SEC Power Rankings: LSU hangs on, Alabama squeaks by

Survival Saturday. At least, that was the case in the SEC West where both Alabama and LSU clawed out narrow wins to remain near the top of this week’s SEC Power Rankings.

On the opposite side of the conference Georgia and Tennessee had a much easier time with their opponents.

Let’s begin digging into the SEC results from the weekend to see how they impacted our rankings this week, as bowl eligibility gets sorted out for several and playoff hopes remain alive for a few.

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Today we update the SEC Power Rankings following Week 11 games.

2022 SEC Power Rankings – Week 11

1. Georgia

It wasn’t the cleanest game for Georgia, but as far as avoiding letdowns after a monster showdown the week before go, Saturday’s 45-19 win on the road at Mississippi State will do just fine. The Bulldogs were good enough defensively to get the Air Raid offense out of sync, making life tough on Will Rogers and company. And Georgia’s offense did the rest, with Stetson Bennett IV throwing three touchdown passes in the win while scoring once on the run.

2. Tennessee

Tennessee also did an excellent job making sure it wasn’t going to suffer a letdown after the Georgia game, absolutely stomping Missouri 66-24. The Volunteers seemed to take things personally, chucking a couple bombs with a huge lead while backup quarterback Joe Milton was in. Georgia officially clinched the SEC East, so the Volunteers just need to survive road trips to South Carolina and Vanderbilt and hope they end up in the top four.

3. LSU

In a cold, early game against Arkansas LSU did what it needed to do to win, riding running back Josh Williams to a 13-10 win over the Hogs. The Tigers couldn’t get much going in the passing game at all, finishing with just 86 yards passing. Williams, though, racked up 122 on the ground to help LSU escape with the win. A non-conference game against UAB should give LSU a brief chance to catch its breath before a road trip to Texas A&M and the SEC Championship Game.

4. Alabama (+1)

Quarterback Bryce Young kept Alabama from losing to Ole Miss, halting a two-game skid in its tracks. Young was tremendous, finishing 21-of-33 for 209 yards passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Alabama’s playoff hopes are likely done, but the win Saturday was a huge step toward making a New Year’s Six bowl game.

5. Ole Miss (-1)

Ole Miss battled hard against Alabama, and it’s pretty clear at this point the Rebels are in their own tier with the Crimson Tide and the Tigers, just below the Dawgs and the Volunteers. Quinshon Judkins ran for 135 yards and two scores, but Ole Miss couldn’t quite find the key plays it needed in the fourth quarter to get into scoring range. The Rebels will travel to Arkansas before returning home for the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.

6. Florida (+3)

Surprisingly, Florida seems to have taken things to another defensively following the dismissal of Brenton Cox. The last two opponents have something to do with that for sure, but the Gators defense hasn’t given up a point in six quarters. Closing the regular season with a pair of wins — at Vanderbilt and at Florida State — would be massive for Billy Napier if he can pull it off.

7. South Carolina (-1)

The offense has just been wildly inconsistent for South Carolina this year. Some absences Saturday at Florida played a part, but the Gamecocks failed to score on offense while gaining just 237 total yards. Worse, South Carolina gave up 515 yards to Florida. The Gamecocks are bowl eligible but may go into bowl season limping; games against Tennessee and at Clemson close the slate.

8. Kentucky (-1)

Like South Carolina, Kentucky has now lost two of its last three. Saturday’s will sting a lot more, though. A 24-21 loss at home to Vanderbilt raises serious questions about the direction of things, especially with No. 1 Georgia looming. The Wildcats have become far too one-dimensional on offense of late and, banged-up or not, quarterback Will Levis just isn’t getting it done. He’s been hit hard all year behind a raggedly offensive line, so it’s not entirely his fault. But things are pretty shaky right now in Lexington.

9. Mississippi State (-1)

You could probably flip Mississippi State and Kentucky in our ranking and be fine, but the Bulldogs haven’t exactly wowed in making that case during the Wildcats’ struggles and they also lost the head-to-head meeting. Saturday’s loss to Georgia is perfectly understandable, but Mississippi State has now lost three of its last four. A home date with ETSU before the Egg Bowl should provide a bit of positive momentum again.

10. Arkansas

Credit the Razorbacks for making it a game against the Tigers despite quarterback KJ Jefferson missing the contest. Still, close games don’t net you much in the SEC, so Arkansas stays stuck in our SEC Power Rankings instead of taking a significant jump forward. The Razorbacks need one more win for bowl eligibility with Ole Miss and then a road trip to Missouri left.

11. Auburn (+1)

If anyone predicted before the season began that Auburn would have fired Bryan Harsin midway through the season and yet somehow managed to beat Texas A&M to deny the Aggies bowl eligibility in November get that person buying some lottery tickets ASAP. The Tigers kept the Aggies scoreless through the first three quarters and then hung on for a 13-10 win. Surprisingly it’s now Auburn who still has an outside shot at bowl eligibility, needing to beat both Western Kentucky and Alabama to get to six wins.

12. Missouri (-1)

Missouri made a game of it for the first 40 minutes or so before Tennessee broke things open by scoring 38 unanswered points in the second half to win 66-24. The Tigers got a really good outing from quarterback Brady Cook, who threw for 217 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions while also adding 16 carries for 106 yards. The Tigers have some things to build on, they just have to find a way to start winning more close games under coach Eli Drinkwitz.

13. Vanderbilt (+1)

The Commodores snapped a 26-game losing skid in SEC play by topping the Wildcats 24-21. Vanderbilt even did it without starting quarterback AJ Swann, who missed the game due to injury. Mike Wright made up for his absence by running for 126 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing for 184 yards and another score. With Florida and Tennessee left on the schedule it’s doubtful the Commodores earn bowl eligibility from here, but it has been a very successful campaign for coach Clark Lea and company.

14. Texas A&M (-1)

Hard to find the right words to describe the level of Texas A&M misery right now. But the team that had the No. 1 recruiting class last cycle and has one of the most lucrative deals for any head coach in the country is now 3-7, with bowl eligibility off the table. Saturday’s loss at Auburn was a new low point, and it’s really unclear where Texas A&M goes from here. There are no easy answers in College Station.

Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 10 SEC Power Rankings here!