SEC Power Rankings: Week Eleven

1. Auburn – I’m going to go out on a limb here. Yeah, yeah, Auburn lost to LSU on a last-second play on LSU’s home field two weeks ago. I know that. But these rankings represent which squad would win on a neutral field if they played now, and how can anyone argue against Auburn? The defense has been absolutely lights out, and with as weak as LSU’s D has been lately, you’d have to think they’d stand a good chance to reverse the 6 point loss on LSU’s turf.
2. LSU – The Tigers cling to BCS title game hopes, but with Arkansas and the East winner waiting in the title game, it won’t be easy. Furthermore, the defense has been very substandard the last few weeks. Get this: after giving up 32 total points in the first five weeks, LSU hasn’t held an opponent below 24 for the last four games. LSU will be a fine representative for the SEC wherever it goes, but with Ohio State, Oregon, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Boston College looking very good, I’m no longer convinced this is one of the nation’s best two teams.
3. Georgia – The Bulldogs got a bit of a scare from Troy, but no matter. The Trojans are a very capable Sun Belt squad which had a lot to play for, and Georgia survived. I think UT is going to lose again, so if UGA beats Auburn and UK, they’ll win the East. But the pass D has to be better: at 10^th in the SEC in efficiency defense, UK’s efficiency captain Andre Woodson could give them fits.
4. Florida – The Gators are still fighting, but three losses means 2007 is a letdown, and the best plan now is to continue to experiment with schemes that work offensively while taking pressure off Tim Tebow to do it all. Vanderbilt didn’t pose much of a threat, but getting 100 yards from two running backs helped Tebow survive.
5. Alabama – I guess I finally have to give the Tide credit, after a solid performance that saw them give LSU a game that should have been at least headed to overtime before a John Parker Wilson fumble in the final minutes. The future is bright with Terry Grant in the backfield; Wallace Gilberry has turned in to quite the sack machine, with seven QB sacks in his last 4 games.
6. Tennessee – The Vols are typically mercurial this year, with major disappointments against Cal, Florida and Alabama sandwiched around super-impressive wins against Georgia and South Carolina. Which Vols show up this Saturday against Arkansas? With the 74^th ranked rush defense in the nation preparing to face the law firm of McFadden & Jones, UT fans better hope Good Vols leave Bad Vols at home.
7. Arkansas – The Hogs finally got a big-time BCS win by putting up a ton of points against South Carolina and kickstarting what they hope is a late season Heisman run by Run DMC. Let’s see now how the Razorbacks perform as road warriors in Knoxville this week against the nation’s 74^th ranked rush D. Too bad the Arkansas offense lives in the pre-forward pass stone age; UT’s 84^th ranked pass D is pretty bad, too.
8. South Carolina – The Gamecocks’ early season flirtation with BCS glory is over, and so are their SEC title hopes. I can’t really prove causality here, but the ‘Cocks have really struggled since Spurrier showed the quick hook with freshman QB Chris Smelley. SC is now 6-4, and with Florida and Clemson up ahead, it is conceivable, don’t laugh, that the Gamecocks could miss a bowl game altogether. That would get the chicken coop crowing.
9. Mississippi State – The Bulldogs got a well-deserved week of rest after the big win at Kentucky, and now lie in wait for Alabama. The offense, especially the passing game, is still pretty bad, ranking at 113^th nationally. However, with two weeks to prepare for a ‘Bama squad coming off its biggest game of the year, MSU has a great chance to pull off a program-defining upset to get bowl eligible.
10. Kentucky – All of Lexington feels like a church on Monday now, just three weeks removed from being the talk of college football after the LSU game, the ‘Cats have a losing SEC record and it’s officially basketball season. Still, with three winnable games on the schedule (Vandy, UGA and Tennessee), and an underrated pass D (20^th nationally), Kentucky still could sneak their way to New Year’s Day with a 9-3 record and a hungry fan base.
11. Vanderbilt – The Commodores had hopes of catching UF napping Saturday, but those dreams went bye-bye pretty quickly, and Vandy got routed by 27. At 5-4, the Commodores need one more win to go bowling, and if it comes in the SEC, they’re in for sure. I’m not sure how many receivers in SEC history have caught for 800 yards and 70 catches four straight years, but junior Earl Bennett is already on that pace for the third straight year.
12. Ole Miss – The Rebs take up the cellar for the umpteenth week in a row, and the offense, which had been a bright spot for awhile, has only scored 11 total points in its last 2 SEC games. Greg Hardy has 10 sacks in 10 games. Well done, sir.