CI's Week 10 SEC Power Rankings

Another week of games are in the books and Kentucky climbs out of the SEC cellar. There’s other movement across the rankings after another significant week of games and outcomes.

Here’s CI’s updated SEC Power Rankings for Week 10.

1. Texas A&M

Until now there’s been a wait and see approach on the Aggies. But let’s give them the benefit of the doubt as an undefeated team with a win at Notre Dame and a blowout of LSU. They go on the road to Missouri this weekend to take on a top-20 team. Then it’s South Carolina and Samford. If A&M wins this game it becomes very close to a playoff lock unless there’s an all systems collapse down the stretch.

2. Alabama

The Crimson Tide has the league’s best resume since Week 1. Alabama was off this week and is a 10.5-point home favorite against LSU with Brian Kelly out in Baton Rouge.

3. Georgia

Georgia’s game against Florida is a big-time rivalry and it’s not a surprise that the Gators would be able to keep it close in this age of parity. Still, 24-20 is closer than you’d like to see at this point in the season for a team with lingering title aspirations and against a team that just fired Billy Napier. Gunner Stockton was efficient enough and UGA was a little better in the fourth quarter. UGA is a 7.5-point favorite at Mississippi State this weekend.

4. Ole Miss

The Rebels are also still in the title picture both for the SEC and overall crown. At 8-1 the only blemish was against UGA, on the road when they lost a lead late. Ole Miss beat South Carolina 30-14 this weekend. They got a lot from Kewan Lacy on the ground (24 carries, 167 yards, TD).

5. Oklahoma

Brent Venables notched a huge win on the road against Josh Heupel. It’s probably hard to overstate the significance of that win for Venables with some Oklahoma fans. Oklahoma rushed for nearly 200 yards and forced three Tennessee turnovers in the big road win at Neyland Stadium.

6. Vanderbilt

Diego Pavia passed for 375 yards but it wasn’t quite enough as Vanderbilt lost on the road at Texas to drop to 7-2. The good news is the Commodores should have a great shot at a home win against Auburn this weekend.

7. Texas

The Longhorns almost blew a big lead against Vanderbilt but held on at home for a 34-31 win against a top-10 opponent. As ugly as the offense has been at times the Horns are 7-2 and 4-1 in the SEC. Arch Manning was 25/33 for 328 yards and three touchdowns in the win. There’s some potential to rise here and if they can quietly build momentum and beat A&M watch out.

8. Tennessee

Tennessee didn’t play nearly a clean enough game to beat Oklahoma at home and that was the Vols’ third defeat of the season. Failing to hold home field really hurts with so many teams so close.

9. Missouri

The Tigers have a chance to do something they couldn’t quite do against Alabama earlier in the year: Finish against a great team at home. Mizzou wins a lot of games and needs to win more like this weekend’s against Texas A&M to reach that next level. The Aggies are 6.5-point favorites on the road going into Columbia.

10. LSU

The Tigers are one of the biggest disappointments in the SEC and in college football. A trendy preseason pick to compete nationally, LSU is now on to a new era after a 2-3 start to SEC play and a blowout loss to Texas A&M. Goals are officially off the table.

11. Florida

We may still be waiting a while before we know who the next Gator coach will be but one thing Billy Napier can say is the bottom didn’t fall out. He never found the success the fan base looked for but the team did continue to compete. Florida lost to Georgia in a close one over the weekend but they will still be dangerous the rest of the way.

12. Mississippi State

The Bulldogs have a win against Arizona State and another against Arkansas. They have been outmatched or have lacked depth in some SEC games but this program is headed in the right direction after breaking a long losing streak in SEC play.

13. South Carolina

The Gamecocks could drop below Kentucky even though they have the head to head win. The Gamecocks are 1-6 in SEC play and floundering. They lost to Ole Miss 30-14 on the road over the weekend and are one loss away from a losing season. USC has not lived up to the hype.

14. Kentucky

The Wildcats notched a win at Auburn that prompted the Tigers to fire Hugh Freeze. Cutter Boley wasn’t at his best but the defense dominated and kept AU out the end zone. UK’s defense hasn’t been great for the whole season but this was a great performance.

15. Arkansas

Let’s be real. The Razorbacks lost to a pretty bad Auburn team at home last week and then lost at home to Mississippi State in what was the Bulldogs’ first SEC win in a long time over the weekend. They don’t deserve to be ahead of Kentucky.

16. Auburn

Even though Auburn is 4-5 on the season everyone saw the product the Tigers put on the field Saturday night. Kentucky did some things well but Auburn was a shell of the preseason expectations the fan base carried into the season and the Tigers were beat up front badly. With Hugh Freeze now out we’ll see how the team responds.