Week 6 SEC Power Poll

We’re not quite to the midway point of the season, though we are fast approaching it. By now, though, we actually have a pretty good idea of the quality of SEC. This week, rather than a national poll, we’re going to do a power poll instead, taking into account SOS, analytics, head to head, “momentum” (which Josh hates and disbelieves in), and your eyeballs.

Here’s where we stand after six weeks of the 2025 College Football season.

The Top Half:

1. Alabama: One of just two teams in the nation with two wins over currently-ranked opponents. Every opponent Alabama has faced has been undefeated going into that contest — and 80% have walked away with an L. Given the catastrophic dud that Penn State and Texas have become, ‘Bama has the best single win of any contender in the country (at No. 3 UGA). Tide has the No. 3 opponent-adjusted efficiency defense in the country, and its best overall secondary (No. 1), to go alongside the country’s No. 2 pass efficiency offense, and it’s best turnover margin (+9). Even the kicking game which has been panned has not been that bad: 12th overall. It’s not always pretty, but there’s probably not a mentally tougher team in the country than this one. Hell, ‘Bama is even a far better 38th in the country in flags, at just 5.4 penalties a night — almost two fewer per game than last season. And the whistles are coming for fewer big penalties too: the Tide has reduced its demerits by 24+ yards per game. You can quibble with A&M or the Sooners here, but they’ve not done quite as much against their schedules, ‘Bama’s loss notwithstanding.
2. Texas A&M: A very solid body of work against a trio of decent opponents, though none of its wins are particularly great. The best tandem of lines in the country and an excellent running back have afforded a lot of grace to a team that is probably a tad weaker than its record. You wonder when the offense is going to sputter out, but the Ags drew a defense-heavy schedule this year, so they’re built to compete against that.
3. Oklahoma: Talk about making everything harder than it has to be. For all the fluffing of Mateer, this offense may be putting up yards but not really points. They’re winning very ugly with just enough offense and a lot of very good defense. The regression in the rushing attack has been one of the new scheme’s casualties, and it will come back to bite them if the Sooners don’t get that back on track, especially in Mateer’s absence. Two pretty good wins, even though one of them required a sixty-minute confluence of improbable events to pull off at home.
4. Georgia: The ‘Dawgs are better than they were a month ago, and they’ll be better in November than they are now. It has taken almost half the season to settle into an offense that suits Stockton. The issues on the right side of the O line persist, and the defense seems to lack that bite that it had before. But make no mistake, this is a Top 5 team when it’s all said and done.
5. Ole Miss: We still have absolutely no idea how good the Rebels are. We know that defense is remarkably suspect at times, and the offense has looked great against terrible teams. Against better units, they’ve struggled a bit more, slogging around to a one-score win against Kentucky, and having to outlast LSU in a very ugly home contest. The running game evaporated in both, and Chambliss was much more of a 55% passer than a 70% one. This team is the one most likely to fade a bit when they start facing better competition. Georgia and OU will be a better barometer.
6. LSU: I mean, I guess? The running game is still trash. Nussmeier is still the YOLO machine he always was. Those close wins over Gata and Clemson mean relatively little since they’re sitting at 4-6 at the moment and neither one really has an offense. Their best opponent, Ole Miss, was a 5-point road loss in a battle of mid. Looks like they’re tracking for their Kelly customary 9-4 season. The secondary is allegedly good, but are Lagway, a Ferris State castoff, and Klubnik really an indicator of that?
7. Vanderbilt: This is not an illusory team. Going into the ‘Bama game, they were pretty solidly in the Top 25 across most matrices of efficiency. And for one half, we saw why — the defense is opportunistic, the nickel and dime offense is maddening, and they are decent just about everywhere. They’ve bullied bad teams on their schedule, just like you expect from a Top 25 club. But there’s nothing on the ole’ CV here that distinguishes it from the average overrated Big 10 slate. They may not win 9-10 games, but they’re going to ruin some seasons.
8. Tennessee: This team is only going to go as far as Joey Aguilar’s arm will take them. Their best win? Overtime at Mississippi State, in a game that required two defensive touchdowns to bring home. They’re getting a lot of currency out of trouncing a .500 Syracuse team with one of the nation’s worst defenses and blowing a lead to Georgia at home. How good is that passing game, really? When you adjust for opponent, it drops to 45th. There is some losing ahead for these boys.

