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Uncle Mo’s Power Index: Kentucky free falling out of bowl contention

Ethan Levine

By Ethan Levine

Published:

Uncle Mo is back with another addition of his momentum rankings following some great games in Week 11. He watched them all, read all the polls and did all his homework to come up with this week’s rankings, and he feels pretty good about them.

Remember, these are not power rankings, they’re momentum rankings. There’s a difference. Keep that in mind when reading through the list.

There’s plenty of shakeup from last week’s rankings, so let’s jump right in:

1. Mississippi State: Momentum is something that can be built up over time, and no team has built up more momentum in 2014 than Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are 9-0, have won 11 straight games dating back to the end of last year and have now maintained their first ever No. 1 ranking for five straight weeks. Saturday’s game against Alabama is likely the biggest in school history, and the Bulldogs will have plenty of momentum at their backs when they arrive in Tuscaloosa.

2. Alabama: The Tide appeared destined for a second loss in 2014, but somehow it found a way to survive a scare from LSU at night in Death Valley to maintain a top 5 ranking and a shot at the SEC West title. Alabama won ugly, but it also gained a ton of momentum from rallying to win a game it appeared to have lost. The Tide feels as though it has been given a second chance entering Saturday’s epic showdown with Mississippi State, and that feeling can carry a quality team a long way in this conference.

3. Texas A&M: The Aggies struggled through the middle portion of their schedule this year, losing three straight SEC contests in hideous fashion before narrowly escaping past Louisiana-Monroe at home. Last week, however, A&M secured a signature win over Auburn, ending the Tigers playoff hopes while vaulting the Aggies back into the CFP Top 25. A&M can’t contend for a division title or a New Year’s Six bowl, but it can finish the season on a high note thanks to last week’s win. For a young team like A&M, a win over a top 10 team like the one it earned last week can carry it a long way the rest of this season.

4. Florida: It wasn’t long ago that Gator fans were chanting for Will Muschamp to be fired during a Homecoming night loss to Missouri in the Swamp. Now, the Gators have won back to back SEC games by a combined 42 points, keeping them within striking distance of an SEC East title amidst all the drama this season has provided. Whether or not Florida fans like the momentum Muschamp and the Gators have built up in recent weeks, that momentum is very real, and it could carry Florida to a win over South Carolina and a 5-3 finish in the SEC.

5. Ole Miss: The Rebels’ 48-0 victory over Presbyterian didn’t catch anyone by surprise, but it was still a much-needed victory for an Ole Miss team reeling from back to back losses to LSU and Auburn. The Rebels appear to be back on track in 2014, and following a bye this week they’ll be rested and confident heading into their final two-game stretch of the season against Arkansas and Mississippi State. The win itself might not have given Ole Miss much momentum, but it did change the direction the team was heading. The Rebels had built up plenty of negative momentum entering Week 11, but they’re trending positively once again as the regular season winds down.

6. Georgia: Following an embarrassing loss to Florida in Jacksonville, the Bulldogs needed a statement win to get their season back on track. They earned one in Week 11 by dismantling Kentucky in a 63-point performance, rebuilding some of the momentum they lost in their loss to the Gators. The 63 points UGA scored was the most it has scored in an SEC game in 70 years, reminding fans throughout the South why it maintains a top 15 ranking in this week’s polls. Georgia still has plenty of work to do if it wants to take back the top spot in the East standings, but lucky for the Dawgs Todd Gurley returns this week just in time for a huge showdown with Auburn. Georgia is confident and ready to put its season on the line against the Tigers in Week 12.

7. Missouri: Mizzou was off last week, but it remains in control of the SEC East with three weeks to play. The Tigers did away with Kentucky their last time out, and they’ve won three straight games in the division to assume the top spot in the standings. There’s nothing like a potential division title to give a team momentum in the final month of the season, and Missouri will be fueled by the potential to return to Atlanta as it closes out the regular season with three difficult SEC showdowns.

8. Tennessee: The Vols have impressed since Josh Dobbs took over at quarterback, playing a tough Alabama team close before taking down South Carolina in Columbia two weeks ago. Tennessee was off last week and will host Kentucky this week with a great chance to take another step toward bowl eligibility. The Vols are as hot as any team in the East, and as they draw closer to their first bowl berth since 2010 the momentum their building will continue to carry them to the finish line.

9. Auburn: The Tigers suffered perhaps the most deflating defeat of the weekend with in their loss to Texas A&M at home last week. Auburn suddenly fell from playoff contender to two-loss spoiler, and its chances of defending its SEC championship are all but gone. The Tigers can still reach a New Year’s Six bowl if they avoid a third loss in 2014, but the direction of their season changed dramatically in the blink of an eye, killing any momentum they’d built up throughout the first 10 weeks of the season.

10. LSU: The Bayou Bengals were on their way to a second straight top 10 win last week before Alabama rallied to steal a victory in overtime, handing LSU its third loss of the season. The Tigers have lost three games to top 10 teams, but most fans will only see the Tigers’ three-loss record, not the quality of LSU’s opponents. LSU has to feel like it’s much better than its record entails. Frustration and angst are known momentum killers, and the Tigers are suffering from both as they aim to close the season on a high note.

11. Arkansas: The Razorbacks were off last week, which means they still haven’t won an SEC game since 2012. The Hogs have shown they can be a quality team this year with resounding non-conference wins and inspired performances in losses to Alabama and Mississippi State. However, without a conference win its nearly impossible for a team to build any kind of momentum, and that’s the situation Arkansas continues to find itself in this season. The final stretch of the Razorbacks’ schedule won’t be easy, but an SEC win to close out the year would do wonders in building momentum toward next season.

12. South Carolina: The Gamecocks were off last week, giving them a much-needed chance to rest and regroup. However, the rest did not help South Carolina rebuild any of the momentum it lost two weeks ago when it blew a two-touchdown lead at home to Tennessee. The Gamecocks are below-500 and at risk of missing a bowl game, and they’ve now blown three two-touchdown fourth quarter leads this season. Needless to say, South Carolina needs a strong finish to the season to join crack postseason party and create some positivity heading into the offseason.

13. Vanderbilt: Not only has Vanderbilt lost six straight SEC games to begin the season, but it lost all six games by double figures. The Commodores haven’t even come close to winning an SEC game this season, making it hard to build any momentum in Derek Mason’s first season in Nashville. It’s been a hard fall from grace for a Vandy team that won nine games each of the last two years, and unless the Dores can find a way to scratch out an SEC win against Mississippi State or Tennessee to end the year they’ll have no momentum heading into the offseason.

14. Kentucky: The Cats have lost four straight SEC games by an average of more than 23 points per game, dropping a once 5-1 team to an even 5-5 with two games remaining this season. Worse yet, both of those games come on the road against Kentucky’s two biggest rivals — Tennessee and Louisville — and Kentucky hasn’t won a road game since Week 1 of the 2010 season. The Cats have negative momentum dragging them down, and are at risk of missing a bowl game after winning five of their first six games. Add in a beefy contract extension for Mark Stoops amidst the disastrous losing streak, and you’ve got a program with more negative momentum than it knows what to do with.

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.

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