Final Regular-Season SEC Power Rankings
It seems like only yesterday when the assembled members of the SEC media were casting our votes for the conference champion at media days in Hoover, Alabama.
Those who picked Alabama aren't shocked that the Crimson Tide prevailed in the West, and even those who didn't pick head coach Nick Saban's crew won't be floored when the crimson and white takes the field on Saturday.
Missouri, on the other hand, was a total shock out of the East. The Tigers finished 7-1 in conference for the second consecutive season, and had it not been for a home loss to lowly Indiana, would be in the thick of the College Football Playoff chase.
How do the SEC teams rank after the final game of the regular season? Our power rankings are in this slideshow.
14. Vanderbilt Commodores
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Vanderbilt tried to close things out with a bang at home against intrastate rival Tennessee, falling to the Vols 24-17 to finish head coach Derek Mason's first season in Nashville at 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC. That's a 180 from where the Commodores were under James Franklin, when they went to three straight bowls and won nine games in back-to-back seasons.
The 'Dores finished with the worst offense in the conference by far, averaging 288.3 yards per game. For comparison, Tennessee—the second-worst offense in the conference—finished the season averaging 363.0 yards per game. The offensive gap between Nashville and Knoxville is the size of the Grand Canyon, with a black hole standing in the way of Vandy and the rest of the SEC.
The transition to the multiple 3-4 defense didn't exactly go as planned either. Vandy finished the season giving up 402.1 yards per game and 5.72 yards per play and struggled with consistency.
It was a lost season, but with a full, stable offseason ahead, Mason has the chance to right the ship and get back to a bowl game in 2015.
13. Kentucky Wildcats
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On Oct. 11, Kentucky beat Louisiana-Monroe to improve to 5-1 with the only loss being a triple-overtime heartbreaker to Florida in "The Swamp."
That was as close to bowl eligibility as head coach Mark Stoops would get.
The Wildcats dropped their final six games to finish the season 5-7. The fade route at the end of the season is tough for Stoops' crew, but 5-7 is still a tremendous improvement in Year 2. The way the team fought against nationally ranked Louisville at the end of the season is something he can build on.
Patrick Towles was solid at times at quarterback, and a full offseason as the unquestioned starter will only help his development. The offense successfully blended the air-raid style of offensive coordinator Neal Brown with a running game that thrived with a stable of talented running backs.
Stoops will have to replace Brown who, as ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy reported, will become the new head coach at Troy. The faces may change, but the system worked. Kentucky will build off the success of this season, even though it ended on a sour note.
12. South Carolina Gamecocks
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South Carolina went from the penthouse to the outhouse in 2014. The preseason pick to win the division by the media in Hoover finished the season 6-6, lost home games to Missouri and Tennessee and lost to intrastate rival Clemson for the first time since the month Barack Obama was elected President of the United States—the first time.
Personnel problems along the defensive line and in the secondary haunted head coach Steve Spurrier's crew this season, as the Gamecocks finished with the second-worst defense in the conference (433.6 yards per game) and second-worst rush defense (214.42 yards per game). They were also 12th in scoring defense (31.2 points per game).
There's no "might" about it.
"Steve Spurrier: "I told the guys, '6-6 might be what we are.'"
— Josh Kendall (@JoshatTheState) November 29, 2014"
South Carolina's defensive problems were too much for an offense that, while potent at times, was way too inconsistent up front.
Rebuilding years are allowed in Columbia, and that's exactly what 2014 was.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
11. Tennessee Volunteers
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Year 2 for Butch Jones saw his Tennessee Volunteers run a gauntlet that included road trips to Oklahoma and Ole Miss, a home game against Alabama and a tough midseason stretch that included a road game at Georgia and a total of nine bowl-eligible opponents.
A bowl game was the goal for Jones as he continues to build his program brick-by-brick.
Mission accomplished.
The Vols topped Vandy 24-17 on Saturday to clinch their first bowl game since 2010. According to Tennessee's game notes, 38 of the 79 players who played this season were newcomers. Those 15 bowl practices will be huge to their development.
Running back Jalen Hurd, wide receiver Josh Malone, safety Todd Kelly Jr. and defensive lineman Derek Barnett are just a few of the fresh faces who made an impact on Rocky Top this year, and the best is yet to come.
Watch out for the Vols in 2015, because a title run in the SEC East isn't out of the question.
10. Florida Gators
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The final game of the Will Muschamp era summed up his entire four-year stint perfectly—all defense, not much else.
