Another weekend of SEC football is in the books, and what a chaotic weekend it was. Georgia recovered from a gut-wrenching loss by blasting Troy 66-0; Missouri set itself back tremendously with a home loss to Indiana; South Carolina narrowly avoided a near-fatal loss to Vanderbilt and Alabama reminded fans it is still a national power with a convincing win over Florida.

Uncle Mo watched all the games and did all his homework to come up with these rankings, and he feels pretty good about them. Remember, these are not power rankings, they’re momentum rankings, so 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. Alabama Crimson Tide: Alabama had been a middle-of-the-pack team in these rankings the first few weeks of the season, but the Tide finally took off in last week’s 42-21 win over the Florida Gators. Blake Sims nearly set a new school record for passing yards in a single game, and Amari Cooper made a Heisman-worthy statement while also setting the school record for career touchdowns by a wide receiver. The offense was clicking on all cylinders, and the defense made Florida look foolish all game long (the Gators’ only offensive success came after their defense had created a turnover and provided a short field). We all knew Alabama had one of the most talented teams in the nation, but we were waiting for a breakout performance to jump start the Tide’s season. Alabama put forth that dominant showing last week, and now has its swagger back heading into a bye this weekend.
  2. Mississippi State Bulldogs: Mississippi State stunned a national audience with its 34-29 win over LSU in Death Valley last Saturday night, vaulting the Bulldogs from outside the polls all the way up to No. 14 in this week’s Associated Press Poll. Once an afterthought in the SEC West, Mississippi State is now in the thick of the West division race, and is one of six teams from the division ranked in the AP Top 25. Quarterback Dak Prescott and tailback Josh Robinson showed they are stars in the SEC, and the Bulldogs’ defense impressed as well in silencing a strong LSU rushing attack. The Bulldogs are not traditionally considered a contender in the SEC, but Saturday’s victory proved this Mississippi State squad is different from teams of years past, making it one of the biggest momentum-building victories of the weekend.
  3. Arkansas Razorbacks: They haven’t all been against quality opponents, but Arkansas has reeled off three straight dominant performances since a tough Week 1 loss to Auburn, building a wealth of momentum heading into a grueling SEC schedule. The Razorbacks have scored at least 49 points in three straight weeks, and won those three games by an average of more than 41 points per contest. Arkansas has perhaps the best rushing attack in the SEC, maybe in the country, and will have a chance to be competitive in its final eight games of the season (seven of which are against SEC teams, six of which are against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25). If the Razorbacks can continue to play this well on both sides of the ball this week against Texas A&M, controlling the pace of play and time of possession in the process, they’ll have a chance to become the seventh and final SEC West team to break into the new polls on Sunday.
  4. Texas A&M Aggies: Ho hum, the Aggies continue to put up big numbers on offense and reel off convincing victories one after another early in the year. Texas A&M is now a perfect 4-0 in 2014, having scored at least 38 points in all four games and at least 52 points in three of those four games. Kenny Hill is helping A&M move past Johnny Manziel and into a new era of Aggies football, leading the SEC in most significant passing stats, and the Aggies continue to boast speed and athleticism at all of the skill positions. The luster of A&M’s Week 1 win over South Carolina is beginning to wear off, and fans are growing accustomed to dominant performances from the Aggies’ offense every week, which does drop A&M’s momentum value some. However, a big win over Arkansas on Saturday could elevate that momentum right back toward the top.
  5. Georgia Bulldogs: No one expected Georgia to lose last week’s game to Troy, but a 66-0 rout ought to cleanse the sting of losing by three points to South Carolina one week earlier. The Bulldogs dominated the game from start to finish, using primarily backups for most of the afternoon. Star tailback Todd Gurley played just one series and quarterback Hutson Mason was given a rest before the game even reached halftime. Georgia was able to gain confidence at every position and in every facet of the game, and many of the team’s key contributors were able to steal an extra bye week by resting through most of the lopsided victory. The Bulldogs should be both rested and hungry when they host a young and inexperienced Tennessee squad this week.
  6. Auburn Tigers: It wasn’t pretty, but Auburn found a way to escape Manhattan, Kansas with a 20-14 victory over the then-No. 20 Kansas State Wildcats. Quarterback Nick Marshall looked shaky for most of the game, but he made a few huge plays late in the game to help secure the victory. The Tigers defense appeared suspect at times, but like Marshall, it tightened up late to help maintain a slim lead in a one-score game. Any win over a ranked opponent, especially on the road, is a great momentum booster, but Auburn knows it could have played better against K-State on a Thursday night. The Tigers survived and advanced, but they’ll need to dominate Louisiana Tech this week the way Georgia trounced Troy last week in order to build more momentum toward the second half of the season.
