The SEC regular season is over, but there’s no reason to end the party. It’s time to share our final power ranking of the SEC regular season. Here we go.
14. Arkansas (2-10, lost to Missouri 24-14)
This was a better than expected final effort for the Razorbacks against Barry Odom and a lame-duck Mizzou squad that had its bowl dreams taken away. Still, 2-10 is 2-10, and ending the season with a nine-game losing streak keeps Arkansas in the cellar.
13. Vanderbilt (3-9, lost to Tennessee 28-10)
On a night when Tennessee went 6-for-17 passing, Vanderbilt still basically never had a shot, giving up almost 300 rushing yards to the Vols. We should probably just all be grateful that there was no Vandy/Arkansas game this season.
12. Mississippi (4-8, lost to Mississippi State 21-20)
We all saw the game. Most of us even heard the hilarious Russian broadcasters. The Rebels actually played well, had a competitive game in the Egg Bowl, then lost in perhaps the most humiliating way possible. They were a better team than this, but last impressions matter.
11. South Carolina (4-8, lost to Clemson 38-3)
What a brutal end to the Gamecocks’ season. Will Muschamp will (apparently) keep his job, but nobody can be feeling great about his ability to dig South Carolina out of the lower half of the SEC East.
10. Missouri (6-6, beat Arkansas 24-14)
Only playing the worst team in the SEC (and perhaps in P5 football) allowed the Tigers to avoid a five-game losing streak and a losing season. Yes, the NCAA situation overshadowed the season, but Barry Odom had to do better than he did. He didn’t, so he’s gone.
9. Mississippi State (6-6, beat Mississippi 21-20)
The Bulldogs snuck their way into a bowl berth and Joe Morehead might have earned a little more patience. That said, if Rutgers decides it has to get him, more than a few people in Starkville won’t be shedding any tears.
8. Kentucky (7-5, beat Louisville 45-13)
Had Kentucky simply played Lynn Bowden at QB and run the ball 90% of the time from the first snap, UK might have gone 9-3 or 10-2 and Bowden might be a Heisman finalist. Still, Kentucky rallied from a difficult situation to a positive season.
7. Tennessee (7-5, beat Vanderbilt 28-10)
It’s rarely been easy or aesthetically pleasing for the Vols, but they pulled this season out of the fire and finished with five consecutive wins to get into a bowl game that would’ve been unimaginable after a 2-5 start.
6. Texas A&M (7-5, lost to LSU 50-7)
Yes, we considered dropping the Aggies, but this was the only particularly bad loss of their season. Considering the brutal schedule they played and the relatively mediocre teams ranked behind them, they can stay here.
5. Florida (10-2, beat Florida State 40-17)
Nothing Florida did wrong, but with Auburn’s big upset, the Tigers jump over the Gators in the pecking order of the SEC’s big dogs. Florida’s biggest win was over Auburn, but Auburn’s was against Alabama. Advantage, Tigers.
4. Auburn (9-3, beat Alabama 48-45)
And just like that, all the maddening, frustrating things about Auburn this year are forgotten. The Tigers were two plays from being 7-5, but none of that will matter. We could’ve ranked them higher, but let’s not get carried away.
3. Alabama (10-2, lost to Auburn 48-45)
Should we have jumped Auburn over Bama? Well, Bama lost two games by a total of 8 points. That’s all that separated the Crimson Tide from being a lead-pipe lock for the CFP. So we’ll reluctantly stick them at third, knowing they’d be likely to take down Georgia if they were playing them next week.
2. Georgia (11-1, beat Georgia Tech 52-7)
UGA completely overpowered Tech, which feels like the story of the Bulldogs’ season. Had they not run into a perfect storm against (gulp, 4-8) South Carolina, they’d still have a perfect record. If they beat LSU they’re in the CFP.
1. LSU (12-0, beat Texas A&M 50-7)
The Tigers were in fine form against an A&M team that played close to Clemson and Georgia. Joe Burrow might yet get his chance to show Ohio State that it ended up with the wrong QB.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
