s squad fought hard in a loss to Ole Miss 2 weeks ago. Now, after a week off, we’ll see if the Tigers can fight even harder against an Arkansas squad that is off to a rough start in SEC play. It’ll be interesting to see if Harsin goes with Robby Ashford or TJ Finley as his starting quarterback.
11. Texas A&M (3-4, 1-3)
Previous ranking: 11
This week: 30-24 L to South Carolina
Yes, Jimbo Fisher has an exorbitant buyout. But, is it really that crazy to think the wealthy A&M boosters could buy him out? At the very least, if A&M doesn’t win a national title by 2024, Fisher could be gone, hefty buyout paid in full. This is not where this team expected to be at this point of the Fisher era. We’ll see if he can turn things around, but things aren’t going great right now.
10. Mississippi State (5-3, 2-3)
Previous ranking: 9
This week: 30-6 L to No. 6 Alabama
The Bulldogs are a good team when they play bad teams. They’re a bad team when they play good teams. Where does that leave them? Well, in the loaded SEC, that leaves you at No. 10. Mike Leach’s offense has been figured out by teams with good defenses. I’m sorry. It just has. Until Mississippi State scores a win against an upper-level SEC team, I’m done believing in the Bulldogs.
9. Florida (4-3, 1-3)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: OFF
The Gators bump up a spot in the rankings by doing, well … nothing. But, by virtue of not losing, they climb to No. 9 ahead of the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville against rival Georgia. This will be Billy Napier’s first taste of the bitter rivalry. Anthony Richardson is going to have to have a big game with his arm and his legs and the Gators are going to have to continue to move the ball well on the ground if they’re going to pull off the monumental upset.
8. Arkansas (4-3, 1-3)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: OFF
The Hogs welcomed the off week after a brutal stretch of games. Now, they’ll head to Auburn in a game they really need to win to climb back into the top half of the SEC West. KJ Jefferson should be ready to roll and the running backs should be running hard after a week of rest. Expect the Hogs to come out strong at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
7. South Carolina (5-2, 2-2)
Previous ranking: 8
This week: 30-24 W over Texas A&M
This was the first win for South Carolina in the rivalry against Texas A&M in a long time. Credit to Shane Beamer’s crew for coming out and smacking the Aggies in the first quarter and then holding on long enough to secure a win. But, the last 3 quarters were a bit concerning for the Gamecocks. Still, this is a team that can really cement itself as a legitimate SEC East team with a win over Mizzou next weekend.
6. Kentucky (5-2, 2-2)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: OFF
The Wildcats got a much-needed week of rest in Week 8. This is a banged-up squad right now, including QB Will Levis, so any time to get healthy is well received. But, now perhaps the toughest test of the year awaits, as Kentucky heads to Rocky Top to take on an undefeated Tennessee squad next Saturday. We’ll see if an upset is in the cards.
5. Ole Miss (7-1, 3-1)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: 45-20 L at LSU
This was a tale of 2 halves for the Rebels. After battling to a 20-17 lead at halftime, things completely fell apart in the second half. Red-zone woes hurt Lane Kiffin’s squad, as did a pair of turnovers on downs. There’s still a lot to like about this Ole Miss team, though. Tiger Stadium is one of the toughest environments in the SEC. We’ll see if they can regroup next weekend in another tough road test at Texas A&M.
4. LSU (6-2, 4-1)
Previous ranking: 5
This week: 45-20 W over No. 7 Ole Miss
Wow. What a second-half effort from the Tigers! Trailing 20-17 at halftime, LSU outscored the visiting Rebels 28-0 over the game’s final 30 minutes to pull off an impressive win. Jayden Daniels deserves some Heisman hype after posting 248 yards and 2 touchdowns as a passer and 121 yards and 3 scores as a runner. Death Valley is a tough place to play and this team is really coming together under Brian Kelly. The Tigers will be a difficult team to beat down the stretch.
3. Alabama (7-1, 4-1)
Previous ranking: 4
This week: 30-6 over No. 24 Mississippi State
It was a better first half than second half for the Crimson Tide, but the defense bounced back in a big way. The Tide own the Bulldogs, and that was evident once again on Saturday night. This is still a really good Alabama team that is loaded with NFL talent. If the Tide are refocused, this is a team that can win the SEC West, the SEC title and make a Playoff run.
2. Georgia (7-0, 4-0)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: OFF
The Bulldogs took the week off to get ready for the Cocktail Party against Florida next Saturday. These next 2 weeks are huge for the Dawgs. They can’t get caught looking ahead to the Nov. 5 showdown vs. Tennessee and let the Gators hang around in Jacksonville. Kirby Smart’s crew has a chance to make a real statement as the unquestioned best team in the country these next couple of games. But, for now, the No. 1 team in the SEC remains…
1. Tennessee (7-0, 3-0)
Previous ranking: 1
This week: 65-24 W over UT Martin
This was never expected to be a challenge for the Vols. And, frankly, the final score wasn’t even as close as the 41-point margin makes it seem. Tennessee dominated, scoring 52 points in the first half before the backups came in. A good day to get some work done for Josh Heupel’s crew, but tougher challenges await against Kentucky next weekend.
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.
