Power ranking the SEC teams after Week 6
Week 6 featured an overwhelming number of high-profile matchups, and the SEC was no exception.
Though the LSU-Tennessee and Georgia–Auburn games proved to be fairly disappointing affairs, we were treated to a thrilling game in the nightcap between Alabama and Texas A&M in which the Crimson Tide narrowly survived at home with backup quarterback Jalen Milroe.
We also saw one of the biggest league upsets of the season so far as South Carolina took down No. 13 Kentucky in Lexington with quarterback Will Levis unavailable.
Here’s how the SEC teams stack up at the midway point of the regular season.
Vanderbilt Commodores (3-3, 0-2 SEC)
Syndication: The Tennessean
Previous Ranking: 14
Week 6 Result: L 52-28 vs. No. 9 Ole Miss
The Skinny: This one hurt for the ‘Dores. They had a top-10 team on the ropes, leading 20-10 in the second quarter, but they couldn’t hang on. They were outscored by the Rebels 35-8 in the second half, and with a contest against Georgia on the docket, this team will have to wait for some winnable SEC contests.
Auburn Tigers (3-3, 1-2 SEC)
Syndication: Online Athens
Previous Ranking: 12
Week 6 Result: L 42-10 at Georgia
The Skinny: With Georgia struggling a bit the last two weeks, perhaps Auburn stood a chance to keep this one close? Nope. Despite hanging around early, UGA pulled away entirely in the second half. Bryan Harsin’s tenure seems all but over, even though it looks like we may have to wait at least another week for that to become official.
Missouri Tigers (2-4, 0-3 SEC)
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
Previous Ranking: 11
Week 6 Result: L 24-17 at Florida
The Skinny: It’s been a brutal stretch of football for Missouri. They’ve lost three-straight SEC contests by one score, two of which came on the road with the third against the No. 1 team in the country. This time around, it took a pick-six and some special teams mishaps to drop a winnable game to the Gators. If the Tigers can’t beat Vanderbilt at home, they may not win an SEC game this year.
South Carolina Gamecocks (4-2, 1-2 SEC)
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 13
Week 6 Result: W 24-14 at No. 13 Kentucky
The Skinny: Some may complain that South Carolina isn’t higher after beating one of the league’s best teams. And I get that, but I’m tempering my expectations given the fact that UK was playing without Levis. Chris Rodriguez still had a big game on the ground, and the Gamecocks’ offense — while fine — didn’t exactly take a massive step forward. I’m intrigued, but I need to see more.
Florida Gators (4-2, 1-2 SEC)
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
Previous Ranking: 9
Week 6 Result: W 24-17 vs. Missouri
The Skinny: The Gators are a pretty easy team to understand. They run the ball very effectively but have a nearly non-existent passing game. Meanwhile, their defense is strong up front but struggles quite a bit in the secondary. This team has a lot of limitations in Year 1 under Billy Napier, and the win over Missouri — while better than the alternative — wasn’t exactly convincing. Beat LSU, and we can talk about raising the ceiling a little bit here.
Arkansas Razorbacks (3-3, 1-3 SEC)
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 6
Week 6 Result: L 40-17 at Mississippi State
The Skinny: Things have really come crashing down to Earth in Fayetteville. The Hogs have now dropped three-straight SEC contests and sit at 1-3 in league play. Finishing in the upper echelon of the West doesn’t appear to be in the cards anymore for Sam Pittman’s team.
LSU Tigers (4-2, 2-1 SEC)
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Previous Ranking: 7
Week 6 Result: L 40-13 vs. No. 8 Tennessee
The Skinny: Losing to the Vols isn’t necessarily an issue for LSU, but you would have liked to see this team be a bit more competitive. The secondary actually held its own, but the Tigers were gashed on the ground as the defense hasn’t come quite as far as we thought it may have. The offense, while sufficient, clearly struggles when it’s forced to air the ball out to come back.
Texas A&M Aggies (3-3, 1-2 SEC)
Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 10
Week 6 Result: L 24-20 at No. 1 Alabama
The Skinny: Jimbo Fisher must have seen your tweets. Despite the loss, the Aggies acquitted themselves well (aside from a questionable play-call at the end) on the road against the No. 1 team in the country. A&M even showed some signs of progress in the passing game with Haynes King and true freshman wideout Evan Stewart. There’s finally some reason for optimism in College Station.
Kentucky Wildcats (4-2, 1-2 SEC)
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 5
Week 6 Result: L 24-14 vs. South Carolina
The Skinny: I don’t want to judge Kentucky too harshly for losing without Levis. But quarterback or no quarterback, this is a bad loss for the Wildcats, and it’s concerning that the loss of one player can result in something like this. UK is a good team, but perhaps not quite as good as we once thought.
Ole Miss Rebels (6-0, 2-0 SEC)
Syndication: The Tennessean
Previous Ranking: 4
Week 6 Result: W 52-28 at Vanderbilt
The Skinny: It hasn’t always been pretty for the Rebels, but 6-0 speaks for itself. Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt wasn’t exactly one you want to hang on the mantle, but Ole Miss showed good fight on the road. The Kentucky win is doing a lot of work for the resume right now, though, and some tough matchups are coming up.
Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-1, 2-1 SEC)
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 8
Week 6 Result: W 40-17 vs. Arkansas
The Skinny: There are not many teams in the entire country playing better football right now than the Bulldogs. They’ve outscored Texas A&M and Arkansas 82-41 in their last two contests, and they ran the ball 37 times in the latter. This is a balanced team playing out of its mind right now, and the loss to LSU a few weeks ago just looks head-scratching now.
Tennessee Volunteers (5-0, 2-0 SEC)
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Previous Ranking: 3
Week 6 Result: W 40-13 at LSU
The Skinny: Tennessee looked the part of a top-10 team in Saturday’s win at Tiger Stadium. With wins over Florida and LSU, this team enters Saturday’s contest against Alabama with a lot of momentum, and it feels like this is the best chance Tennessee has had in that rivalry in nearly two decades.
Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 SEC)
Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 1
Week 6 Result: W 24-20 vs. Texas A&M
The Skinny: It’s a bit surprising how limited this team is without Bryce Young. Alabama has now struggled twice against decent teams this year, and with Tennessee next week, this team desperately needs Young back under center. If it has to run it back with Jalen Milroe, it could be in trouble against a Vols team that looks much better than the Aggies.
Georgia Bulldogs (6-0, 3-0 SEC)
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Previous Ranking: 2
Week 6 Result: W 42-10 vs. Auburn
The Skinny: It looks like all Georgia needed to cure its woes was to play Auburn. It dominated the Tigers and returned to form on Saturday. Given Alabama’s struggles, the Bulldogs are back in the No. 1 spot and should have no problems with Vanderbilt this weekend.
