Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Major shakeup across the board

Auburn moved up in the rankings after a big win at Cal.

Author:
Steve Simpson
Publish date:
Sep 11, 2023 12:37 PM EDT

In this story:

Auburn Tigers

Another crazy weekend of SEC football has left us with more questions than answers about almost every team.

In some big, out of conference games Alabama lost at home to future conference foe, Texas, Miami rolled over Texas A&M, Vandy lost to Wake Forest, and Auburn won a bizarre game over Cal. Even the teams that had convincing wins had some puzzling early struggles.

All of this has resulted in quite a shakeup in this week's power rankings.

1. Georgia (Previous: 1)

Ball State came into Athens and held the Bulldogs scoreless in first quarter, but UGA exploded for 31 in the second and Ball State was done. Carson Beck had another impressive performance going 23/30, 283 yards, 2 TD's and one INT. The big question for Georgia is their lack of a proficient run game. The Dawgs finished with only 99 yards rushing averaging only 3.5 yards per carry. Leading rusher Roderick Robinson III only had 38 yards. They will have to do better in conference play if they want to win the SEC. Georgia hosts South Carolina Saturday.

2. Tennessee (Previous: 3)

The Vols also struggled out of the gate against a lesser opponent in Austin Peay. Games was all even 3-3 at the end of the first quarter and Tennessee clung to a 13-6 at the half. Joe Milton and company were able to do just enough in the second half to win 30-13. Unlike, divisional foe Georgia, the Vols ground game was in full swing Jaylen Wright finishing with 118 yards and Jabari Small with 95 yards. Tennessee heads to Gainesville Saturday to take on a struggling Florida team.

3. Ole Miss (Previous: 5)

Ole Miss at Tulane was once a rivalry game in the SEC. The Green Wave are no longer member of the conference, but the game sure felt like a conference game. Statistically, it was a pretty even game and the discrepancy in the score was due to a late scoop and score by Ole Miss to make the final margin of 17. The Rebels offensive line struggled to create running lanes for Quinshon Judkins as he only averaged 2.6 yards per carry and they gave up 4 sacks to an aggressive Tulane defense. Jaxson Dart went 17/27 for 267 yards and one INT. Ole Miss welcomes the Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech to Oxford on Saturday.

4. Arkansas (Previous: 6)

The Hogs were nothing but consistent in their 28-7 win over Kent State in Fayetteville. A first quarter 25 yard, pick-six by linebacker Antonio Grier started off the scoring and they scored a touchdown in each remaining quarter. K.J. Jefferson had a 68% completion percentage and two touchdowns, but finished with only 136 yards. They leaned heavily on the ground game with 172 yards and one TD. Arkansas hosts BYU next.

5. Auburn (Previous: 7)

In a strange game, fitting for the west coast, Auburn escaped Cal with a 14-10 win in Berkley. The story of the game was Auburn's defense repeatedly holding Cal scoreless, despite the Bears starting drives on the Tiger's side of the field. Auburn couldn't generate any consistent offense, but were finally able to put together a 69-yard drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Peyton Thorne's pass to Rivaldo Fairweather for the game winning touchdown. The Tigers return home this week to host Samford.

6. Mississippi State (Previous: 9)

In another PAC-12/SEC matchup, the Arizona Wildcats paid a visit of Starkville to take on the Bulldogs. State jumped out to 14-0 lead after one quarter of play, but the Wildcats would not go away and regulation play ended notched at 24. Will Rogers tossed the game winner to running back Jeffery Pittman who took it in from 29 yards out to secure a 31-24 overtime win for the Bulldogs. State hosts LSU in a key conference matchup for both teams on Saturday.

7. Alabama (Previous: 2)

The Tide played host to the Texas Longhorns in what was billed as the national game of the week. Alabama wasn't quite ready for prime-time. Texas dominated the game, despite only holding a 13-9 lead at the end of three. In the fourth quarter the Longhorns exploded for 21 points en route to a 34-24 victory. Alabama will try to re-group this week before traveling to Tampa to take on the South Florida Bulls.

8. LSU (Previous: 8)

LSU got just what the doctor ordered Saturday as they were able to take out some of their frustrations from the Florida State loss on an outmanned Grambling Tigers team in a 72-10 win. Will that be enough to get them back on track for the rest of the season? We'll find out when they visit Mississippi State Saturday at Noon.

9. Texas A&M (Previous: 4)

Jimbo Fisher's struggles as the Aggies head coach continued in Miami. The Hurricanes downed A&M 48-33 in a game that they were constantly playing from behind. Connor Weigman finished with 336 yards passing and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions were costly. The Aggies will try to get better and seek some relief as they welcome Louisiana-Monroe to College Station this week.

10. Kentucky (Previous: 12)

Kentucky struggled against in state foe Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels and the Wildcats were ties 7-7 at the half. Devin Leary threw four touchdowns, three in the second half as UK was able to outlast EKU for a 28-17 win in Lexington. The Wildcats will host the mighty Zips of Akron Saturday.

11. South Carolina (Previous: 10)

The Gamecocks, like LSU, found some relief in pounding on the Purple Paladins from Furman in a 47-21 win. Spencer Rattler was much better going 25/27 for 345 yards and three touchdowns. USC's running game is still problematic though, as they were only able to muster 108 yards on the ground. Reality returns next week as South Carolina make the trek to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs.

12. Missouri (Previous: 11)

The Tigers held on for a hard fought 23-19 victory over Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders gave Mizzou all they could handle for the entire game, getting a safety to cut the Tiger's lead down to 23-19. The Mizzou defense held MTSU on downs and the offense was able to run out the clock for the narrow win. Missouri hosts another out of conference foe Saturday as Kansas State comes calling in Columbia.

13. Florida (Previous: 14)

The Gators got some welcome relief this week as they chomped down on McNeese State for a 49-7 win in the Swamp. Quarterback Graham Mertz settled in for a nice performance on 14/17 passing for 193 yards and a touchdown. Florida has no time to celebrate though, the Volunteers from Tennessee are coming to Gainesville Saturday for a primetime showdown.

14. Vanderbilt (Previous: 13)

After a 2-0 start to the season, Vandy returned to the ground falling on the road to Wake Forest by a score of 36-20. The Commodores are on the road again this week as they head west to take on the UNLV Running Rebels of the Mountain West.