The SEC is a confusing mess for anyone trying to determine who’s better than who in the 16-team conference.
Some things are clear. Like Texas and Georgia at the top and Arkansas being at the very bottom. But in between, it gets murky.
Ole Miss has a win over LSU, but a loss to Florida. Florida just lost to Missouri, who lost the Mississippi State the week before and Mississippi State just got steamrolled by Alabama. Kentucky had to mount a 17-point comeback to beat South Carolina by one point. Auburn forced Tennessee into a change at quarterback despite the Vols winning by 10 points.
There is no clear picture of who belongs where in the SEC Power Rankings, but that won’t stop us from trying.
Below are this week’s power rankings and did feature some significant changes. Also, we’ve added a performance review for each team based on its current body of work. Check out last week’s rankings here.
1. Texas
- Last week: Off
- This week: vs. Oklahoma
- Performance review: Meets Expectations. Right where it’s supposed to be, but far from perfect.
2. Georgia
- Last week: def. Vanderbilt, 38-14
- This week: at No. 6 Alabama
- Performance review: Exceeds Expectations. Extra credit for running practice drills during a game.
3. Alabama
- Last week: def. No. 16 Mississippi State, 56-23
- This week: vs. No. 2 Georgia
- Performance review: Exceeds Expectations. Addition of a run game has done wonders.
4. Ole Miss
- Last week: Off
- This week: at Vanderbilt
- Performance review: Needs Improvement. Tackling is still an essential job function.
5. LSU
- Last week: def. McNeese, 63-14
- This week: at Kentucky
- Performance review: Meets Expectations. Very productive week. Please recreate these results against an SEC department.
6. Missouri
- Last week: def. No. 8 Florida, 45-17
- This week: vs. Texas A&M
- Performance review: Promotion Under Consideration. Continued progress will warrant a higher ranking.
7. Florida
- Last week: lost to No. 25 Missouri, 45-17
- This week: vs. South Carolina
- Performance review: Exceeds Expectations. Has shown lots of improvement, but Heisman Trophy talk was premature.
8. Kentucky
- Last week: def. South Carolina, 35-34
- This week: vs. No. LSU
- Performance review: Exceeds Expectations. Demonstrates excellent crisis-management skills. We would like fewer self-created crises.
9. Tennessee
- Last week: def. Auburn, 24-14
- This week: at Arkansas
- Performance review: Meets expectations. Passing responsibilities have been reassigned pending further review.
10. Mississippi State
- Last week: lost to No. 7 Alabama, 56-23
- This week: Off
- Performance review: Promotion Withheld. Employee showed promise during the probationary period. Then senior management arrived.
11. Texas A&M
- Last week: def. Arkansas, 34-7
- This week: at No. 14 Missouri
- Performance review: Meets expectations. Beating Arkansas will not result in a promotion, but it does stop the disciplinary meetings.
12. Oklahoma
- Last week: Off
- This week: vs. No. 1 Texas
- Performance review: Needs Improvement. Starting to become too generous with the turnovers.
13. Auburn
- Last week: lost to No. 17 Tennessee, 24-14
- This week: Off
- Performance review: Probationary Period Extended. We’re still waiting to see signs of improvement.
14. Vanderbilt
- Last week: lost to No. 2 Georgia, 38-14
- This week: vs. No. 9 Ole Miss
- Performance review: Needs Improvement. Must show ability to keep pace with peers without Diego Pavia.
15. South Carolina
- Last week: lost to No. 24 Kentucky, 35-34
- This week: at No. 16 Florida
- Performance review: Performance Plan Initiated. Continued failure may lead to termination.
16. Arkansas
- Last week: lost to Texas A&M, 34-7
- This week: vs. No. 15 Tennessee
- Performance review: Meets Expectations. Nobody specified the expectations were good.
