POWER RANKINGS
Breaking down the SEC
1. Alabama (11-0): Is last year’s outcome any motivation at all for Alabama? Or is this just another rung on the ladder that the Tide must climb to achieve its single goal? 2. Georgia (10-1): The Bulldogs have gotten better every week since losing to LSU. 3. LSU (9-2): A win over Texas A&M might put LSU in New Orleans, and there is nothing better than imagining Ed Orgeron with a sugar buzz. 4. Mississippi State (7-4): The Egg Bowl can be crazy, but the Bulldogs have been trampling teams that don’t have strong defenses. 5. Missouri (7-4): Mizzou should drub Arkansas and finish with a nice bowl bid, but they have to wonder if they could have squeezed more than that out of the season. 6. Auburn (7-4): The Tigers have nothing to lose, so maybe Gus will empty the entire bag of tricks and stop off at the Prattville Waffle House afterwards. 7. Texas A&M (7-4): Wonder what the Aggies’ record would have been this year if Kyler Murray had stuck around? 8. Florida (8-3): If the Gators can snap FSU’s five-game winning streak in their series, Dan Mullen’s first year is a success. 9. Kentucky (8-3): The Cats are in the AP Top 25, but it’s hard to wash away that loss to Tennessee. 10. South Carolina (6-4): It probably won’t happen, but the Gamecocks could sure bring chaos to the playoff picture. 11. Vanderbilt (5-6): The team from Knoxville playing the team from Nashville for a probable bowl trip to Memphis is as Tennessee as Dolly Parton. 12. Tennessee (5-6): There is no roller coaster like the Big Orange roller coaster, but it may be a long pull up the hill this week. 13. Ole Miss (5-6): The Rebels had enough depth to hang with Vanderbilt, but not the SEC replay booth (or at least a misguided rule). 14. Arkansas (2-9): The Razorbacks fared about as well as the FCS teams on last week’s SEC schedule.