The SEC consistently provides unbelievable entertainment. It’s sad how fast this season is flying by, as we’re officially past the halfway point. There’s still plenty of exciting football left, of course, but it’ll all be over before we know it.
For now, though, the Week 8 results produced plenty of excitement. Vanderbilt is a win away from bowl eligibility! We have a new last-place team in the rankings! Brady Cook! Georgia thumped Texas in a battle of elite squads!
How did the Week 8 results impact this week’s SEC power rankings?
Let’s dive into them now, going from worst to first:
16. Auburn (2-5 overall, 0-4 in SEC)
Previous ranking: 15
This week: 21-17 L at No. 19 Mizzou
Next week: at Kentucky
This team is a mess. The Tigers could have put Mizzou away on multiple occasions on Saturday and didn’t. Instead, Brady Cook got to play hero and it’s back to the drawing board for Hugh Freeze and company. Freeze doesn’t seem to have many answers, either.
15. Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3)
Previous ranking: 12
This week: 35-9 L to South Carolina
Next week: at Ole Miss
I can’t imagine how frustrated Oklahoma’s defense must be with the offense. Will a coordinator change help things improve? Ole Miss has a tough defense. Saturday could be another ugly outing for the Sooners.
14. Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4)
Previous ranking: 16
This week: 34-24 L to No. 14 Texas A&M
Next week: vs. Arkansas
The Bulldogs are showing some fight. Back-to-back games against tough Georgia and Texas A&M resulted in 10-point losses. Jeff Lebby is starting to make this team at least competitive in big games. Arkansas will have to be very careful heading to Starkville this weekend.
13. Kentucky (3-4, 1-4)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: 48-20 L at Florida
Next week: vs. Auburn
The offensive struggles continue to frustrate fans. But what was even more concerning on Saturday night in The Swamp was the defense collapsing. Allowing 5 rushing touchdowns to freshman Jadan Baugh was, simply put, embarrassing. A loss to Auburn would be disastrous for Mark Stoops and company this week.
12. Arkansas (4-3, 2-2)
Previous ranking: 9
This week: 34-10 L to No. 8 LSU
Next week: at Mississippi State
Razorback Stadium didn’t get to see more magic this week after a recent upset win over Tennessee. The Hogs played tough in the first half, but didn’t have anything left after the intermission in a blowout loss to LSU. This week’s game will be super important for the Hogs’ bowl hopes, as a trip to Starkville should be a win.
11. Florida (4-3, 2-2)
Previous ranking: 13
This week: 48-20 W over Kentucky
Next week: OFF
Jadan Baugh stole the show in DJ Lagway’s first start, rushing for 5 touchdowns. But Lagway deserves credit for helping the offense move the ball all over the Kentucky defense. Now the Gators get a week off to prepare for the Cocktail Party against Georgia in Week 10.
10. South Carolina (4-3, 2-3)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: 35-9 W at Oklahoma
Next week: OFF
The Gamecocks are a team no one wants to face these days. They fight and scrap and claw and make life miserable for opposing teams. They’ve been competitive in every game and show no signs of slowing down, especially on defense.
9. Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2)
Previous ranking: 11
This week: OFF
Next week: vs. Oklahoma
The Rebels desperately needed a week off to regroup. We’ll see if some of the offensive inconsistencies were fixed when they host an Oklahoma team that is in shambles right now. This will be a good test for Jaxson Dart and the offense against a tough Oklahoma defense. Meanwhile, the Ole Miss defense will likely be able to hold the Sooners’ haphazard offense mostly in check.
8. Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1)
Previous ranking: 8
This week: 24-14 W over Ball State
Next week: vs. Texas
There’s a chance this would have been the College GameDay site if Texas had managed to beat Georgia on Saturday night. Alas, the national audience won’t be treated to a pregame show highlighting Diego Pavia and company. The Commodores will need to play a lot better than they did in a 10-point win over Ball State to pull off the upset over the Longhorns this week.
7. Mizzou (6-1, 2-1)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: 21-17 W over Auburn
Next week: at Alabama
Saturday was almost a disaster for Missouri. Not only were the Tigers losing on Homecoming (a big deal in CoMo), but QB Brady Cook had gone to the locker room. It turned out he went to the hospital for an ankle injury. Of course, by now you know the story. Cook returned and led Mizzou to a win. The Tigers still don’t look great and haven’t played up to their potential, but at 6-1, they’re still in the mix for a Playoff spot. This weekend’s game will be huge.
6. Alabama (5-2, 2-2)
Previous ranking: 5
This week: 24-17 L at No. 11 Tennessee
Next week: vs. Mizzou
This is a team with several flaws and a severe lack of discipline. The Tide also seem poorly coached at times, especially along the offensive line. If Mizzou can draw up some clever pass-rush schemes, it could come into Tuscaloosa and pull off an upset. Jalen Milroe will need to have his A game on Saturday to avoid a third loss before November.
5. Tennessee (6-1, 3-1)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: 24-17 W over No. 7 Alabama
Next week: OFF
Tennessee has, at the very least, shown it can make second-half adjustments this year. For the third week in a row, the Vols entered halftime scoreless. That’s almost unthinkable for a Josh Heupel offense. But they rallied back in the third and fourth quarters to score a big-time win. Now they’ll just need to use this off week to scheme up some ways to score in the first 2 quarters of games.
4. Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0)
Previous ranking: 4
This week: 34-24 W at Mississippi State
Next week: vs. LSU
This was far from a convincing win for the Aggies, but road wins should always be celebrated in the SEC. The Aggies are now the only 4-0 team in SEC play, which not many would have predicted heading into the season. However, LSU comes to College Station this weekend for a battle of the 2 remaining unbeaten teams in SEC play. That’ll be fun to watch.
3. LSU (6-1, 3-0)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: 34-10 W at Arkansas
Next week: at Texas A&M
Can LSU’s offense score against Texas A&M’s defense? That’ll be the battle that decides the outcome of Saturday’s showdown in College Station. LSU’s defense has played much better in recent weeks, too. The Tigers are starting to look like a legitimate Playoff contender. A win in College Station would be a huge boost to their résumé.
2. Texas (6-1, 2-1)
Previous ranking: 1
This week: 30-15 L to No. 5 Georgia
Next week: at Vanderbilt
The Longhorns had a chance to make a major statement in the SEC and instead got blown out by the league’s resident powerhouse. QB Quinn Ewers didn’t look very good and got benched at one point. The defense, which hadn’t faced much competition all year, showed that its stats were a bit of a mirage. A trip to Nashville this week won’t be easy (just ask Alabama). We’ll see if the Longhorns can avoid letting 1 bad week turn into 2.
1. Georgia (6-1, 4-1)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: 30-15 W at No. 1 Texas
Next week: OFF
The Bulldogs weren’t out of the No. 1 spot in these rankings for long. We finally saw Trevor Etienne live up to his potential, as he scored 3 TDs against Texas. Carson Beck simply has to play better, though. No touchdowns and 3 interceptions is just brutal. We’ll see if he can start playing better after the off week with rival Florida looming large.
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.
