SEC Power Rankings: Week 11

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Well, a lot happened this weekend didn’t it?

Let’s take a step outside of the SEC for a moment to look at the insanity that transpired this weekend. As literally all of you know, three of the top four teams in the nation lost this past weekend. We discovered on Tuesday that two of those teams stayed in the playoffs, and a team was added to the top four that probably won’t play for their conference championship.

Got it? Good. Honestly, I have no idea how the final four will shake out. I have a guess, but we’ll save that for a later date.

Back in the SEC, we learned that Alabama has locked up the SEC West and will play either Florida or Tennessee in Atlanta. We also watched several top teams lose and tumble in the national rankings. It’s hard to imagine, but only the Tide is the only SEC team ranked higher than 15 nationally.

Anyway, on to the rankings!

1. Alabama – The gap between the Tide and the rest of the country is getting wider, so it stands to reason that it’s widening here as well. Jalen Hurts had his best game of the season while roasting Mississippi State. Alabama is the SEC’s only hope for the playoff, and is the national favorite to win it all. Nick Saban’s best defense ever? Alabama hosts Chattanooga before the Iron Bowl.

2. LSU – With an impressive road beatdown of Arkansas, LSU rises in the rankings. With the West lost, the Tigers still have plenty to play for. A win against Florida and Texas A&M could land Coach Orgeron in the Sugar Bowl. A win there could lead to the interim tag being removed from Coach O. The Tigers host Florida in the Hurricane Game.

3. Auburn – With a loss against Georgia, Auburn showed that Pettway was the key to the offense. Without him, the Tigers struggled to move the ball against a less than stellar Georgia defense. The Iron Bowl in two weeks has lost some of its luster. The Tigers can only play spoiler to Alabama’s perfect season now. They get Alabama A&M to polish up before Alabama.

4. Florida – I’ll be honest, I have no idea how to rank the next several teams. Florida lands here after getting an important win against South Carolina. It doesn’t seem like much, but the Gamecocks were on a roll, and Florida needed the win to keep the drive for Atlanta alive. They’ll need the offense to step up to have any hopes of taking down LSU.

5. Tennessee – This seems like as good of a spot as any for the rebounding Volunteers. Sure, the wins were against Tennessee Tech and Kentucky, but the Vols are playing much better football and are slowly getting healthier. With the help of LSU this weekend, they could be heading to Atlanta. They’ll need to win out, starting this weekend when they welcome Missouri.

6. Ole Miss – Shea Patterson, welcome to the SEC. The Rebels seem to have found their quarterback of the future as the true freshman led a comeback against Texas A&M while racking up 400 total yards of offense. Not too shabby, eh? This season might have been a let down for the Rebels, but brighter days are ahead for Ole Miss with Patterson at QB. The Rebels head to Vanderbilt this weekend.

7. Arkansas – Seriously? Is there a more erratic team in the SEC than Arkansas? Is LSU that good, or is the Razorback defense that bad? I’m going to go with both. Arkansas let the Tigers run all over them, and continued to look like they can’t compete with high-tier teams. Arkansas heads to Mississippi State this weekend, and will probably look great again.

8. Georgia – Should I have moved Georgia up with a win over Auburn? Maybe, but that’s just how it happens sometimes. The Bulldogs scored a signature win for Kirby Smart, while also scoring their only home SEC win of the season. Jacob Eason continues to shine and has massive upside for the future. The big story is the defense, which finally looked like a Kirby Smart defense. We’ll see if they hold it together.

9. South Carolina – Will Muschamp didn’t get the welcome he hoped for in the Swamp this weekend. Jake Bentley (still, great name) couldn’t get the offense going all game. 20-7 is a misleading score, as Florida shut down the Gamecocks all game. The three-game winning streak is over, and Atlanta is out of reach now. Fortunately, South Carolina can earn bowl eligibility this weekend with a win over Western Carolina.

10. Texas A&M – What a tumble for the Aggies, but a three conference game losing streak will do that to you. It wasn’t just a loss to Ole Miss, it was allowing a true freshman QB to lead a second half comeback. So much for that stout Aggie defense someone (me) bragged about. Fortunately, A&M gets UTSA to beat up on this weekend. Unfortunately, LSU is waiting on them for Thanksgiving.

11. Kentucky – It’s been fun for the Kentucky faithful, but the East is officially lost. On the plus side, the Wildcats had a solid rush attack and didn’t let Tennessee off easy. Kentucky is also one win away from bowl eligibility with Austin Peay coming to town. I’d call that a successful season. And anyway, it’s time for basketball season for the Big Blue.

12. Mississippi State – Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast. Any momentum the Bulldogs had going into Saturday was curb stomped quickly by the Tide. Now they have to collect themselves to welcome Arkansas to town. Fun fact: Mississippi State is favored over Arkansas. Does that seem odd to anyone else?

(Editor’s note: Yes. Yes, that seems very odd)

13. Missouri – With a win over Vanderbilt, the Tigers are out of the basement this week. Don’t let it go to your heads Missouri. They head to Tennessee this weekend. Pull the upset, and we’ll talk about moving up more.

14. Vanderbilt – What happened guys? I tried to rank you high. I tried.

Have a great weekend folks, Poppa Bear loves ya!

Poppa Bear is the lead SEC contributor for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter: @SoBroPoppaBear

Follow us on Twitter: @SoBrosNetwork

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