Every Wednesday, we rank the SEC and Pac-12 teams in one power poll. The order of the SEC teams is based on the Week 2 SDS SEC Power Rankings.
Poll voters were unkind to Auburn this week after Saturday’s lackluster win over Jacksonville State. Confidence shaken as a preseason Top 10, the Tigers fell 12 spots to No. 18 in the Week 3 AP Top 25 and find themselves as a touchdown underdog this weekend at LSU.
RELATED: SEC Bowl Projections after Week 2
In this week’s SEC vs. Pac-12 power ranking, USC took advantage with a jump to the No. 2 spot behind Alabama. The Crimson Tide will face Ole Miss next in an early Western Division showdown in prime-time. Meanwhile Pac-12 contender Oregon will try and rebound from a road loss to fifth-ranked Michigan State at home against Georgia State.
ELITES
After solid Week 2 performances. we’ve added several teams in the ‘elite’ category this week, a collection of eight teams who should be considered legitimate College football Playoff threats. Ole Miss squeaks into the Top 5 after its second consecutive 70-plus outing thanks to another impressive game from Chad Kelly. A lack of a passing attack in the early going at Georgia is a bit worrisome, but Nick Chubb has handled business offensively on the ground. All of these teams listed below have an elite playmaker on offense who will be in Heisman consideration for the next several weeks. UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen’s already made a name for himself out West as one of the nation’s best passers through two games and Texas A&M’s Kyle Allen has been nearly perfect over his last three quarters of football.
- 1) Alabama
- 2) USC
- 3) Georgia
- 4) Oregon
- 5) Ole Miss
- 6) UCLA
- 7) Texas A&M
- 8) LSU
FRINGE TOP 15
The Wildcats need Scooby Wright back before they’re considered a serious Pac-12 threat, but quarterback Anu Solomon has shown he’s capable of carrying this team before the defensive juggernaut return. For Auburn, finding a rhythm offensively is paramount for this team’s success. Crippled by preseason Heisman expectations, Jeremy Johnson has struggled early and many think it’s more than just nerves. Some have questioned his ability to read defenses and make correct decisions through the air, a far bigger issue for this offense if it persists. Based on what we’ve seen, Johnson appears to be forcing the issue when nothing’s there and Gus Malzahn has attributed some of that to his receivers and guys not getting open. Auburn and Arizona are on the same wavelength right now and we’re taking the ‘wait and see’ approach.
- 9) Auburn
- 10) Arizona
ALMOST THERE
Utah’s won back-to-back games with defense to open the season, scoring just 48 total points. The Utes take on Fresno State — who gave up 73 points to Ole Miss last week — next before a trip to Oregon for their Pac-12 opener on Sept. 26. Tennessee and Mississippi State both missed out on opportunities at home against nationally-ranked competition last week to move up in the pecking order. The Vols lost for the 28th time in their last 29 games vs. a ranked team, squandering a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before falling in overtime. The Bulldogs ran out of time against LSU and missed a long field try as time expired that would’ve won the game.
- 11) Utah
- 12) Tennessee
- 13) Mississippi State
- 14) Mizzou
TRENDING UP, DOWN
Will Bret Bielema force new OC Dan Enos to run the football Saturday against Texas Tech? If not, the Razorbacks could suffer their second consecutive loss to a team with lesser-talent. Last week’s setback to Toledo was a rude wake-up call as a result of getting away from what Arkansas does best — picking up yards between the tackles. Kentucky’s heading in the right direction after a momentum-building win at South Carolina and has a chance to move out front in the East at home Saturday night against Florida. Playing without Vernon Hargreaves against East Carolina, the Gators avoided a bad home loss with a late fumble recovery and ride a 28-game winning streak over the Wildcats heading into this weekend’s showdown.
- 15) Arkansas
- 16) Kentucky
- 17) California
- 18) Florida
MORE IS NEEDED
Half of these teams will make a bowl game this season and the other half will not. At least that’s our guess after two weeks of evaluating who has what in this group of six. Arizona State, who started the season No. 15, nearly started 0-2 after last week’s scare against Cal Poly while South Carolina, a team on a downward trend, suffered a brutal home loss to Kentucky that was nearly decided by intermission.
- 19) Stanford
- 20) Arizona State
- 21) South Carolina
- 22) Colorado
- 23) Washington
- 24) Oregon State
BOTTOM OF THE PILE
Credit to the Commodores for hanging in there Saturday against Georgia, but the red zone interceptions must cease if this team wants to get into the win column at some point this season. Vanderbilt’s a 40.5-point favorite this weekend against Austin Peay and even the worst team in this power ranking has to like those odds.
- 25) Washington State
- 26) Vanderbilt
