SEC Daily: SEC Power Rankings After Week 7

Another week, another intriguing week of college football. It all started with No. 8 Alabama going to Columbia and holding on against No. 14 Missouri, who proved that it is a legit threat in the conference.

Elsewhere in the SEC was the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” between No. 10 Georgia in Auburn. The Bulldogs got the benefit of a controversial goal line call that took a touchdown away from Auburn and gave Georgia the ball with a couple minutes to go before halftime. From then on, all the momentum Auburn had was sucked away in what was the talk of college football Saturday night.

Texas got back on track with a statement win against its arch rival No. 6 Oklahoma Saturday afternoon. After a defeat to Florida, the Longhorns put themselves back toward the center of the college football conversation.

After another Saturday of football, here are my updated SEC power rankings.

1. Alabama

Alabama just won its third consecutive game against a ranked team. The Crimson Tide are rolling right now, especially defensively. The offensive execution in the second half needs to be better for Alabama, but other than that the Crimson Tide have quickly built a solid list of teams it has beaten in just the first half. Next week, it returns home against Tennesse

2. Texas A&M

Right now, Texas A&M is playing so well. The Aggies shut down Florida in the second half and came away with a 34-17 win. They are now 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in the SEC. Texas A&M has to stack up more signature wins for me to place them at the top. The Aggies travel to Arkansas next week.

3. Ole Miss

Did the Rebels get caught looking ahead to Georgia? That was not the type of performance I was anticipating to see from Ole Miss against Washington State. The Cougars came just short of an upset, but Ole Miss hung on and moved to 6-0 with a date against Georgia next week.

4. Georgia

Georgia took advantage from the calls that went its way and the defense stepped up big time in the second half. The Bulldogs are 5-1 and they should get credit for that. But they are just a couple plays away from being 3-3, hence why I still have Georgia behind Ole Miss. Want to move up? Beat Ole Miss next week.

5. Texas

Texas did a great job defensively and Arch Manning made plays in the second half when he needed to. Looking at Texas’ schedule, it has two games it should win before a very challenging November. A statement win for Texas jumps them back up to No. 5.

6. Tennessee

Tennessee did play a little better than the 34-31 score against Arkansas. The Razorbacks did challenge the Volunteers, but Tennessee got out to a 17-point lead and held on late in the game. Arkansas scored two touchdowns late in the final quarter, but Tennessee did a nice job creating space from Arkansas. The Volunteers have a big one next week as they travel to Tuscaloosa.

7. LSU

LSU’s offense did not look impressive against South Carolina in Tiger Stadium. The Tigers have scored more than 23 just one time this season and it came against a FCS team in Southeast Louisiana. Yes, LSU won, but I have my concerns for this team. They drop a spot because of Texas’ win.

8. Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt was on a bye this week as it prepares for LSU. The Commodores have a chance to get another big win next week.

9. Oklahoma

What kind of performance was that, Oklahoma? The Texas defense deserves plenty of respect, but Oklahoma’s offense was not good even with John Mateer at quarterback. I admit that I was surprised at how badly Oklahoma played and the Sooners now get dropped four spots because of it. They will go to South Carolina in search of win number six next week.

10. Missouri

Missouri showed plenty of fight against Alabama, but at the end of the day the Tigers could not finish the comeback. I push them two spots back because although Missouri is 5-1, it has no good wins to show for it. It goes on the road for this first (yes, first) time this season to Auburn next week.

11. Mississippi State

Mississippi State was on a bye this past week, but moves up two spots thanks to losses from South Carolina and Auburn.

12. Auburn

Call it what you want, that was a controversial game between Auburn and Georgia at Jordan-Hare on Saturday. But the reality is that Auburn still had its chances in the second half to still win the game, but instead fell to 0-3 in SEC play. The Tigers need to figure out its offense quickly before taking on Missouri at home next week.

13. South Carolina

South Carolina’s offense just has not been impressive this year. The Gamecocks did a nice job defensively to stay within striking distance of LSU throughout the game, but the offense could not get anything going after its 72-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Gamecocks will look to avoid going below .500 next week against Oklahoma.

14. Florida

Florida suffered its fourth loss of the season to Texas A&M 34-17 Saturday night. The Gators just could not hang with the Aggies in the late stages of the game. Florida hosts Mississippi State next week in what feels like a must win if it wants to make a bowl game this season.

15. Kentucky

Kentucky was on a bye week this week to prepare for Texas. The Wildcats will look for their first SEC win in Austin.

16. Arkansas

Arkansas took another tough loss to Tennessee over the weekend. It was a valiant effort by quarterback Taylen Green and interim head coach Bobby Petrino, but the Volunteers got out to a 17-point lead in the second half and held on by the end of the night. At 2-4, the Razorbacks can only afford two more losses before a third that would eliminate them from bowl game contention. They host Texas A&M next week.