SEC Power Rankings: Division showdowns are set on both sides
Neither the Kentucky–Tennessee nor Florida–Georgia games ended up amounting to much, with the favorites winning quite comfortably in both instances this weekend to keep our SEC Power Rankings pretty well intact following Week 9.
That’s not to say there weren’t some results that moved a few things around in the SEC, though.
Ole Miss managed to hang on for a close win on the road at Texas A&M, while Missouri upended South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., for a quality win. Let’s dive into the rest of the SEC action now.
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Today we update the SEC Power Rankings following Week 9 games.
2022 SEC Power Rankings – Week 9
The Volunteers are really, really good. Hendon Hooker went 19-of-25 for 245 yards and three touchdowns passing, while also adding a rushing score. The Tennessee defense probably isn’t outstanding, per se, but it’s certainly opportunistic and plays nice complementary football with the fast-paced offense. Saturday’s three interceptions of Will Levis completely neutralized him in the 44-6 win.
The Bulldogs looked like they set the cruise control a touch too early against the Gators after going up 28-3 at halftime. Florida owned the third quarter but its rally lost steam as Georgia flicked back on the power run game. A 42-20 win was enough to set up a monster showdown this week with Tennessee with the SEC East on the line.
After bouncing back against Mississippi State, Alabama got a week off to prepare for a trip to LSU and a matchup that will at least temporarily decide the top team in the SEC West. The Crimson Tide needed the time off to get healthy again.
Like Alabama, LSU was certainly in a position where it could use a bye week to rest a few players who have been injured this season. Next week’s showdown in Baton Rouge is an unlikely one after how things started this season, but the Tigers have really settled into a groove under first-year coach Brian Kelly. Can they turn the SEC West on its head this week?
The Rebels got running back Zach Evans back from injury and he contributed, at least enough that the running game was right back in sync again following a loss at LSU. Quinshon Judkins was fantastic, rushing for 205 yards and a touchdown as Ole Miss totaled 390 yards on the ground. Things got hairy late but the Rebels did ultimately come up with the defensive stop they needed to seal a 31-28 win.
- Arkansas (+2)
When he’s healthy KJ Jefferson just seems to make the plays he needs to for Arkansas to squeeze by. He was instrumental in some key conversions offensively, particularly in the red zone, where he scored twice with his legs. Arkansas ran on Auburn all day in a 41-27 win, reaching 286 yards rushing in the game. After a three-game road swing, Arkansas will get the next three at home — with two of those three against the two teams currently directly above the Hogs in our SEC Power Rankings.
- South Carolina (-1)
Results like Saturday’s are the ones South Carolina is going to have to avoid going forward if Shane Beamer hopes to hit the heights with the program that Steve Spurrier did. Saturday Missouri built an early 17-0 lead with some long, sustained drives. And the Tigers just didn’t give an inch to the Gamecocks on defense. South Carolina finished with just 203 total yards in a 23-10 loss.
- Kentucky (-1)
Will Levis is pretty banged-up and it’s showing. Kentucky just doesn’t quite have the horses when its leader and signal-caller isn’t at his best. Credit Tennessee, too, though. It’s not like anyone has really slowed down the Vols this year. It was more the manner and margin Saturday that came as a surprise, with Kentucky falling 44-6 and never making it a game. The Wildcats are one of four teams that look to be jockeying to finish third in the SEC East.
After back-to-back losses, Mike Leach‘s team was off this week and got a chance to regroup. At 5-3 currently the Bulldogs have a great shot at bowl eligibility, particularly with one of the games remaining a home date with ETSU. Still, the margin for error is small. A home date with Auburn is next up, but Georgia and Ole Miss are both on the schedule as well.
Saturday started off about as poorly as it could go, with four straight three-and-outs on offense and Georgia jumping out to a 21-0 lead early on. With that said, you have to respect Florida’s fight on the one hand, at least making it marginally competitive with a strong third quarter. On the other hand, the Gators still have a lot of issues and the more time that goes on the more it’s looking like Billy Napier has a lengthy rebuild in front of him.
- Missouri (+1)
The Tigers have been fairly inconsistent this year, but they’ve had some impressive results at times. Saturday’s came in a winning effort, with quarterback Brady Cook throwing for 224 yards in the win. A strong defensive outing earlier in the season in a narrow loss to Georgia also showed some potential. There are clearly some things going well, Eli Drinkwitz just needs to establish a bit more consistency going forward.
- Texas A&M (-1)
For a team that had four losses going into Saturday’s showdown with Ole Miss, Texas A&M sure played its heart out. It just didn’t have enough in the tank down the stretch. Still, quarterback Conner Weigman showed some real guts while taking a beating, throwing for 338 yards and four touchdowns. The Aggies need to start trying to build around him behind that makeshift offensive line, if possible.
The Tigers just looked out of gas for much of the day Saturday. That was the feel, as Arkansas stayed in front for the entire contest after taking a lead late in the first quarter. Auburn is just a bit too inconsistent on offense and was hurt by too many key conversions defensively. The Tigers now head to Mississippi State, with the Bulldogs coming off a bye.
The Commodores had their second bye week of the season after starting the season a week earlier than most teams. Vanderbilt has lost four straight, coming off a brutal SEC stretch. The next three might offer the chance for Vanderbilt to snag a signature upset, with games against South Carolina, Kentucky (road) and Florida looming. Can Vanderbilt work its way off the bottom spot in the SEC Power Rankings?
Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 8 SEC Power Rankings here!