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By Brett Daniels
Only two more weeks remain in the College Football regular season and the championship picture in the SEC continues to come into focus. Georgia rebounded from their loss at Ole Miss with a dominant victory at home against Tennessee. Texas overcame a shaky second half performance on offense to hold onto a tight victory against Arkansas, and LSU went down in defeat for the third game in a row to Florida. There are scenarios that remain where seven teams could tie at 6-2 in conference play and trigger a laundry list of tiebreakers.
The criteria used for these rankings are largely based on resume, wins and losses, and head-to-head if it is recent (last 2-3 weeks).
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The SEC Standings following Week 12 👀
The SEC runs through Texas??? pic.twitter.com/59m78x9LIZ
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) November 17, 2024
Week 12 SEC Power Rankings
1. Texas Longhorns (9-1, 5-1)
Texas overcame a less-than-stellar offensive performance against Arkansas in the second half to hold onto a 20-10 win. The Longhorns retain the top spot in the rankings simply because they are the only one-loss team remaining in the SEC. Texas has Kentucky and Texas A&M remaining on their schedule where they will go to Atlanta if they win out.
Next Up: Saturday vs Kentucky
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2)
The Tide stepped out of conference play on Saturday to host FCS Mercer in Tuscaloosa. The game went as expected where the starters got to watch the second and third team units play in the second half. Alabama has found their stride on both offense and defense and may be playing the best ball of any team in the SEC right now. A trip to Oklahoma and the annual Iron Bowl against Auburn at home are all that separate the Tide from a trip to the SEC Championship Game.
Next Up: Saturday at Oklahoma
If Alabama makes the SEC Championship Game, as it looks likely, it has a chance to secure a first-round bye. https://t.co/BLDW1SLhOG
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) November 17, 2024
3. Ole Miss Rebels (8-2, 4-2)
The Rebels had an extra week to celebrate their win over Georgia before turning preparations to a suddenly dangerous Florida team on the road. The Rebels have largely not been tested away from Oxford and will need to bring their defensive intensity to beat the Gators. Ole Miss will end the season at home against instate rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. The Rebels will have to win out and hope that Alabama and Texas A&M end up with three losses to have a chance to make it to Atlanta.
Next Up: Saturday at Florida
4. Georgia Bulldogs (8-2, 6-2)
The Dawgs played what was arguably their best game on Saturday night and disposed of Tennessee for the 8th season in a row 31-14. Carson Beck looked like the guy that everyone expected, and the defense held the Vols scoreless in the second half to secure the win. Georgia has completed their SEC schedule and is in the clubhouse at 6-2. Non-conference games against UMass and Georgia Tech will finish the season.
Next Up: Saturday vs UMass
Georgia Bulldog QB Carson Beck has been dealing and looking like the NFL Draft prospect we expected him to be, and it all started after this run.
The momentum of the game changed at this moment. pic.twitter.com/zeoXe6sZGL
— Football Scout 365 (@DraftAnalyst365) November 17, 2024
5. Tennessee Volunteers (8-2, 5-2)
Tennessee would have had the inside track to Atlanta with a win at Georgia on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Vols, the offense couldn’t score in the second half and the defense couldn’t stop the Bulldogs from scoring. A non-conference game against UTEP and a road game at Vanderbilt will finish out the season for Tennessee. While the Vols have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Alabama, with Georgia already at 6-2 and with the head-to-head tiebreaker over Tennessee, a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship is an extreme long shot.
Next Up: Saturday vs UTEP
6. Texas A&M Aggies (8-2, 5-1)
The Aggies dropped behind all the other 2 loss teams since LSU, who was their best win lost to Florida; however, they stayed ahead of South Carolina despite the head-to-head loss due to the overall win/loss record. Texas A&M still controls its own destiny with respect to the SEC Championship Game, win out on the road against Auburn and at home against Texas to end the season and they are in. The Aggies could still mathematically get in with a loss, but the chances are small.
Next Up: Saturday at Auburn
7. South Carolina Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3)
The Gamecocks wrapped up their SEC schedule with a win against Missouri on Saturday night. South Carolina has figured it out on offense with QB LaNorris Sellers exploding for 353 yards and five touchdowns while the defensive line remains one of the best in College Football. Nonconference games against Wofford and Clemson will round out the schedule.
