Tennessee fans still haven’t stopped talking about ‘The Meltdown’ in Gainesville.

Vols coach Butch Jones has been dragged through the mud since Aaron Medley’s game-winning field goal attempt sailed wide right as time expired last weekend, the culmination of a litany of miscues that followed Jalen Hurd’s 10-yard touchdown run with 10:19 remaining.

The collapse left the Vols 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the SEC. Facing a must-win Saturday in Knoxville against the hapless Razorbacks, Tennessee division title chances end with a loss.

The Big Ten, from a power rankings perspective, is much more difficult to group considering the league boasts five unbeatens and five others with a single loss. The conference appears top heavy with Ohio State and Michigan State, buy Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines are surging and Northwestern is surprisingly ranked inside the Top 20.

Here’s a look at our hybrid SEC/Big Ten rankings after the first month of the season. *SEC teams are slotted using our weekly power rankings:

Playoff-caliber

LSU leaped three spots in our SEC power rankings to the top spot this week, more to do with Ole Miss not passing the eye test against Vanderbilt than Leonard Fournette’s Herculean performance at Syracuse. LSU’s rushing beast is the runaway Heisman favorite at the moment and has picked up more yards on the ground than any player in school history after three starts. The schedule gets tougher for the Tigers, but not this week. Eastern Michigan is ranked last in FBS football for rushing defense. Georgia has a showdown with Alabama between the hedges Saturday afternoon, a game that will certainly shake up next week’s AP Poll. Just outside the Top 5 currently, the Bulldogs have a chance to impress voters with a statement outing.

  • 1) Ohio State
  • 2) LSU
  • 3) Ole Miss
  • 4) Georgia
  • 5) Michigan State

Serious Contenders

All of these teams have College Football Playoff potential and some have more room than others. The Crimson Tide can’t afford a second SEC loss this weekend at Georgia and if they did, it would mark the first time in SEC history than Alabama and Auburn each started 0-2 in the league play during the same season. Northwestern is very much a Big Ten threat with wins over Duke and Stanford — two good teams — on its resume. Expect Mississippi State or Texas A&M to emerge as a threat in the West and thus far, the Aggies fit the bill with a passing game that’s clicking on all cylinders. Wisconsin has one of the nation’s most underrated defenses and has given up just three points since losing to Alabama in the opener.

  • 6) Alabama
  • 7) Northwestern
  • 8) Mississippi State
  • 9) Texas A&M
  • 10) Wisconsin

Fringe threats

Raise your hand if you had Jim McElwain’s Gators unbeaten after four weeks? One of college football’s biggest surprises this season, Florida’s 2-0 in the SEC with a chance to make a serious push toward Atlanta with a win over third-ranked Ole Miss on Saturday night in The Swamp. It’s easily the Gators’ toughest game up to this point, but they’ve shown an ability to scratch and claw their way to wins — vital in a competitive league like the SEC. Michigan’s only loss in September came at Utah, a talented team with a first-place vote coming off a 62-point explosion at Oregon last week. Harbaugh has this team focused and ready to cause a few wrinkles in the Big Ten in Year 1. And it’s too soon to write off the Vols in the SEC race after one week. this team’s still uber-talented, but Jones has to find a way to turn it around and make sure late-game collapses end.

  • 11) Florida
  • 12) Michigan
  • 13) Iowa
  • 14) Penn State
  • 15) Tennessee

Slippery slope

Auburn’s in a free fall with back-to-back losses and bowl hopes suddenly in jeopardy. The Tigers fell flat offensively in the red zone against Mississippi State despite a commendable performance for Sean White in his first college start. Gus Malzahn says he can turn the ship around, but dark waters lie ahead with several games against ranked teams. Many teams in this grouping have the potential to win as many as eight games during the regular season, but challenges persist for several, notably on offense at Mizzou and South Carolina and in the secondary at Nebraska.

  • 16) Auburn
  • 17) Indiana
  • 18) Kentucky
  • 19) Arkansas
  • 20) Minnesota
  • 21) Illinois
  • 22) Nebraska
  • 23) Mizzou
  • 24) South Carolina

Nowhere to go but up

Vanderbilt’s made strides over its last two games and perhaps Saturday’s loss at Ole Miss was more impressive than the Commodores’ 40-point win over Austin Peay the previous week. Vanderbilt had the ball inside the red zone with a chance to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter in Oxford, but the Rebels wouldn’t budge. This team’s defense continues to be its primary strength as Johnny McCrary continues to improve as a passer. Purdue lost a very winnable game against Bowling Green last week while Rutgers beat Kansas — possibly the worst team in FBS football.

  • 25) Maryland
  • 26) Vanderbilt
  • 27) Purdue
  • 28) Rutgers