By Brett Daniels
As each week passes, we learn more about each team in the conference, however, due to scheduling there are teams that we still don’t really know that much about. There were near upsets, embarrassing losses, and emphatic statements made by all sixteen teams. These rankings are fluid and are based on a cumulative evaluation of the entire season so far.
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1. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0)
The Tide rebounded from a tough game against South Florida in which they struggled to block the Bulls front 7 and dominated a good Wisconsin defense. Defensively the Tide stuffed the Badger offense although they did lose their QB on the first drive of the game.
Next Up: September 28th vs. Georgia
2. Georgia Bulldogs (3-0)
The Dawgs had their annual early season struggle game against Kentucky, escaping with a 13-12 victory. The Dawgs lost All-American G Tate Ratledge to injury for several weeks and looked bad on both lines of scrimmage against the Wildcats. A win on the road in the SEC is nothing to take for granted and Georgia showed resiliency on a night where they didn’t play their best.
Next Up: September 28 at Alabama
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3. Texas Longhorns (3-0)
Texas continues an increasingly easy early-season schedule with a 56-7 win against UTSA. The Longhorns lost QB Quinn Ewers to injury early in the second quarter and saw backup QB Arch Manning explode for fi total touchdowns in the victory. What little luster was left on the Michigan win from Week 2 was lost when the Wolverines struggled against Sun Belt foe Arkansas State. Texas has Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State as tune up games before the Red River Shootout on October 12 against Oklahoma.
Next Up: September 21 vs UL-Monroe
4. Ole Miss Rebels (3-0)
The Rebels played their first team with a pulse this week going on the road to visit Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons defense was no match for the Rebels, giving up 649 yards of total offense in the 40-6 loss. Defensively Ole Miss gave up 6 points and joins Georgia and Tennessee as the only teams in the SEC yet to surrender a touchdown this season.
Next Up: September 21 vs Georgia Southern
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5. Tennessee Volunteers (3-0)
There isn’t much to say about the Vols’ annihilation of MAC foe Kent State 71-0. Tennessee was up 30-0 at the end of the first quarter and decided to execute a totally classless onside kick. Nico Iamaleava was 10/16 for 173 yards and one touchdown in limited duty and RB Dylan Sampson rushed for 101 yards and 4 touchdowns against a grossly overmatched opponent. The cupcake-fest ends on Saturday as the Vols travel to Norman to face Oklahoma in their first SEC game since joining the conference.
Next Up: September 21 at Oklahoma
6. Missouri Tigers (3-0)
The Tigers got a wake-up call in the form of the Boston College Eagles on Saturday. Missouri fell behind early but rallied to tie the score on a Luther Burden III touchdown and 2-point conversion. The Tigers were up 24-14 in the third quarter and held off a Boston College come back attempt to win 27-21. Missouri will be favored in their next four games vs Vanderbilt, at Texas A&M, at UMass, and vs Auburn before a trip to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama October 25.
Next Up: September 21 vs Vanderbilt
7. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0)
Oklahoma survived a date with Tulane, beating the Green Wave 34-19 behind three touchdowns from Jackson Arnold, two on the ground and one in the air. The much-maligned Sooner offense was better this week but still didn’t register 200 yards passing. The defense played well limiting Tulane’s high-powered offense and forcing two turnovers in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Next Up: September 21 vs Tennessee
8. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1)
The Hogs fell behind UAB early but rallied in the end to secure the 37-27 victory behind Ja’Quindon Jackson‘s 147 yards rushing. After a disappointing 2023 campaign, the Razorbacks are a double overtime loss to Oklahoma State away from being undefeated in 2024. Arkansas opens SEC play on Saturday against Auburn.
Next Up: September 21 at Auburn
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9. Texas A&M Aggies (2-1)
The Aggies went into the Swamp and embarrassed Florida 33-20 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Backup QB Marcel Reed went 11/17 for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first college start. The Aggie defense held the Gator offense in check until late in the third quarter, Florida would add a garbage time touchdown to make the score seem closer than it really was. Notre Dame bouncing back from last week’s debacle against Northern Illinois to throttle Purdue 66-7 makes that Week 1 loss look a little less bad.
Next Up: September 21 vs Bowling Green
10. Auburn Tigers (2-1)
After throwing 4 interceptions and losing a fumble against California last week, QB Payton Thorne was benched and replaced by redshirt freshman QB Hank Brown. Brown threw for 4 touchdowns in his first collegiate start and led the Tigers to a 45-19 victory over New Mexico. Arkansas comes to the Plains on Saturday in what should be a much more formidable challenge.
Next Up: September 21 vs Arkansas
11. LSU Tigers (2-1)
The Tigers are the least impressive 2-1 team on this list. By all accounts they should have lost to South Carolina on Saturday. The offensive line is a mess, and the defense has not shown itself to be any better than last year’s version.
Next Up: September 21 vs UCLA
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12. South Carolina Gamecocks (2-1)
The Gamecocks have shown that they are a solid team and are going to give everyone they play fits this season. They blasted a good Kentucky team last week in Lexington and by all accounts should have beaten LSU at home on Saturday. If the Gamecocks continue to play hard, they are going to beat someone they shouldn’t this year (*cough Ole Miss cough*).
Next Up: September 21 vs Akron
13. Kentucky Wildcats (1-2)
The Cats outplayed the #1 team in the country for the majority of the game on Saturday. After a less than inspiring game against South Carolina last week many didn’t give Kentucky much of a chance against Georgia. The Wildcats came out and punched the Dawgs in the face and didn’t let up the entire game. A curious decision by Mark Stoops to punt from the Georgia 48 with three minutes left in the game cost the Cats a chance at the upset.
Next Up: September 21 vs Ohio
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14. Vanderbilt Commodores (2-1)
Normally a loss to a Group of 5 team like Georgia State would drop a team in the power rankings except for the fact that the two teams below them are so bad that they make the Commodores look good. A promising start to the season and a bid to get bowl eligible took a major hit with this loss.
Next Up: September 21 at Missouri
15. Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-2)
The Bulldogs lost their Group of 5 match up as well, but they were at home and a huge favorite. Toledo came into Starkville and outplayed Mississippi State on both sides of the ball enroute to a 41-17 upset.
Next Up: September 21 vs Florida
16. Florida Gators (1-2)
There isn’t much more to say about the Billy Napier experiment but to admit that it isn’t working. The Gators looked disorganized and poorly prepared against Texas A&M on Saturday and the game wasn’t as close as the score would indicate. Rumors are swirling that Napier will be fired on Monday and for good reason.
Next Up: September 21 at Mississippi State
Most of the teams in the league have already started or will begin league play this week. As the teams match up against conference foes it will paint a clearer picture of who are contenders and who are pretenders.