Next Up: Saturday vs Wofford
8. Vanderbilt Commodores (6-4, 3-3)
The Dores had a week off to regroup after their loss at South Carolina. Games on the road at LSU and home against Tennessee remain on the schedule.
Next Up: Saturday at LSU
9. Florida Gators (5-5, 3-4)
At the beginning of the season, many wondered if Billy Napier would still be the coach at Florida at this point in the season. After a 1-2 start it appeared that Napier was on borrowed time, but then the Gators won against Mississippi State and UCF to bring the record to 3-2. An overtime loss at Tennessee and a tough game against Georgia showed that Florida was on the right track, which all culminated in an upset victory over LSU on Saturday.
The Gators will look to play spoiler again as they welcome Ole Miss to the Swamp on Saturday before finishing the season at Florida State. One more win and Florida will be bowl-eligible which is something no one thought at the start of the season.
Next Up: Saturday vs Ole Miss
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) November 18, 2024
10. Missouri Tigers (7-3, 3-3)
The Tigers’ loss at South Carolina thankfully ended what small chance Missouri had of making the SEC Championship and the CFB Playoff. Games on the road against Mississippi State and home against Arkansas remain on the schedule. A 9-3 Missouri could still finish the season unranked.
Next Up: Saturday at Mississippi State
11. Arkansas Razorbacks (5-5. 3-4)
Offensively, the Razorbacks couldn’t get anything going against the Texas defense falling almost 200 yards below their average output. This along with two turnovers spelled doom for an Arkansas team looking to upset its second top 10 opponent on the season. Arkansas will look to secure bowl eligibility against Louisiana Tech on Saturday before finishing the season against Missouri on the road.
Next Up: Saturday vs Louisiana Tech
12. LSU Tigers (6-4, 3-3)
After upsetting Ole Miss in overtime and playing Texas A&M close on the road it looked like LSU was one of the better teams in the SEC. A blowout loss to Alabama and a road loss to Florida later and suddenly the Tigers are on a three-game losing streak. Vanderbilt and Oklahoma will come to Death Valley to finish out the season for LSU. Both games are winnable, but both are also losable especially if Coach Brian Kelly has lost the locker room.
Next Up: Saturday vs Vanderbilt
13. Oklahoma Sooners (5-5, 1-5)
The first year in the SEC has not been kind to the Sooners and the remaining schedule is more of the same. Oklahoma will host Alabama in Norman on Saturday before going on the road to face LSU. The Sooners will need to win one of their two remaining games to qualify for a postseason bowl game.
Next Up: Saturday vs Alabama
14. Auburn Tigers (4-6, 1-5)
This has been a largely lost season for Auburn, but the Tigers will still have two chances to affect the outcome of the SEC regular season with games against Texas A&M and on the road against bitter rival Alabama. A win in either game would throw the entire conference race into chaos and eliminate the defeated team from Playoff contention.
Next Up: Saturday vs Texas A&M
15. Kentucky Wildcats (4-6, 1-6)
The Cats halted a four-game losing streak with a win against FCS Murray State on Saturday. Kentucky will need to upset Top 5 Texas on the road and beat instate rival Louisville at home to go bowling.
Next Up: Saturday at Texas
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6)
The Bulldogs have shown steady improvement all season but will need to upset Missouri at home or beat Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl to avoid a winless SEC campaign.
Next Up: Saturday vs Missouri
SEC Championship Game Scenarios
- Texas controls its own destiny. Win out and finish 7-1 and go to Atlanta
- Texas A&M controls its own destiny. Win out and finish 7-1 and go to Atlanta
- Alabama controls its own destiny. Win out and finish 6-2 and win all the tiebreakers with the other 6-2 teams.
- Georgia finished 6-2. The Dawgs will go to Atlanta if Alabama loses another game and more than Georgia and Ole Miss finish 6-2.
- Ole Miss needs to win out to finish 6-2 and Alabama, Texas/Texas A&M loser, and Tennessee to lose a third game.
- Tennessee cannot go to Atlanta regardless of what happens with the other teams.
- If there is a six-way tie at 6-2 then Alabama and Georgia would meet in Atlanta based on the winning percentage of conference opponents faced. Alabama’s opponents would be 34-30 while Georgia’s would be 28-36.