The Bottom Half

1. Florida: The Gators have one problem, and only one — but it’s a big one. Billy Napier insists on being his own OC rather than hiring a competent one and letting them develop DJ Lagway. The running game is quite good with Baugh, the defense is bend-don’t-break nasty…and the passing game has mostly been execrable. All because Nick Saban hurt his feelings by promoting Sarkisian instead of him (not a joke), Napier insists on proving to the world that’s he’s an offensive wunderkind, when all he’s done now is teeter on the verge of unemployment. If they play their game, they can win rock fights. Best of the bottom half, with a lot of room to improve…or fall off the map. Sarkisian ironically may have saved Napier’s job yesterday.
2. Missouri: Vanderbilt’s poorer cousin. They also look great on paper, and likewise are bullying their bad opponents. But their bad opponents have been far worse, and even the one decent-ish team they faced jumped out to a 15-point lead over the Tigers on their home field. Mizzou has yet to see competent teams, and it shows. They do draw their toughest opponent at home, so that will help them. But, like the Vawls, the road is about to get much harder. Despite their record, ranking and stats, look at the teams above them and tell me one that you would feel comfortable saying “Missouri is absolutely going to win that game.” I see, at best, a pair of tossups.
3. Auburn: The front four is very good, and when they try to use the backs, the ‘Barn has had some decent success. But that offensive line is the second-worst in the SEC. The playcalling is vanilla and disjointed. Jackson Arnold still can’t throw the ball. The secondary looks like it’s holding its breath with every pass. And all in all the Tigers are wasting a ton of talent. There will be a fire sale off this roster come Christmas time when Yella’ Wood pays Hugh $16.5 million to go golf full-time. Dangerous, talented at key spots, but developed poorly and coached even worse.
4. Mississippi State: Better than their record ‘Dogs have two losses, but both are to ranked teams, and one of those required a fluke pair of sack-fumbles to gack up. The defensive line needs some serious work, and that ballyhooed rushing attack evaporated when it faced the bullies in College station. More work is needed, but they’re headed the right direction. They’re also just one of the seven SEC teams with a win over a ranked team…several teams above them can’t even boast that.
5. South Carolina: Doors slap blown off every time they’ve faced anyone of quality, and that was with LaNorris Sellers. The defense has regressed in every way imaginable and the running game can’t buoy a bad scheme, nor can it hide the fact that Sellers is just Temu Jalen Milroe: Inferior in every way.
6. Kentucky: Really? This high? The one-dimensional Wildcats lacking in high-end SEC talent? Yes. Unlike the teams below them, this fugly bunch have actually notched a quality win (24-19 Toledo), and were very competitive against Ole Miss. They’re bad, but they’re not playing bad.
7. Arkansas: If you had to pick an offense to score one touchdown, are you going with the Hogs or Arch’s ‘Horns? This bunch was up 18 on the road against Memphis, before dropping a 32-31 Memphis Miracle. They got smoked by Notre Dame a week later and it cost Pittman his job, but when you’re sampling the turd buffet, you have to decide what stays on your plate for last.
8. Texas: Which brings us to the Longhorns, who — for all their prodigious talent — are the worst team in the SEC. Why? Well, they actually have the conference’s worst offensive line. Wisener has been a marathon of backward steps in the running game. Arch Manning isn’t just not as good as Ty, he’s utter cheeks — a 60% passer who’s already tossed 5 INTS (In his sole SEC game, he completed 55% for two picks, BTW). And the Horns simply haven’t beaten anyone, hell, on paper haven’t played anyone. They’ve faced just one team with a winning record…and lost. They faced another in the top half of defensive efficiency…and lost. They are somehow an even worse version of Auburn with a higher payroll. Just an awful team, and none of it is getting better either. You can’t fix a Kyle Flood offensive line overnight (just ask the Tide). And they also hand out Lambos to do this kind of stuff.

Corny as hell.

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