Updated SEC Power Rankings for Rivalry Week
Rivalry week is upon us, and both divisions in the SEC are still up for grabs.
No. 4 Mississippi State has to beat intra-state rival Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon in Oxford and then hope that No. 1 Alabama falls to Auburn in order to win the SEC West; otherwise, the Crimson Tide will represent the division in the SEC Championship Game next weekend in Atlanta.
In the East, it's simple. If Missouri beats Arkansas on Friday afternoon in Columbia, it will win its second straight division title. If the Hogs stay hot, Georgia will win its third division title in four years.
Before we get to the rivalry week main course, let's get your prepared for the final weekend of the regular season by power ranking the SEC.
14. Vanderbilt Commodores
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Derek Mason's first season in Vanderbilt didn't go according to plan.
That may be putting it nicely.
The Commodores sit at 3-8 overall and 0-7 within the conference—this after posting back-to-back nine-win seasons under former head coach James Franklin.
They have the worst scoring defense in the conference (34.1 points per game), worst scoring offense in the conference (17.2 points per game) and have only scored 10 touchdowns versus SEC opponents.
Yikes.
The game of rotating quarterbacks that Mason has played throughout the season prevented the offense from getting into a groove, and while Johnny McCrary has potential, he hasn't been able to gain much-needed confidence late this season.
Mason can get the 'Dores back to bowl games, but it's going to take time to rebuild the program after Franklin's departure.
13. Kentucky Wildcats
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Remember when Kentucky was 5-1 and its only loss was a triple-overtime heartbreaker at Florida?
Yeah, those were the good ol' days.
The Wildcats have lost five straight games and been outscored by an average of 43.8-18.2. An offense that started out with promise has regressed to a point where it has only topped the 400-yard mark once over the past six games. Quarterback Patrick Towles and Co. are only averaging 389.5 yards per game, which is just slightly better than Florida (379.0) and LSU (373.6).
Second-year head coach Mark Stoops clearly isn't happy with his team's stretch run.
"I know we're a better football team," he said in quotes emailed by Kentucky. "I felt like that coming into the year that we'd be better. I think we are better. Are we where I want to be? No, and probably not where a lot of people want to be."
Regardless of what happens in the rivalry game this weekend with Louisville, Kentucky has taken a step forward. It just wasn't a gigantic leap.
12. Tennessee Volunteers
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Tennessee sits at 5-6 and on the brink of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010, and the perception of the program has changed tremendously since the dark days of Derek Dooley.
"I think sometimes being here in Knoxville, people lose touch and reality of what the national perception is of the University of Tennessee football program," head coach Butch Jones said in quotes emailed by Tennessee. "It is at an all-time high right now. The energy, they excitement, we see it every day because of recruiting and talking to high school coaches not just in this great state but across the county."
That's a bit of an exaggeration, but there's no doubt Tennessee is headed in the right direction.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs, running back Jalen Hurd, wide receivers Marquez North and Josh Malone, safety Todd Kelly and defensive lineman Derek Barnett are just a few pieces of the youth movement that has taken hold in Knoxville.
The experience that these underclassmen have gained during this stretch run to get on the brink of bowl eligibility, and the bowl practices they'd earn if they beat Vanderbilt, would be enormous for the future of the program.
The Vols are just a bit inconsistent right now, but it's clear that the best is yet to come.
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11. Florida Gators
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The last two seasons of the Will Muschamp era in Gainesville have been nothing but a mess.
A hot, smelly mess.
Defensively, the Gators have been great. They've finished in the top two in the SEC in total defense in each of the last three seasons and are third this year (311.5 yards per game). Offensively, though, it has been a disaster.
The inconsistencies at quarterback with Jeff Driskel and Treon Harris combined with the switch to Kurt Roper's offense didn't work out as planned, and as a result, Muschamp is already looking for work next season.
It was a make-or-break year, and Muschamp rolled snake eyes with his offensive plan.
The foundation of success is there for the new coach, though. So whoever takes the job will have a good chance of getting the Gators back to a competitive place within the wide-open SEC East.
