Week 14: SEC Power Rankings

Quinn Ewers' health is now a question and that could be interesting as we look ahead to the playoff. The Longhorns took care of business against a Kentucky team that had played well in games against top-10 foes to that point in the season and they seem to be catching Texas A&M at a good time. But that will be a very emotional game.

2. Georgia

We know that Georgia is a top tier SEC team but we also know the Bulldogs are more vulnerable than they've been in a while and they aren't an obvious favorite if they make the playoff because of the vulnerability that has been demonstrated off and on throughout the year. Nobody wants to face them, though.

3. Tennessee

The Vols are sitting at 9-2 and will get to 10 if they win at Vanderbilt this weekend. Aside from Alabama and Georgia the Vols haven't had a very difficult schedule and they split those games, winning all the rest except Arkansas. The defense has carried this team a long way this year. With some other teams losing over the weekend their playoff chances have improved, but is this team complete enough to really contend?

4. Ole Miss

Ole Miss went all-in this year and even if they finish 9-3 it has to be viewed as a disappointment. This was their year, or it was supposed to be, and they lost to Kentucky and Florida. Not Lane Kiffin's best coaching job, even if they had the juice to get over the hump against Georgia and waxed South Carolina on the road.

5. South Carolina

Shane Beamer deserves strong consideration for SEC Coach of the Year even over Clark Lea. Nobody expected the Gamecocks to be in this position and it's a testament to Beamer's roster-building efforts (and perhaps prowess). They've been playing like one of the best teams in the SEC and have a great chance to beat Clemson and finish 9-3.

6. Texas A&M

Mike Elko has done a really good job in his first year at College Station but the Aggies aren't peaking at the right time. They were blown out by South Carolina and then over the weekend lost at Auburn, a place where several other teams have already won. The national luster for the Texas game took a hit but if they pull that upset it was still a fantastic year. They just won't be in the playoff.

7. Alabama

What a disappointing first year for Kalen Deboer, and here we see the perils of following a legend. Nobody was ever going to live up to Nick Saban, but Deboer is posting Alabama's worst season since at least 2010 and you knew the spotlight would be on him the whole time. The ugly loss to Oklahoma casts the season in a different light and makes you wonder about the direction of the program. Nobody is afraid of Alabama anymore.

8. Florida

Billy Napier has done one of the better coaching jobs of anyone in the Southeastern Conference this year after being written off earlier in the year. Florida just beat Ole Miss one week after beating LSU, both in the Swamp, and as long as they take care of Florida State the Gators will finish 7-5. That's a 7-5 that not many people predicted based on the Gators having upwards of eight preseason top-25 foes on the schedule. And their losses have been to good teams.

9. Missouri

While South Carolina and Florida have been good surprises, Missouri has been a disappointment. The bottom hasn't fallen out but when you look at the whole body of work they have been more "solid" than very good, and very good is what their fan base was hoping for. They might not have gone "all-in" in the NIL era in quite the same way Ole Miss did, but the outcome is the same. Missing the playoff.

10. LSU

LSU has been a disappointment this year but the Tigers have had bright moments. The Tigers did beat Vanderbilt to snap its three game losing streak but that's still a deflating way to end the year after they had won so many in a row and beat Ole Miss.

11. Vanderbilt

A little bit of the magic is gone after back-to-back losses to South Carolina and LSU, although it wasn't ugly in Baton Rouge. Vanderbilt gets Tennessee at home this weekend. If the Commodores suck you into playing their type of game they can be very difficult to beat. But they don't have a lot of margin for error.

12. Oklahoma

Brent Venables needed that one. Oklahoma's defense confounded Jalen Milroe and stifled the Alabama offense, winning 24-3 and salvaging something of what has been a brutal year. We'll see what Oklahoma's defense can do against LSU in the season finale. If they could beat Alabama and LSU to end the year that would be something after the way the first 10 games went. The win over Tulane looks much better in hindsight.

13. Arkansas

It has been up and down this year to put it mildly. There are surprising wins and blowout losses. You haven't really known what you're going to get for the Hogs but that's fitting for this year of college football. In the big picture, if Arkansas can beat Missouri to finish 4-4 in the SEC that's not bad.

14. Auburn

In spite of the Tigers' win against Texas A&M they don't move up because of the overall body of work. A&M was ranked in the top-15 but they haven't been playing their best football of the year. Auburn has Alabama remaining and that looks like it could be competitive but lose it and they're 2-6 in the SEC. But this was at least something to hang their hat on.

15. Kentucky

The Wildcats did some good things against Texas and Cutter Boley looks interesting as we forecast ahead. But the Longhorns rushed for 250 yards and ran away with it in the second quarter. Kentucky finishes the year 1-7 in the SEC and winless in league play at home. Mark Stoops has a lot of changes to make this offseason.

16. Mississippi State

Unless MSU finds a way to upset Ole Miss the Bulldogs will finish 0-8 in the SEC. It's one of the harder jobs in the conference and there's been a lot of turnover and chaos there lately so it's understandable but still a major disappointment to be lagging so far behind most of the rest of the conference. Missouri beat MSU 39-20 in Starkville over the weekend.