It was a pretty weird week in college football.
I don’t mean weird as in: “wow, a lot of teams got upset!” More like: “meh, most of this wasn’t memorable or impressive.” (Don’t get offended Vol fans, I’ll get to you later). There wasn’t much shakeup in the rankings this week. Most of our major stories are centered on bowl eligibility, which should be a little bit easier heading into “Cupcake Weekend.” Who will finish the season strong? Let’s look together. On to the rankings!
1. Alabama – Another shutout for the Crimson Tide, but this one came at a cost. With Tua Tagovailoa taking a helmet to the injured knee and limping off of the field, Alabama held its collective breath. Reports suggest he’ll be fine, but he can’t keep taking shots like that. On the plus side, Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs helped demonstrate that the Bama run game of old is alive and well. They host power house Citadel this weekend.
2. Georgia – So, in case you didn’t know, Georgia is pretty good at the football. The Bulldog rushing attack is the real deal, with D’Andre Swift racking up the yards against Auburn. Jake Fromm can play a great game when his rhythm isn’t interrupted by Justin Fields. They host UMASS this weekend.
3. LSU – It definitely wasn’t pretty, but style points don’t matter when you’re not in the playoff hunt. Letting Arkansas score late in the game isn’t ideal, but the Tigers still managed to recover from the Alabama shutout. With two games left, Joe Burrow and company can finish with 10 wins. They host Rice this weekend.
4. Florida – Feleipe Franks isn’t a great quarterback. Having said that, he still helped the Gators mount a comeback against South Carolina. He also shushed his own crowd, so maybe he knows how most fans feel about him.
5. Kentucky – I had a really hard time placing the Wildcats this week. They might be the 5th best in the SEC, but they sure didn’t play like it on Saturday. After getting stomped by Georgia, Kentucky came out flat and uninspired. Just because you lost the chance to go to Atlanta, doesn’t mean you phone it in. With Benny Snell being the only bright spot of the offense, it’ll be interesting to see what they have left. They host MTSU this weekend.
6. Texas A&M – The Aggies avoided a third straight loss with a win over Ole Miss. Trayveon Williams was the star of the day, piling up over 200 yards rushing. With an impressive 4th quarter from the Aggies, they sealed the win and bowl eligibility in the process. Now they host UAB (who is ranked. Yeah. That’s right).
7. Missouri – It was a big day for the Tigers. Not only did they become bowl eligible, but Drew Lock led his team to a comeback victory over Vanderbilt. Lock accounted for three touchdowns to take the lead. With Tennessee and Arkansas left on the schedule, what if Missouri ends up with eight wins?
8. Mississippi State – There’s really no shame in falling victim to the Alabama buzz saw. On defense, they did fairly well, but couldn’t string together enough offense to hang with the Tide. There were plenty of bad calls against the Bulldogs, but not being able to run the ball did more damage than the officials. They host Arkansas this weekend.
9. Auburn – Another week of struggles for the Tigers. Remember when they were a playoff contender? Now, Auburn struggles on the line of scrimmage, the rush attack, and most of the defense. Being held scoreless in the second half is a rough go for Gus Malzahn. At least they won’t fire him….
10. Tennessee – How about them VAWLS? I’ll be the first to admit, I had Kentucky running away with this one (that’s why I get paid the big bucks). Credit to Jeremy Pruitt for putting together a solid game plan that neutralized Snell. With five wins, UT needs one more win to become bowl eligible. Their first shot is against Missouri.
11. South Carolina – Listen, when it’s the third quarter and you’re up by three possessions, you should probably put the game away. Someone should tell Will Muschamp to read my articles. I know things. One game away from bowl eligibility, the Gamecocks should seal that against Chattanooga this weekend.
12. Vanderbilt – I really thought Vandy was going to leave Saturday with a win over Missouri. Ke’Shawn Vaughn ran for near 200 yards. But they still wasted a solid lead. Now they host Ole Miss.
13. Ole Miss – Three conference losses in a row for the Land Shark Rebels. That pretty much sums up their season.
14. Arkansas – If you could have taken down LSU, you would have made it out of the basement. But nope.
Poppa Bear is the Lead SEC Analyst for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter:@SoBroPoppaBear
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