2018 SEC Power Rankings: Week 9

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Good news everyone!

The first College Football Playoff poll has been released. You’ll be happy to know that the SEC claims three of the top six (if you aren’t happy about that, you’re probably a fan of a different conference. You’re in the wrong place, amigo). Of course, the SEC dominance will be short lived. After all, #1 and #3 play each other this weekend. The loser will likely drop out of the top four (or will they? Seriously, what if Alabama loses?)

I think we have the SEC mostly figured out, too. We have our top four teams and essentially our top two in each division. Newsflash: they all play each other this weekend!

With Alabama/LSU and Georgia/Kentucky both happening on Saturday, we could easily be looking at our Atlanta match up. The Bulldogs and the Wildcats will be a play-in game for the SEC championship. The SEC West isn’t nearly as neat, so we could still see some chaos.

There’s still plenty to play for, so let’s see how everything shakes out. On to the rankings!

1. Alabama – The Tide netted the #1 spot in the first playoff poll on their bye week. Now they head to Death Valley. Time to see what Tua Tagovailoa has against a solid defense.

2. LSU – The Tigers come from a bye week and land #3 in the playoff poll. They welcome Alabama for a Saturday night slugfest.

3. Georgia – With a dominating win in the Cocktail Party, the Bulldogs are in the driver seat for the East. Georgia finally looked like a team hitting its stride with Jake Fromm thrashing Florida through the air. Now they are one win away from stamping their ticket to Atlanta. They play Kentucky for all the marbles in the East.

4. Kentucky – That. Was. UGLY. The Wildcats haven’t been able to get much going on offense in the last few weeks. Luckily their defense kept Missouri from making a first down in the second half. Terry Wilson has to be better if the Wildcats want a chance to take the East. We’ll find out this weekend.

5. Florida – The Gators were on the receiving end of a Cocktail Party beat down, knocking them out of the race for the East. I’ve maintained Feleipe Franks isn’t a quality QB all season (which isn’t exactly a hot take). He couldn’t hold it together against a stifling Georgia defense. They welcome Missouri this weekend.

6. Mississippi State – Ok, I genuinely don’t know what’s going on in Starkville. After struggling for the last several weeks, the Bulldogs convincingly put away the Aggies. Nick Fitzgerald still isn’t a dangerous passer, but aided with the ground game. The defense stole the show while shutting down a quality A&M offense. They host Louisiana Tech this weekend.

7. Texas A&M – After I sat here and spoke highly of the Aggies for the past several weeks, they managed to get smashed by Mississippi State. Naturally. The defense all but disappeared, letting a struggling Bulldog offense find its legs again. A&M is still having a good first season under Jimbo Fisher, but they are out of the race for the West. They head to Auburn this weekend.

8. South Carolina – A comeback win always feels pretty good. That is, until you realize it was against a struggling Tennessee squad. This has been a let down year for the Gamecocks (and some handsome dude who thought they were an SEC dark horse). Jake Bentley hasn’t lived up to expectations and the offense has struggled. On the plus side, the Gamecocks are two wins away from going bowling. They need to take care of Ole Miss first.

9. Auburn – The Tigers come off of a bye week looking to end the season strong. They welcome Texas A&M.

10. Vanderbilt – Look at the Commodores, proving that they aren’t the worst team in the SEC. Beating Arkansas might not be impressive to many, but Vandy doesn’t stop fighting. I dig that about them. Two more wins to bowl eligibility isn’t out of the question. They head to a bye week.

11. Ole Miss – Did anything get fixed during the bye week? We’ll find out when the Rebels host South Carolina.

12. Missouri – Does Missouri belong at #11? Maybe not. But the Tigers gave that game to Kentucky and they need to atone for that. Drew Lock and company didn’t gain a single first down in the second half. Not. One. They made Kentucky’s defense look better than they were. Now they head to Florida still hunting for bowl eligibility.

13. Tennessee – The Volunteers managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against South Carolina. There’s no guarantee that Tennessee will be bowl eligible this year, but they’ll at least get a much needed win against Charlotte.

14. Arkansas – I think we can safely say that Arkansas is the worst team in the SEC this season. I don’t think they’ll get out of the basement again.

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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