POWERRANKINGS

Breaking down the SEC

1. Alabama (9-0): LB depth is starting to be a concern for the Tide after Shaun Dion Hamilton and Mack Wilson went down. (LW: 1) 2. Georgia (9-0): The Bulldogs now have the formality of reaching the SEC title game in their pocket. (LW: 2) 3. Auburn (7-2): After smoking Texas A&M, the Tigers get their two biggest gamesof the season over the next three weeks. (LW: 4) 4. Mississippi State (7-2): Didn’t exactly overwhelm Massachusetts, but the Bulldogs land in this slot almost by default. (LW: 5) 5. Louisiana State (6-3): The divide between Alabama and LSU clearly remains. It’s going to take some work to bridge that gap. (LW: 3) 6. South Carolina (6-3): A two-TD loss at Georgia is probably about right for the Gamecocks at this stage of their development. (LW: 6) 7. Kentucky (6-3): Wildcats would be 8-1 if they had defendedTDpasses in the final seconds against Florida and Mississippi. (LW: 6) 8. Texas A&M (5-4): Another year, another second-half swoon under beleaguered Kevin Sumlin. (LW: 8) 9. Tennessee (4-5): May wish they had QB Will McBride as a fifth-year senior in 2021 rather than burn a redshirt this deep into 2017. (LW: 10) 10. Mississippi (4-5): Credit to the Rebels for not quitting on the season. That counts for something. (LW: 12) 11. Missouri (4-5): The Tigers have won three in a row and now get a relatively listless Tennessee team at home. (LW: 13)

12. Florida (3-5): If it were possible to punt on the season’s final threegames right now, the Gators might just take the option. (LW: 9) 13. Arkansas (4-5): The Razorbacks tumble a little bit on account of almost losing to 1-8 Coastal Carolina at home. (LW: 12) 14. Vanderbilt (4-5): The Commodores’ five-game slide is over thanks to a defeat of Western Kentucky. (LW: 14)