SEC Power Rankings: Volunteers vanquished as SEC loses a playoff contender

Whew boy, we can safely say creating this week’s SEC Power Rankings was the most difficult task we’ve had in any Power 5 conference yet this year.

On top of South Carolina‘s stunning upset of Tennessee, Arkansas toppled Ole Miss and Vanderbilt took full advantage of sleep-walking Florida to throw the entire middle of the league into flux.

Let’s not waste any more time at a high level, let’s dig right into the details on this weekend’s action.

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Today we update the SEC Power Rankings following Week 12 games.

2022 SEC Power Rankings – Week 12

1. Georgia

After watching some of the other results around the country on Saturday, Georgia fans are likely thrilled with the team’s 16-6 win over Kentucky. The Bulldogs were in a little bit of a weird game, with very few possessions in the first half. The Wildcats played well but failed to mount a convincing threat down the stretch. Georgia gets a home game against Georgia Tech now ahead of the SEC title game against LSU.

2. LSU (+1)

One week after a lackluster outing at Arkansas, LSU again got off to a slightly slow start against UAB but kicked things into gear quickly enough this time around. LSU led by 18 at half and pitched a second-half shutout. Final test before Atlanta is a road trip to Texas A&M.

3. Alabama (+1)

Ho-hum outing for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide in a final tune-up game before the Iron Bowl. Alabama beat Austin Peay 34-0 and the biggest drama from the weekend was Saban asking reporters to do their homework when asking about injury reports. Now Alabama will look to close out the regular-season with a win against an Auburn squad with some new-found confidence.

4. Tennessee (-2)

What can you say about Saturday in South Carolina? Tennessee was stunned, with its defense completely unprepared for Spencer Rattler and a Gamecocks offense that had failed to score a single point against Florida the week before. South Carolina piled on 606 yards of offense in a 63-38 win. Worse, Hendon Hooker suffered an injury that looked potentially serious late in the game. The Volunteers wrap up the regular season at Vanderbilt and shell shock has to be a legitimate concern going into that one.

5. South Carolina (+2)

The first of a few spots in this week’s SEC Power Rankings where a team appears one spot below the team it just knocked off, we’ll go ahead and note again that this week’s rankings were not easy to compile. Tennessee remains ahead based on overall body of work, but Shane Beamer‘s group had a truly special performance on Saturday. It’s easy to see how high the ceiling could be if he can coax a little more consistency out of South Carolina going forward.

6. Ole Miss (-1)

Ole Miss was firmly in the New Year’s Six conversation entering the weekend but likely saw those hopes go up in flames early on in a 42-27 loss to Arkansas that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Rebels gained 703 yards of offense, including 463 on the ground, but turned it over three times. Meanwhile, Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson (three passing touchdowns) and Raheim Sanders (232 yards rushing, three touchdowns) went absolutely ham. With Ole Miss having lost three of its last four, this year’s Egg Bowl feels like a must win to staunch the bleeding.

7. Arkansas (+3)

Another spot in the SEC Power Rankings where head-to-head and even overall record get a bit tricky, we have Arkansas ahead of Mississippi State largely on the basis that we think the Razorbacks are a better team than the Bulldogs… when KJ Jefferson is healthy. Arkansas earned bowl eligibility Saturday and now hits the road to face Missouri, looking to bolster the season win total.

8. Mississippi State (+1)

Like Alabama, Mississippi State had the luxury of a weak non-conference opponent preceding its big annual rivalry game. The Bulldogs waxed ETSU 56-7 on Saturday, with quarterback Will Rogers throwing for 301 yards and five touchdowns. With Mississippi State and Ole Miss separated by only one game in terms of overall record, bragging rights are firmly on the line in more ways than one in the Egg Bowl.

9. Kentucky (-1)

Will Levis had a better performance on Saturday, able to connect on enough deep shots in the second half that you thought maybe Kentucky could get into the game against Georgia. But the Bulldogs are undefeated for a reason and were able to close out the win in Lexington. Kentucky had already secured bowl eligibility, but a game against a surprising Louisville squad this week will really set the tone for Mark Stoops and the UK program — one way or the other — going into the offseason.

10. Florida (-4)

It was an 11 a.m. local kickoff at Vanderbilt but weather wasn’t nearly as big a factor as it could have been. So there’s not a whole lot of excusing away a 31-24 loss to the Commodores. The Gators repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Injuries at receiver have limited Florida, so the lack of running for Anthony Richardson in the loss was even more perplexing. A lot of goodwill from back-to-back wins over Texas A&M and South Carolina was erased on Saturday.

11. Vanderbilt (+2)

This was arguably the single trickiest area in this week’s SEC Power Rankings to figure out, because you can slice it so many different ways. First off, we’ll acknowledge that moving Vanderbilt up past Auburn and Missouri drops both of those teams, despite those two teams also winning. But Vanderbilt has an SEC road win and a win over Florida in the last two, versus two home wins (with one being non-conference) for Auburn. And yet despite the head-to-head win over Florida, the Gators have a better overall body of work than the ‘Dores.

12. Auburn (-1)

Auburn dropping a spot this week is almost entirely about Vanderbilt’s big win and nothing the Tigers have done wrong. Auburn is clearly playing at a higher level since Carnell “Cadillac” Williams took over as interim head coach. Can the Tigers make things interesting in the Iron Bowl against Alabama? Both Auburn and Vanderbilt (vs. Tennessee) have tough tasks ahead with one game remaining to reach bowl eligibility.

13. Missouri (-1)

Missouri cruised to an easy 45-14 win over New Mexico State on Saturday, keeping its hopes of becoming bowl-eligible alive. The Tigers got another good outing from quarterback Brady Cook, who threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns and led the team with seven carries for 71 yards rushing. Now a Black Friday home date with Arkansas looms to determine whether Missouri plays in the postseason.

14. Texas A&M

It was far from a thoroughly convincing win on Saturday, but Texas A&M did manage to snap a six-game losing skid with a 20-3 victory over UMass. The Aggies played without star running back Devon Achane and freshman phenom receiver Evan Stewart. Texas A&M will get a chance to play spoiler now, hosting No. 6 LSU prior to the Tigers’ trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.

Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 11 SEC Power Rankings here!