Oct 5, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback James Franklin (1) runs with the ball against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first half at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports
Another new edition of ESPN’s SEC Power Rankings came hot off the press yesterday, and Mizzou jumped up a spot to seven. After a win against Vanderbilt, the Tigers improved to 5-0 on the season and won their first SEC game. This is Missouri’s highest spot in the rankings all year, and represents all the positive progress the team has made.
There was a lot of movement in the rankings this week, and I think there will continue to be for awhile until teams have played three or four more games. We have already seen most SEC teams five or six times, but I think we still have a lot to learn about each school. Take Georgia for example. They almost get upset against Tennessee, but beat LSU in a close game the week before that. Are they really the second best team in the SEC right now, better than Texas A&M? And how far is the gap between South Carolina at six and Mizzou at seven? Are the Tigers just as good as the Gamecocks or still a long ways off from them talent and performance wise? There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered in the SEC. Another weekend of football games should provide more clarity for next week.
1. Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC; last week: 1):
2. Georgia (4-1, 3-0 SEC; LW: 2):
3. Texas A&M (4-1, 1-1 SEC; LW: 3):
4. LSU (5-1, 2-1 SEC; LW: 4)
5. Florida (4-1, 3-0 SEC; LW: 6):
6. South Carolina (4-1, 2-1 SEC; LW: 5)
7. Missouri (5-0, 1-0 SEC; LW: 8): Don’t look now, but here come the midwestern Tigers! Mizzou is turning into quite the unit, especially on offense, after blowing out Vanderbilt in Nashville. With its trail mix of offensive talent, the Tigers dropped 51 on the Commodores and found themselves back in the Top 25. Mizzou is second to only Texas A&M in offense in the SEC and has registered more than 500 yards three times, including against Vandy.
8. Auburn (4-1, 2-1 SEC; LW: 9)
9. Ole Miss (3-2, 1-2 SEC; LW: 7)
10. Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-3 SEC; LW: 10)
11. Arkansas (3-3, 0-2 SEC; LW: 11)
12. Tennessee (3-3, 0-2 SEC; LW: 13)
13. Mississippi State (2-3, 0-2 SEC; LW: 12)
14. Kentucky (1-4, 0-2 SEC; LW: 14)
As always, you can find the blurb for every team here.