POWER RANKINGS

Breaking down the SEC

1. Alabama: Still at the top, although you can argue that the resume isn’t yet the equal of the other top teams in the league.

2. LSU: The crawfish-powered Joe Burrow scoring machine rolled through Nashville last week and have a week to fix some things on defense.

3. Georgia: Big win for the Bulldogs against Notre Dame. The SEC needed it. Probably not another challenge ahead for UGA until Florida.

4. Auburn: The Tigers probably have the best pair of wins in the league thus far. If they add another against Mississippi State, they may make the SEC Big Three a Big Four.

5. Florida: Could the Gators be better with Kyle Trask at quarterback? That, plus their defense, may be the way they need to play.

6. Mississippi State: I am now on the Garrett Shrader/Kylin Hill train and think this weekend could be a sneaky dangerous spot for Auburn to face the Cowbell Crew.

7. Missouri: I am still not convinced that Missouri can beat Georgia but they have the talent to finish 10-2 (and curse that game in Laramie).

8. Texas A&M: Either the Aggies have faced two superior defensive lines (possible) or the offense is a mess (also possible).

9. Kentucky: Quarterback issues have been part of the Wildcats’ problem and Sawyer Smith struggled with some pain after being hit hard in Starkville.

10. South Carolina: after years of trying to figure out the Gamecocks, the 2019 answer seems to be “not terrible but not great.

11. Ole Miss: The Rebels really need to fix that 101-yard field in Oxford because that was a touchdown at the end of the Cal game.

12. Vanderbilt: It’s rare for the Commodores to score 38 points but if that output doesn’t give them a chance, you wonder where the SEC wins will come from.

13. Arkansas: “Tennessee! Open up! We want to move into the basement and we lost to San Jose State to prove it!”

14. Tennessee: “We’re not moving. We like the basement and we aren’t going to score a touchdown so they will let us stay here. Go away, Arkansas!”