Fansided

SEC Power Rankings, Week 5: Crimson Tide, Aggies Elite; Vols Lucky

By John Buhler

Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) is carried off the field by team mates after catching the game winning touchdown pass against the Georgia Bulldogs on the last play on the game during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) is carried off the field by team mates after catching the game winning touchdown pass against the Georgia Bulldogs on the last play on the game during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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The SEC went a combined 8-5 in Week 5. All five losses were in SEC play. Let’s take a look at this week’s SEC Power Rankings in terms of Week 5 dominance.

Oct 1, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops reacts to his teams play during the game against Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide defeated Kentucky 34-6. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops reacts to his teams play during the game against Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide defeated Kentucky 34-6. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

Bad losses

What exactly are the Missouri Tigers? They’ve put up a ton of points on inferior competition like Eastern Michigan and Delaware State, but failed to do much of anything offensively against Power 5 teams.

Missouri is 0-2 in SEC play after its drubbing by the LSU Tigers, 42-7, in Death Valley. Admittedly, Death Valley is the toughest venue to play in college football as a visitor, but Missouri should have been better than just seven points of offense against a team that just fired its head coach.

If Missouri can only put up seven points against an LSU with nothing left to play for this season but pride, how will Barry Odom’s team handle an elite SEC defense in the Florida Gators next week?

We know exactly what this Vanderbilt team is: a defense-first football team that has no idea what it’s doing at starting quarterback. Derek Mason’s Commodores have themselves a strong defense, but have an embarrassingly bad passing attack.

Vanderbilt could have beaten SEC East rival Florida on Saturday at home. The game went exactly the way it needed to for a Commodores upset: low-scoring and sluggish. However, Vanderbilt couldn’t get into the end zone against the superior Gators.

Yes, this team plays hard for their head coach, but Mason needs to get a new offensive coordinator. Otherwise it is going to end up costing him his job in 2017. There are things to like about this Vanderbilt program, but passing the football is not one of them.

The tale is being written about how the South Carolina Gamecocks are going to play under head coach Will Muschamp. His team is going to play committed defense, but will struggle to score points all season.

South Carolina at least made it respectable in their Week 5 loss to cross-divisional rival Texas A&M, 24-13. However, offensive ineptitude will be the major reason that South Carolina probably isn’t going bowling this holiday season.

The Gamecocks have one SEC win on the year over Vanderbilt, but will need three to get to 6-6. They are not beating in-state rival Clemson out of the ACC this season. A loss to Kentucky hurts considerably. South Carolina has to beat Missouri and upset somebody else to have a shot at a bowl bid.

The Week 1 loss to Southern Miss still stings for the Kentucky Wildcats. Though they lost to two SEC teams they weren’t going to beat anyway in Alabama and Florida, Kentucky isn’t beating Louisville at the end of the year either.

For a team that has a strong offense, six points against Alabama isn’t a sign of good things to come in SEC play. The win over South Carolina in Week 4 helps, but how will Mark Stoops’ Wildcats team get to 4-4 in conference play?

If any SEC East bottom feeder is going to make a bowl game, it might actually be the Wildcats. It is possible that the Wildcats can beat Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Mississippi State to finish 4-4. Stoops has to get his team to a bowl to get another year in Lexington. His offense gives him a chance, but where was it in Tuscaloosa on Saturday?

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