Ad Disclosure
I’ll say it. I don’t like years where teams get 2 off weeks.
It’s November. I want full slates of SEC football. All 16 teams in action every Saturday.
Instead, 4 teams were off this weekend and 4 more are off in Week 11.
I want all 16 teams playing down the stretch. There’s not much left in the regular season.
Anyway, here are the updated SEC power rankings after Week 10:
16. Oklahoma (5-4 overall, 1-4 in SEC)
Previous ranking: 16
This week: 59-14 W over Maine
Next week: at Mizzou
It was nice to see the offense have a good showing on Saturday, scoring 59 points. But it came against an FCS foe in Maine, so I’m not too impressed. The Sooners travel to Mizzou in Week 11. Win on the road and I’ll move them out of the basement.
15. Kentucky (3-6, 1-6)
Previous ranking: 15
This week: 28-18 L at No. 7 Tennessee
Next week: OFF
The Kentucky run defense continues to struggle. Sure, the Wildcats didn’t allow 278 yards to Dylan Sampson the way they did to Jarquez Hunter a week ago, but 142 yards and 2 touchdowns was plenty for the Vols. We’ll see if Mark Stoops can get the ship righted during the off week.
14. Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: 45-20 W over UMass
Next week: at Tennessee
UMass is technically an FBS foe. Technically. The Minutemen are terrible. Their only win was against an FCS opponent. This is a bad Bulldogs team, but the 2 teams behind them in the power rankings didn’t do much to impress me in Week 10.
13. Auburn (3-6, 1-5)
Previous ranking: 13
This week: 17-7 L to Vanderbilt
Next week: OFF
Hugh Freeze is going to have nightmares about Diego Pavia for years to come. Three straight years, Freeze’s teams (2 at Auburn, 1 at Liberty) have lost to Pavia-led squads. The offense was stagnant on Saturday once again. It doesn’t look like this is an issue that can be fixed by an off week.
12. Arkansas (5-4, 3-3)
Previous ranking: 12
This week: 63-31 L to No. 19 Ole Miss
Next week: OFF
The offense was solid on Saturday. The defense? Not so much. Jordan Watkins just caught another TD pass as you were reading this. The Hogs will get a week off to try to regroup on defense as they attempt to secure a 6th victory down the stretch to claim a bowl berth.
11. Florida (4-4, 2-3)
Previous ranking: 11
This week: 34-20 L to No. 2 Georgia (in Jacksonville)
Next week: at Texas
The Gators can’t catch a break. They gave it their all against Georgia on Saturday and were in that game until late in the 4th quarter. They stayed competitive even after losing DJ Lagway to what appeared to be a serious injury. Lagway and Graham Mertz are now possibly both out for the year. But this team hasn’t given up on the season and is still playing hard for Billy Napier.
10. Mizzou (6-2, 2-2)
Previous ranking: 8
This week: OFF
Next week: vs. Oklahoma
The Tigers had a much-needed week off to try to regroup after a shutout loss at Alabama. They have what should be a manageable schedule down the stretch, but we’ll learn a lot about Mizzou this weekend against former Big 12 rival Oklahoma. A loss in this game could spell doom for Eli Drinkwitz’s crew.
9. South Carolina (5-3, 3-3)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: 44-20 W over No. 10 Texas A&M
Next week: at Vanderbilt
What a win for the Gamecocks. What an environment at Williams-Brice Stadium. Everything the Gamecocks did worked. Rocket Sanders was incredible. LaNorris Sellers made plenty of big plays. The defense was awesome. Now we’ll see if the Gamecocks can go into Vanderbilt and win this coming weekend, which suddenly isn’t a very easy place to play.
8. Vanderbilt (6-3, 3-2)
Previous ranking: 9
This week: 17-7 W at Auburn
Next week: vs. South Carolina
Diego Pavia might have a statue outside of the stadium before too long if he keeps this up. The Commodores are bowl eligible despite no one (myself included) believing in them before the season. If they can pull off a win over a hot South Carolina squad this week … watch out.
7. Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: 63-31 W at Arkansas
Next week: vs. Georgia
The Ole Miss offense picked a good week to have its best showing of the year. The Rebels had left a lot of points on the board through the first several weeks. They didn’t at Arkansas, scoring 63 of them. Jordan Watkins filled in beautifully for the injured Tre Harris, recording 5 touchdown catches. The Rebels are firing on all cylinders at the right time as Georgia comes to town this weekend.
6. LSU (6-2, 3-1)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: OFF
Next week: vs. Alabama
Garrett Nussmeier made some uncharacteristic mistakes last time out against Texas A&M. But the Tigers had an off week to get healthy and get things corrected offensively. Alabama comes into a night game at Death Valley. This could be a big-time win for LSU if Brian Kelly’s crew takes care of business.
5. Alabama (6-2, 3-2)
Previous ranking: 5
This week: OFF
Next week: at LSU
The season comes down to this for the Crimson Tide. The crowd is going to be crazy, but the Tide need to play their cleanest game of the season. They can’t afford any mistakes in this intense road rivalry game. We’ll see if Jalen Milroe and company are up to the task. Another loss would likely end Alabama’s slim College Football Playoff hopes.
4. Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: 44-20 L at South Carolina
Next week: OFF
I’m not going to hammer the Aggies too much. South Carolina is a really tough place to play. That crowd is nuts (in a good way). The Gamecocks are a scrappy, well-coached squad. I am concerned about the health of star RB Le’Veon Moss. He was carted off on Saturday night. The offense just isn’t the same without him.
3. Tennessee (7-1, 4-1)
Previous ranking: 4
This week: 28-18 W over Kentucky
Next week: vs. Mississippi State
It wasn’t pretty, but at least the Vols scored points in the first half this week? They still haven’t scored first-quarter points in a while, but they keep winning. Don’t count the Vols out of the SEC title game mix just yet. They get Mississippi State this week and still have games against UTEP, at Georgia and at Vanderbilt left on the schedule.
2. Texas (7-1, 3-1)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: OFF
Next week: vs. Florida
The Longhorns moved up a spot despite being off this week due to the A&M loss. Now they catch Florida at an opportune time, as the Gators will likely be starting a walk-on from Yale at QB in Austin on Saturday due to DJ Lagway’s injury against Florida. This week should serve as another chance to take a step toward the SEC Championship Game for Texas.
1. Georgia (7-1, 5-1)
Previous ranking: 1
This week: 34-20 W over Florida (in Jacksonville)
Next week: at Ole Miss
Carson Beck was awful against Florida, and he knows that. The Bulldogs could have very well lost that game in Jacksonville, even with the Gators losing QB DJ Lagway to injury. Going up against Ole Miss in Oxford next weekend will be a very tough test. The Dawgs will need to be better on both sides of the ball in Week 11.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
