2021 SEC Football Power Rankings: Week 8
Now two-thirds way through the regular season for the majority of the teams in the Southeastern Conference, Week 8 didn't exactly bring a lot of surprises with it.
With five of the SEC's nine teams taking bye weeks this past Saturday, the power rankings didn't experience too much movement. Georgia remains the top team overall, while Alabama and Ole Miss both won their games to keep the top three teams locked in place.
In fact, you have to go all the way down to ninth before you see any movement this week. Mississippi State and LSU swap places in the rankings after the Bulldogs bounced back and the Tigers experienced their third conference loss of the season.
South Carolina drops to 13th following a loss at Texas A&M, with Missouri rising above it. Other than the four teams just mentioned, though, the power rankings remain unchanged this week.
Next week, six teams will be on bye in Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas A&M and LSU. That being said, three of next weekend's four conference games promise to be good games and could potentially shake up the conference. Florida faces top-ranked Georgia while a solid Ole Miss team travels to The Plains to take on Auburn. Kentucky will also travel to cowbell country in Mississippi State, which also has the potential to be a solid game.
There might not be a lot of movement this week, but next Saturday certainly looks promising.
Here are the biggest movers this week:
Biggest winner: Mississippi State — Just one week after being embarrassed by Alabama in Starkville, the Bulldogs came roaring back with a 45-6 victory at Vanderbilt. While the win was not exactly a surprise, Mississippi State was still able to rebound strong and earned its place back in the top 10 of the conference this weekend.
Biggest loser: LSU — The blows just keep on coming for Ed Orgeron and the Fighting Tigers. Coming off of a big victory over a ranked Florida program in Death Valley, LSU fell in lopsided fashion to Ole Miss. While the result won't exactly shock fans, the Tigers are now staring at an overall record of 4-4 and a 2-3 record in the conference.
2021 SEC Football Power Rankings: Week 8
1) Georgia (7-0, 5-0)
2) Alabama (7-1 overall, 4-1 SEC)
3) Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1)
4) Kentucky (6-1, 4-1)
5) Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2)
6) Auburn (5-2, 2-1)
7) Arkansas (5-3, 1-3)
8) Florida (4-3, 2-3)
9) Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2)
10) Tennessee (4-4, 2-3)
11) LSU (4-4, 2-3)
12) Missouri (3-4, 0-3)
13) South Carolina (4-4, 1-4)
14) Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4)
Visit BamaCentral every week throughout the 2021 season for the updated power rankings as the year progresses.
