SEC Daily: Updated SEC Power Rankings After Week 3

The third week of the college football season delivered plenty of entertainment and a few unexpected results. There were four SEC games plus a couple other teams in the conference that faced off against high-quality teams. Fans also saw No. 12 Clemson go to Georgia Tech and get upset.

No. 19 Texas A&M went to South Bend and beat No. 8 Notre Dame in an instant classic to boost its resume for later in the season. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish are now fighting for their playoff hopes after losing the first two games.

In Knoxville, No. 6 Georgia and No. 15 Tennessee gave the SEC a heavyweight fight that was worth the watch. An 44-41 overtime thriller to cap a Bulldogs comeback extended their winning streak over the Volunteers to nine in a row.

As nonconference play starts to close, there is plenty of movement in this week’s power rankings, let’s get right into it.

1. Georgia

I said last week we were going to learn a lot more about Georgia leading up to its game at Tennessee. I think we saw the Bulldogs grow up a lot, especially Gunner Stockton. It is easy to overreact to their defense, but I do think it will improve over time. Georgia has the best win in the SEC thus far and has earned this week’s top spot.

2. LSU

LSU got a nice start to SEC play with its win over Florida. The defense picked off Gator quarterback DJ Lagway five times, but the offense has not been able to find a rhythm quite yet. Nonetheless, LSU is still a very good team.

3. Oklahoma

Oklahoma got a 42-3 win at Temple over the weekend. Yes, it was a game the Sooners should have won by a lot anyway, but their defense has been looking scary the first three weeks. Hosting Auburn this weekend will be a very intriguing watch. Oklahoma has looked like a playoff team so far to me, but of course that could change.

4. Texas A&M

The Aggies had a huge win at Notre Dame. In recent years, those were the types of games where they would find a way to lose, but winning in South Bend deserves a lot of props. The Aggies are rolling right now.

5. Alabama

Alabama finally got its phenom wide receiver Ryan Williams involved in a 38-14 win over Wisconsin. Williams finished with five catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns, his first game with 100+ receiving yards since playing against Georgia last season and his first game with a touchdown since playing Mercer in November of last season. Meanwhile quarterback Ty Simpson once again played very well. The Crimson Tide have a bye week before going to Athens in a game that greatly impacts the playoff picture.

6. Texas

Is anybody else starting to worry about Texas? The Longhorns offense looked pedestrian against UTEP. Favored by 38.5 points, Texas only scored 27 total. Even Utah State scored more on the Miners than Texas did. Arch Manning had just a 44 percent completion percentage for just 114 yards. I’m not sure about the rest of fans, but I have not been impressed by the Texas offense, though its defense is rock solid.

7. Tennessee

This is one of the uncommon times I will not move a team down despite a loss. Tennessee lost to Georgia in an OT thriller that it frankly should have won in regulation. The Volunteers blew a 21-7 lead and missed a game-winning field goal attempt as the clock expired in the fourth quarter. I think we saw that Tennessee can compete with the top teams in the conference, it just needs to do a better job of closing games.

8. Vanderbilt

The Commodores are for real. This is not the Vanderbilt of seasons past. It went into Columbia and throttled the Gamecocks 31-7 for its second consecutive road win against a power conference team, in dominating fashion no less. It is time people start talking about Vanderbilt.

9. Ole Miss

Ole Miss is ranked at No. 13 in the country, but I have them in the middle of the pack right now in the SEC because its two SEC wins have come against the two teams I have at the bottom of the conference. The Rebels play LSU in a couple of weeks. They have a chance to make a statement and prove that they are among the upper class of the conference.

10. Auburn

South Alabama played closer with Auburn than probably how a lot of fans thought it would have. Coming within 16 of a team that looked good the first two weeks surprised me. Not to mention, a couple teams that I had below Auburn last week made better statements than the Tigers did this weekend.

11. Missouri

A 52-10 win over Louisiana was enough to put the Tigers in the rankings at No. 23. Missouri is 3-0, but have not really been challenged yet this season, so we do not totally know what this team is made of yet. Mizzou is a solid team, but I cannot move Missouri up much more.

12. South Carolina

South Carolina lost to Vanderbilt for the first time since 2008. The Commodores are not a pushover or an afterthought this season, but the way the Gamecocks got beat is cause to drop them all the way down to this spot. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back going to Missouri

13. Mississippi State

Mississippi State won soundly in a 63-0 win over Alcorn State. It was so bad that the coaches of the two teams agreed to make the fourth quarter 10 minutes instead of 15. But Alcorn State is not a good football team, so there is not much reason to move Mississippi State up further than just a spot.

14. Florida

The Gators have dropped precipitously since my rankings after the first week of the season. With a 20-10 loss to LSU, they are now 1-2. On top of that, its loss to South Florida last week looks even worse as USF lost to Miami by nearly 40. I am very concerned for Florida as its schedule turns brutal very quickly.

15. Arkansas

The Razorbacks dropped their first of the season, but they played with a lot of fight offensively against an Ole Miss squad that has an explosive offense. Coming within one score on the road was enough to move Arkansas ahead of Kentucky despite the loss.

16. Kentucky

Eastern Michigan was still within 12 of Kentucky going into the third quarter. The Wildcats shut down the Eagles in the second half and came away with a 48-23 win. It is just confusing to me how a MAC team was able to score and go up and down the field so easily against a SEC team. I have my concerns for the Kentucky defense going into conference play.