SEC Power Rankings After Week 8

Clearly, something is wrong in Fayetteville. The rest of the SEC, however, marches forward. After an interesting week, the SEC Power Rankings show no love to the Hogs. Well, even the fanbase is hardly showing those Hogs any love. It’s hard to support a head coach who admits in the post-game presser that he has no idea what to do in some situations. Going into a bye next week, some coaching changes could (and should) be seen from the Razorbacks.

Missouri is 7-1, Arkansas is 2-6, and Sam Pittman is facing the axe. Talk about a Razorback nightmare.

1. Georgia 7-0 (4-0)

Bye

2. Alabama 7-1 (5-0)

vs. Tennessee- W 34-20

In a come-from-behind victory, Alabama pulled away in the second half. Nick Saban is one of the best coaches college football has ever seen, and his halftime adjustments showed that to be as true as ever today. Getting Jase McClellan going in the run game was huge for the Tide, and they’ll be looking to replicate his performance in the following weeks.

3. LSU 6-2 (4-1)

vs. Army- W 62-0

LSU came in and took care of business. Nothing special here.

4. Missouri 7-1 (3-1)

vs. South Carolina- W 34-12

This was a dominating performance from Eli Drinkwitz’s Tigers all around. They absolutely destroyed the Gamecocks. Mizzou is no pushover and is going to keep pushing through the SEC East. With that being said, it’s going to take a much bigger win to move them up any further in the SEC Power Rankings.

5. Ole Miss 6-1 (3-1) 1

at Auburn- W 28-21

This game was closer than I thought it would be, but the Rebels handled the game well in the second half. Ole Miss has a better defense than they get props for. This win was a necessity for Lane Kiffin, as he tries to bolster the playoff resume of Ole Miss approaching a matchup with Georgia coming up in November.

6. Florida 5-2 (3-1) 1

Bye

7. Tennessee 5-2 (2-2)2

at Alabama- L 34-20

So close, but yet so far. After being praised as the best rushing team in the SEC, Tennessee put up next to nothing on the ground compared to previous weeks. Scoring zero points in the second half doesn’t help either. As Arkansas fans know all too well, you’ve got to at least be able to score once a quarter to beat the Crimson Tide.

8. Texas A&M 4-3 (2-2)

Bye

9. Kentucky 5-2 (2-2)

Bye

10. Mississippi State 4-3 (1-3) 3

at Arkansas- W 7-3

All it took was one well-executed red zone trip to win this ball game. Arkansas failed on their lone attempt in the red zone and was forced to kick a field goal. Mississippi State scored a touchdown in the red zone, like functional football teams typically do. Holding your opponent to 7 should always win the game, but Mississippi State was able to shut down the Arkansas offense completely. Do they deserve much credit for that? Probably not. The MVP of this game for Mississippi State was quite possibly the offensive coordinator for Arkansas, Dan Enos.

11. Auburn 3-4 (0-4) 1

vs. Ole Miss- L 28-21

In a hard fought game, Ole Miss just had more juice. Not getting blown out or embarrassed moved Auburn up the SEC Power Rankings totem this week. More offensive struggles should raise plenty of questions within the Auburn fandom.

12. South Carolina 2-5 (1-4)1

at Missouri- L 34-12

Bad offensive play by the Gamecocks cost them this one. Missouri’s defensive line and linebackers outmatched the South Carolina offensive line. The story of the game was the 6 sacks and nearly constant pressure that the Gamecock offensive line gave up. Maybe letting Dowell Loggains (former Arkansas tight ends coach, current South Carolina offensive coordinator) walk wasn’t a bad decision. I wonder how that’s panning out for the Hogs…

13. Arkansas 2-6 (0-5)3

vs. Mississippi State- L 7-3

Scoring three points during the homecoming game against Mississippi State was unprecedented. This is bad. Really, really bad. Sam Pittman’s seat is hotter than a stolen tamale. The Razorback fanbase is in need of defibrillation. We have officially reached Chad Morris levels of incompetency.

The hiring of Dan Enos at offensive coordinator was clearly a huge mistake, but he isn’t the only issue. It’s a shame, because the defense has played great this season. Unfortunately, complimentary football hasn’t been actively produced in Fayetteville in quite some time.

You’d better start logging and tracking flights in and out of Northwest Arkansas now, because Sam Pittman has one foot out the door. The jukebox has been unplugged, and there’s no more of that ole cold beer in the fridge. The only thing that could save Pittman’s job at this point is an immediate staffing change in terms of Enos and offensive line coach Cody Kennedy. That, plus keeping the next recruiting class together and committed.

14. Vanderbilt 2-6 (0-4)

Bye

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