SEC Power Rankings: LSU leaps Ole Miss, big matchups looming

With Georgia off and Tennessee taking on UT-Martin this weekend there wasn’t likely to be any movement atop this week’s SEC Power Rankings. But, boy, are there some juicy showdowns the next couple weeks.

Alabama at LSU and Tennessee at Georgia are both in two weeks. And there are some compelling matchups this coming week, too.

But first let’s break down Saturday’s action to find out how it reshaped the rankings following Week 8’s games.

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Today we update the SEC Power Rankings following Week 8 games.

2022 SEC Power Rankings – Week 8

1. Tennessee

Coach Josh Heupel wasn’t thrilled with the way his backups played, especially defensively, but any time you’ve got the backup quarterback in during the second quarter and have half a hundred points by halftime you’re in good shape. The Vols now have a pivotal two weeks in the SEC East. First a home date with No. 19 Kentucky, followed by a road trip to No. 1 Georgia.

2. Georgia

Georgia was off this weekend, getting a little extra time to prepare for its annual showdown with rival Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. Kirby Smart‘s outfit will be looking to stay unbeaten prior to a game with No. 3 Tennessee, but you can never fully rule out a competitive game in Jacksonville, even though this year’s looks lopsided on paper.

3. Alabama

The Crimson Tide wasted little time bouncing back from the loss to the Volunteers. Alabama raced out to a 24-0 lead before halftime and kept Mississippi State from scoring until the game’s final play. Alabama still has everything in front of it, with a bye week to prepare for a trip to LSU with the lead in the SEC West on the line.

4. LSU (+1)

Brian Kelly‘s squad continues to play inspired football as quarterback Jayden Daniels keeps improving. One week after a six-touchdown outing against Florida, Daniels paced LSU by rushing for three scores and throwing for two more in handing Ole Miss a 45-20 loss, the first of the season for the Rebels. Like Alabama, LSU will get a bye week to prepare for the crucial SEC West showdown.

5. Ole Miss (-1)

Alabama is still on the schedule, which means Ole Miss still has some personal agency in the SEC West despite losing to LSU on Saturday. But without running back Zach Evans the Rebels just couldn’t make enough plays in a tough road game. Ole Miss heads on the road for a must-win game at Texas A&M prior to the team’s bye week.

6. South Carolina (+4)

Shane Beamer‘s Gamecocks started with a tough stretch out of the gates but have since rebounded nicely to win four straight. The difficulty of opponent has increased the last two weeks, but South Carolina is gutting out some impressive wins, now ranked in the AP Top 25. The next three games are all winnable, too: vs. Missouri, then at Vanderbilt and at Florida.

7. Kentucky (-1)

The Wildcats had the week off after beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Mark Stoops‘ guys will be the next to take a crack at unbeaten Tennessee, though they will do so on the road in Knoxville. Still, that leaves the Wildcats with a chance to throw a really unexpected wrinkle into the SEC East race with an upset. Pulling one off obviously won’t be easy.

8. Arkansas (+1)

Arkansas had a bye weekend and few teams needed it more than the injury-ravaged Razorbacks. The Hogs have been very depleted in the secondary all year but could get some key players healthy with the additional time off. They’ll need them, because a road trip to an Auburn team that has been playing better football of late looms.

9. Mississippi State (-2)

The Bulldogs weren’t very competitive Saturday night despite edging the Crimson Tide in total yardage 293-290. Alabama jumped to a big early lead and coasted from there, flummoxing Will Rogers and the Mississippi State passing game. Mike Leach and his team will be off this week before hosting Auburn.

10. Florida (+1)

Florida was on bye this week and moves up a spot in our SEC Power Rankings as Texas A&M tumbles amid a worsening skid. All three games the Gators have lost have been to ranked opponents. But that won’t provide a whole lot of warm and fuzzies, either; two of the remaining five games are against ranked opponents (No. 1 Georgia, No. 25 South Carolina), while the other three are on the road (at Texas A&M, at Vanderbilt, at Florida State).

11. Texas A&M (-3)

The Aggies have lost three straight now under Jimbo Fisher and bowl eligibility is suddenly a question mark after the program’s first loss ever to South Carolina. Texas A&M needs three wins from these five games: Ole Miss, Florida, at Auburn, UMass, LSU. The upshot? Four of the five are at home.

12. Missouri

The Tigers managed to snap a three-game losing skid by coming through in the clutch to knock off Vanderbilt 17-14. Missouri got a stop with just over a minute left in the game to hold on. The Tigers survived four turnovers in a very sloppy game in which both teams finished right around the 300-yard mark in total offense.

13. Auburn

Auburn has lost four of its last five but has been more competitive over the last three weeks, playing both LSU and Ole Miss relatively tight. The Tigers were even in it for a bit against the Georgia Bulldogs before UGA pulled away in the fourth quarter. Coming off the bye week we’ll see if Auburn can turn the corner to get in the win column. A home date with Arkansas is next.

14. Vanderbilt

The Commodores’ 3-1 start to the season sure seems like a long time ago at this point. Vanderbilt has been competitive in spurts this year, leading at halftime against Ole Miss two weeks ago and pushing Missouri to the wire on Saturday. But three of the final four games are against ranked SEC opponents, while the fourth is against Florida.

Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 7 SEC Power Rankings here!