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The SEC never fails to disappoint. We had several exciting games in Week 11, including Ole Miss blowing out Georgia at home, Alabama routing LSU on the road, South Carolina taking some of the magic out of Vanderbilt’s season and Mizzou pulling off a late win over Oklahoma.
Even when we don’t have many particularly close scores, the SEC always provides entertainment.
Now we await the next College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night to see which SEC squads are within striking distance of a spot in the 12-team field.
Here’s a look at our updated SEC power rankings after Week 11:
16. Oklahoma (5-5 overall, 1-5 in SEC)
Previous ranking: 16
This week: 30-23 L to No. 24 Mizzou
Next week: OFF
The Sooners found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They had the game won, but allowed a touchdown pass and another TD on a fumble return to gift Mizzou a victory. The sorts of problems facing Oklahoma aren’t the kind that can be solved during an off week.
15. Kentucky (3-6, 1-6)
Previous ranking: 15
This week: OFF
Next week: vs. Murray State
The Wildcats should be able to win this weekend, as a truly awful Murray State team comes to Lexington. Murray State is 1-9 on the season. This could get ugly, but the real test will be whether or not Kentucky can carry this momentum into tougher games in the final couple of weeks of the season.
14. Mississippi State (2-7, 0-6)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: 33-14 L at No. 7 Tennessee
Next week: OFF
This is going to be a much better team next year. I know that doesn’t do much for fans this year, but progress is being made in Starkville. The off week will allow Jeff Lebby and his staff to do some major coaching, which will benefit the Bulldogs down the stretch.
13. Auburn (3-6, 1-5)
Previous ranking: 13
This week: OFF
Next week: vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Cupcake Week comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium this weekend. This should be a fairly easy win for the Tigers, but that was supposed to be the case last year when New Mexico State came to Auburn, too. Simply taking care of business on Saturday will go a long way toward building a modicum of confidence in Hugh Freeze moving forward.
12. Florida (4-5, 2-4)
Previous ranking: 11
This week: 49-17 L at No. 5 Texas
Next week: vs. LSU
This team is just so beaten up. It’s tough to watch the Gators without many of their top players. The good news? This team continues to fight for Billy Napier, who will return as head coach in 2025, it seems. Can they pick up any additional wins before the 2024 season ends? That remains to be seen.
11. Arkansas (5-4, 3-3)
Previous ranking: 12
This week: OFF
Next week: vs. Texas
Arkansas needs 1 more win to reach bowl eligibility. The Hogs should get there, as they get to take on Louisiana Tech next weekend. But you know they’ll also give Texas a good game. They might not win, but expect the Hogs to compete this coming Saturday.
10. Vanderbilt (6-4, 3-3)
Previous ranking: 8
This week: 28-7 L to South Carolina
Next week: OFF
The Commodores came crashing back to earth a little bit this week, falling by 3 touchdowns to South Carolina at home. Fortunately, Vanderbilt has its second bye week of the season to regroup after that blowout loss. We’ll see if the Commodores can pull off an upset win over LSU or Tennessee to close out the regular season.
9. Mizzou (7-2, 3-2)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: 30-23 W over Oklahoma
Next week: at South Carolina
Kudos to Drew Pyne for doing what Mizzou needed him to do in this game. The defense was the real star, but Pyne filled in admirably for the injured Brady Cook. The Tigers keep winning games. They don’t look good doing it, but a win is a win, especially in the SEC. Now they head to South Carolina for a big-time battle of the Columbias.
8. South Carolina (6-3, 4-3)
Previous ranking: 9
This week: 28-7 W at Vanderbilt
Next week: vs. Mizzou
South Carolina finally jumped into the AP Poll, leapfrogging the Missouri Tigers to become the higher-ranked team in this coming weekend’s Battle of the Columbias. The Gamecocks are firing on all cylinders at the moment. If Mizzou QB Brady Cook can’t play, the South Carolina defense should feast on backup Drew Pyne.
7. LSU (6-3, 3-2)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: 42-13 L to No. 11 Alabama
Next week: at Florida
Brian Kelly has now lost a home night game at LSU and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. This was likely a Playoff elimination loss for the Tigers, and to have it come in blowout fashion against rival Alabama is a tough pill to swallow. This offense needs to regroup in a big way before heading to The Swamp on Saturday.
6. Georgia (7-2, 5-2)
Previous ranking: 1
This week: 28-10 L at No. 16 Ole Miss
Next week: vs. Tennessee
Suddenly Georgia finds itself facing a must-win game to keep its Playoff hopes alive. QB Carson Beck has been awful the last few weeks. Trevor Etienne and the rushing attack aren’t giving him much help. The receivers are mediocre. The defense hasn’t been elite lately. Can this team stop the Vols? We’ll find out on Saturday in Athens, where College GameDay will be in town to preview the game.
5. Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1)
Previous ranking: 4
This week: OFF
Next week: vs. New Mexico State
Diego Pavia is no longer at New Mexico State, so this should be a relatively safe Cupcake Week opponent for the Aggies. However, they need to figure out their QB situation this weekend, as tough games at Auburn and vs. Texas loom large to close out the regular season. A spot in the SEC Championship Game is still at stake for A&M.
4. Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: 28-10 W over No. 3 Georgia
Next week: OFF
Ole Miss is now a defensive juggernaut. That was quite an effort by the Rebels on Saturday in Oxford. The offense did enough against a tough Georgia defense, but Ole Miss was elite with its own defense. The narrative that Lane Kiffin can’t win the big game is now officially dead. The Rebels get a week off to rest up before they try to win their last 2 games and claim a Playoff spot.
3. Tennessee (8-1, 5-1)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: 33-14 W over Mississippi State
Next week: at Georgia
The Vols keep taking care of business. The offense still hasn’t had a great, breakout-type performance that we’ve seen in recent years. But Nico Iamaleava is gaining plenty of confidence. He’ll need to have his best game of the year on Saturday, as Tennessee heads to Athens with a chance to end the Bulldogs’ Playoff hopes.
2. Alabama (7-2, 4-2)
Previous ranking: 5
This week: 42-13 W at No. 15 LSU
Next week: vs. Mercer
When Jalen Milroe plays like he did at LSU, running for 185 yards and 4 touchdowns, the Tide are borderline unstoppable. Now they have a Cupcake Week foe to continue to build momentum heading into a manageable final stretch against Oklahoma and Auburn. This is a team that could be peaking at the right time come December and January.
1. Texas (8-1, 4-1)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: 49-17 W over Florida
Next week: at Arkansas
The Longhorns keep cruising! The schedule hasn’t been the toughest, but Texas just keeps winning, which is all you can do. The Horns head to Arkansas and then host Kentucky in 2 very winnable games before a regular-season finale against rival Texas A&M that has major Game of the Year potential.
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.