10. South Carolina Gamecocks
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Three straight 11-win seasons gave South Carolina fans hope that the Gamecocks could make a run to the inaugural 2014 College Football Playoff.
Instead, inexperience along the defensive line and in the secondary had head coach Steve Spurrier's crew fighting for bowl eligibility in November instead of a division title.
The 6-5 Gamecocks have been relegated to afterthought status in the down SEC East this season, despite producing one of the most prolific offenses in program history.
That's OK, though.
Spurrier has done tremendous work in Columbia, and rebuilding years are allowed for a program that was a pushover before Spurrier got to town. If the Gamecocks beat Clemson for the sixth straight time this weekend, it'll send Spurrier's crew into the offseason on a high note.
9. LSU Tigers
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At 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the SEC, LSU is suffering through an uncharacteristic year.
Head coach Les Miles is used to massive roster turnover, but the team has managed to post four straight double-digit wins coming into this season and has only failed to reach that mark twice since 2005.
What's the reason for LSU's struggles? Its quarterback position has been wildly inconsistent all year.
Anthony Jennings won the job out of fall camp, but he has completed just 47.9 percent of his passes for nine touchdowns and six interceptions. True freshman Brandon Harris didn't fare much better when he made his lone start of the season against Auburn, completing just four of his 14 passes before being benched for Jennings.
The inability to stretch the field forced the Tigers to be one-dimensional this season, and that gets you beat in the SEC.
8. Texas A&M Aggies
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Texas A&M's 2014 season got off to a bang when it went on the road and dismantled South Carolina, but a midseason stretch that saw the Aggies drop three straight to Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama brought head coach Kevin Sumlin's crew back down to earth.
There have been some bright spots, though. Defensive end Myles Garrett has 11 sacks on the season and broke former Gamecock Jadeveon Clowney's freshman SEC sack record, freshman Kyle Allen stepped in for an inconsistent Kenny Hill and lit up Auburn on the Plains, and there's enough young talent at skill positions to fill up Kyle Field.
With youth comes inconsistency, and that is what has held Texas A&M back this season.
The future is bright in College Station, though. The experience the younger players gained this season coupled with a solid class coming in should get the Aggies into SEC West contention as early as next season.
7. Ole Miss Rebels
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After a hot start that saw Ole Miss win its first seven games and put itself in the mix for a College Football Playoff berth, the Rebels have crashed back to reality over the past month, losing three of four, including a 30-0 loss to Arkansas last weekend in Fayetteville.
When wide receiver Laquon Treadwell was lost for the season at the end of the Auburn game, Ole Miss' offensive identity went with him. They haven't been able to run all season long, but Treadwell's abilities as a deep threat and as a weapon in the screen game were able to mask the Rebels' major problem, for the most part.
Quarterback Bo Wallace has been very consistent, but "Bad Bo" crept back into the conversation over the last month, which has played a role in head coach Hugh Freeze's team falling out of contention.
The defense has kept them in most of their games, though, and is a big reason why the program has already taken a small step forward from last season.
6. Arkansas Razorbacks
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It took a while, but Arkansas finally broke through the glass ceiling with a vengeance.
Head coach Bret Bielema's crew has posted back-to-back SEC shutouts after not posting a single SEC win since before Election Day—the one that featured Mitt Romney and Barack Obama running for President.
Running backs Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins have proven to be one of the best duos in the country, as expected. What wasn't expected was quarterback Brandon Allen transforming into a solid game manager who doesn't make mistakes.
What has set the Hogs apart lately, though, is a defense that has become a force. Under first year coordinator Robb Smith, the Razorbacks have given up just 338.4 yards per game, and 284.3 yards per game since the start of October.
Defensive end Trey Flowers is a star, and linebacker Martrell Spaight has evolved into a force that the Hogs needed at outside linebacker.
The future is bright in Fayetteville.
5. Missouri Tigers
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It hasn't always been pretty this year for the Missouri Tigers. In fact, at times—like the time they beat Florida 42-13 despite gaining only 119 yards—it's been downright ugly.
