SEC Power Ranking: You-know-who is still at the top, but chaos everywhere after that

“If you come at the King, you best not miss.”

Georgia has its chances last Saturday and didn’t do anything to change the perception that it is the second-best team in the SEC. Atop the mountain, Alabama stood firm. As far as the rest of the league, Texas A&M seems to be finding its stride and just about everything else seems like a coin flip.    

1. Alabama (4-0) 

We will never know if Nick Saban’s return to the sideline made Alabama win against Georgia, but we know it will go down in legend when legends are written. 

2. Georgia (3-1) 

Kirby Smart faces an interesting decision on the proposition of “going as far as Stetson Bennett IV can take us.”

3. Texas A&M (3-1) 

There is a reasonable chance that Texas A&M will go 9-1 with its only loss to Alabama. Chaos in the East and there is a slim chance that the Aggies may yet enter the playoff conversation   

4. Florida (2-1)

The Gators didn’t play last weekend, but if we handed out public-relations losses Dan Mullen would have gotten one.

5. Kentucky (2-2)

The Wildcats have come a long way in two weeks. That missed-PAT overtime home loss to Ole Miss really stings now. 

6. Auburn (2-2)  

You look at Auburn in the preseason and say “They might win the West Division or they might be playing a must-win in Oxford halfway through.”

7. Arkansas (2-2)  

Sam Pittman is coaching like a guy who loves coaching more than the big paycheck, and it shows.

8. Tennessee (2-2) 

UT throws two pick-sixes and Jeremy Pruitt fires the defensive line coach. If they miss two field goals this week, the popcorn guy is probably out of a job. 

9. South Carolina (2-2)

You could just as easily put the Gamecocks at No. 5, but it’s hard to have faith that they will be consistent.

10. Missouri (1-2) 

The SEC Schedule Shuffle has Kentucky coming to Columbia and a brutal run after that, so now is the Tigers' time. 

11. Ole Miss (1-3) 

The old cliché about not letting one loss turn into two bit Ole Miss, which seemed to have a severe Alabama hangover in Fayetteville. 

12. Mississippi State (1-3) 

It feels like starting over for the Bulldogs, who really need the open week to regroup. 

13. LSU (1-2)

The Tigers got a break by not having to play at Florida last week, and surely they can start a turnaround against South Carolina. Can’t they?

14. Vanderbilt (0-3)

The Commodoes have a regularly-scheduled open date following a COVID-19 postponement, and a two-week non-losing streak isn’t so bad. 

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or via Twitter @cecilhurt