SEC power rankings after Week 3: Clear top and bottom starting to emerge
After an upset-filled Week 2 of the season, Week 3 was more about near misses by the underdogs.
Texas A&M was able to edge out Miami, 17-9, in the biggest matchup of the day while Florida and Arkansas struggled with South Florida and Missouri State, respectively.
While those teams were able to avoid a disastrous loss, the same was not true for Auburn who was crushed by Penn State 41-12 in Jordan-Hare Stadium. After a 2-0 start, the loss has seemingly reignited Bryan Harsin’s hot set and he will need a strong start to SEC play to cool it off.
Here are the SEC power rankings after Week 3 of the college football season.
Vanderbilt (3-1)
(Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
Week 3: Beat Northern Illinois 38-28
Previous ranking: 14
The Commodores continue to make progress under Clark Lea
Auburn (2-1)
(Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
Week 3: Lost to Penn State 41-12
Previous ranking: 11
The Tigers suffered their worst home loss since 2012, it’s now or never for Bryan Harsin.
South Carolina (1-2)
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Week 3: Lost to Georgia 48-7
Previous ranking: 12
Outside of a late touchdown against the backups, South Carolina had no success against the Bulldogs’ defense and was unable to stop their offense.
Missouri (2-1)
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Week 3: Beat Abilene Christian 34-17
Previous ranking: 13
The Tigers were able to air it out and will be looking to upset Auburn next week.
Florida (2-1)
[Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]
Week 3: Beat USF 31-28
Previous ranking: 7
That win over Utah is starting to look stranger by the week.
Mississippi State (2-1)
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Week 3: Lost to LSU 31-16
Previous ranking: 10
The Bulldogs had a 13-point lead in Death Valley but were unable to hold on as the Tigers shut down Will Rogers.
LSU (2-1)
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Week 3: Beat Mississippi State 31-16
Previous ranking: 9
LSU stormed back to give Brian Kelley his first SEC win and have gotten better each week.
More coverage at LSU Wire.
Texas A&M (2-1)
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Week 3: Beat Miami 17-9
Previous ranking: 8
It wasn’t always pretty but the Aggies did enough to beat the Hurricanes, a solid win for a team that was just upset by App State at home.
More coverage at Aggies Wire.
Ole Miss (3-0)
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Week 3: Beat Georgia Tech 42-0
Previous ranking: 6
Lane Kiffin has figured out how to use the transfer portal to keep his offense humming.
Arkansas (3-0)
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Week 3: Beat Missouri State 38-27
Previous ranking: 4
This was a game into the fourth quarter but the Razorbacks avoided the upset of all upsets in Bobby Petrino’s return.
More coverage at Razorbacks Wire.
Kentucky (3-0)
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Week 3: Beat Youngtown State 31-0
Previous ranking: 3
This game was scoreless through one quarter but the Wildcats scored 21 in the second quarter to pull away.
Tennessee (3-0)
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Week 3: Beat Akron 63-6
Previous ranking: 5
The Volunteers moved the ball at will and have momentum ahead of their big matchup with Florida.
More coverage at Vols Wire.
Alabama (3-0)
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Week 3: Beat Louisiana-Monroe 63-7
Previous ranking: 2
After a close win against Texas last week, Alabama took care of business against an overmatched opponent.
More coverage at Roll Tide Wire.
Georgia (3-0)
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Week 3: Beat South Carolina 48-7
Previous ranking: 1
The Bulldogs look great on both sides of the ball and are once again a national title contender.
More coverage at UGA Wire.
