Written by Ryan Lippert
Now that another week of the college football season is behind us, it’s time to take another look at the Southeastern Conference. Not much changed during Week 3, most games ended up how they were expected to. However, there is still a little movement between some teams. With that being said, let’s take a look at my Week 4 SEC Power Rankings.
1. Alabama (3-0) -
This one is simple, Alabama is still Alabama. They’re rolling so far this year and I would honestly be surprised if they lose a game this season. Tua is looking like he’s very much towards the top of the Heisman race and the rest of his team is hitting on all cylinders. I expect Nick Saban to add another National Championship trophy to his collection this year.
2. LSU (3-0) -
The number two spot doesn’t change for me this week as well. LSU has always been known for their defense but quarterback Joe Burrow has been on fire this year. The Tigers had another dominating performance this past week with a 65-14 win over Northwestern St. Burrow is very much in the Heisman race and I can’t wait to see how they do when SEC play starts for them.
3. Georgia (3-0) -
As I said last week, it is very hard to not put Georgia at number two in these rankings. However, they still haven’t been tested yet. They had another easy game this past week with a 55-0 win over Arkansas State. The Bulldogs have a true test this week in a matchup with Notre Dame. If they win that game, you should see them rise in these rankings.
4. Auburn (3-0) -
My top four remains the same from last week as these are without a doubt the top four teams in the conference. The Tigers rolled once again this past week with a 55- 16 win over Kent State. While they had an easy one last week, they will have another big test this week in a matchup with Texas A&M.
5. Texas A&M (2-1) -
Texas A&M is still a team that I’m about 50/50 on so far. They’ve had both their good and bad moments so far this season. However, I still believe they’re the most talented team outside the top four. They cruised to a 62-3 victory over Lamar last week but that is exactly what should happen. I’m anxious to see how quarterback Kellen Mond plays against this impressive Auburn defense this week. If they’re able to come out with a win, the Aggies will be a team to take a very hard look at in this conference.
6. Florida (3-0) -
Even after starting the season 3-0, Florida is another team that I’m still not sold on. They came away with a 29-21 victory at Kentucky behind back up quarterback Kyle Trask, but this is a game that was more lost by Kentucky than won by the Gators. Quarterback Feleipe Franks looked very shaky while he was in the game and their offense struggled to get much going until late in the game. However, they did have some key injuries so I guess we will have to wait and see how they play this week against Tennessee.
7. Missouri (2-1) -
Missouri is a team that has looked very good in the past two weeks and I believe has a lot of potential. They blew out West Virginia in Week 2 and followed with a 50-0 victory over SE Missouri St this past week. Running back Larry Rountree III looked near unstoppable on Saturday, rushing for 142 yards and two touchdowns. They will get another chance to assert their dominance this week as they are facing a struggling South Carolina team.
8. Kentucky (2-1) -
Kentucky fans, myself included, had their hearts broken this past weekend as we saw our Wildcats give up an 11-point lead in a 29-21 loss to Florida. Although that doesn’t sound good, this team still has some positives to look at. They were just a couple bad calls and some bad decisions away from running away with that game. Quarterback Sawyer Smith threw some costly interceptions but he had his moments where he showed he can make plays and run the offense effectively. If he can improve on this past week, this team will be just fine. I’m anxious to see how he bounces back this week on the road against Mississippi State.
9. Mississippi State (2-1) -
Mississippi State is a team that I thought would be rising in the rankings after Week 3 with a solid win over Kansas State. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, I was wrong. They struggled to get much production out of their quarterbacks as they benched Tommy Stevens for backup Garrett Shrader but it didn’t make a difference. It looks like if they want to have any success this season, they’ll have to rely on the run game with star running back Kylin Hill. It will be interesting to see if he can get going against Kentucky this week.
10. Arkansas (2-1) -
Arkansas is a team that benefitted from playing a weak opponent this past week. They defeated Colorado State 55-34 to advance to 2-1. Quarterback Nick Starkel secured the starting job for this game and threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns. He was helped by running back Rakeem Boyd who ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Arkansas should be able to keep their confidence at a high as they have another easy game this week against San Jose State.
11. Ole Miss (2-1) -
Much like Arkansas, Ole Miss had an easy opponent this week. However, they let SE Louisiana keep it a lot closer than it should’ve been, coming away with a 40-29 victory. They were led once again by running back Scottie Phillips, who ran for 103 yards and a touchdown. The Rebels will need to get him going once again this week as they face the undefeated Cal Golden Bears.
12. South Carolina (1-2) -
As I mentioned last week, the Gamecocks are going to struggle this season after losing quarterback Jake Bentley to an injury. They suffered a 47-23 loss to Alabama on Saturday but that was expected. New quarterback Ryan Hilinski did have his moments as he threw for 324 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, but he just couldn’t do enough. I want to see how he does against an easier, but still tough opponent in Missouri this week.
13. Tennessee (1-2) -
Tennessee fans can breathe a small sigh of relief as they finally picked up their first win of the season this past week. The unfortunate part is that it isn’t much to brag about as they played Chattanooga. I’m still not sold at all on this team and believe that they could still be the worst team in this conference but who knows, maybe they’ll prove me wrong against Florida this week.
14. Vanderbilt (0-2)
Unfortunately, Vanderbilt didn’t have a game this past week so they couldn’t really make a case for themselves to be at least over Tennessee. In other bad news for them, they play LSU this weekend in a game that could get very ugly. If they want any chance in this game, they have to get star running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn going. If not, it could be over by halftime.