It doesn't matter, though.
These Tigers are one win away from their second straight SEC East title, which seems crazy for a team that lost at home to Indiana.
How have they been doing it? Defensive ends Markus Golden and Shane Ray have been forces off the edge of the defensive line. Ray leads the SEC with 12 sacks, Golden has 8.5, and the pressure they create is a big reason the Tigers have forced 20 turnovers this season.
Offensively, quarterback Maty Mauk is still inconsistent. He has thrown 10 interceptions this season, and he doesn't stay calm when pressure comes in his face. The saving grace for Mauk, though, has been a running game led by Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy that has picked things up and averaged 228.8 yards per game since the Vanderbilt game in late October.
4. Auburn Tigers
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Auburn has tailed off a bit down the stretch, but there are still plenty of bright spots on the Plains despite the fact that they've been relegated to "spoiler status" this week against intra-state rival Alabama.
The combination of quarterback Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne has helped the Tigers lead the conference in rushing (266.18 yards per game) for the second straight season. The addition of wide receiver Duke Williams transformed the Tigers to more of a threat through the air before an injury sidelined him for the past two-and-a-half games.
Defensively, the Tigers have struggled to stop teams from picking apart the secondary. A big reason for that is the absence of a pure pass-rusher to create havoc.
Dee Ford was that guy last year, and Carl Lawson was supposed to take over this season. An offseason ACL injury sidelined Lawson for the year, and head coach Gus Malzahn's crew simply hasn't recovered.
3. Georgia Bulldogs
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For most programs, losing the best running back—and perhaps the best player—in the country for a significant period of time would cause the season to go in the tank.
Not for Georgia.
Star running back Todd Gurley was suspended for four games and then tore his ACL in his first game back against Auburn, which allowed freshman sensation Nick Chubb to announce his presence with authority. Chubb has rushed for 1,152 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, establishing himself as a star on the fly.
Not bad.
The big question for Georgia this year, though, was on defense. Could first-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt—fresh off of three straight national titles—fix a unit that has been underperforming for nearly a decade?
It didn't look like it for the majority of the season, but it all came together against one of the SEC's most dynamic offenses on Nov. 15 when the Bulldogs held Auburn to just seven points and 292 yards.
The Bulldogs are playing disciplined football, have SEC East title hopes and could still make a late charge for the inaugural College Football Playoff.
2. Mississippi State Bulldogs
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There's a lot to like about Mississippi State this year. They have a Heisman-caliber quarterback in Dak Prescott, a bowling ball for a running back in Josh Robinson and a defensive front seven that is deep, talented and rotates for a full four quarters.
The 10-1 Bulldogs will enter Saturday's Egg Bowl showdown at Ole Miss needing to not only win to keep their SEC West and College Football Playoff hopes alive, but also earn some "style points" in the process in case they need them to earn a playoff spot.
Head coach Dan Mullen has taken a team full of veterans, developed them and transformed the identity of a program. No longer are bowl games novelties, they're the norm.
This season, the program has taken a gigantic leap forward and isn't just fighting for bowl eligibility, but is also fighting to earn a berth in the biggest college football event the sport has ever seen.
Not bad, Mr. Mullen.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
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Remember when Jake Coker was slated to be the next big thing in Tuscaloosa?
Blake Sims apparently had other plans.
The senior signal-caller for the Crimson Tide took the starting job in Game 1 and ran with it. That is, of course, with a little help from first-year offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. Sims and Kiffin have teamed up with star wide receiver Amari Cooper and a village of talented running backs to produce an offense that's averaging 484.8 yards per game.
Defensively, Cyrus Jones has progressed as a cover corner, the front seven is loaded with talented and athletic stars, and head coach Nick Saban and Kirby Smart have continued the tradition of replacing stars with youngsters who can handle the responsibility.
Coaching isn't easy, but having the best roster in college football certainly makes it easier. The roster turnover, though, coupled with the quarterback uncertainty makes this Saban's finest coaching job at Alabama—which is saying quite a lot.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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