The Gators fell 24-19 in Tallahassee to third-ranked Florida State in a game that saw the Gators pick off reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston four times, limit the Seminoles to just 306 total yards and fail to get anything going offensively for a full 60 minutes.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
"Still can't get over this: #Gators starting field position was their own 45. They scored 19 points.
— Nick de la Torre (@NickdelaTorreGC) November 30, 2014"
That's almost unfathomable and yet perfectly reasonable for this Gators team.
The new coach is going to have talented players to work with, but they have to gain some confidence first. After the last two seasons, that's nonexistent in Gainesville.
9. Arkansas Razorbacks
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Arkansas was punching at that glass ceiling before breaking through with back-to-back shutout wins versus LSU and Ole Miss in November—its first two SEC wins since Oct. 2012.
The Razorbacks then fell back into the hole.
Seemingly in control of the regular-season finale in Columbia versus Missouri, the Hogs let a lead slip away in the fourth quarter and then go away from their bread and butter—the running game—10 straight times on the game's final drive with an ailing Brandon Allen at quarterback.
When offensive coordinator Jim Chaney finally wised up and called a running play, Alex Collins fumbled, and Arkansas' dreams of three straight wins to close out the season disappeared.
There's still plenty to build off, though. Arkansas' defense played lights out during the final month of the season, and the passing game became more of a threat than a liability. Most importantly, the Hogs learned how to win.
Now if they can only figure out their play-calling in tight games, they'd be in business.
8. Texas A&M Aggies
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Texas A&M's season got started out with a bang, in a 52-28 win at South Carolina in the opening night of the season.
It went out with a whimper.
The Aggies boasted the worst defense in the conference (449.0 yards per game); it was the second time in as many years that they've produced the worst defense in the league. That cost defensive coordinator Mark Snyder his job.
It wasn't just the defense, though.
Head coach Kevin Sumlin's crew topped the 400-yard mark only once in its final five games and managed just 228 in the season finale on Thanksgiving night against LSU.
The quarterback problem that led to Kenny Hill being benched in favor of Kyle Allen contributed to the offensive fade route, but play-calling under offensive coordinator Jake Spavital seemed perplexing at times. The talent is there, but the coaching staff—Sumlin included—needs to do a better job; otherwise, the Aggies will remain in SEC West anonymity.
7. LSU Tigers
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Defensively, LSU was up to its old tricks in 2014.
The Tigers finished with the SEC's best defense (305.8 yards per game) and were one of only two SEC teams to hold opponents to less than 200 points for the season.
Offensively, though, they were a disaster.
Starting quarterback Anthony Jennings completed just 48.8 percent of his passes on the season, never seemed to get into a rhythm and was benched for one game in favor of true freshman Brandon Harris.
Harris didn't get into the win over Texas A&M, and if he doesn't receive a fair shot during bowl practices, transfer talk could heat up, according to Travis Haney of ESPN.com:
"If Brandon Harris doesn't get a look against this A&M defense, the transfer chatter will really heat up. Jennings' ceiling is obvious.
— Travis Haney (@TravHaneyESPN) November 28, 2014"
There's a solid foundation in Baton Rouge with superstar Leonard Fournette at running back, but if you're one-dimensional, you get beat in the SEC. LSU isn't winning a championship unless it finds a way to stretch the field through the air.
6. Auburn Tigers
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When Gus Malzahn is your head coach, your offense is going to be prolific.
His Auburn Tigers led the SEC in rushing for the second straight season, and Malzahn used the offseason to help quarterback Nick Marshall develop as a passer.
It's too bad Auburn can't cover anybody, though, because that progress went to waste in 2014 thanks to a defense that looked like it was playing seven-on-11 the majority of the time.
Auburn couldn't get a pass rush without blitzing and couldn't cover even average receivers in the SEC, which led to the team posting the second-worst pass defense in the conference (239.2 yards per game) for the second straight season.
Could defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson's job be in jeopardy? Brandon Marcello of AL.com asked, and Malzahn dodged the question like a featherweight ducking a right cross:
"Asked Gus Malzahn about potential defensive staff changes. He's not going into that right now.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) November 30, 2014"
The defense has to be better on the Plains; otherwise, the offensive success will continue to be wasted.
5. Georgia Bulldogs
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This was a season of hope for Georgia, followed by massive disappointment.
After looking like a complete team and a national title contender in the opener versus Clemson, the Bulldogs went on the road two weeks later and lost to a mediocre South Carolina team. After getting back in the thick of the division and national title races in the middle of the season, they got blown out 38-20 by mediocre Florida in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. After throttling Auburn 34-7 and establishing themselves as the top two-loss contender, they lost in overtime to Georgia Tech.
So, in summary, a typical Mark Richt season.
The door for the SEC East has been wide open in each of the last two seasons, and Georgia has failed to walk through it.
The silver lining is that, in Todd Gurley's absence, Nick Chubb emerged as a superstar at running back. In addition, the defense, led by first-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, showed signs of progress and discipline for the first time in a long time.
Georgia always seems to be the bridesmaid but never the bride. Maybe another offseason will help the defense become more consistent. That's all Georgia needs to be a real contender.
4. Missouri Tigers
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All Missouri has done over the last two seasons is go 14-2 in the SEC, earn back-to-back SEC East titles and prove all its doubters—myself included—very, very wrong.
Like last year's team that featured Michael Sam and Kony Ealy, this year's crew has been tremendous getting pressure with four off the edge with ends Markus Golden and Shane Ray. The Tigers have found a running game lately with the combination of Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy, and quarterback Maty Mauk has limited his mistakes down the stretch en route to the conference title.
"I really am proud," head coach Gary Pinkel said on Friday in quotes released by Missouri. "This team is very special and remarkably competitive. One of the great traits they have is that when things get tough, they get tougher. I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys."
It hasn't always been pretty for Missouri. In fact, at times, it's been ugly—most notably in a shutout loss to Georgia and a home loss to Indiana. It doesn't matter.
Missouri is 60 minutes away from the SEC title, and the coaching staff and players in Columbia deserve a ton of credit for coming out of nowhere for the second straight season.
3. Mississippi State Bulldogs
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It ended on a sour note, but when the dust settles from Mississippi State's 31-17 Egg Bowl loss to Ole Miss, the Bulldogs can take pride in the fact that they mattered.
They mattered for a full three months. They mattered on a national scale. They disrupted the status quo and earned the first No. 1 ranking in program history.
Quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Josh Robinson helped lead a very potent and versatile Bulldogs offense led by head coach Dan Mullen—who is very familiar with how to use quarterbacks who can run, pass and punish (see: Tim Tebow). A veteran defensive unit led by a front seven that rotated seemingly at will helped the Bulldogs stay fresh in big games against teams with more talent.
"Mullen: "It sucks. We’re here to build a team that’s gonna finish at No. 1, not just be No. 1 at some point."
— Bob Carskadon (@bobcarskadon) November 30, 2014"
"Mullen says this team "set a new standard here at Mississippi State."
— Bob Carskadon (@bobcarskadon) November 30, 2014"
In the end, though, a defense that gave up too many big plays through the air did the Bulldogs in and will keep them at home during the inaugural College Football Playoff.
At 10-2, though, the perception of the program changed immensely. That matters.
2. Ole Miss Rebels
13 of 14Ole Miss survived a season-ending injury to star wide receiver Laquon Treadwell in early November, a late-season swoon and an inability to run between the tackles to end the 2014 campaign on a high note.
The Rebels topped No. 4 Mississippi State 31-17 in Oxford on Saturday to take back bragging rights in the Magnolia State and prove to the rest of the SEC that, while it hasn't always been pretty, the program is still on the brink of greatness.
"It’s a great feeling to reclaim the pride of our program and win the Egg Bowl," head coach Hugh Freeze said in quotes released by Ole Miss. "It’s a priority we have every year. To get that done tonight, with facing some adversity, I’m so proud of our young men. We put everything in the trash in preparing for this one. We went into it with clear hearts, minds and just decided that we were going to go out and play hard."
The 9-3 record is very impressive considering the adversity that the Rebels faced down the stretch, and the combination of young talent, momentum and recruiting ability should keep them in the SEC West conversation for a long time.
If they can get consistency up front on the offensive line and find a running back who can take the punishment between the tackles, look out for Freeze's crew next year.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
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Old Faithful erupts roughly every 91 minutes, but if you watched Alabama's offense in the second half of Saturday's Iron Bowl win over Auburn, "old faithful" erupted roughly every 91 seconds.
The odd-couple marriage of head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has worked like a charm, as the Crimson Tide have slowly progressed into an offensive juggernaut during Blake Sims' one and only season as the starting quarterback.
Add offensive success and versatility to a defensive front seven that is loaded with stars and a secondary that has improved tremendously from a year ago, and you have a recipe for success.
Alabama can win ugly, win big and win shootouts.
It's the best team in college football, and with 60 good minutes in the Georgia Dome, it will claim its third SEC title in six seasons and cruise into the College Football Playoff with the No. 1 next to its name.
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.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
