By Brett Daniels
Just when you think you have it all figured out, along comes Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Texas A&M to wreck everything. If Week 6 was any indication the upsets aren’t over, and we could very well see two one-loss or even a two-loss team in the SEC Championship Game.
There are still three tiers of teams in the conference, the championship contenders (Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss), the good teams that will beat you if you don’t show up (Arkansas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, LSU, Oklahoma, and Kentucky) and everyone else (Missouri, South Carolina, Auburn, Florida, and Mississippi State).
1. Texas Longhorns (5-0)
Texas was spared the carnage of Saturday due to being on a bye week preparing for their showdown with Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. The Longhorns are in the top spot largely by default since they are the only undefeated team left in the conference despite having not faced an offense or defense ranked in the top 50 nationally.
Next Up: Saturday vs Oklahoma in Dallas
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-1)
The Tide only drops one spot after their upset loss against Vanderbilt in a game where they were thoroughly dominated on both lines of scrimmage. This ranking is based on resume’ and the fact that they beat Georgia on the field two weeks ago.
More Sports News
Next Up: Saturday vs South Carolina
3. Georgia Bulldogs (4-1)
The Dawgs have played the most difficult schedule in the conference so far and are a last-play interception from the top spot in these and other rankings. Georgia had a very workmanlike win over a better than their record Auburn team. This was the 8th win in a row for the Bulldogs in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
Next Up: Saturday vs Mississippi State
Homecoming Win: ✅#GoDawgs | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/3hSJm4ysXw
— Georgia Bulldogs (@UGAAthletics) October 7, 2024
4. Texas A&M Aggies (5-1)
The Aggies thoroughly dominated a Top 10 Missouri in College Station on Saturday with RB Le’Veon Moss leading the way with 138 yards rushing and three TD’s. The Aggie defense limited Missouri to 254 total yards on offense to propel Texas A&M to 3-0 in the SEC.
Next Up: 10/19 at Mississippi State
5. Ole Miss Rebels (4-1)
The Rebels bounced back from their upset loss against Kentucky last week by soundly beating a good South Carolina team that ranks 15th in total defense. The Rebels travel to Death Valley to take on an LSU team that is suddenly a bit more dangerous than originally thought.
Next Up: Saturday at LSU
6. Tennessee Volunteers (4-1)
The Vols ran into a motivated Arkansas team with a good game plan on defense and the personnel to pull it off. Tennessee’s top-ranked defense was also tested with the Hogs rolling up 431 yards of offense and possessing the ball for close to 36 minutes. The final score was 19-14 but Arkansas could have easily scored 17 more points if not for their own miscues.
Next Up: Saturday vs. Florida
7. LSU Tigers (4-1)
The Tigers are another team that is quietly improving and becoming what many thought they would be in the preseason. The next three weeks will tell the story of the LSU season with Ole Miss visiting Death Valley on Saturday followed by a trip to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas and a visit to College Station to take on the Aggies.
Next Up: Saturday vs Ole Miss
8. Oklahoma Sooners (4-1)
As good as the Sooners are on Defense (41st Total Defense) they are equally as bad on Offense (121st Total Offense). Against the Longhorns on Saturday in the Red River Shootout, the defense will need to cause a few turnovers and give the offense a short field.
Next Up: Saturday vs. Texas in Dallas
9. Missouri Tigers (4-1)
The Tigers have largely been a mirage this season beating up on two overmatched opponents before close games against Boston College and Vanderbilt. Missouri faces another overmatched opponent in UMass on the road (?) Saturday before a stretch of games against Auburn, Alabama, and Oklahoma.
Next Up: Saturday at UMass
10. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-2)
The Hogs notched one of the bigger wins in recent program history upsetting #4 Tennessee 19-14. The score could have been much worse as Arkansas was stopped twice on 4th down inside the 5-yard line and missed a field goal. Defensive Coordinator Travis Williams had a solid game plan limiting the Vols’ running attack with 5-6 in the box and keeping the safeties back to prevent the big play.
Next Up: 10/19 vs LSU
11. Vanderbilt Commodores (3-2)
Diego Pavia and the Dores pulled off the biggest upset in their football history by thoroughly dominating the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. In a game in which they never trailed, Vanderbilt controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Next Up: Saturday at Kentucky
This moment … pic.twitter.com/dXbkerlzUA
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) October 6, 2024
12. Kentucky Wildcats (3-2)
The Cats had the week off and will welcome Vanderbilt to Kroger Field for a game that has a lot more juice than it did a few weeks ago with both teams coming off upsets of Top ten teams. The Cats have rebounded from an early season loss against South Carolina and currently rank 5th in Total Defense.
Next Up: Saturday vs Vanderbilt
13. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2)
South Carolina was held to 313 yards and committed 2 turnovers in their Week 6 loss to Ole Miss. The Cocks welcome Alabama into Williams Brice on Saturday for a noon kickoff. South Carolina will need to figure out how to move the football on offense if they hope to have any chance against a sure-to-be-angry Crimson Tide team
Next Up: Saturday vs Alabama
14. Florida Gators (3-2)
The Gators stepped out of conference to face instate foe UCF in the Swamp. Graham Mertz threw for a TD and Montrell Johnson ran for another to help Florida notch their 3rd victory of the season. The defense was greatly improved and limited UCF’s rushing and passing attack. Florida will travel to Rocky Top to take on the Vols on Saturday.
Next Up: Saturday at Tennessee
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 6, 2024
15. Auburn Tigers (2-4)
Auburn made it through the game at Georgia without turning the ball over, but the offense could only manage one Jarquez Hunter touchdown on 337 yards of total offense in the 31-13 loss to Georgia. The Tigers get a week off before traveling to Missouri to take on the other Tigers on 10/19.
Next Up: 10/19 at Missouri
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-4)
A bye was nice, but the Bulldog schedule from hell doesn’t get any easier this week as the Bulldogs travel to Athens to take on Georgia. Mississippi State showed signs of life against Texas two weeks ago and will look to continue the trend of lower-tier teams upsetting the top of the conference.
Next Up: Saturday at Georgia
𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙊𝙣 🕹️#SHOWTIME | #HailState pic.twitter.com/zE63KKeFWA
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) October 2, 2024
Conference play is in full swing, and these rankings will change from week to week based on resume and head-to-head results on the field.
