Every Tuesday, we rank the SEC and Big Ten teams in one power poll. The order of the SEC teams is based on the Week 6 SDS SEC Power Poll.

Down goes Nebraska. Michigan State proved itself as a College Football Playoff contender Saturday with an 11th consecutive Big Ten win, holding Ameer Abdullah and Nebraska to 47 rushing yards in a vintage defensive performance.

It also made the Big Ten the first major conference with no unbeaten teams. (The SEC West has three. The ACC and Big 12 have two. The Pac-12 has one.)

Barring a continued turnaround by Ohio State, including a road win against the Spartans on Nov. 8, Michigan State is the conference’s only hope at the four-team championship, but it’s a strong one considering their meager schedule and the attrition expected in the other power conferences.

Overall, the SEC claims five of the top six teams in the combined power rankings.

NATIONAL CONTENDERS

The tumultuous SEC West features what looks like four legitimate teams and one good team in Texas A&M. We get two matchups Saturday out of that group of death five. If Mississippi State beats a Top 10 opponent for a third consecutive week, they … oh wait. They still have to play Ole Miss, Alabama and potentially the SEC East champion. A Bulldogs win vs. Auburn likely would vault MSU to No. 1 over Florida State, though.

1. Auburn
2. Mississippi State
3. Ole Miss

NATIONAL CONTENDERS, PART II

These teams have all lost, but that’s about all that’s distinguishing them from the first group. In fact, Alabama lost a tight road game to Ole Miss, illustrating the negligible gap between the two groupings. Keep winning and any of these teams could finish in the College Football Playoff, though Georgia’s defense and quarterback seem destined to torpedo the Bulldogs as a national championship contender.

4. Alabama
5. Michigan State
6. Georgia

STILL HOPING FOR A DIVISION TITLE

The Tigers of Missouri (4-1, 1-0) will be in terrific position to claim a second consecutive SEC East title if the team can find a way to knock off Georgia at home this weekend. Nebraska and Texas A&M just suffered their first losses and don’t look like Top 10 teams nationally. But Ohio State and Nebraska, especially, could win their respective divisions in the Big Ten and meet in the conference championship. The Aggies have to move through a lot of traffic in the SEC West, but can get off to a good start by knocking Ole Miss from its perch.

7. Ohio State
8. Nebraska
9. Texas A&M
10. Missouri

HEADED FOR A MEDIOCRE BOWL GAME

All of these teams have had at least one loss bad enough to cause throngs of fans to curse the program on their way out of the stadium. Even a division title is out of reach in the dreams of these teams. But each of them are good bets to cross the six-win rubicon and spend the part of the holidays in some undesirable city.

11. LSU
12. Iowa
13. Minnesota
14. Penn State

DEEPLY FLAWED, BUT DON’T WELCOME THEM TO TOWN

Northwestern’s got a stout defense. Arkansas and Wisconsin have huge offensive lines and punishing running backs. If you’re a national contender or even a Top 25 program, you should come away with wins against all these programs right now. But you see them on the schedule and frown rather than smile.

15. Arkansas
16. Northwestern
17. Wisconsin

WHAT THE HECK ARE THESE GUYS?

If you’re an SEC fan, do you know anything at all about Rutgers or Maryland? If you’re a Big Ten fan, what can you tell me about Florida other than Will Muschamp’s hot seat and the quarterback fiasco? Even with a prominent coach, the Gators remain pretty boring to most fans, and the Scarlet Knights and Terps are off the radar. Kentucky is exciting because having the Wildcats compete for a bowl is new, but outside of fan bases in the SEC East, can you name more than three Wildcats?

18. Florida
19. Rutgers
20. Maryland
21. Kentucky

FADING FAST

The Hoosiers outrank the Gamecocks on the strength of beating Mizzou. (Does that tell you anything about Missouri’s stature as a Top 10 team on this list? Something tells me the Tigers’ time as an SEC East contender is limited.) All three of these teams have multiple losses, and if they’re not careful could finish the season .500 or worse.

22. Indiana
23. South Carolina
24. Tennessee

THE DUMPSTER FIRES

Purdue showed some life by winning at Illinois. Not that it means anything, because the Fighting Illini may not win another game. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt gets an FCS opponent — albeit a ranked one — in its quest to win at least two games in 2014. And at Michigan, fans await the moment they can give Brady Hoke the collective boot.

25. Michigan
26. Purdue
27. Illinois
28. Vanderbilt