ESPN ranks SEC Football teams from first to last ahead of Week 5

Four weeks into the regular season and the SEC race is already taking shape as the conference schedule rolls into full swing entering Week 5. The eyes of the college football world will be on the SEC this weekend with two highly-anticipated Top 20 matchups between conference rivals.

In fact, seven of the SEC’s eight games this weekend will feature at least one ranked team, including No. 22 Notre Dame visiting Arkansas to kick off the Saturday’s slate of games on ABC. No. 4 LSU takes on No. 13 Ole Miss in Oxford at 3:30 pm ET on ABC, before No. 17 Alabama renews its rivalry vs. No. 5 Georgia in Athens at 7:30 pm ET, also on ABC.

Before those games, ESPN overhauled its FPI analytic-based ranking system, with the one-loss Crimson Tide once again leading the way based on its remaining strength of schedule, which ranks seventh nationally according to the FPI metrics. Check out the SEC’s full FPI ranking below:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (22.2 FPI)

Despite losing its season-opener to then-unranked Florida State in rather embarrassing fashion, Alabama has bounced back admirably in its second season under head coach Kalen DeBoer. That includes a 73-0 rout of Louisiana-Monroe and 38-14 win over the Big Ten’s Wisconsin in Week 3.

But after last week’s bye, the Crimson Tide (2-1) face its biggest test yet at No. 5 Georgia (7:30 pm ET, ABC) in Athens. Alabama has won two straight in its budding rivalry with the Bulldogs, though the last Georgia win came in the 2022 College Football Playoff national championship game. Given the Tide’s 0-1 start, many view Saturday’s showdown as a make-or-break game for its Playoff chances this season.

2. Georgia Bulldogs (21.7)

The Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 SEC) enter Saturday’s Top 20 SEC showdown with top-ranked Alabama also off a bye after its stirring 44-41 overtime victory at then-No. 15 Tennessee two weeks ago. It was a breakout performance for first-year starting QB Gunner Stockton, who made several clutch plays late.

But while all the momentum appears to be in Georgia’s corner, the Bulldogs have lost nine of its last 10 games against Alabama, including the last two played in Athens — a 38-10 loss in 2015 and a 41-30 defeat in 2008, all under former UGA coach Mark Richt. Of course, ex-Nick Saban assistant Kirby Smart hasn’t fared much better with a 1-6 mark against his former employer.

3. Texas Longhorns (21.4)

Much like Alabama, the Longhorns have rebounded nicely from a disappointing season-opening loss at Ohio State, and has a loaded remaining schedule of games against ranked SEC rivals that will only continue to boost Texas’ CFP chances should it continue to win out.

Superstar QB Arch Manning continues to struggle in his first season as the Longhorns’ starter, but he’s made steady progress before breaking out with a season-high 309 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 55-0 rout of Sam Houston State. Texas (3-1) is off this weekend before opening SEC play next weekend at Florida on Oct. 4.

4. Ole Miss Rebels (20.7)

Despite injury issues in its quarterback room, with starting QB Austin Simmons missing the past two games, Ole Miss (4-0, 2-0 SEC) hasn’t missed a beat and remains undefeated ahead of Saturday’s game vs. No. 4 LSU. That’s a major credit to the play of Rebels backup Trinidad Chambliss, whose stellar production has created a bit of controversy.

Whether Simmons or Chambliss starts Saturday vs. the Tigers remains a bit of mystery, but just based on how well they’ve both played when on the field, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin can’t really go wrong at this point. The Rebels offense has been pretty unstoppable so far this season, ranking fourth in the SEC averaging 543.3 yards and 44.8 points per game this season.

5. Tennessee Volunteers (18.7)

The Volunteers (3-1, 0-1 SEC) round out ESPN’s Top 5 despite starting their SEC schedule with a home loss to Georgia, and enter Saturday’s road game at Mississippi State eager to get back to their winning ways in conference play.

Tennessee remains the SEC’s most explosive scoring offense through the first several weeks of the regular-season, averaging a league-high 53.5 points per game with a SEC-leading 28 touchdowns in four games. Vols starting QB Joey Aguilar has been a revelation within Josh Heupel‘s offense, ranking third in the league with 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns on 66.7-percent passing this season.

6. Missouri Tigers (16.5)

The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) continue to turn heads and surprise its doubters at every turn, rolling through its first four games of the season, including a convincing 29-20 win over visiting South Carolina last Saturday. That’s in addition to an 11-point victory over cross-state rival Kansas in Week 2.

Key to Missouri’s success has been the play of superstar sophomore running back Ahmad Hardy, who leads the SEC with 600 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Hardy’s SEC-best 150 rushing yards per game average has made life easy for new quarterback Beau Pribula, who transferred in from Penn State this offseason.

7. Vanderbilt Commodores (16.2)

The ‘Dores (4-0, 1-0) continue to roll behind the strong play of veteran QB Diego Pavia, who ranks fifth in the SEC with 1,105 yards of total offense through four games this season. That includes 331 yards of total offense and two scores in last Saturday’s 70-21 rout of Georgia State.

Vanderbilt gets Utah State this weekend before restarting league play with a murder’s row of SEC rivals beginning with an Oct. 4 road game at No. 17 Alabama, which will be a revenge opportunity for the Crimson Tide after last season’s stunning Commodores win in Nashville. From there, Vandy hosts LSU and Mizzou before opening November with a road game at Texas.

8. Texas A&M Aggies (16.1)

The ninth-ranked Aggies (3-0) open SEC play this season by hosting unranked Auburn on Saturday (3:30 pm ET, ESPN) after the Tigers lost a heartbreaker at Oklahoma last weekend. Texas A&M is coming off a bye after edging out a back-and-forth 41-40 victory over a ranked Notre Dame two weeks ago.

Aggies sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed has been electric in his second season as A&M’s QB1, racking up 1,011 total yards of offense and 10 total touchdowns. That includes ranking third in the SEC averaging 289.7 passing yards per game this season to go along with a 9-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio through three games.

9. Oklahoma Sooners (15.9)

The aforementioned Sooners (4-0, 1-0) learned some potentially devastating news Tuesday when it was announced superstar QB John Mateer must undergo surgery on his injured throwing hand. While not expected to sideline him long, it’s a tough pill to swallow for a program that just jumped into the AP Top 10 after last Saturday’s 24-17 home win over Auburn.

Oklahoma will instead turn the ball over to sophomore backup Michael Hawkins Jr., who started two games last season, when the Sooners host Kent State at 4 pm ET Saturday in Norman. But it only gets harder from there with a Red River Rivalry date with No. 10 Texas on Oct. 11 following a bye week, and upcoming dates with Ole Miss and Tennessee ahead.

10. LSU Tigers (14.6)

ESPN’s FPI doesn’t give the fourth-ranked Tigers (4-0, 1-0) as much respect as either the AP or Coaches Top 25 polls, especially after starting the season with a strong non-conference win over preseason No. 4 Clemson in the season opener on the road.

LSU is coming off a sensational performance against in-state Southeastern Louisiana and returns to SEC play with Saturday’s Top 15 showdown at No. 13 Ole Miss (3:30 pm ET, ABC). It’ll pit the SEC’s top two teams against one another, with the winner taking an early lead in the SEC championship race. Senior QB Garrett Nussmeier has battled injuries to start the season but appears healthy ahead of Saturday.

11. Auburn Tigers (13.5)
12. Arkansas Razorbacks (12.6)
13. Florida Gators (8.9)
14. South Carolina Gamecockcs (8.5)
15. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8.3)
16. Kentucky Wildcats (6.9)