  7. Ole Miss Rebels: The Rebels were off last weekend, so they did not gain or lose much momentum since Uncle Mo released his previous rankings last week. Ole Miss is a top 10 team with a trendy head coach, a veteran quarterback and tons of athletes on both sides of the ball. The Rebels know they’re good, and that confidence will do wonders for their momentum throughout SEC play. However, they must first take care of a sneaky-good Memphis team at home on Saturday night to keep momentum going heading into a Week 6 showdown with Alabama on Oct. 4. Momentum is working in Ole Miss’ favor, but its critical the Rebels keep it going through this weekend and into next week.
  8. South Carolina Gamecocks: South Carolina tailed 14-0 in the first quarter of last Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt, and went into crisis-mode before recovering to beat the Commodores 48-34 in Nashville. No one is questioning South Carolina’s ability on offense with Steve Spurrier as coach and Dylan Thompson as quarterback, but the defense has been the worst in the SEC through four weeks, which kills any momentum the Gamecocks could have hoped to gain during a 3-1 start to the year. South Carolina remains in the thick of a wide-open SEC East race, but the Gamecocks have been far from consistent in their four games so far this season. Consistency is the cornerstone of building momentum, so while there’s no need for panic in Columbia, there’s also not much momentum being built there either.
  9. Kentucky Wildcats: Kentucky was off last week, giving it two weeks to build on an impressive showing in the Swamp against the Florida Gators on Sept. 13. The Cats came close to beating Florida for the first time since 1986 in pushing the Gators to triple-overtime, and a number of players on both sides of the ball had breakout performances that should benefit UK the rest of the season. Quarterback Patrick Towles proved he is capable of leading the offense under any circumstances, and the Cats’ young skill players grew up right before our eyes. Kentucky has still not beaten a reputable team in 2014, and it still hasn’t won an SEC game since 2011, but the program is building momentum and should have a chance to compete in every game on its schedule the remainder of the season.
  10. Tennessee Volunteers: Tennessee has had two weeks to learn and grow from a tough loss on the road to then-No. 4 Oklahoma after enjoying a bye last week, which reduces the crushing impact of the 24-point defeat. Tennessee impressed in wins over Utah State and Arkansas State to begin the season, and benefited from the loss to the Sooners in that it provided experience to a rather inexperienced team. The Vols remain confident, as they should in a wide open SEC East. The team has plenty of talent, but it is all raw and undeveloped talent. Games against teams like Oklahoma will prepare Tennessee for its SEC schedule, and some even think the Vols could upset Georgia between the Hedges on Saturday. Tennessee is building momentum, and that momentum will continue to grow as the team continues to grow throughout the season.
  11. LSU Tigers: LSU took a major hit in its loss to Mississippi State at home last weekend, and plummeted in this week’s momentum rankings as a result. The Tigers dropped in the Associated Press Poll and now appear vulnerable in a loaded SEC West that leaves teas little margin for error. LSU is suspect at quarterback and could not stop the Mississippi State rushing attack, and future opponents will take advantage of these major deficiencies if the Tigers cannot get it figured out. LSU has plenty of talent and athleticism, but the team appears incomplete to this point, making it tough to build any momentum. Until the Tigers get the sour taste of the loss to the Bulldogs out of their mouths, they’ll be stuck toward the bottom of these rankings.
  12. Vanderbilt Commodores: (Drum roll please…) For the first time in 2014, Vanderbilt has moved up from the bottom of Uncle Mo’s momentum rankings. The Commodores showed plenty of heart and will to win in a near-upset of South Carolina at home last week, proving to the rest of the SEC they must be taken seriously no matter how much talent they may lack. Even in a losing effort, the Commodores gained a tremendous amount of momentum from the South Carolina game, and that momentum could help them grow as the season progresses. A once-helpless Vanderbilt team now seems to have some direction to its season, which is a huge step forward for the Commodores.
  13. Florida Gators: Florida was absolutely spanked by Alabama in Tuscaloosa last week, and the Gators’ offense looked as woeful as it did for most of last season. Quarterback Jeff Driskel completed only 9 of 28 passes, causing even the legendary Emmitt Smith to call for his benching on Twitter during the game. Had Alabama been able to hold on to the football, the score may have been even more lopsided. The Gators do not look improved from last year’s disappointing season, and head coach Will Muschamp has the hottest seat of any coach in the conference. It’s strange to consider, but Florida has one of the worst coach-quarterback combinations in the SEC, which could cost the team all season long. The Gators have no momentum after last week, and they’ll need to figure a few things out during their bye this weekend.
  14. Missouri Tigers: The Tigers were ranked in the top 20 of last week’s AP Top 25, but then they lost at home to Indiana, which is about as embarrassing as it gets for an SEC team (unless Georgia Southern is involved — sorry Florida). Missouri has a ton of momentum, but that momentum is pulling the team backward, not propelling it forward. Indiana followed a loss to Bowling Green with a road victory over a then-ranked SEC squad, which is enough evidence for why Missouri comes in at the bottom of these rankings. The Tigers now must travel to take on South Carolina with no confidence following last week’s loss, and that does not bode well for the team’s momentum over its next stretch of games. Mizzou has a lot to fix in a short amount of time, and even in a loss this weekend it needs to make a few plays to regain some confidence moving forward.