November is here—the climax of the college football regular season.
For four more weeks, teams across America will make or break their seasons. Playoff dreams will be realized or die. In the SEC, the dominoes
have already started falling. Tennessee suffered its third home loss to Oklahoma, which may have eliminated it from the CFP race, while Georgia and Texas pulled off escape acts yet again.
Vanderbilt took a second loss, but can still maybe make it in if they win out. The top two contenders didn’t see any drama—Texas A&M and Alabama were both off in Week 10.
The intensity will only go up from here on out. Let’s dive into these SEC power rankings:
1. Texas A&M (5-0, 8-0)
Previous Rank: 1.
Texas A&M was off in Week 10. To continue their reign at the top, the Aggies need to best the Missouri Tigers in Columbia next weekend. The Tigers have been a tough out at home and came very close to toppling Alabama a month ago.
2. Alabama (5-0, 7-1)
Previous Rank: 2.
Alabama was off this weekend. Their next challenge will be a Brian Kelly-less LSU in Bryant-Denny Stadium under the night lights. After that it’s Oklahoma, Eastern Illinois, and then the Iron Bowl for a pretty manageable November.
3. Georgia (5-1, 7-1)
Previous Rank: 3.
The Bulldogs snatched victory from the jaws of defeat yet again, making a 4th quarter comeback in a season of 4th quarter comebacks that has them somehow at 5-1 in the conference and 7-1 overall. A road trip to Mississippi State awaits them next before a home game with Texas wraps up SEC play.
4. Ole Miss (5-1, 8-1)
Previous Rank: 4.
The Rebels easily handled South Carolina at home 30-14. They are in an excellent position to make the CFP, but likely not the SEC title game.
5. Texas (4-1, 7-2)
Previous Rank: 7.
The Longhorns are somehow rising back to playoff status after being dismissed and forgotten when 0-1 and 3-2 back at the end of September. It’ll be a difficult backstretch, but they’ve been winning the games one at a time to creep back into the mix.
6. Oklahoma (3-2, 7-2)
Previous Rank: 8.
The Sooners absolutely needed the Tennessee road win to stay in the playoff mix, and they got it. Now they get a bye before a road trip to Alabama, which would definitely get them back into the field.
7. Vanderbilt (3-2, 7-2)
Previous Rank: 5.
Fortunately for Vandy, while they did lose to Texas, their furious 4th quarter rally kept the game from completely blowing them out of the CFP picture. If they win out and finish 10-2 there’s still a small chance for their inclusion if they get help elsewhere.
8. Tennessee (3-3, 6-3)
Previous Rank: 6.
Tough luck for Tennessee, but they still have wins ahead of them and can end the season with a solid finish. Next up are New Mexico State, Florida, and Vanderbilt.
9. Missouri (2-2, 6-2)
Previous Rank: 9.
If Mizzou wants to make some noise, next week is the week. Knocking off Texas A&M would be one of the biggest wins for any college football team this season.
10. Florida (2-3, 3-5)
Previous Rank: 10.
Florida made it a pretty good Cocktail Party, but ultimately the Bulldogs got away again. Next up is a trip to Kentucky, which just got its first win since September.
11. LSU (2-3, 5-3)
Previous Rank: 11.
LSU was off last week after Brian Kelly’s last game with the purple and gold. Remains to be seen how much firepower they’ll be able to show in the rest of the schedule. Facing Alabama, Arkansas, Western Kentucky, and Oklahoma, they’ll make a bowl, but what kind of bowl is up to them.
12. Mississippi State (1-4, 5-4)
Previous Rank: 13.
The losing streak is over! Mississippi State ended its 16-game SEC losing streak with a 38-35 win at Arkansas, erasing a 14-point 4th quarter deficit to take the lead with 48 seconds left and put a W in the win column. All they need is one more to make a bowl, but they’re running out of chances fast. Their remaining games are Georgia, at Missouri, and Ole Miss.
13. South Carolina (1-6, 3-6)
Previous Rank: 14.
The Gamecocks are reeling in the second half of the season. The losing streak extended to four at Ole Miss and will likely extend to five after their bye when they travel to Texas A&M.
14. Kentucky (1-5, 3-5)
Previous Rank: 16.
Kentucky wins!!! The Wildcats finally got a W! After losing ten SEC games in a row dating back to last season, UK went to Auburn and took advantage of a game against another horrible offense and gutted out a 10-3 victory. The win was only Kentucky’s 7th ever against the Tigers and first since 2009. It wasn’t pretty at all, and fans going to the game and watching the teams combine for 14 punts should all get refunds, but it got them a win at long last.
15. Auburn (1-5, 4-5)
Previous Rank: 12.
And now we come to the Tigers, who suffered one of the worst losses any SEC team has taken this season. This is just about rock-bottom, and effectively doomed their bowl hopes, as now they have to beat either Vandy on the road or Alabama at home to get to six wins (and score enough points to beat FCS Mercer in between!). The Hugh Freeze hot seat could go off at any point now.
16. Arkansas (0-5, 2-7)
Previous Rank: 15.
Welp, Arkansas, you are now the only winless SEC team left. LSU, Texas, and Missouri are still three more shots at getting one, though. Keep up the scoring, and you might be able to sneak by one of those squads. Until then, enjoy 16th place.
