POWER RANKINGS

Breaking down the SEC

1. Alabama:

Will Alabama be No. 1, performancewise, when it plays Arkansas? When it plays LSU, if the starting QB is out? So far, Alabama merits the ranking. But the future is unwritten.

2. LSU:

With all the hype surrounding AlabamaLSU, the Tiger vs. Tiger matchup bringing Auburn to the bayou is low-key massive. Can the Auburn brand keep up in a score-a-thon?

3. Auburn:

AU will bring the best defense that LSU has seen (sorry, Florida) to Baton Rouge.

4. Florida:

Ed Orgeron is probably headed for SEC Coach of the Year honors but all votes for Dan Mullen should definitely be counted.

5. Georgia:

The Bulldogs’ mascot Uga X chose not to leave his warm, dry house to watch a slopfest against Kentucky. Good dog.

6. Texas A&M:

Not quite as good as the best, not quite as bad as the others. The Aggies still have a chance to play spoiler.

7. Missouri:

If there were any way to drop Mizzou further after its disastrous loss to Vanderbilt, I would. The teams below them won’t allow it.

8. South Carolina:

Will Muschamp has the look of a coach who is seething with frustration, partly at the officials and partly at his own team, which is a piece or two short of being good.

9. Ole Miss:

Currently the SEC standard for “doing the best that it can.”

10. Mississippi State:

Currently not the SEC standard for “doing the best that it can.”

11. Kentucky:

The quarterback issues in Lexington can mean only one thing, as much as I hate to say it: basketball season.

12. Tennessee:

The Volunteers look like a team that needs at least one more recruiting cycle, not just to add talent but also to be more unified under Jeremy Pruitt.

13. Vanderbilt:

The Commodores showed me. After semi-permanent relegation to the basement, Vandy got a big win and pulled itself out of the dank dungeon of 14th place.

14. Arkansas:

The Razorbacks has avoided the cellar by some close losses but deserve it this week, if only because of the ugliest fake punt ever (and 51 Auburn points).