SEC Power Rankings: Where all 16 teams stand after Week 10

November is the month when the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders, and that’s what we saw in Week 10 across the SEC.

Texas might be back. Georgia looks dominant. Tennessee made a statement at home against Kentucky. Alabama embarrassed LSU.

It was a busy weekend, and now we just have to wait to see how the second College Football Playoff rankings play out on Tuesday. That show will air on ESPN between games in the men’s basketball Champions Classic showcase.

For now, though, here’s how our SEC power rankings shake out after Week 10:

16. Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-5 overall, 2-5 in SEC)

• Previous ranking: 13
• Last week: 25-23 L vs. Vanderbilt
• This week: vs. Auburn

September seems like it was so long ago. It’s an indictment on Jeff Lebby‘s roster building that this Mississippi State team couldn’t beat a bad Vanderbilt team at home without star QB Kamario Taylor. This has turned into a lost season in Starkville.

15. Vanderbilt Commodores (4-5, 1-5)

• Previous ranking: 16
• Last week: 25-23 W at Mississippi State
• This week: vs. Alabama

Credit to Vanderbilt for getting an SEC victory. Going on the road isn’t easy in this league, and the Commodores held on for a win in Starkville. Now they’re out of the SEC cellar.

14. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-6, 1-5)

• Previous ranking: 15
• Last week: 26-23 L at Auburn
• This week: vs. South Carolina

Arkansas was competitive at Auburn, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset win. This team needs major roster reconstruction this offseason.

13. Texas A&M Aggies (4-5, 1-5)

• Previous ranking: 14
• Last week: 17-9 L at No. 21 South Carolina
• This week: vs. Tennessee

The Texas A&M Aggies made some dubious history on Saturday. Marcel Reed and the offense put up 450+ yards of offense, committed 0 turnovers and still scored exactly 0 touchdowns. That’s the first time in college football history that’s happened. Yikes.

12. Auburn Tigers (5-4, 3-4)

• Previous ranking: 12
• Last week: 26-23 W vs. Arkansas
• This week: at Mississippi State

A struggle win is still a win. This is the type of game previous iterations of the Auburn Tigers always found ways to lose, so the fact that they held on for a 3-point win is a credit to Alex Golesh.

11. Florida Gators (5-4, 3-4)

• Previous ranking: 10
• Last week: 23-7 L vs. Oklahoma
• This week: at Kentucky

This team has been very frustrating to watch after the flashes of brilliance it showed earlier this season. This weekend will be an interesting test for Jon Sumrall and the Florida Gators, as they head to Lexington to take on a Kentucky squad that just got blown out by Tennessee.

10. Oklahoma Sooners (5-4, 3-3)

• Previous ranking: 11
• Last week: 23-7 W at No. 24 Florida
• This week: vs. Ole Miss

What a debut as offensive coordinator for Jason Witten! The Oklahoma Sooners showed some signs of life on that side of the ball, going into the Swamp and handing the Florida Gators a blowout loss. We’ll see if he can keep it going against an Ole Miss defense that allowed 42 points to Georgia last weekend.

9. Mizzou Tigers (6-3, 3-3)

• Previous ranking: 6
• Last week: 34-20 L vs. No. 7 Texas
• This week: at Georgia

Mizzou has a right to be upset with the refs, who made several questionable calls that hurt the Tigers in the first half. But down the stretch, this team didn’t make enough plays to win. The Tigers had a costly turnover that swung the game in the fourth quarter. Can’t blame the refs for that.

8. LSU Tigers (6-3, 3-3)

• Previous ranking: 3
• Last week: 31-13 L vs. No. 5 Alabama
• This week: vs. Texas

Lane Kiffin has been very disappointing in big games this year. It’s like he’s a completely different coach, in a bad way, when the stakes are the highest. If LSU can bounce back and beat Texas this weekend, there’s still a slim Playoff chance here, but Saturday’s blowout loss was a major letdown.

7. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-3, 4-3)

• Previous ranking: 8
• Last week: 17-9 W vs. Texas A&M
• This week: at Arkansas

It wasn’t pretty, but Shane Beamer managed to lead his South Carolina Gamecocks to yet another win. Keep an eye on the status of star QB LaNorris Sellers. He was clearly hurt during the Texas A&M game, so we’ll see if he can go this week at Arkansas.

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6. Ole Miss Rebels (6-3, 4-3)

• Previous ranking: 4
• Last week: 42-7 L vs. No. 2 Georgia
• This week: at Oklahoma

Ole Miss ran into a buzzsaw at the exact wrong time. A loss like that will be hard to justify on a Playoff résumé, even if it did come against the then-No. 2 team in the country. All the Rebels can do now is finish strong and put pressure on the CFP committee.

5. Texas Longhorns (7-2, 4-2)

• Previous ranking: 7
• Last week: 34-20 W at No. 18 Mizzou
• This week: at LSU

The Texas Longhorns continue to fight with their backs against the wall. They certainly got some help from the officials on Saturday at Mizzou, but the Tigers didn’t make plays in the fourth quarter in key spots. The Longhorns did.

4. Kentucky Wildcats (7-2, 5-2)

• Previous ranking: 1
• Last week: 34-6 L at No. 13 Tennessee
• This week: vs. Florida

This was a major setback for the Kentucky Wildcats. There’s no sugarcoating this loss. Will Stein and company got embarrassed on Rocky Top. But this is still a good football team and now it gets to host a reeling Florida squad. Win this matchup and all of your goals are still attainable.

3. Tennessee Volunteers (7-2, 4-2)

• Previous ranking: 9
• Last week: 34-6 W vs. No. 6 Kentucky
• This week: at Texas A&M

The Tennessee Volunteers are really tough to beat at home. This defense is one of the best in the entire country, not just the SEC. At Texas A&M, vs. LSU and at Vanderbilt to finish the year seems fairly manageable. Is this a Playoff team? It sure looks that way.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-2, 5-2)

• Previous ranking: 5
• Last week: 31-13 W at No. 14 LSU
• This week: at Vanderbilt

The Alabama Crimson Tide needed this game for their Playoff résumé and they delivered in a big way. Kalen DeBoer‘s squad now has a fairly manageable path to the 12-team field, with games at Vanderbilt, vs. Chattanooga and vs. Auburn on the remaining schedule.

1. Georgia Bulldogs (8-1, 6-1)

• Previous ranking: 2
• Last week: 42-7 W at No. 10 Ole Miss
• This week: vs. Mizzou

What a statement by Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. This is the clear best team in the SEC, and maybe the country. That loss to Auburn was the best thing to happen to this team. The Dawgs are scary now and the rest of the SEC is officially on notice.

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