ESPN SEC Power Rankings: Week Seven
By John Bauman
Oct 12, 2013; Athens, GA, USA; Missouri Tigers defensive back Duron Singleton (2) reacts after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Missouri defeated Georgia 41-26. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Its week seven in the SEC and that means its time for another edition of ESPN SEC blog’s power rankings. Believe it or not, the Tigers are ranked fourth (!!!) in this weeks list, behind LSU and in front of Georgia. This is bye far Mizzou’s best ranking on the season, and a huge jump from seven last week. Even more important is that the Tigers next five opponents are below them on the SEC totem poll. Florida and South Carolina, the next two weeks opponents at home, are ranked seventh and sixth respectively. After that, its on to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Old Miss, none of which are ranked higher than ninth.
The biggest x-factor for the rest of Mizzou’s season would be the return date of QB James Franklin. We know that Maty Mauk will have the keys to the car at least for the next two weeks, but beyond that we just aren’t sure. I suggest looking at this link to find out the latest on Franklin’s injury. The latest I estimate have seen is 3-5 weeks, but that is a big range of time. It is a lot better than Franklin being out for the rest of the season, which is what was initially reported. I think the best case scenario is Franklin returning for the Ole Miss and Texas A&M games at the end of the season.
As always, you can go here to see the blurbs by Edward Aschoff for every SEC team.
1. Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC; last week: 1)
2. Texas A&M (5-1, 2-1 SEC; LW: 3)
3. LSU (6-1, 3-1 SEC; LW: 4)
4. Missouri (6-0, 2-0 SEC; LW: 7): Yeah, we all saw this one coming. These Tigers are undefeated and have the SEC’s second-hottest offense behind Texas A&M. Mizzou strutted into Athens over the weekend and walked out with a win and their chests puffed out after a 41-26 win. The question now is if the Tigers can keep their momentum with quarterback James Franklin sidelined with a shoulder injury. It’s Maty Mauk time in Columbia.
5. Georgia (4-2, 3-1 SEC; LW: 2)
6. South Carolina (5-1, 3-1 SEC; LW: 6)
7. Florida (4-2, 3-1 SEC; LW: 5)
8. Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC; LW: 8)
9. Ole Miss (3-3, 1-3 SEC; LW: 9)
10. Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-3 SEC; LW: 10)
11. Tennessee (3-3, 0-2 SEC; LW: 12)
13. Arkansas (3-4, 0-3 SEC; LW: 11)
14. Kentucky (1-5, 0-3 SEC; LW: 14)