SEC Power Rankings: Mississippi teams on the move, Tide takes back top spot

A big weekend in the SEC is in the books and the back-and-forth whipsaw that is the 2022 college football season continues, with a handful of results that produced some shakeups in our SEC Power Rankings, including a flip at the very top.

Following a second straight outing where the nation’s top-ranked team slumbered through a game, Georgia cedes the top spot to Alabama, which is fresh off a blowout win over a ranked Arkansas despite losing starting quarterback Bryce Young to injury during the contest.

Elsewhere, Ole Miss outdueled Kentucky at home in a battle of unbeatens, while LSU topped Auburn on the Plains. Let’s dive into all the action.

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Today we update the SEC Power Rankings following Week 5 games.

2022 SEC Power Rankings – Week 5

1. Alabama (+1)

Everyone will be following the status of 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, who left the Alabama game in the second quarter with a sprained shoulder and did not return. But the Clemson Tide managed just fine against the Razorbacks with backup quarterback Jalen Milroe, aided by the backfield contributions of Jahmyr Gibbs. Will Young be back in time for a home date with Texas A&M next week?

2. Georgia (-1)

The Bulldogs drop from the top spot after sleep-walking through the last two weeks. We penalized Alabama for its tight contest with Texas in Week 2, and the Crimson Tide have looked the more dominant of the two teams for the last two weeks, thus the move back up. Georgia still has time to sort out any potential issues, with Auburn and Vanderbilt due up prior to a bye week and then the Florida game.

3. Tennessee

The Volunteers were off and got a little extra time to prepare for a five-game stretch that includes a road trip to LSU next weekend, home dates with No. 1 Alabama and No. 13 Kentucky, a road trip to No. 2 Georgia and a lone cupcake game against UT-Martin smack dab in the middle of the the aforementioned four. If Tennessee is a legitimate contender, the Vols can begin to prove it with an always-tough trip to Baton Rouge this week.

4. Ole Miss (+3)

The Ole Miss-Kentucky game was a dogfight throughout, with both teams clamping down defensively in a second half that produced just 10 points combined. The Rebels made plays on defense when they needed to, forcing a pair of Will Levis fumbles in the fourth quarter to seal the win over the previously unbeaten Wildcats. Ole Miss has a good path to 7-0 with a road trip to Vanderbilt and a home date with Auburn next prior to back-to-back road trips at LSU and Texas A&M.

5. Kentucky (-1)

The return of running back Chris Rodriguez from an opening-month suspension provided a brief initial lift for the Wildcats before the Rebels figured him out. He averaged just 3.8 yards per carry on 19 touches. Unfortunately for Levis, an otherwise nice outing was marred by two fumbles, the first of which might have been a missed targeting call. In any case, one road loss to an unbeaten SEC team isn’t much reason to ding Kentucky. The offensive line remains a major liability, though.

6. LSU (+2)

In the world’s most hilarious game of hot potato in the fourth quarter on the Plains, LSU managed to hang onto the football a little longer than Auburn in a 21-17 win. Greg Brooks Jr.‘s impressive interception rip away from the Tigers late in the fourth quarter sealed the deal. But it was ugly. LSU was outgained 438 yards to 270 and quarterback Jayden Daniels finished 8-of-20 passing for just 80 yards. LSU’s next five: vs. No. 8 Tennessee, at Florida, vs. No. 9 Ole Miss, vs. No. 1 Alabama, at No. 25 Arkansas. Brutal.

7. Mississippi State (+3)

One week after missing a chance to vault itself up the rankings a bit, Mississippi State regained some major ground with a dominant home win over Texas A&M. Mississippi State’s defense and special teams came up big, stifling Texas A&M in the red zone and scoring on a blocked field goal scoop-and-score. The Bulldogs forced four turnovers as they beat the Aggies. A home game against Arkansas is up next.

8. Arkansas (-2)

The Razorbacks put up a good fight after falling behind 28-0, but after scoring 23 unanswered to get back into the game they simply couldn’t maintain the momentum. Alabama wore Arkansas down with the run game and some explosive plays in the second half, running away with it without Bryce Young. Now Arkansas hits the road to face a Mississippi State team fresh off a win over Texas A&M.

9. Florida

The Gators’ final non-conference game, against Eastern Washington, was moved to Sunday by Hurricane Ian, giving Florida an extra day to rid itself of any negative mojo after a tough loss at Tennessee. It was an easy cupcake win. How Billy Napier’s inaugural season goes may well depend on the next couple weeks. Beat Missouri and LSU at home and go into the annual Georgia game at 5-2 and the Gators can probably feel good about Year 1. Drop one of those two and fans in Gainesville won’t be very happy.

10. Texas A&M (-5)

Speaking of unhappy fans, Texas A&M is beginning to make some wonder if the return on investment under head coach Jimbo Fisher is good enough, now four years into his tenure. The Aggies were a nightmare in the red zone in a loss to the Bulldogs, dropping a second game against a team Texas A&M thoroughly outclassed from a talent standpoint. Now there are two top-10 opponents coming up in the next three weeks, with a trip to No. 1 Alabama on tap first.

11. South Carolina

In another Hurricane Ian-altered game, South Carolina made short work of South Carolina State on Thursday night. It’s still hard to figure out exactly where the Gamecocks fit in under second-year coach Shane Beamer, given that the early schedule has been tough. Now the Gamecocks get the Kentucky Wildcats on the road, with Kentucky coming off its first loss of the season. That’s the kind of game Beamer needs to win if he wants to start to turn heads in the SEC East.

12. Vanderbilt

We’re opting for minimal movement at the bottom of our SEC Power Rankings this week, despite Vanderbilt, Auburn and Missouri all being pretty close together right now. Vanderbilt was off this week following a drubbing by Alabama. The Commodores will host No. 9 Ole Miss and then hit the road to take on No. 2 Georgia, so this might be the last bit of elevation in the SEC Power Rankings for the ‘Dores.

13. Missouri (+1)

Credit this set of Tigers from bouncing back in a major way in Week 5. Missouri’s defense was extremely active against the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, making it a serious contest until the very end. The Tigers just left too many points on the board early on, the most egregious case coming after a long run down to the 1-yard line ended in just a field goal after a costly false start. Missouri heads to Florida next weekend but leaps Auburn in the rankings this week, even after last week’s fluky ending resulted in a head-to-head loss.

14. Auburn (-1)

Auburn actually outgained LSU quite significantly Saturday but managed to turn the ball over four times to give away a potential win. The Tigers just can’t quite seem to get out of their own way under head coach Bryan Harsin. Yes, Auburn beat Missouri head to head, but the Tigers on the Plains lost to a less impressive team at home on Saturday by giving the game away. That’ll get you dinged in the rankings.

Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 4 SEC Power Rankings here!