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Every Tuesday, we rank the SEC and Big Ten teams in one power poll. The order of the SEC teams is based on the Week 2 SDS power rankings.
The SEC came back to reality in Week 2 after seeing a record 10 teams ranked in the Associated Press Poll after the start of the season. The Big Ten made big strides this week, led by Michigan State, who finally beat Oregon. All told, the two conferences have 11 teams ranked in the polls. This week’s rankings see many teams shuffling around, including a dozen teams the moved up or down at least four spots.
A look at our hybrid SEC/Big Ten rankings:
Playoff-caliber
Michigan State creeps in among the playoff-caliber teams after Week 2. The Spartans are 2-0 with a huge win over Oregon to make the Spartans the No. 4 team in the nation, according to the AP and Coaches polls. The way Michigan State is playing makes Sparty one of the teams to beat in the nation. As for Ohio State and Alabama, they also remain the top team in their respective conferences after convincing Week 2 wins.
- Ohio State (-)
- Alabama (-)
- Michigan State (-)
Serious Contenders
Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas A&M post big numbers on the scoreboard. Those three schools have outscored opponents by a combined 325-92. The trio tops our serious contender’s bracket, which features Auburn at No. 9, despite the near-ugly loss to Jacksonville State. Northwestern is our highest climber on the list, up eight spots after starting the year 2-0.
- Georgia (-)
- Ole Miss (+1)
- Texas A&M (+2)
- LSU (-)
- Northwestern (+8)
- Auburn (-4)
- Wisconsin (-)
Knocking On The Door
Tennessee, Mississippi State and Arkansas each has one loss, but each has shown flashes so far in the young season that it can be dominant when playing its game. Unfortunately, all three have also shown holes that need addressing before they make the jump to the contenders bracket. Iowa (2-0) and Minnesota (1-1) have held their own this year, despite not being projected to do much.
- Tennessee (-1)
- Mississippi State (+1)
- Missouri (-1)
- Iowa (+7)
- Minnesota (+5)
- Arkansas (-7)
Better Than You Think
Among the surprise teams in both the SEC and Big Ten so far this season are the Kentucky Wildcats and Illinois Fighting Illini, both who have jumped out to 2-0 records — and both who have jumped five spots in our poll from last week. Michigan picked up a win over a Pac-12 school (Oregon State), while Florida and Nebraska each won their contests.
- Michigan (-)
- Kentucky (+5)
- Illinois (+5)
- Florida (-4)
- Nebraska (-6)
- South Carolina (-4)
And the rest…
Vanderbilt takes our final spot, based on the fact that the Commodores are the only team in either the SEC or Big Ten without a win so far this season. Indiana (2-0) is a rare sight atop the Big Ten West division tied with Michigan State. But the Hoosiers are undefeated this year with wins over Southern Illinois and Florida International. Penn State took our biggest tumble in the polls. Despite winning their game 27-14 over Buffalo, confidence in the Nittany Lions isn’t exactly at its peak right now.
- Indiana (+5)
- Penn State (-10)
- Purdue (+2)
- Maryland (-4)
- Rutgers (-2)
- Vanderbilt (-2)
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
