AllGators' 2020 SEC Power Rankings After Week One
Is Florida back? Is LSU not? Is Mississippi State actually good? Will Texas A&M have a long season or is Vanderbilt actually not that bad?
To answer all of those questions and more, we've decided to unveil our weekly SEC Power Rankings here at Sports Illustrated-AllGators. These will be compiled weekly after assessing each team following every game, in order to best rank the SEC beyond just team records.
With that being said, how do things look after week one?
1. Alabama (1-0)
It appears that after a three-year hiatus, Alabama is headed back to its typical Nick Saban brand of football. Running back Najee Harris had three touchdowns against Missouri, while quarterback Mac Jones was efficient, going 18-of-24 passing for 249 yards and two scores.
The Tide defense, meanwhile, held Missouri to just two yards per carry and 6.5 yards per throw. Missouri scored two garbage-time touchdowns that made this game look much closer than it truly was.
Not many teams will beat Alabama this season.
2. Florida (1-0)
Coach Dan Mullen had the Gators looking more explosive on offense against Ole Miss than they have since Tim Tebow suited up at quarterback. Teams will have to be extremely sound defensively, throw confusing concepts at QB Kyle Trask, and have a "unicorn" type of defender to cover tight end Kyle Pitts in order to beat this Florida team.
And based on UF's regular-season schedule, I don't see many losses in the pipeline, if any.
3. Georgia (1-0)
Georgia looked extremely bad on offense in the first half against SEC-doormat Arkansas on Saturday. The Dawgs were down 7-5 at halftime and needed a second-half surge to make the score appear lopsided at 37-10.
However, UGA could very well have the best defense in college football. That can win you a whole lot of games alone and that is why they are at the No. 3 spot. Even in what was a sloppy game, the Bulldogs held the Razorbacks to just 280 yards, 5.2 yards per passing attempt, and 2.8 per carry, forcing three interceptions along the way.
4. Auburn (1-0)
Auburn's contest with Kentucky was tough for a little bit, holding just a 15-13 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the superior team pulled away eventually and dominated. Quarterback Bo Nix looked strong to start year two, throwing for three touchdowns and leading an albeit pitiful Auburn rushing attack, while the Tigers' defense was stout per usual.
5. Texas A&M (1-0)
Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M team barely beat arguably the worst team in the conference, Vanderbilt, 17-12. It was one of two conference games this weekend that was tied at halftime by a score of 7-5, a lead that Texas A&M barely held. A strong showing by the Aggies' run game could be lost in the shuffle as quarterback Kellen Mond fumbled twice on rushes of his own, which set Vandy up for a third-quarter score to make it a one-possession ballgame.
That said, the Aggies are still one of the most talented teams in the conference. It is doubtful they'll perform that poorly again.
6. Mississippi State (1-0)
Mike Leach's Bulldogs could be the surprise of the SEC this season. SEC Offensive Player of the Week K.J. Costello looks like a perfect quarterback for the Air Raid offense and it could score enough points to keep up with anyone in the conference.
Defensively, the Bulldogs could struggle, but look for MSST to win a few huge games this season by way of a shootout.
7. LSU (0-1)
The biggest reason for ranking Mississippi State so high is that LSU may not be as bad as people believe.
Yes, the Tigers lost more talent to the 2020 NFL Draft than any other team in the conference, if not the nation. But the Tigers still have a national championship head coach on their sideline in Eg Orgeron, a first-round talent in sophomore cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., and Joe Burrow's replacement at quarterback, Myles Brennan, should only get better.
8. Tennessee (1-0)
This isn't saying much, but Tennessee looks as good as it has in at least four years. Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had a solid game and Tennessee's rushing attack was balanced as Ty Chandler and Eric Gray split carries. Defensively, Tennessee neutralized South Carolina's run game across 35 rushing attempts, forcing new starting quarterback Collin Hill to throw plenty.
The Vols under Jeremy Pruitt are no longer an SEC doormat, if nothing else.
9. South Carolina (0-1)
We'll learn much more about the Gamecocks this week when they travel to Gainesville to play the Gators, but as of now, South Carolina looks like a truly mediocre team after their loss to Tennessee.
It's an unorthodox year and certainly a difficult one to be an SEC head coach, but head coach Will Muschamp entered the season on a hot seat. One week in, and the temperature has gone up already.
10. Ole Miss (0-1)
Ole Miss may have lost, but it still hung 35 on UF, who prides itself on a strong defense. Quarterback Matt Corral looked much improved under Lane Kiffin and it will be fun to see how he continues to progress, as the two looked like a top QB/HC tandem in the conference on Saturday.
However, the defensive back play was atrocious, giving up six touchdown passes. That will be an issue for the Rebels all year.
11. Missouri (0-1)
Missouri is typically underwhelming, and this year looks to be the same. As previously mentioned, garbage-time scores made the Tigers' season-opener against Alabama look much closer than it ever was.
12. Kentucky (0-1)
The Wildcats stuck with Auburn until the fourth quarter. Quarterback Terry Wilson was average at best in his return from a torn ACL with 239 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Unless the quarterback position significantly improves, UK doesn't have the talent elsewhere to keep up with top-tier teams in the conference. Perhaps Wilson simply needed to shake off the rust, but he certainly didn't look like his old self.
13. Arkansas (0-1)
The Razorbacks played well, if you'll call it that, in the first half against Georgia, leading 7-5 at halftime. However, they imploded in the second half as quarterback Feleipe Franks threw interceptions, including a pick-six, on back-to-back, late third quarter drives. Head coach Sam Pittman has a lot of work to do.
14. Vanderbilt (0-1)
The Commodores held their own against Texas A&M, but historically, they keep teams close often. They rarely win.
