SEC Power Rankings After Week 2

Week 2 was a rough one for most of the Southeastern Conference. Many teams struggled to put away inferior opponents, Arkansas included.

Given the Razorbacks weren’t alone in their struggles, it may not be time for fans to sound the alarm. Teams just have rough games sometimes. Apparently conferences can have rough weeks altogether as well.

Considering the conference’s slump this week, the SEC Power Rankings were difficult to compile. The conference appears wide open, especially in the Western division.

With surprising outcomes across the SEC, you’ll see surprising results in the week 2 SEC Power Rankings:

1. Georgia 2-0

In a dominating win over Ball State, the Dawgs again took care of business. Georgia’s defense shut down former Pulaski Academy and Arkansas State QB Layne Hatcher. The offense struggled in the run game, only gaining 99 yards as a team. Entering SEC play next week against South Carolina, the coaching staff will be looking to remedy those run game issues this week in practice.

2. Ole Miss 2-0  2

In an away game against a ranked Tulane squad, Ole Miss was able to pull out an unimpressive victory. Yet another SEC team struggled running the football, as they put up 89 yards on the ground. Only 48 of those yards are attributed to star halfback Quinshon Judkins. Jaxson Dart played a great game, and head coach Lane Kiffin is gearing up to face Georgia Tech next week. Nonetheless, a ranked victory is something the SEC hasn’t seen much this season, and Ole Miss executed.

3. Alabama 1-1 1

After a rough loss to Texas at home, Alabama falls a spot in the power rankings. Had the rest of the conference not struggled so much, they surely would have dropped further. Jalen Milroe is catching a lot of flak from Tide fans online, and rightfully so. He just didn’t look calm in the pocket. It’s hard to look calm in the pocket when the defense is swarming the backfield nearly every play. With quarterback and offensive line concerns looming, longtime head coach Nick Saban is going to push this team to bounce back quickly as conference play approaches.

4. Tennessee 2-0 1

2-0 is 2-0. After an intense battle with Austin Peay (and the officiating crew), the Vols are just glad they are still undefeated. Offensive struggles similar to Arkansas’ in week 2 haunted Tennessee all game long. As did holding penalties. Next week they’ll head to The Swamp to try and wash out the taste of this ugly FCS victory (and hopefully have better fortune in the penalty department).

5. Arkansas 2-0

Arkansas and Tennessee are sort of in the same boat. While there isn’t reason to call for anyone’s firing, the fanbase rightfully questions the previous game (even though it resulted in a win). The offense sputtered for the majority of the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes. The defense played well on the other hand, only giving up 6 points and 26 rushing yards. It appeared as though offensive coordinator Dan Enos was trying to force the offensive line to get in-game reps in the run game…whether it was working or not. Hopefully things are sorted out in practice this week before BYU comes to Fayetteville for the first night game of the season.

6. Mississippi State 2-0  2

In an overtime game against Arizona, the Bulldogs squeaked out a win. While they played against better competition than most of the SEC this week, their efforts weren’t incredibly convincing. Their ability to run the football was something the coaching staff is sure to be pleased with, but defensively the Bulldogs have some worries. The game against LSU next week could turn into quite a showdown.

7. LSU 1-1

LSU manhandled Grambling State 72-10. This is the type of offense many expected from the Tigers coming into the season. Will Jayden Daniels and the rest of the offense be able to repeat this type of performance against an SEC opponent? Week 3 will tell when Mississippi State gets a visit from Brian Kelly’s Tigers.

8. Texas A&M 1-1 2

I expected the Aggies to dominate their matchup against Miami, but some would argue it was the other way around. The defense looked lethargic at times and allowed way too many convenient chances for Miami. Next week should be a tune-up game to fix some of these issues against Louisiana-Monroe. On the bright side, Conner Weigman looks like he is settling nicely into the freshly installed Bobby Petrino offense.

9. Auburn 2-0  2

After a narrow victory on the road against Cal, expect Auburn to begin to look for other options at quarterback besides Payton Thorne. They should have lost given how uninspiring the offensive effort was, but the defense won the game for them. Hugh Freeze is going to try to get the offense going next week against FCS opponent Samford.

10. Kentucky 2-0 1

For the second week in a row, Kentucky and quarterback Devin Leary struggled massively with a far worse opponent. This time, they were almost beaten by an in-state FCS team (Eastern Kentucky). They’ve got one more chance to figure it out against Akron next week. If they don’t, it could be a very long season in Lexington.

11. South Carolina 1-1  1

While they struggled early on with Furman, the Gamecocks got things going in the second half and cruised to a 26-point win. The offensive line is a big concern. So is the defensive line, but the play of Spencer Rattler is the opposite. He is running the offense with poise and if the offensive line gets it together, this team could be dangerous in the East.

12. Florida 1-1  2

Florida was one of the few teams who did what they were supposed to do this week. For that, they get props (on a week as bad as this one). Graham Mertz played much better than he did against Utah in the season opener. The defensive line and linebackers played well. If Tennessee continues to struggle, the Gators could surprise them next Saturday.

13. Missouri 2-03

In perhaps the worst showing of the weekend by any SEC team, Missouri almost found a way to lose to Middle Tennesee State. Thanks to favorable officiating and some mistakes by MTSU, Missouri came away with a win. The offense is a major concern. We could see some really ugly, one-sided games involving the Tigers this year…and those could begin next week when a ranked Kansas State squad visits Columbia.

14. Vanderbilt 2-11

Not many expected Vanderbilt to win on the road against the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, but it’s safe to say they underperformed. Quarterback AJ Swann needs some help big-time on the offense. The defense looked awful. Missouri and Vanderbilt may end up battling for the bottom position in the conference later on this season if gameplan and coaching efforts don’t prevail.

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