SEC Power Rankings for Week 8

SEC WEST RULES THE FIRST FIVE SPOTS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER:

AUBURN – First of 12

There can be no doubt at this point that Auburn is SEC's top team.

Though they did give up 43 points on defense this past week, their own 65 points scored will make people overlook the defense's miscues.

Auburn has started out well in the past, only to falter badly as the season goes on; even as late as last season, they started off 5-0 before finishing out the season at 7-5.

Will that happen again this year? No, not to that extent, but Auburn's remaining games with LSU and then traveling later to Tuscaloosa for a game which may ultimately decide the SEC championship, will they stumble in one or the other?

One reason for their late season collapses has been Auburn's insistence on saving their bye week to the last regular season game of the year with Alabama—by the time they play LSU for example, they will have played eight games without a rest.

This season will certainly have some late season surprises.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 197.4 76th Overall                RUSHING YARDS 283.7 6th Overall

POINTS SCORED 40.7 6th Overall                    POINTS GIVEN UP 24.4 63rd Overall

LSU – Second out of 12th

Is this the high water mark of LSU this season, as they face Auburn this coming weekend?

All season long, LSU has been playing like a team on borrowed time and this coming week's contest will tell whether LSU has been a contender all along or just a lucky pretender.

With remaining games at Auburn, with Alabama and then two schools which always have less talent but somehow find a way to way to beat them, Ole Miss and Arkansas, we will find out a lot about LSU.

Jarrett Lee has finally given them some consistency from the quarterback position and the defense is doing well so you can't count them out entirely.

Whether they go face down in the SEC yet again is to be determined.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 140.3 113th Overall                   RUSHING YARDS 188.3 33rd Overall

POINTS SCORED 26.7 70th Overall                       POINTS GIVEN UP 14.4 11th Overall

ALABAMA – Third of 12

One of the two teams above them will lose this week and Alabama must play both of them in the remaining games; Alabama holds its fate in the SEC in their own hands and can still win the conference championship with no help from anyone.

The question is, will they do it?

With the running game slipping and the defense continuing to give up big plays, there is still much work to be done before facing these two teams above them.

They have the talent without question, but the heart and desire seem to be lacking at this point—they appear to a team just going through the motions.

Nick Saban needs urgently to find the right buttons to push.

Comparing Alabama's FBS rankings to the two above them and you can see it is a possibility.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 243.6 46th Overall                  RUSHING YARDS 183.6 37th Overall

POINTS SCORED 33.3 31st Overall                    POINTS GIVEN UP 12.9 5th Overall

ARKANSAS – Fourth out of 12

Arkansas is a better team than their record shows. They have played every loss tough, not lost to an opponent that wasn't in the top 10 and haven't lost to an inferior opponent all year.

These are all things for the Hogs to be proud of, despite their two losses.

With plenty of firepower on offense, they will be in any game they play but the defense simply has to stand up and be recognized or they may have other losses as the season goes on.

Future games against South Carolina, Mississippi State and LSU will tell if they are as good as most think and will determine just how good a bowl they may land.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 366.3 2nd Overall              RUSHING YARDS 113.7 96th Overall

POINTS SCORED 32.2 39th Overall               POINTS GIVEN UP 23.3 56th Overall

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Fifth out of 12

Not in recent memory has the SEC West ever had the top five power rankings in one week.

This shows where the true power of the league lies, at least this year.

With South Carolina's loss to a less talented Kentucky team, and the Mississippi State win over Florida, few can argue this case.

Dan Mullen is making a case for SEC Coach of the Year with the quick turnaround of the disastrous Dogs. He finally has an offense at State to go along with a talented defense.

With remaining games against Alabama and Arkansas, he could have some problems—but now, no matter what, a bowl game is within the Bulldog's reach and that would be quite an accomplishment from where they were just one year ago.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 180.4 88th Overall                   RUSHING YARDS 211.9 21st Overall

POINTS SCORED 28.6 57th Overall                     POINTS AGAINST 16.0 13th Overall

SOUTH CAROLINA – Sixth out of 12

In the SEC, it doesn't take long to go from the top of the pack to an also run. With the surprise upset to Kentucky, South Carolina is taking a plunge this week.

Call it being caught napping or still euphoric over their big win with Alabama, but call it a loss to less talented team and it drops you rather rudely.

With a win over Florida, South Carolina could still make the SEC Championship Game, and with the right amount of luck, they could still be SEC Champions. But now, few believe that is what's going to happen.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 245.0 40th Overall                    RUSHING YARDS 145.7 69th Overall

POINTS SCORED 31.0 43rd Overall                      POINTS GIVEN UP 20.8 39th Overall

FLORIDA - Seventh out of 12

At the first of the season, had you bought a ticket that Florida would be in the bottom half of the SEC after Week 7, you would be rich. Nobody thought this was a remote possibility.

