Written by Ryan Lippert
Well college football fans, time really does fly by when you’re having fun. We have reached the final week of what has been a very exciting 2019 college football regular season. Once again, the Southeastern Conference has been at the center of attention as there are still three teams left in the conference that have a chance at reaching the College Football Playoff. However, those three teams aren’t all the SEC has to offer as there has been no shortage of talent throughout the conference this season. With that being said, let’s take a look at how the SEC Power Rankings have shaped up heading into Week 14 of the college football season.
1. LSU (11-0):
Regardless of what the new College Football Playoff rankings say, the LSU Tigers are not only the best team in this conference but also the best team in the country. They continued their dominance this past weekend in a 56-20 route against a terrible Arkansas team. Future Heisman trophy winner and first overall pick, quarterback Joe Burrow, had another solid performance as he threw for 327 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire also had a great game, rushing for 188 yards and three touchdowns on six carries. The Tigers will wrap up their regular season at home against a talented Texas A&M team before facing Georgia in the SEC Championship.
2. Alabama (10-1):
Until I’m completely proven otherwise, Alabama will stay at this spot. The Crimson Tide took care of business as expected this past weekend in a 66-3 blowout victory at home against Western Carolina. New starting quarterback Mac Jones put together an impressive performance, throwing for 275 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Jones will get his first big test as a starter this weekend as he goes on the road for an Iron Bowl matchup with Auburn.
3. Georgia (10-1):
While Georgia is sitting at fourth in the College Football Playoff rankings, they still haven’t shown me quite enough to say they’re better than Alabama. However, they did continue to prove their case this past weekend in a 19-13 home victory over a good Texas A&M team. Georgia’s offense struggled to get much going against the Aggies as quarterback Jake Fromm was held to only 163 passing yards and a touchdown. Luckily, their defense stepped up big time, holding Texas A&M to -2 rushing yards for the game. They will have what should be an easy win to clean things up in a rivalry game on the road against Georgia Tech before playing in the SEC Championship next weekend.
4. Florida (9-2):
Florida has had an outstanding 2019 season but unfortunately came up a game short of making the SEC Championship. They had a bye week this past weekend to prepare for their regular season finale against their in-state rival, the Florida State Seminoles. While they don’t have a chance of making the College Football Playoff, this game is still very important as they are still playing for a chance at a big bowl game.
5. Auburn (8-3):
The Auburn Tigers are an extremely talented team that just unfortunately didn’t have enough in them to truly make a push for the conference title this season. They bounced back from their close loss to Georgia with a 52-0 victory at home over Samford this past weekend. Freshman quarterback Bo Nix threw for 150 yards and a touchdown but was pulled early in the third quarter due to the score. Auburn’s defense stood out in this game as they held Samford to 114 total yards and forced four turnovers. The Tigers have a chance to play spoiler this weekend as they host their in-state rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide.
6. Texas A&M (7-4):
The Aggies are another talented team that has been the victim of even more talented teams in their conference. They came up just short of pulling off an upset this past weekend in a 19-13 loss to Georgia. Kellen Mond put together a solid game throwing the ball as he finished with 275 yards and one touchdown. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any help as they were held to -2 rushing yards. The Aggies will have another opportunity to play spoiler this weekend as they go on the road for a matchup with the LSU Tigers.
7. Tennessee (6-5):
As I have said for the past several weeks, the Tennessee Volunteers are the most improved team in the SEC. They continued that trend this past weekend with a 24-20 victory over Missouri to become bowl eligible. Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano stole the show as he threw for 415 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He had three receivers with over 100 yards in Josh Palmer, Jauan Jennings, and Marquez Calloway. Palmer led the way with six catches for 124 yards. They will look to finish their season with a win as they will host their in-state rival, the Vanderbilt Commodores.
8. Kentucky (6-5):
The Wildcats are a team that has had a lot of ups and downs this season. However, they seem to have pulled it together as they picked up their second straight win in a 50-7 blowout over UT Martin. This win also gives them bowl eligibility for the fourth straight season. Wide receiver turned dual-threat quarterback led the way once again for this offense, rushing for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Kentucky has a chance to finish their season strong this weekend with a Governor’s Cup matchup at home against a talented Louisville team.
9. Mississippi State (5-6):
Mississippi State is a team that has been highly disappointing in the second half of this season. Luckily, they gave their fans something to cheer about this past weekend with a 45-7 home victory over Abilene Christian. Dual-threat quarterback Tommy Stevens had arguably his best game of the season as he threw for 165 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions while also rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown. Star running back Kylin Hill also had a strong performance, rushing for 153 yards on 16 carries. As bad as they have been at times this season, the Bulldogs somehow still have a chance to become bowl eligible if they can pull off a victory at home against their in-state rival, the Ole Miss Rebels.
10. South Carolina (4-7):
The Gamecocks are a team that has the talent but has simply struggled in the big games this season. They had a bye week this past weekend after getting blown out on the road against Texas A&M. Unfortunately, things will only become more difficult for this team as they host their in-state rival, the third ranked Clemson Tigers this weekend in a game that could get very ugly if the Gamecocks aren’t at their best.
11. Missouri (5-6):
I had high hopes for this Missouri team heading into this season. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they have proved me wrong. They suffered their fifth straight loss in a 24-20 loss on the road against Tennessee. Their offense struggled to get much going as quarterback Kelly Bryant was held to 166 yards and a touchdown. To make matters worse, Guarantano torched their secondary. The Tigers would have a chance to become bowl eligible this weekend against Arkansas but their appeal to have their postseason ban was unfortunately denied, leaving them simply playing for pride to end their season.
12. Ole Miss (4-7):
Ole Miss has been sneaky competitive against some top-level talent this season but just simply hasn’t had enough to finish games. The Rebels had a bye week this past weekend and have a chance to play spoiler this weekend. They will go on the road to face their in-state rival, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and would love to end their season as the Bulldogs need this win to become bowl eligible.
13. Vanderbilt (3-8):
Vanderbilt is a team that I believed had enough talent to put together some wins in the SEC this year but they have struggled tremendously. Fortunately, they had an easy matchup this past weekend and were able to put together a 38-0 victory at home against East Tennessee State. Star running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn was finally able to put together a solid performance, rushing for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Their defense also stepped up, holding ETSU to 105 total yards of offense. The Commodores will have a chance to pull out a huge win for pride this weekend as they go on the road to face their in-state rival, the Tennessee Volunteers.
14. Arkansas (2-9):
Once again, this Arkansas team is awful and there’s no other way to say it. As expected, they were blown out on the road in a 56-20 loss to LSU this past weekend. Their offense was stagnant throughout the game as star running back Rakeem Boyd was held to only 33 yards on 13 carries. They also were terrible on defense as they just couldn’t find an answer for the powerful LSU offensive attack. The Razorbacks will finish out their season with a home game against a struggling Missouri team.