Every Wednesday, we rank the SEC and Big 12 teams in one power poll. The order of the SEC teams is based on the Week 14 SDS SEC Power Poll.

ESPN declared this week that the Big 12 has overtaken the SEC as the best conference in college football this season. We’re not quite ready to go there yet, unless you still count Missouri and Texas A&M as Big 12 programs.

The Big 12 has the best chance of any conference to get two College Football Playoff bids, but that seems highly unlikely. For a 10-team league to include three garbage teams is difficult to stomach when you start discussing “best conference in America.” The SEC has Vanderbilt and Kentucky, but the Big 12 includes Texas Tech, Kansas and Iowa State. Yuck.

Then there’s the fact that Auburn beat Kansas State, the third Big 12 team, on the road earlier this season.

The SEC claims eight of the top 12 in our combined power rankings between the conferences through 14 weeks.

PLAYOFF OR BUST

It’s hard to envision all three of these teams will make the four-team playoff field, so someone is going to be very disappointed. Right now that looks like Baylor, which ranks behind TCU in the committee’s weekly poll despite a head-to-head win against the Horned Frogs that’s become the issue-du-jour for national writers. If The Crimson Tide wins Saturday’s SEC championship game, Nick Saban’s team is going to the national semifinals. TCU and Baylor aren’t guaranteed spots with one more Big 12 win.

1. Alabama (11-1)
2. TCU (10-1)
3. Baylor (10-1)

REALLY DIFFICULT TO PARCE

All of these teams are really good, but not great. There could be five 10-win teams in this group. The Bulldogs, in the College Football Playoff poll every week until now, may be the best of this collection of teams, though Mississippi State faded hard. Then again, if Missouri shocks us all and beats Alabama, the Tigers will have a chance to get to 12 wins for the second consecutive season. Oklahoma and Georgia may be the biggest disappointments on this list, as both teams seemed to have the talent to finish the season with two or fewer losses.

4. Missouri (10-2)
5. Mississippi State (10-2)
6. Ole Miss (9-3)
7. Auburn (8-4)
8. Kansas State (9-2)
9. Oklahoma (8-3)
10. Georgia (9-3)
11. LSU (8-4)

FEISTY (SOMETIMES)

The Razorbacks, we’ve joked in our office all season, “are the best six-loss team in the country.” Bret Bielema’s system is starting to take root, though, and he doesn’t sound interested in the Nebraska job. Charlie Strong has the Texas Longhorns maybe two years away from returning to national prominence, while West Virginia and Texas A&M are in football limbo as far as the future strength of their teams.

12. Arkansas (6-6)
13. West Virginia (7-5)
14. Texas (6-6)
15. Texas A&M (7-5)

SEC EAST THROWAWAYS

They’ll all make a bowl, and Georgia nearly lost to all three of them. But the Gators and Gamecocks were big disappointments, and the Vols did just enough to keep the Butch Jones brick-by-brick narrative in one piece this offseason.

16. Florida (6-5)
17. South Carolina (6-6)
18. Tennessee (6-6)

NO BOWL GAME

The Cowboys have a shot, but must beat a strong Oklahoma team that somehow managed to lose three games this season. The Wildcats gave a valiant effort against Louisville, but the defense couldn’t stop a great FCS team at this point, which is bad considering that’s Mark Stoops’ thing.

19. Oklahoma State (5-6)
20. Texas Tech (4-8)
21. Kentucky (5-7)
22. Kansas (3-9)

WINNING A CONFERENCE GAME WOULD BE SHOCKING

The Cyclones face 10-win TCU on the road Saturday hoping against hope to avoid an 0-9 conference record, but the Commodores finished the season 0-8 in the SEC.

23. Vanderbilt (3-9)
24. Iowa State (2-9)