It's been 22 years since Florida has lost three in a row and such a streak puts tarnish on Urban Meyer's crown of one of the premier coaches in America today.

With remaining games against South Carolina and FSU, could we be looking at a Florida team with a 7-5 record struggling to stay out of Shreeveport for a bowl game?

It's a distinct possibility.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 186.9 84th Overall                  RUSHING YARDS 142.1 75th Overall

POINTS SCORED 27.6 65th Overall                    POINTS GIVEN UP 18.7 25th Overall

KENTUCKY – Eighth out of 12

Earlier in the year, Kentucky seemed to have an easy road to keep their continuous bowl appearance streak alive.

But while the win against South Carolina certainly helps, the loss to a pitiful Ole Miss team means that with the win against nobody Charleston Southern, they will still have to win one remaining game against an improving Georgia, a red hot Mississippi State, or a tougher than the record shows Tennessee or Vanderbilt.

This year, six wins may not get n SEC into a bowl, so Kentucky must find a way to win two of those above mentioned games to be sure a slot.

Like so many SEC teams, Kentucky has learned that life in the SEC can be great one week and terrible the next—they just need some consistency.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 270.6 25th Overall                RUSHING YARDS 158.7 51st Overall

POINTS SCORED 35.3 21st Overall                  POINTS SCORED 29.9 89th Overall

GEORGIA – Nineth out of 12

Finally out of the bottom third with a well deserved blowout wins over Tennessee and Vanderbilt, Georgia has now shot up to 9th in the SEC.

While that's quite an improvement from where they were just a few weeks ago, Bulldog fans are beginning to listen to the get rid of Richt talk going around.

With remaining games against Kentucky, Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech, this is a bulldog team that may not make a bowl game for the first time in a long time.

A four and eight season is a distinct possibility.

Then the Bulldog faithful will be set with a fateful decision of whether or not to keep the best coach they've had in a long while a little longer.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 244.9 41st Overall                   RUSHING YARDS 150.4 64th Overall

POINTS SCORED 29.7 51st Overall                     POINTS GIVEN UP 17.4 20th Overall

VANDERBILT - 10th out of 12

The Commodores have shown sign of life some games on offense and the defense has also looked good at times.

With such limited quality depth, it's hard for Vandy to play for four quarters with much consistency.

Like Georgia, there's no bowl game in Vandy's future but they could wind up out of the cellar this year with a good finish and for the Commodores, that's something anyway.

They have a chance to beat Tennessee later in the year to cement their standing as not the worst team in the SEC.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 162.5 101st Overall                        RUSHING YARDS 152.8 59th Overall   

POINTS SCORED 20.8 98th Overall                            POINTS GIVEN UP 25.5 67th Overall

OLE MISS - 11th out of 12th

With a loss to Vandy, Ole Miss' stay at the bottom was simply prolonged.

They are a disaster on many levels, but there is reason to be optimistic about the future.

With a win against Tennessee, they might leapfrog the very team that beat them, Vanderbilt and move all the way to 10th place by season's end.

Was the Jeremiah Masoli experiment worth a knock to Nutt's reputation? No, it wasn't.

Has he won a game that a backup may not have won? No, he hasn't.

Will the message that a kid who signs with a college from high school and pays his dues to be the starter ever be resurrected at Ole Miss? Time will tell.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 177.8 90th Overall              RUSHING YARDS 215.5 19th Overall

POINTS SCORED 32.7 36th Overall                POINTS GIVEN UP 31.0 95th Overall

TENNESSEE – 12th out of 12

Somewhere in Tennessee, Phillip Fulmer is sitting and laughing at the Vols fortunes since they discarded him as coach.

Things went from the frying pan and Lane Kiffin to the fire with Derek Dooley.

Not that Dooley hasn't done a good job with he cards he was dealt, but the program at Tennessee couldn't be is worse shape than it is right now.

There have been some bright spots and some oh so close moments that could have changed the fortunes of the program so much.

Could little Tennessee have only had 11 men on the field for the last play of the LSU game, they would be far removed from the bottom posting here, but that is football.

No rival SEC team should relish seeing just how far the Tennessee program has sunk, but many do.

But there are things to build on: Tennessee has a good quarterback and if they can just bring in some recruits to help with depth issues, they should return in the near future.

With remaining games against Ole Miss and Vandy, Tennessee can at least fight their way out of the cellar this season.

2010 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS

PASSING YARDS 206.8 71st Overall         RUSHING YARDS 115.0 94th Overall

POINTS SCORED 23.3 84th Overall            POINTS GIVEN UP 27.57 5th Overall

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer)