CI's Week 6 SEC Power Rankings

College football seems to be as wide open as ever and that makes the task of ranking the SEC very difficult. There’s significant movement up and down every week but that follows results. Now we have a bigger sample to draw from.

Here’s CI’s Week 6 SEC Power Rankings.

1. Alabama

There is definitely a case to be made for sticking with an undefeated team in the No. 1 spot but Ty Simpson seems to be a different quarterback than he showed against Florida State. Right now Alabama has as much title potential as any team in the conference. They have a big road game against Missouri this week. If they lose that one, their playoff margin starts to get more narrow with two losses in the first half of the season.

2. Georgia

We know that Georgia doesn’t fare well against Alabama. Nothing new. This is still a very good team. They probably didn’t play their best game against Kentucky and the crowd wasn’t overly inspired but still handled business. The Bulldogs are only 3.5-point road favorites at Auburn in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry this weekend.

3. Ole Miss

Ole Miss has climbed the No. 4 in the national rankings and the Rebels are the only team that is 3-0 in SEC play. Ole Miss will be favored in remaining games against Washington State, The Citadel, South Carolina, and Florida. Win those and you’re 9-0. As long as Ole Miss splits Georgia and Oklahoma, then doesn’t stub its toe, it’s in.

4. Texas A&M

Texas A&M let Mississippi State hang around for a while but eventually blew the lid off and created some separation. A&M is 5-0 and will be favored against Florida and Arkansas the next two weeks. South Carolina, Samford, and Texas also remain. Road contests against LSU and Missouri loom large.

5. Oklahoma

The Sooners are ranked the No. 6 team in college football after nearly half the season so Brent Venables has to be pleased with the turnaround after last year. Oklahoma now has to be viewed as the favorite against Texas. However, Oklahoma has a harder schedule down the stretch than some others teams like Missouri and Tennessee.

6. Missouri

The Tigers may not last here but until they start to lose games you have to reward them. We start to really learn about the Tigers this weekend with Alabama coing to Columbia. It remains to be seen if this is a seven or eight win team or one that could push for nine or ten wins.

7. LSU

LSU’s only blemish is a five-point loss to Ole Miss. The Tigers were off over the weekend. They should build momentum the next two weeks against South Carolina and Texas A&M before back-to-back games against A&M and Alabama.

8. Tennessee

The Vols’ overall body of works looks pretty strong and their placement in the No. 8 spot is a testament to the SEC’s depth. Tennessee could end the season even higher because the Vols are going to be favored in most of the rest of their matchups. They need to split against Alabama and Oklahoma to give the playoff resume a boost.

9. Vanderbilt

The Commodores were able to hang around for a while in Tuscaloosa but eventually succumbed to superior talent. Alabama went into the fourth quarter with a 20-14 lead so Vanderbilt is for real.

10. Florida

The Gators get a bump after defeating Texas at home. However, it’s worth remember that Texas might not be better than a mid-tier SEC team. Still, Billy Napier and DJ Lagway showed that potential to punch above their typical weight that saw last season. It will be interesting to see which way Florida trends because it wasn’t great before the win against Texas.

11. Texas

The Longhorns have been the biggest disappointment in the SEC. Arch Manning put up some numbers but continued to struggle overall in the Horns’ 29-21 loss at Florida.

12. Auburn

The Tigers have a chance to do something big this weekend with Georgia in town. The Auburn passing game hasn’t produced much this season but this is the kind of game that Hugh Freeze really needs to win to start to build some positivity.

13. Mississippi State

This team is very improved in Jeff Lebby’s second year but you see the margin for error is still slim. They were competitive at home against Tennessee but the wheels came off in the second half against Texas A&M in a 31-9 loss. This team’s ceiling is lower than for most teams in the conference but they got off to a great start with four early wins.

14. Arkansas

Time will tell how Arkansas will fare under interim head coach Bobby Petrino. The Razorbacks were unable to finish the deal enough with Pittman but there has at least been enough talent to be in competitive positions more often than not.

15. South Carolina

The Gamecocks were off this weekend and didn’t move up following a win against Kentucky simply because the overall results have been underwhelming.

16. Kentucky

Cutter Boley had a solid day in Athens and that’s something to build on but a 35-14 road loss carries no moral victories in college football in this day and age. This team is on a bad run in SEC play. After the bye week comes Texas, and that may be one of the team’s best chances at a conference win.