Where every SEC team ranks in Phil Steele’s Vegas Power Ratings entering Week 9
The SEC barely made it through the week before one of its games was postponed—Ole Miss’ trip to Texas A&M—but all other ones will go on as scheduled after a season-high 4 were wiped out in the previous week. Ahead of this week’s slate of matchups, Phil Steele released his weekly Vegas Power Ratings for each FBS team.
The ratings are a continuation of a weekly column Steele wrote for ESPN, compiled as a combination of his own plus/minus ratings and stats from a trio of Las Vegas casino sportsbooks. Using this, Steele projects the number of points one team would be favored over another if the 2 were to play each other at a neutral venue.
Unsurprisingly, Alabama and Florida lead the SEC teams on the list, with the Crimson Tide clocking in at No. 2 and the Gators being slotted at No. 4. Vanderbilt, at No. 102, is the bottom-ranked team in the conference.
Steele’s numbers can be used to project the opening Vegas line for if the two teams met on a neutral field. Alabama, for instance, looks to be about an 8-point favorite over Florida right now at the books Steele contacted.
Here is a full list of where every team placed in Steele’s Vegas Power Ratings ahead of Week 9 of SEC play:
2. Alabama, 140.07
4. Florida, 132.10
6. Texas A&M, 128.03
7. Georgia, 127.82
19. Auburn, 119.74
26. LSU, 118.15
37. Ole Miss, 113.32
43. Kentucky, 112.10
44. Tennessee, 111.46
51. Arkansas, 110.73
54. Missouri, 110.34
74. South Carolina, 104.52
88. Mississippi State, 100.95
102. Vanderbilt, 95.90