By Chris Marler
We are heading into the final month of the season and just like we all thought back in August, we are barreling towards an SEC Championship Game of Georgia and a team from Texas. However, it’s the Aggies from Texas A&M and not Matthew McConaughey’s (and the SEC refs) favorite team, the Longhorns.
There was a lot of movement in this week’s power rankings after those fake army men from College Station finally forced my hand into acknowledging that Texas A&M is a legitimate contender. They also may have given Alabama and Florida a blueprint into knocking off last week’s No. 2 LSU with how they used their dual threat quarterback.
But, we have plenty of time to watch all that sort itself out in the last month of the regular season. For now, here are what some are calling “the undisputed worst power rankings” they’ve ever seen. Enjoy!
1. Georgia (Last Week – 1)
No movement at the top as Georgia enjoyed a bye week before their November run. Up first, their annual shoving of Florida into a metaphorical locker on national television. Outside of Al Gore and PETA, nobody hates Florida more than Kirby Smart.
2. Texas A&M (Last Week – 8)
Ok, so let’s just have a very real conversation here about Texas A&M. I wasn’t just sleeping on Texas A&M, I was full on Rip Van Winkling on them. Texas A&M is the real deal defensively, and when they’ve got things going right for them it feels like they can compete with other elite teams in the country. The caveat there is strictly if Marcel Reed is the quarterback moving forward.
Reed was tremendous in replacing Conner Weigman for roughly a month of the regular season. While Weigman was admittedly good in his return against Missouri, you saw what this offense can be with Reed on Saturday night against LSU. Imagine if he played the entire game.
3. Texas (Last Week – 3)
Texas went to Nashville and got a win in a bounce back spot following their two-score loss to Georgia the week prior. Texas’ defense is elite, and looks like one of the best units in the country, just like we all expected from a Steve Sarkisian led team. However, the offense is beginning to show question marks and Quinn Ewers has to protect the football better. Period.
4. Tennessee (Last Week – 4)
The Vols were one of the four top ten teams on a bye this weekend. They have five games left on their schedule with a road trip to Georgia in three weeks being the biggest.The Vols used to dominate the last month of the season playing Kentucky and Vanderbilt. However, under Josh Heupel, they’re just 7-5 in November.
5. Alabama (Last Week – 7)
Saturday is what this team can look like. Granted, the 34-0 win came at home against a backup quarterback. But they became the first team in 59 games to hold Missouri scoreless. Offensively, they had 486 total yards and 12 plays of 20 yards or more against a defense who had allowed 16 all season. Up next they head to Baton Rouge to face LSU in what is effectively a college football playoff elimination game.
6. LSU (Last Week – 2)
Last year we looked at LSU and imagined how good they could have been if they just had a defense. This year it feels like we are going to do the same thing except with the run game. LSU has become one dimensional offensively as the season has progressed with nearly zero impact from their run game. In the second half of Saturday night’s game, Texas A&M held LSU to 12 rushes for zero yards. That led to 50 pass attempts from Garrett Nussmeier for the second time in three weeks and an eventual 15-point loss.
7. Ole Miss (Last Week – 5)
It was a tale of two halves once again for Ole Miss. The Rebels came into Saturday’s game against Oklahoma with a plus-136 point differential in the first half of games this season. That led the nation through nine weeks. However, they trailed at halftime to the Sooners, and while they still got the win, the defense allowed Oklahoma to have a season high in completions, yards, and first downs against an SEC opponent.
8. Vanderbilt (Last Week – 6)
It felt like the clock finally struck midnight for everyone’s favorite SEC Cinderella this season. Vanderbilt fought and clawed their way back and only lost to Texas by three. However, it felt like the Vanderbilt of old showed up instead of this year’s edition. The Commodores had three turnovers against Texas after surrendering only two in the seven games prior.
9. South Carolina (Last Week – 9)
The Gamecocks had a bye week and head into this weekend with a chance to ruin Texas A&M’s season a week after it was theoretically made. South Carolina needs to make sure they don’t have a repeat of what happened last time they came off a bye, when Ole Miss drubbed them 27-3 at home.
10. Arkansas (Last Week – 12)
I was one of many in the camp that thought Arkansas was a prime candidate for an upset in week nine. Late season trips to Starkville have a tendency to lull opponents to sleep, but not the Razorbacks. Arkansas racked up 58 points and nearly 700 yards of total offense against Mississippi State.
11. Auburn (Last Week – 13)
Hugh Freeze has done a below average job coaching this season, but he has done an exceptional job of overthinking. Auburn went to Lexington as a 2.5 point underdog against Kentucky and won by 14. Why? Jarquez Hunter.
Auburn gave Hunter a career high 23 carries, and he subsequently responded with a career high 273 rushing yards. Hunter has had 20 carries or more only twice in his career on the Plains. In those games, he’s averaged 215 yards and Auburn has won by an average of 20 points.
The math is simple Hugh. Feed No. 27.
The Bottom Five
12. Florida
13. Missouri
14. Mississippi State
15. Oklahoma
16. Kentucky
