SEC power rankings after Week 11: Texas, Alabama soar while Kirby Smart's Georgia stumbles
The SEC rolled on in Week 11, with Alabama and Ole Miss climbing, Texas staying on top, and Georgia and LSU tumbling.
In any given week, the league's powers can be reduced to struggles and upsets can happen. Here's how the events of Week 11 shook up the league, as seen in our weekly power rankings.
SEC power rankings after Week 11
#16 Mississippi State (2-8)
Credit to State for not giving up in games, but this team just doesn't have the talent to contend in the nation's best league.
#15 Kentucky (3-6)
Kentucky was off, so no shift here. The Wildcats are going to have the most disappointing year in Mark Stoops's tenure and it's largely on an unimaginative offense run behind a porous offensive line.
14. Auburn (3-6)
Auburn was also off, but like Kentucky, their march to the lower echelons of major college football feels inevitable. Some of the same issues actually plague both teams. The Tigers might be the most likely SEC team to make a coaching move... but it could be a season with no coaching vacancies in the league.
#13 Florida (4-5)
Florida publicly committed to keeping Billy Napier, which was either insane or innovative. Three straight losing seasons in Gainesville didn't seem likely to be something anybody would ever tolerate.
#12 Oklahoma (5-5)
Given a chance to salvage a bowl bid against an underperforming Missouri team, Oklahoma let the game get away. Like Kentucky and Auburn, there just isn't enough offense on this team to compete. And like Kentucky and Auburn, the Sooners won't go bowling.
#11 Arkansas (5-4)
The Hogs were off and stay in the same spot. They're a competent team and will end up going bowling, so that's enough to keep them ahead of the dregs of the league. Borrowing a better defense might have made them even better.
#10 Missouri (7-2)
The worst 7-2 team in major college football? Very possibly. Missouri rode an awful schedule into a situation where they could go 10-2. But the bottom line here is that the deciding bodies behind college football won't be fooled.
ESPN's FPI gives the Tigers just an 8.1% chance of making the playoff, even with the light schedule.
#9 Vanderbilt (6-4)
The Commodores are now well-positioned to fall to 6-6. So we're ranking a team that could end up 6-6 over a team that could end up 10-2? Yeah, absolutely. Vanderbilt has a better win, a more competitive attack, and would beat Missouri if they played again.
#8 LSU (6-3)
Think the Tigers are better than this? So did most of the rest of us, but it's difficult to argue with an authoritative whipping at home by an Alabama team that lost two games already. LSU has a shot to finish 9-3 and make a bit of playoff noise, but they better ramp it up.
#7 Texas A&M (7-2)
It was a good week to be off, as some of the other middle of the pack SEC teams didn't have a good week and the Aggies move up. They've got something to prove, but if they can win out by beating Texas, they're in the thick of the playoff hunt.
#6 South Carolina (6-3)
The Gamecocks aren't entirely out of the playoff picture. Win out with a nice victory over Clemson and at 9-3, Carolina gets into the discussion anyway. FPI gives them a 14.2% shot, which is really impressive, considering some of the iffy moments of the season.
#5 Georgia (7-2)
The air went out of the UGA balloon in a hurry. Of course, if Georgia can beat Tennessee, they're right back into the thick of the playoff picture. As it stands, ESPN gives them the fourth best playoff odds, ahead of Ole Miss. But Ole Miss doesn't have a game like Tennessee left on the slate.
#4 Ole Miss (8-2)
All that to move up just one spot? Unfortunately, yes. Look at the teams above Ole Miss. Alabama is the only one that feels arguable and as solid as the Rebels were, the Tide was even better. The good news is that the fifth best team in the SEC, at 10-2, is probably going to the playoff.
#3 Alabama (7-2)
Now that was a statement game. The Tide are back on track, and if they can bring home a 10-2 mark, their playoff bid is a settled matter. Could we live in a world that has playoff teams that lost to Vanderbilt and Kentucky? If Ole Miss gets in, yes we could.
#2 Tennessee (8-1)
It'd be difficult to not put UT here after they took down Alabama earlier. The Vols have the pathway to 11-1, depending on beating Georgia to get an SEC title game big wrapped up.
The good news is they're probably in the playoff either way. But the opportunity to potentially knock the Bulldogs out has some extra meaning to a Tennessee program that Georgia has repeatedly bedeviled.
#1 Texas (8-1)
Now clearly on top, Texas deserves and has the SEC's best playoff shot, albeit in a path that still has to go to Texas A&M. The Longhorns are looking great.
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