SEC Power Rankings: Rivalry week produces shakeups after several compelling games
The SEC likely saw its list of legitimate College Football Playoff contenders shrink from three to two following LSU‘s upset loss at Texas A&M, which produced some movement near the top of this week’s SEC Power Rankings.
Still, the league is in good shape and two-loss Alabama is now on the doorstep should a few things break the right way on championship weekend.
Let’s get to the action in the SEC.
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Today we update the SEC Power Rankings following Week 13 games.
2022 SEC Power Rankings – Week 13
Slow starts have been pretty commonplace all year long for Georgia, but the Bulldogs have managed to turn it on when they need to every time. Saturday Georgia Tech jumped out to an early lead and the game was close for a half before Georgia’s ground game took over. The Bulldogs ran for 264 yards in a 37-14 win over the Yellow Jackets as they cruised into the SEC Championship Game.
- Alabama (+1)
The Crimson Tide had some trouble stopping Robby Ashford on the ground but little trouble with anything else Saturday. Alabama piled up 516 yards of offense in a 49-27 win over Auburn. The Tigers gained 318 yards on the ground. After a 10-2 campaign with two extremely close last-second losses, Alabama waits to see if it can backdoor into the playoff with some upsets elsewhere.
- Tennessee (+1)
Any thoughts of a Vanderbilt upset to earn bowl eligibility were quickly doused by the in-state power. Tennessee, playing without starting quarterback Hendon Hooker, leaned on its ground game and ran for 362 yards in the contest. The win capped a 10-win regular season that was a massive step forward for the program under second-year coach Josh Heupel.
- LSU (-2)
LSU had College Football Playoff hopes after the wild upsets across college football for the last few weeks, even if those hopes required beating No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta. But those dreams faded into a cold reality in College Station, with a 215-yard day for Devon Achane on the ground powering Texas A&M to a surprise 38-23 win. Still an excellent first season for Brian Kelly on the Bayou, with a chance to make a statement in the SEC Championship Game. Quarterback Jayden Daniels’ health will bear monitoring, though, after he took a pounding against the Aggies.
It feels borderline cruel to not reward South Carolina with a move up the SEC Power Rankings this week following another top-10 win, this time on the road at Clemson. But we do think there’s a bit of a gap between spots No. 4 and No. 5. That said, the job Shane Beamer did in Year 2 in Columbia, S.C., was excellent. Establishing more consistency is the next step.
- Mississippi State (+2)
In an Egg Bowl classic, Mississippi State was stout in the trenches and did enough to throw Ole Miss off its game in a 24-22 win. But it took just about every minute of the contest to do so. The Bulldogs thwarted a game-tying two-point conversion attempt in the final two minutes to preserve the win. Mississippi State held Ole Miss to a season-low 78 yards rushing, the first time all year the Rebels had been held below 100 yards.
- Ole Miss (-1)
It sure looked like the Lane Kiffin saga took its toll on the Rebels with all the news reports that circled during the week and Kiffin’s entertaining of them on social media. In any case, the statistic above was the one that mattered. Ole Miss couldn’t run the ball, ending its regular season with a disappointing fourth loss in the last five outings.
- Kentucky (+1)
After going into the season with ambitions of making a run at the SEC East, the 2022 campaign definitely didn’t go the way Kentucky wanted it to. But ending your season with a convincing 26-13 win over your rival makes things a whole lot more palatable than losing to end the regular season 6-6. Kentucky forced three turnovers to beat Louisville, limiting the Cardinals to 309 total yards in the contest.
- Arkansas (-2)
Like Kentucky, a key injuries and absences throughout the season added up and took their toll on a season that could have gone very differently. The Razorbacks had chances but were beaten up front by Missouri’s defensive front in a 29-27 loss. Arkansas ran for just 113 yards and turned it over twice, finishing the season at 6-6.
Similarly saddled with injuries — through primarily at receiver, rather than in the secondary like Arkansas — Florida fell to 6-6 with a 45-38 loss at Florida State. The Gators had things rolling on the ground but went away from it in the middle of the game, and the Seminoles responded by scoring 17 unanswered to surge ahead in the second half. Billy Napier‘s first season left a sour taste in a lot of mouths in Gainesville, so closing the 2022 campaign with a bowl win and a strong finish in recruiting will be important.
- Missouri (+2)
Missouri has something going right now. Sophomore quarterback Brady Cook appears to be the real deal. He was instrumental in the win over Arkansas and has thrown for 1,077 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions, while rushing for 385 yards and four scores over the last five games. The win also earned bowl eligibility for the Tigers, a nice feather in the cap for coach Eli Drinkwitz, who has yet to have a season without a bowl appearance.
- Texas A&M (+2)
It’s impossible to completely forget how bad Texas A&M was for portions of this season, but it’s also impossible to overlook how good Devon Achane is. He almost single-handedly kept the Aggies afloat at times this year. Credit Jimbo Fisher‘s bunch for sticking together and playing hard on Saturday despite having little to play for with bowl eligibility out of the question. There are major question marks in College Station still, but wins deserve to be celebrated and this one lifts Texas A&M from the bottom of our SEC Power Rankings.
- Vanderbilt (-2)
The Commodores weren’t able to follow up impressive wins over Kentucky and Florida with a win over Tennessee, but that doesn’t change the fact that coach Clark Lea showed some serious signs of turning things around in Nashville this year. Vanderbilt won five games for the first time since 2018 and seemed to establish its identity as the year went on.
- Auburn (-2)
Auburn was competitive in a lot of games, but the dysfunction on the Plains really started before the season ever began. A 49-27 loss in the Iron Bowl underscored a rough year, and now the Tigers will focus fully on hiring their next coach. There’s a lot of rebuilding to be done.
Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 12 SEC Power Rankings here!