POWER RANKINGS

Breaking down the SEC

1. Alabama: Last spring’s A-Day game was more of a workout than the Arkansas game. Tua Watch continues in the open week. 2. LSU: Auburn’s defense provided a test. LSU passed and moved to No. 1 in the AP Poll. One more win and it’s the top of the prestigious SEC Power Poll.

3. Florida: Could this be Dan Mullen’s biggest game as a head coach? There are serious divisional championship ramifications in Jacksonville.

4. Auburn: Quarterback Bo Nix has taken some heat but he’s a freshman and he’s not getting a lot of help from the rest of the offense.

5. Georgia: Surely Georgia will make it back to Atlanta again. Right? Right? Tune in Saturday to find out.

6. Texas A&M: The Aggies push along with no terrible losses and no spectacular wins. UTSA this week shouldn’t change that.

7. Missouri: The Tigers apparently had their soul ripped out by Vanderbilt and should fall in the poll but in the transitive-property mess that is the mid-SEC, where do you put them?

8. South Carolina: The Saban Disciple Round Robin ended up a draw — Kirby beat Jeremy, Will beat Kirby. Jeremy beat Will. So not much traction for the Gamecocks. 8

9. Kentucky: If Lynn Bowden could somehow throw the ball to himself, UK would be awesome.

10. Ole Miss: Rebels are playing hard for Matt Luke but it looks like another overmatched weekend coming in Auburn.

11. Tennessee: Who knew a non-conference game against UAB would be big? But for the underrated Blazers and the bowl-aspirant Vols, it definitely is.

12. Mississippi State: There’s a strong sense that this team has checked out for the season. We will find out for sure if they struggle against Arkansas. 13. Vanderbilt: Wisely took an open week to keep celebrating the win over Missouri. 14. Arkansas: Playing young billionaire scions like John Stephen Jones (who did fairly well in a lost cause against Alabama) might be the answer. Does Warren Buffett have a grandson with 4.3 speed?