On a semi-weekly basis Cats Illustrated's SEC Power Rankings will be updated to reflect the strength of the conference.
Individual games certainly factor, but the full season's slate counts for a lot, as does the general trend of recent play.
1. Alabama - Alabama gets what may be its only really big test of the regular season this week against UGA. The Crimson Tide defense was less than stellar against an Ole Miss offense that Kentucky fans are very familiar with but Mac Jones, Najee Harris, that line and those receivers have that offense humming. Nick Saban's team seems to be an easy choice for the College Football Playoff.
2. Georgia - Is Stetson Bennett good enough to beat Alabama? We're about to find out. We know the defense is great. It may very well be the best in college football. The Bulldogs pounded Auburn 27-6 and over the weekend handled Tennessee in a game that wasn't even as close as the blowout score indicated. We've got another prime contender for the playoff right here.
3. Florida - The offense is really good. The defense? Not so much. Florida probably should have held on to beat Texas A&M but the Aggies finished strong. Kyle Trask to Kyle Pitts remains a killer combination. The Gators' can score and move the ball against anyone but the defense means they will be vulnerable against good teams.
4. Texas A&M - Some will wonder why the Aggies are behind the Gators. What's the worse loss? A narrow defeat to the Aggies at Kyle Field, or losing to Alabama by four touchdowns? Beyond that, A&M had to barely survive against Vanderbilt. Maybe Jimbo Fisher's big signature win against UF will help them turn the corner. For now they may very well be the second best team in the East, which says a lot for Bama.
5. Auburn - Maybe no team in college football has benefited from more favorable officiating this year than the Tigers. There was the poor call to end the half against Kentucky, and then Bo Nix got away with clocking the ball backward against Arkansas. Auburn has some marquee players but this is not a team that looks capable of contending in the West and they were outmanned by UGA.
6. Tennessee - The Vols are definitely improved under Jeremy Pruitt. They had won eight straight games dating back to last season before the weekend. But we pretty much know who and what Tennessee is. They're solid, but not special. They've gotten to a point where it seems like they pretty much beat the teams they face that have inferior talent, but they still haven't found out how to get over the hump and really put a scare into the best teams they face. They're squarely in the middle of the league.
7. Ole Miss - See: Florida, only more extreme. Really good offense, really horrible defense. Matt Corral is a big-time talent and one of the most fun quarterbacks to watch in college football. This team can score on anyone and Lane Kiffin seems improved as a coach. But can they stop anybody at all? Probably not.
8. Kentucky - Kentucky is 1-2 and could easily be 2-1 were it not for some mistakes against Ole Miss. Their three games have played out very differently so it's tough to get a read for who they really are and how they fit into the league pecking order. The jury is definitely still out on the offense and whether it's good enough to give the 'Cats against a chance against really good teams, but the defense is good and sound enough to help Stoops win his type of game against the teams ranked below on this list.
9. Arkansas - Sam Pittman may have the most improved team in the SEC. Actually, it's almost certain that he does. The Razorbacks are just sound in most aspects, even if not spectacular, and they're competing for 60 minutes. They should have a win at Auburn and they had Georgia on the ropes for a half.
10. South Carolina - The Gamecocks have a brutal schedule so maybe this team should be judged based on something other than the final results at the end of the season but Collin Hill and the South Carolina offense looks really good. Mike Bobo has that unit looking as competent as it has been in quite some time. They can be competitive with a lot of teams.
11. Mississippi State - After Missouri beat LSU over the weekend and Mississippi State was held scoreless offensively against Kentucky that win to open the season in Baton Rouge started to look a little different. MSU has lost to Arkansas and Kentucky the last two weeks with the offense looking very bad each time.
12. Missouri - Eliah Drinkwitz's team looked like an offensive juggernaut against LSU, but maybe that's more about LSU. Quarterback Connor Bazelak was outstanding (29/34, more than 400 yards) throwing against Ed Orgeron's Tigers. They were feisty in the second half against Alabama so the team is buying in, but this is still a squad that's toward the bottom of the East.
13. LSU - The offense should be able to score a good amount against most teams but the defense is currently a mess. All this team has achieved is a win against hapless Vanderbilt. Both Missouri and Mississippi State have scored 40-plus in wins over LSU. This could be a historic decline from last year to this year.
14. Vanderbilt - With PowerMizzou.com's report that Missouri-Vanderbilt will not happen this weekend it's fair to ask what exactly is going right for the Commodores. They barely had enough players to meet the SEC's minimum number to compete in their game against South Carolina. They may not be competitive the rest of the way.
