POWER RANKINGS

1. Alabama (11-1): The Crimson Tide closed the regular season on a ninegame winning streak, and another SEC title appears imminent. (Last week: 1)

2. Florida (10-2): Getting skunked by Florida State in the Swamp wasn’t fun, but this season is an undeniable success altogether. (LW: 2) 3. Mississippi (9-3): A few weeks back, it seemed possible the Rebels could fall apart and finish 7-5. (LW: 3)

4. LSU (8-3): One item that won’t appear in Les MIles’ career record is his come-frombehind defeat of hapless AD Joe Alleva. (LW: 6) 5. Tennessee (8-4): While they didn’t make a run at the SEC East, there was clear progress in Butch Jones’ third season. (LW: 5) 6. Mississippi

State (8-4): The Egg Bowl loss to Mississippi was disappointing, but the Bulldogs still largely held their own in a transition season. (LW: 6) 7. Arkansas (7-5): It’s not where the Razorbacks wanted to be back in August, but it’s not a terrible landing spot. (LW: 9)

8. Georgia (9-3): Unlike Les Miles, Mark Richt wasn’t able to survive a three-loss season. Richt will be able to find work elsewhere if he chooses. (LW: 8) 9. Texas A&M (8-4): A year after turning a 5-0 start into a 7-5 regular season, the Aggies turned a 5-0 start into … an 8-4 finish. (LW: 7) 10. Auburn

(6-6): From No. 6 in the preseason poll to No. 10 in the SEC, there’s no hiding how disappointing this year was for the Tigers. (LW: 10) 11. Kentucky (5-7): Mark Stoops’ team will regret its November loss to Vanderbilt for the entire offseason. (LW: 11) 12. Missouri

(5-7): Ten bowl bids, five division titles and 118 victories in 15 seasons is a superb legacy for the retiring Gary Pinkel. (LW: 12) 13. Vanderbilt (4-8): The Commodores were competitive more often than not, a season-ending bludgeoning at Tennessee notwithstanding. (LW: 13) 14. South Carolina (3-9): Whoever takes over as coach will need a couple years to reverse the program’s talent drain. (LW: 14)